Day 02 - Ramsgate to Coffee Bay

Trip Summary:

John and Tarryn left for work at 06h50 and I finished packing the bike. I realized I did not have my wallet. I called John to return home and open the house so I could search the bedroom. We could not find my wallet.

I unpacked my right pannier and found the wallet buried at the bottom. No need to say anything .... I know.

Heading inland towards Mthatha you travel through kilometer after kilometer of villages lining the winding road. The speed limit varies between 60 and 80km/h so progress is slow. You cannot travel much faster anyway due to the winding road, trucks and livestock along the route. As I was heading inland and climbing altitude, the temperature dropped to 12C and only started getting warm at about 11h00.

I refueled in Mthatha and ate the rest of my left-over pizza from dinner the previous evening.

The tar road to Coffee Bay takes you through rural Eastern Cape. The road is narrow and at places has severe pot holes that would damage a rim.

When I arrived in Coffee Bay I rode around to get a sense of the small community. I think it is the chill spot along the coast with a very hippie vibe. I stopped at the first camp site and searched for a good camp site. I found a spot amongst the trees to protect me from the wind. I was literallly a row of trees away from the beach. I should sleep well with the sound of crashing waves lulling me to sleep. The locals were fishing and called me from the fence asking if I wanted some of their fish and crayfish. As my wife would say, I burn water in the kettle so I declined the opportunity to try braaing fish.

After setting up camp I rode through to Hole in the Wall which is only 10 km away.

The ride to the actual view point is steep and would be a nightmare when wet.

Accommodation: Camping

The camping sites are set amongst the trees to protect you from the wind. The setting is very rustic and camp sites have electricity but no water. The ablusions supposed to have hot water but the hot water was not working. Security is not very tight as the gate to the beach is not locked and the fence would be easy to breach, however the manager assured me that it is safe.