Road Trip: Part Two

We did not have any specific plans except for this nature reserve I found on the map. The caption talked about spectacular waterfalls tumbling off of cliffs into the ocean. I figured that since it was kind of on the way, we had to see that! What I didn’t realize was that kind of on the way was a little less than convenient, but well worth it.

Our plan was to drive along the coast from Durban all the way to Cape Town. The Mkambati reserve is along the coastline, but also in the middle of no-where. The main freeway head in-land, so we had to take one of the smaller freeways. It winded around and around through the valley of 1000 hills. It was a stunning drive. Beautiful!

After several hours of winding roads, the pavement ended. According to the map, we still had quite a way to go and we had been driving four hours already. But, here we were in the middle of no-where. It didn’t make sense to turn back, and the waterfall sounded pretty amazing, so with no specific agenda, we continued down the dirt roads.

The countryside was amazing, but the roads got rougher and the signs got fewer. We could not find the road we were looking for, but eventually came to another road that lead us to, of all places, Flagstaff. Since Eric if from Flagstaff, AZ he felt obliged to get a photo with the road sign, much to the amusement and confusion of the bystanders.

We continued again down another dirt road. It was now approaching evening, and we wondered if we would ever make it there. Then finally, we began to see signs for the reserve. At least we knew it existed and we were heading in the right direction.

Since it was going to be dark soon, we decided that we would have to camp there for the night. But, when we finally arrived at the gate at 4:30pm the ranger informed us that it was illegal to camp on the reserve. They had cottages, but he didn’t know if any were available or how much they cost. We would either have to cough up the money for a cottage and bust our budget, or camp outside the reserve and pray for safety.

We proceeded into the reception building to check on the cottages. They had one for 300R, but we didn’t want to spend that much. We begged if they could let us camp, but again we were told it is illegal. However, there was a camping area 30 minutes away that we could stay for 20 Rand per person. “Perfect. How do we drive there? Oh, you can’t drive there. There is no road.” Well, we didn’t want to walk because we did not bring our packs. We were traveling light to save space, and it would have been a trick to carry all of those loose pieces of gear.

We asked if there was any other way they could help us, even if it was a floor in the corner of the office. Then, she told us there was a smaller cottage for two that only cost 150 Rand. “Great! We’ll take it.” We fully expected to have a tiny little room with all of us crammed on the floor, but it was huge. All of the girls fit in the bedroom area, and the guys had a living room. We also had a separate kitchen and bathroom attached to the porch. It was nicer than any of the places we have stayed in a long time, and cheaper.

We decided to venture out toward the beach before it got dark, so we all piled back into the van and headed down a bumpy dirt road. It became quite a challenge navigating across rocks and ruts with the low clearance of a van. Jake was doing great, and then came a section of deep red sand.

Eric got out to evaluate the situation and replied, “It is pretty much an recipe for disaster.” But, determined to get to the beach, we decided to get out of the van to impove the clearance, and just gun it. Bad idea.

We spent the remainder of the daylight trying to dig the van out of the loose red sand, to no avail. With every attempt, the tires dug in deeper and deeper. We had resolved that we may be camping in the van after all, but sent up a prayer for God to send us Angel power to get the van out. Almost immediately a little red pickup truck appeared on the horizon.

God sent us a rescuer. They hooked up a tow strap and pulled us back out onto solid ground. We decided at that point not to press our luck, so we turned around and went back to the cottage to make dinner.

The stars were amazing that night, and the sunrise was one of the best I have ever seen.

In the morning, we packed up and checked out of our cottage. Eric suggested that we just walk down to the beach, but I persisted. We came all this way in search of this waterfall, and I wanted to at least try to get there. It was a different road, much longer but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. After a little hesitation, we all agreed to at least check it out.

It was a little rough, and we were beginning to have our doubts. Then we saw another car coming in the other direction. We asked them if we could make it, and they said “No problem.”, so we continued. Well, maybe it was no problem for their SUV, but it was a challenge for our van. But, we eventually made it, and it was worth it all.

On the way in, we passed herds of Zebras and Elands, and Wilderbeast as well as some Baboons. As we neared the ocean, we saw whales breaching on the horizon. It was amazing! This was wild Africa, completely natural and untamed. We parked the van and walked down to the cliffs where the water cascaded into pools that flowed into the ocean. It was spectacular. Even in the dry season, is was beautiful. I can not imagine how it looks when the rains come.

We explored the cliffs and coast, and watched the whales spouting and breaching. We could not have paid for a more amazing adventure than what we encountered at the end of this dirt road in the middle of no-where.

Our little side trip became a day and a half adventure that I will remember for the rest of my life.