Where to treat your beloved this Mother’s Day

This ain’t how you do it

Idid the Wild Coast. And I did it all wrong. Well, perhaps I didn’t do it all wrong but if I did it again, I’d do a couple things differently.

For one, I’d only venture ankle deep into the sea. Provided I could resist the call of these endless oceans, that is. I say this after hearing about someone being mauled by a shark in knee-deep water in a gentle estuary stream somewhere along the coast, and about dangerous Wild Coast riptides. These ferocious seas have claimed countless nautical victims. There was the ill-fated Oceanos in 1991: Captain Yiannis Avranas famously abandoned ship, leaving rescue operations to the vessel’s musos and magician who managed – abracadabra – to heroically help save all 571 people onboard.

Nicci Collier does the Wild Coast all wr ong

And the ostensibly ‘unsinkable’ Waratah steamship, the ‘Titanic of the South’, which lived up to the same fate and disappeared off the Wild Coast in 1909, its wreckage never found.

Make no mistake, the Wild Coast is not so-called for the long-horned bulls plodding (and pooping!) unattended across the beaches. The famous Pondoland cattle, kept in kraals at night and released at dawn, return around midday for milking, then stroll beachwards in the afternoon. Photographer Christopher Rimmer, who studied and documented the cattle, says of this mysterious habit, ‘As resistant as I am to anthropomorphising, I could come to no other conclusion than: the bulls visit the beach daily because they simply enjoy being there.’

On a cow-free morning, I hiked the Double Mouth Nature Reserve (from the inviting Morgan Bay campsite to Bead Beach) in search of treasure from the Santo Espiritu – a doomed Portuguese vessel returning from India in 1608. Shards of Chinese Ming porcelain and carnelian beads can still be scavenged near the Quko River mouth at low tide. I returned empty-handed, but with a full heart. Nothing compares to having an immaculate wilderness like this practically to oneself.

My second mistake? Driving to Double Mouth in a Yaris. It’s doable, but a fourwheeler would certainly navigate the rocky, ditch-riddled road better. I make it to ‘the cliffs’ for sundowners that evening but only thanks to the kindness of strangers: Alex, who offers a lift. Warren provides the G’nTs, and his cousins host me for a braai that night. I’d already suspected that there’s just something different about Wild Coast-ers. In a really good, unbelievably kind, ultra-hospitable way. And these new friends only confirm it.

From the Umngazi River boat driver whose convincing fish eagle cry lures the magnificent birds into sight, to Nikki and Erica at Morgan Bay Hotel’s reception desk (they print dinner menus each day

Clockwise from top left The famed Hole-inthe-Wall near Coffee Bay; Wild Coast beachcombers will share the shore with Pondoland cattle; the riverside bar deck at Umngazi; a wild beach ride with Wild Coast Horse Riding Adventures; endless views from Prana Lodge

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Pictures: Keith Bain, South African Tourism, Wild Coast Horse Riding Adventures, Supplied with a personalised message to each guest), everyone here feels like family. Perhaps it’s because this is the land of my forebears? Granny Wendy grew up in the Transkei – her father was the magistrate, and Freemantle High School in Lady Frere was named in his honour (whether this honour was for his habit of performing headstands on bar counters or his magisterial work, we will never know). Mount Ayliff, Lady Frere, Mthatha, Queenstown… All place names I recall my grandmother bandying about when she spoke of her childhood. Several of them went hurtling past the Yaris’s window as it dodged goats, donkeys and potholes on this road trip. It made me think of my Granny as a baby, traversing these same green hills almost a century ago – by ox-wagon!

It wasn’t all giddy sessions on bumpy roads, though. There was the pure joy of fattening myself on the Morgan Bay Hotel’s generous meals and reading to the sound of crashing waves in the beautiful ‘Quiet Lounge; No Children’. And all that gracious time spent at Umngazi, a slice of tropical paradise whose natural good looks are matched by the resort’s raft of endlessly fun activities – plus beach walks, outdoor showers, unbeatable feasting tables… Total escape.

Ultimately, though, I think my biggest mistake by far was that my Wild Coast adventure was too short. Next time, I’ll stay forever. Serene sleeps Morgan Bay Hotel Morgan Bay is a dream Umngazi River for nature lovers, with Bungalows and Spa a mile-long stretch of To sample the Wild beach and magnificent Coast’s pleasures without cliffs crisscrossed with roughing it at all, check hiking and MTB trails. in at this charming family Select from a variety resort on the Umngazi of bed combinations to River mouth. Set within its suit your group in the own nature reserve and spacious, tastefully flanked by dense coastal decorated rooms, vegetation, it overlooks and enjoy a plethora an estuary and beach, of activities on offer, with boats for hire, and from rock climbing waterskiing on offer. to fishing, canoeing Thatched bungalows (like to horse riding, bird the beautiful Honeymoon watching to poolside suite pictured above) have tanning. outdoor showers and are morganbayhotel.co.za set amongst indigenous gardens on the bank of Prana Lodge the river, which is crossed In Chintsa, Prana Lodge by boat for idyllic beach is a family-owned luxury walks (ring the gong to hotel on a 17-acre be fetched in time for private beach estate – tea and cake). Explore just 40 minutes from mangrove swamps, cast East London in a dreamy a line, boat or canoe up dune forest. Top-notch the river, unwind at the cuisine; private plunge pool, indulge heartily at pools; restful, Persianmealtimes, join a torch-lit carpeted suites; and crab hunt with the kids. direct beach access. And don’t miss the spa. Plus a pamper-perfect umngazi.co.za spa. pranalodge.co.za

DIsCOVeR

People. Ideas. things.

What’s the buzz?

Forget the navel-gazing, these swimming shorts are doing their bit to give bees a chance. Having seen from the inside how South Africa’s garment industry took a tumble, conservation-minded Jeff Liss has applied his textile and fashion know-how to create Chasing Bees, a family business producing a sustainable range of casualbut-buzzworthy clothing and accessories such as kikois. Aside from doing their bit to support local producers and crafters, a percentage of their earnings goes to Ujubee, a research organisation studying wild bees and other pollinators. Their research feeds into a global initiative to protect the planet’s biodiversity by preserving the genetic integrity of pollinating species. The bees will be happy, but so will you with your shorts made from durable, comfortable, quickdrying fabric and put together with triple-stitched seams. Lovely prints, too – check out more designs on page 51.

Kamala’s mom 44 Briefs, bras, cups and saucers 47 Novel heroines 53