Away with the Faeries !!!

It was time to leave the beach and head to the mountains again, so we headed up to the village of Hogsback  in the Amatola Mountains in the Eastern Cape.  The village is said to have inspired JR Tolkien when writing "The Hobbit".  The village is named after the three mountains which overlook it.

We camped at a fantastic hostel called "Away with the Fairies" which had a 15m high tree house, a bath on a clifftop at the end of the garden, parrots and monkeys swinging about in the trees.  We went on a mountain bike tour with a crazy guide called Nils.  It was a great trip and he took us on lots of great trails in the forest.  We visited many beautiful water falls and had many entanglements in some mean looking spider webs !!!

Samango Monkey.

The Hogsback mountains in the cloud.

The bath at the end of the garden.

climbing to the treehouse!

Big scary moth in the bath !!

At the top of the Madonna and Child Falls, looking over the forest.

On the bikes.

Hogsback mountain in the background.

39 Steps waterfall.

The 3 Hogs.

After the cycle we visited the Eco-shrine which was a shrine to the planet and the local area by a local artist.  Very interesting as she gave us a guided tour of her exhibit.

Eco-shrine.

Something about the creation of the Earth.

Eco-shrine and the Hogsback mountains.

The next day we went for a big hike through the rain forest, then up to the  Kettle spout falls overlooking the village.  It was a hot day but a good hike and we rewarded ourselves with a bath at the end of the day !!!!!

Gillian dancing with a tree !!!

A refreshing dip !!

Gillian at the bottom of the Madonna and Child Falls.

Breathtaking !!!!

Me and my Hog !!

Heating the bath water !!!!

Gillian opts for the fully clothed bath.

Sunset bathing.

Hogsback was a beautiful place with lots of great activities.  It was a nice change from the beach !!!!

Bulungula Village

The small village of Bulungula, is located on a very remote part of the Wild Coast and can only be reached by walking along the coast from Coffee Bay, or along a very bumpy single track dirt road.  The local Xhosa community run a small lodge and a number of interesting activitiesfor travellers who survive the adventure to make it there.  It was such a nice place and the locals so friendly we ended up staying for 4 days.  The beach was beautiful and the stars at night were amazing as there is no light pollution whatsoever. We spent time getting to know some of the locals. They certainly lead a tough life out there!  None of their homes have electricity or running water, they have no beds, instead sleep on mats on the floor.  Really makes you  think how easy life is for us  westerners!

Bulungula beach.

 Chicken that lives in the toilet !!!!.

 The local mules !!!!

 Lastest technology in Bulungula, The rocket shower runs on parrafin - light it and off it goes !!!!

Gillian spent a very interesting day with the women of the village, I won't go into the details here but you can read all about it on Gillian's food blog.
I spent the day hanging out with the guys and was soon allowed to join their drumming band !!!

 Getting the beat !!!

 Sore hands !!!

The beer was flowing and the drums got louder !!!

One of the local lads took us on a canoeing trip the next day.  Great fun,  however the equipment was a bit rustic!

 Ready to cast-off.

Our trusty canoes.

It was a fantastic place and in many ways reminded me of the coast, crofts and houses on the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.  I think this is how people would have lived out there a couple of hundred years ago.

Hike to Bulungula.

Whilst in Coffee Bay there was a guide taking people on treks up the coast to a small remote village called Bulungula.  It was about 33k and about 8 hours of walking, but it sounded like a great trip through some very remote country so we joined him for a bit of adventure.  We were joined by a couple of blokes Paya from France and Tom from Italy.  We were guided by the charismatic Silas and his apprentice Isaac.

The hike begins.....

Into the hills.

Without a guide we would have been well lost !!!

Lunch stop at a Shabeen (illegal Drinking den).

OK then one more beer.

Gillian gets to know a few of the locals !!

Not sure about the homebrew though !!!!

We bumped into these two dapper looking chaps in their tweed outfits.  As we approached they knelt down, and bowed their heads before talking to our guides. The story is they have just become men i.e. 18 and have just been through the ceremony to be circumcised as is the custom for  the local Xhosa people. They were kneeling in respect to their elders Silas and Isaac who passed on words of wisdom!

Local girls carrying wood home for their fires.

 Dean lends a hand !

We stopped at one of the guides friends house who gave us some food.  "Samp" a local dish containing beans and maize.

and of course some local drinks !!!! Mielie Pap (maize porridge yum yum).

 Finally we made it to Bulungula, a small remote Xhosa community on the Wild Coast.

Bulungu was such a great place we ended up staying a week, and deserves its own blog post !.

The Wild Coast

The Wild coast is considered to be the most beautiful part of south Africa.  It is a rugged "wild"  stretch of coastline, with rolling hills and lots of little villages and tracks scattered around.  Many say its the last part of South Africa  that is "African".  It is the Transkei homeland  where the locals - the Xhosa people were pretty much left to their own devices during apartheid.

We stayed at a number of locations along the coast.  The first place we stayed was Coffee Bay.  At Coffee Bay we took a day hike along the coast to a famous sea arch called "The Hole in the Wall".

 The Wild Coast.

Typical houses or "Rondavels" along the coast.

Amazing deserted beaches.

Rondavels.

 Coo's !!

A few local lads.

Herding cattle.

 Local football pitch !!.

The "Hole in the Wall"..

A day in Umlazi township.

In Durban we had a chance meeting with Alex Wallace who was the former head of James Gillespie high school in Edinburgh.  Alex runs a number of projects around Durban, one of which is twinning James Gillespies with a couple of high schools in the Umlazi township (2nd largest in South Africa),  Zwelibanzi and Dloko school.  

He arranges for pupil visits and gap year projects between the schools.  He is also involved in a Street kids shelter "Umthombo" which provides shelter and activities for vulnerable homeless children in the city.  Alex was kind enough to arrange for a tour of the schools along with a couple of former pupils Emmanuel and Seza.  We had a fantastic time meeting the pupils and teachers of the schools. 

We were taken aback by how hard it is to get an education in SA due to poor resources and lack of government funding. Whilst primary education is compulsory, high school is not.  The children need to get the grades to get into high school and the competition is fierce.  Families have to pay for education and many cannot afford to send their kids to high school.  It costs 10 Rand (£10 to educate a child for 1 term at school).  

Children back inthe UK are really lucky to get free education and should consider it a real privilage.  In SA no education means no good job, poor prospects and little hope.  

We were totally in awe at the enthusiasm to learn and positive outlook of the children at the schools.  We were left quite dumbstruck as the whole school assembly turned out and sang  for us.  Something we will never forget.

The Gillespie Zwelibanzi school crest.

School assembly, we were the special guests for the day !!!

Students hard at work.

A happy student !!.

 Emmanuel, ex-student and guide for the day.

Gillian and Emmanuel

The soup kitchen, built by the pupils of James Gillespie.

Umlazi Township.

A typical house in the township.

Emmanuel showing us around.

The local shabeen (illegal drinking establishment).

 The pupils of Dloko High School give us a song !!!

 If you want a drink you need to nip out to the tap at the break.

A visit to the local creche (run by Emmanuels mum).

Party time in the bus back from Umlazi !!

Umthombo street kids refuge.

With Emmanuel, Mandy, Alex and Seza.

A big thanks to the guys for allowing us to visit Umlazi, the schools and the Refuge.  It was a real eye opener and we hope to try and raise some money and do some charity stuff for Alex when we get back to Scotland.