The Transkei

Wild Coast

When driv­ing towards the Transkei, par­tic­u­larly between East London and the Kei River cross­ing, it almost seems as if you are enter­ing another coun­try. This, you can tell, is wild, untamed coun­try. Whereas en route to Transkei you will travel through towns and cit­ies much like any other in South Africa, when you get there these bas­tions of civil­iz­a­tion are few and far between, with miles and miles of lush, unspoilt green fields and count­less aloes lin­ing the hills and val­leys of this beau­ti­ful area instead.

Having been an inde­pend­ent home­land, the tra­di­tional Xhosa strong­hold for many years the Transkei retains a sense of dif­fer­ence and oth­er­ness, des­pite its rein­teg­ra­tion into South Africa. Still dot­ted here and there with tra­di­tional Xhosa ron­davel kraals perched pre­cari­ously on the slopes of the per­petu­ally misty moun­tains and herds­man still to be seen watch­ing the herds of cattle that sym­bol­ize wealth here, the Transkei can seem like a land lost in time.

Right on the bor­der, and fast becom­ing a millionaire’s play­ground, is the town of Cintsa. More west­ern­ised than most of the Transkei, the town is being rap­idly developed and offers a slightly less wild exper­i­ence than the rest of the area.

Mthatha (formerly Umtata), the cap­ital city of the area, is the only true city, with most of the towns being small. The archi­tec­ture and lay­out of these towns speak of their roots as early colo­nial set­tle­ments. Many still bear names from that era; Butterworth and Queenstown to name two.

Coffee Bay

This area was also the birth­place of many of the country’s polit­ical struggle her­oes – Nelson Mandela and cur­rent pres­id­ent Thabo Mbeki, as well as other iconic fig­ures, such as former Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The true attrac­tion for most tour­ists lies on the coast how­ever – in the heart of Pondoland and truly deserving of the name “the Wild Coast”. This coast line, eas­ily access­ible if one flies to Mthatha and drives down the nar­row road lead­ing to the sea, is lined with lush forests.

Coffee Bay and Port St Johns have become tour­ist mag­nets, although any­one expect­ing hustle and bustle will be sorely dis­ap­poin­ted. In this part of the world you are more likely to end up sit­ting on the deck of one the many excel­lent bed and break­fasts in Port St Johns, watch­ing the Zambezi sharks trawl the coast­line or spend­ing time hik­ing, canoe­ing, surf­ing (if you are brave enough to risk those sharks) and soak­ing up the laid back, trop­ical atmosphere.

Visits to tra­di­tional Xhosa vil­lages are on offer; as are museums and trips to sites such as Idutywa, the vil­lage where Thabo Mbeki was born. For the most part, expect relax­a­tion, utter, hedon­istic lazi­ness, and pos­sibly the ulti­mate break from the mod­ern rat race.

Tastes of tra­di­tional cuisine are on offer in most towns, how­ever, from past exper­i­ence, no mat­ter how the moment takes you; avoid eat­ing white mielies boiled in a paint can on the beach. Food pois­on­ing is not a pleas­ant way to spend your holiday.

Useful Links:
See more des­tin­a­tion info at:
Transkei on Wikipedia
Wild Coast Attractions
Wild Coast Accommodation