Umtata - Wild Coast Attractions

The Wild Coast, as the 280km/175mi stretch of coast between Qolora Mouth in the south and Port Edward in the north is called, is an enchanting succession of quiet inlets and lagoons, bizarre rock formations and caves and beaches of magical beauty. It is called the Wild Coast not for the rugged beauty of the scenery but because of the numerous ships that have come to grief on this stretch of coast with its rocks and shallows.

Along the Wild Coast there are numbers of modest hotels, as well as establishments offering high standards of comfort and amenity (mainly in Coffee Bay and Port St John's). The climate is agreeable all year round, and sea bathing is possible even in winter.

The various holiday areas along the coast are not linked by a coast road but are reached on tracks, mostly unsurfaced, running down to the coast from N 2 through beautiful scenery, in which evergreen rain forests and mangrove swamps alternate with wide expanses of hilly grassland strewn with the round huts of the Xhosa.

Driving at night in the former Transkei is to be avoided.