Rocking the hobbit: Hole in The Wall Hike

Thursday, 21 February 2013

(Recommended song choice for this blog entry: "Beat the Devil's Tattoo" - The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club)

There is something about this place that makes you feel like you could stick around for a few extra days, weeks, even months... Alas, all good things come to an end - as did my stay at the Coffee Shack.

Despite the weather being temperamental on the second day of my stay, on my final day, I joined a troop of foreigners and Johnny (our guide) on the Hole in the Wall Hike.

What with the lush rolling hills, the secret surf spots along the glistening coastline, the exquisitely hot weather, and the sound of me panting up the hills as I lugged my camera gear and backpack up with me - made for a good way to wind down from the past few days festive buzz.

A big jump from the hush-hush life of Bulungula, Coffee Shack has shown me the best of its lively, informal and casual atmosphere. I engaged in some entertaining and other times hysterical conversations with people that the backpack had attracted from across the world - all of whom were free-spirited and free-thinking, and were genuinely down for making a party out of everything.  

Let the pictures do the talking,

Ali.

Meet Johnny: A walking beast of an encyclopaedia and joke generator, who not only made our lives on the hike easier as a guide, but richer too. One of my favourites.

Rocking the hobbit: The beginning of our 3 hour coastal trek to Mordor. Absolutely breathtaking landscape all the way to the Hole in The Wall: an 11km walk, or a half an hour drive from the Coffee Shack. 

The more you are thankful, I suppose the more things you attract to be thankful for. 

Indulging in a 10-minute break. Johnny our guide explained to us how the gum of the tall trees on either side of us is extremely poisonous. The Bushmen used to apply it to the tips of their arrows for hunting. This poison would not kill the animal instantaneously, but rather slow them down. The real work was not shooting their prey but rather stalking it for hours, sometimes days, until the animal collapsed from exhaustion and paralysis has fully kicked-in from the poison. 

This is the baby Hole in the Wall. This was not our destination, but a taste of what was to come.

"His and Hers": The coastal path we took runs a long the Coffee Bay coast, and then through a small pocket of residential area. One of the main features of a house that we passed. How romantic:

A toilet with a view.

At some points of the hike, the vegetation becomes quite dense. Check out these bad-boys: spider nests.

Close up of the spider-nests.

Finally, after 3 hours of trekking up the coast, past a one-horse town and through a dense forest, we arrived at this magnificent destination. Here, we spent the afternoon letting the waves get the better of us - bodysurfing; exploring the area on beach walks; and collapsing under the trees for an afternoon cat-nap.

Weather permitting: when the sea is not too rough, the guides offer those guests on the hike the opportunity to go cliff jumping off the rocks! Unfortunately for me, the seas were too rough to cliff jump on this particular day.

Hole in The Wall Hike, Coffee Bay.

AND... The hike included lunch, consisting of more then enough toasted cheese sandwiches - fresh off the braai.

After spending the rest of the afternoon lazing by the Hole in the Wall, we caught a half-an-hour  lift back with the backpack's open-air safari-like shuttle. We passed through residential areas of Coffee Bay, getting a taste for the area's traditional lifestyle and how it is changing.

You will find that the Coffee Shack's day activities are substantially cheaper than other hostels around SA (+-R60). There are also plenty of cultural experiences available to guests such as a village walking tour; going into the village for a traditional meal; as well as spending a night with a family from the village, xhosa-style!