Rural is relaxing & adventurous.
- Nov 2, 2021
- 3 min read
Image by: Zandi The Mermaid, from The Black Mermaid Foundation.
The Eastern Cape is yours to explore. Explore your province to learn new things, meet new people, reset your mind and boost your well-being. When you travel, you also help to reboot the tourism industry and the economy of South Africa, so please – take a sho’t left.
My first trip out of Gqeberha in 2021 was a road trip to Coffee Bay in Transkei. That’s a 7-hour drive, but we spent a night at Jemima’s Guest House in East London to break up the distance. Jemima’s s in Bunker’s Hill near the popular Beacon Bay East Beach.
Driving past the villages of the Transkei confirmed that I was far away from Gqeberha. Some villages have big, modern houses and many poorer villages have mud houses but we did not see many shacks.
Herds of livestock are ushered along the roads of Mqanduli and given right-of-way because this is still the rural Eastern Cape, and cows and goats are very valuable. You cannot speed here anyway because the potholes cause longer traffic jams than the goats.
I watched as children ran down a hill into a field next to the road – the scene made me think of former President Thabo Mbeki’s poem about being an African. Indeed, at that moment I felt that I owed my being to this land that holds the secrets of my ancestors. I wondered if my Mthembu grandfathers ever walked here.
We arrived at the Ocean View Hotel after sunset. We were shown to our room which had a King bed, couch, TV and everything we needed to make ourselves tea and coffee. The bathroom was simple. It had a shower, basin and toilet. That night the restaurant served umngqusho, lamb stew, salads, vegetables, chicken, rice, and dessert on the buffet. We ate like royalty and went to sleep with the sound of the ocean in the background.
It’s funny how my body is so eager to wake up when it does not have to. The sunlight drew me out of bed to see the waves that I only heard in the dark when we arrived. I made coffee and stood at the glass sliding door of the room, which I realized was on a hill. The hotel is more like a resort. The rooms are spread across a hill that leads straight onto a beach.
The Ocean View Hotel has a garden with a gate that goes to the beach, a jungle gym, a games room, a spa and a swimming pool. these facilities were all closed because the hotel was obeying Covid19 safety protocols. Please phone and ask if they are open when you book your stay.
The hotel’s accommodation rates include breakfast, lunch and dinner – great value for money because most hotels only include breakfast. Whole in the Wall is a 5- minute drive from the hotel, and there are guided hikes and kayaking experiences across the Mthatha River. There is a wonderful Tshisanyama called Nontuli on Sea which serves fresh meat, ulusu, aval, and different kinds of traditional food.
Also you can WIN travel giveaways sponsored by MOLO MHAMBI PR & MARKETING AGENCY this month, by clicking and completing the survey below: Valid for Gqeberha, East London and residents in the wild coast.
Click here: Survey
Article by: Mandisa Magwaxaza
Images by: Zandi The Mermaid
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