Wild Coast, Distilled

The Wild Coast lives up to its name: It is wild. It's remote, the roads are mostly poor and there isn't a Woolies insight. But it's also full of life. The landscape is scattered with villages and subsistence crops, and goats and cattle graze wherever they want. In fact, finding a secluded corner is surprisingly difficult! But we were determined to do just that. Here's your guide to Dwesa, Cwebe, and Hluleka nature reserves...

- Words and pictures by François Haasbroek

PITCH YOUR TENT

Dwesa Nature Reserve

Secluded campsites are rare on the wild part of the Wild Coast, in other words, from Kei Mouth north to Port Edward. The bigger towns usually have a caravan park, and backpacker places often have a spot where you can hammer in your tent pegs, but most of the more remote places to stay are self-catering.

Dwesa is the exception. The closest town is Willowvale, about 50 km away, and there's a new tar road under construction, but for now, you'll have to kick up dust.

I drive through the reserve gate on a gloomy morning and pitch my tent in the rain. A forest looms behind me and the sea crashes in front. There's no one else around, no games room, tuckshop, lapa, or power either. There are just enough facilities to prevent you from feeling like you're camping wild.

I have an old map of the reserve that indicates a few trails. The guard at the gate explains that the only route traversable in a 4x2 is the one to the Kobole River estuary, about 2 km from the campsite.

I slip and slide down a steep hill to where the road suddenly comes to a dead-end in the sand. I immediately know I'm in trouble - I try to turn around but can't. Nearby, a sign declares that crocodiles were successfully released into this river...

Finally, I get reserve manager Khayelihle Ncube on the phone and an hour later, a bakkie arrives. Two rangers leap from the back and tie a rope to my vehicle. I ask about the crocodiles. The last croc in the Mendwana River was killed in 1903, and in 1979 there was an attempt to reintroduce them.