The Wild Coast - Hluleka Nature Reserve

We descended from the town of Hogsback perched in the mountains above the Eastern Cape and headed north into the old heart of Xhosa territory, spending a very hot day in the truck rolling through soft green hills dotted with pockets of rondovels painted in every imaginable shade of green, red, pink or orange. We left the main highway at Mthatha for the coast. Mthatha was a reminder we are still in rural Africa: a smokey traffic-choked mess strewn with windblown garbage stuffed with people spilling randomly off the sidewalk and zigzagging between the overheating cars.
For the next two hours, in the late afternoon heat, we were punished by some of the crappiest road we have driven in Africa. But WOW was it ever worth it! We rattled and squeaked over the hills into Hluleka Nature Reserve and the most beautiful beach we have seen yet. Overlooking the beach is a small group of attractive, modern chalets that sit unobtrusively in their environment. We shook the dust off our clothes and walked through our chalet with our mouths hanging open in awe of the chrome fixtures, stainless steal appliances and ivory white soaker tubs. In a region where most people still walk to get water this designer refuge seems over the top.

As everyone settled into the opulence of our designer abode I followed the road further along to find a stone house hidden in the trees. Hluleka used to be a privately owned farm and this once magnificent house was its jewel. It was built of cut sandstone blocks, the low sloping metal roof covering deep porches to protect it's occupants from the sun. It was carefully situated on a narrow ridge to maximize perspectives of the sunrise over the small bay or the sunset over the green hills behind. Now the chalets share this ridge. I wonder who lived here? I wonder why they left?

The next day, exhausted from our push to get here, we spent the entire morning on the beach - actually, it was OUR beach. We didn't see another soul, it was ours entirely. Hluleka is perfect and we left too soon.

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/116486261622853021292/SATrip2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCLL_gbqGtdC63wE