On the Wild Coast you are very far away from popular holiday resorts, decent roads and in some places even cellphone reception. And after a while you even get used to the humidity. Gerrie van Eeden found out why it is called the Wild Coast.

If you want to get an idea of what the Wild Coast is like, look at all the well-known pictures of Waterfall Bluff close to Mboyti on the Wild Coast. Two large sandstone cliffs rise above the Indian Ocean like buffaloes hitting each other head on. Their humps meet in the gorge below where the Mlambomkulu River plummets nearly 100 metres into the sea.

There’s no sign of human life. You can only reach this place on foot. Even when you’re taking taking pictures of the falls from a boat at sea, chances are there will be a dolphin or two in the foreground.
I’m telling you, it’s wild.

DAY 1: Xhosas, tea and dirt roads

Just before Lusikisiki on the R61 we turn north on a cement road to the Drifters Msikaba Camp.

I am here with Frank Carlisle of Bhejane 4x4 Adventures and we are about to explore the area between the Msikabe River in the north and Port St Johns in the south. Frank wants to see what’s on offer for a possible 4x4 tour.

It is barely 65 km down the coast as the crow flies, but it would take us at least four days to drive – there are more bad roads than good roads here, and you have to veer inland many times because it is impossible to stay close to the coast. Even in a very capable 4x4.

Soon the cement road becomes a dirt road, but Frank heaves a sigh of relief. This road is much calmer than the R61 tar road that we drove on earlier.

We will spend most nights in Drifters camps. Yes, the same Drifters Adventure Company that tours through Africa with large trucks. They use their camps almost exclusively for their own trucks filled with young Germans and Scandinavians, but their camps are open to other groups.

The camps are ideal for 4x4 tours along the Wild Coast because they are affordable, decent and within a day’s drive of each other.

Joining us in the Hilux 2.5-litre D-4D double-cab bakkie is Daron Smit, who is scouting a mountain-bike route on the coast.

The road, badly rutted by rain in places, runs for 40 km among tea plantations and Xhosa huts. Fortunately, Frank knows what he is doing and comfortably steers the bakkie down to the camp.

You should be able to make it in a vehicle without low range and four-wheel drive, but it must have high ground clearance because the deep ditches could trip you up. But when it gets wet, it is a completely different story – then the Camry won’t cut it.

Pete Retallick, manager of the Drifters Camps along the coast, joins us after we have settled in. Pete knows the area like the palm of his hand and will be joining us for the next three days. He promises to keep us busy each day.

He urges us to be economical with taps and switch off appliances to save water and electricity. The electricity is generated by the sun and wind, and water comes from boreholes.

When Frank asks the camp janitor whether the water is safe to drink, he says, “It is even better than good for you!”

After the braai fire has died down, it’s bed time. The cicadas in the camp continue singing through the night while a slight breeze half-heartedly tries to cool you down.