it was somewhat unseasonably chilly and wet on the morning we left for our wild coast trip
taking us along the n2 through wilderness kynsa and plettenburg bay among others to
our first night stopover at the storms river mouth rest camp in the tsitsikamma
portion of the garden route national park
we're taking a detour from the normal n2 route between cape town and port elizabeth and we turned
off just before the tsitsikamma toll gate and went down the old bloukrans pass what a stunning road
it's this indigenous vegetation there's this river this is actually the border between the western
cape and the eastern cape this road was built in the 1880s by thomas bain and used to be the
main road between cape town and port elizabeth now called gqeberha hope i got that pronunciation
right and it's just absolutely stunning there's a sign saying that the roads are closed but it's not
actually there is signs of some maintenance but it is a bit overgrown and narrowed
we rented a forest cabin for the night and it's really really comfortable it's
got everything you need and it's right on the water there's the most amazing view
it's a cattle baron restaurant which is kind of okay
then of course there's the park shop where you can get all your essentials and basics
just taking a little walk along this coastal walkway to the suspension
bridge quite early in the morning i'm going early before the crowds arrive
very beautiful there's a little beach behind me that you can see and then
over there there's a waterfall not much water in it but it's a waterfall nonetheless
i'm not gonna lie there are a lot of steps on the walk so a reasonable amount of fitness
is necessary but it's so worth it there's not actually one suspension bridge there's a couple
the longer one takes you across the mouth of the storms river
quite spectacular being suspended way above the water
you can look out to see on the one side of course and then way up the cliff of the river itself
you can walk further we didn't because we had to move along but it would be definitely
worth spending a couple of days and if you do stop in the cave it's really quite spectacular
from our home to coffee bay is about a 2 000 kilometer return journey along some
of the most beautiful coastline you can imagine
a little bit outside port alfred on the way to
east london is the fish river mouth lighthouse which was built in 1898 and it's been on duty
every night ever since it's a bit of a trick along a dirt road to get there but so well worth it
morgan bay is there behind me and it's really in a very character-filled place we're saying
at the mitford hotel actually got a really good last minute deal on booking.com thanks booking.com
thanks mitford hotel it's very comfortable it's basic a little bit dated but it's really nice
it's right on the beach great views and there's also a restaurant and a pub
so that's the village heading back down have some breakfast
and then head on our way for the rest of the day
we just at the ferry here to cross the kei river to go into the transkei there it comes
we'd been warned about the road but quite honestly although that a lot of potholes it wasn't as bad
as i expected the worst thing are these triple speed humps which are absolutely not labeled
and they are from the devil himself cows and goats in the road another thing to watch out for
so my advice don't let it irritate you and just take in the beautiful rural scenery
when i was planning this trip to coffee bay while to the transkei
i asked people's opinion and one of them was go there without preconceived ideas and with an
open mind i think coffee bay that really really applies it's a place that's not for everybody i
don't think it's got certainly a unique character it's not a resort kind of place where you've got
all the facilities and all the modern stuff there's a lot of backpackers there are a lot
of little bnbs that are really really basic and there are no supermarkets it's more spaza shops
if you're looking for a decent meal we had lunch at zac's seafood kitchen every day
and it's not bad at all the word coffee bay or the name coffee bay comes from a ship that was
wrecked here in the sometime in the 1800s and it was carrying a cargo coffee coffee beans washed
up on the beaches and germinated i haven't seen any coffee trees but maybe there are still some
but that's where the name comes from coffee bay and it's stuck
it's about 10 kilometers from coffee bay to hole in the wall i'd read in some blog posts you need
a four by four and the road is so terrible but it's actually they're doing maintenance and the road
is not bad at all you definitely don't need a four by four we parked at the hole in the wall hotel
for security there are self-appointed guides who are reluctant to take no for an answer i found
that being firm but friendly was the way to go and that's my recommendation it's a very beautiful
spot we had it all to ourselves we went early and i really do highly recommend making the effort
so impression of coffee bay it's very rustic very i would almost say hippiefied but it's also
quite dirty there's a lot of rubbish around and that's a shame because it's so naturally beautiful
nice beaches forests the whole lot there's just rubbish everywhere and nobody seems to
bother to pick it up would i come here again no but would i recommend coming here yes for sure
unfortunately time caught up with us and we weren't able to make it to port st john's
this trip that'll have to be for another visit if you enjoyed this video please give it a big
thumbs up and of course your subscription is always welcome as usual see you next time