06/05/09
Yzelle, oom Jurie and tannie Yvonne put me on the bus in Ermelo at 12h30. It was a sad goodbye but if all goes well, I should see them in about six weeks time. The bus trip to Durban was slow and uneventful and we arrived at 22h25. I had to find a place to overnight but the only hotel nearby charges R369 per night. Not within my budget by a long shot! So I tried the plice station inside the railway station. They said I was welcome to sleep anywhere in the Arrivals hall in front of the police station. Oh well, it was a safe, dry and warm place. So I made myself comfortable amongst about twenty other homeless people. Sandile, a shoemaker, started asking me about my walk and I got the chance to share my testimony with him. It was a long an spiritual conversation and after assuring me that he would rejoin his church, he settled down on a spread of newspaper and promptly fell asleep. I was less comfortable on the hard floor leaning against my backpack and started sliding down lower and lower until I was lying flat on my back. I must have dosed off sometime over 01h00.
07/05/09
I woke up at 04h00, realising that I had slept quite well under the circumstances. After washing my face and brushing my teeth in the public restrooms, I headed downstairs to the bus terminal. The Greyhound office opened just before 06h00 and I checked in for the 07h00 bus to Port Shepstone. The busride was smoothe and before long we were at the mall in Port Shepstone. At the Engen garage, I met Beverly who organised me a lift to the taxi rank where I caught a minibus taxi to Port Edward. At the Leisure Bay turnoff I got out and phoned oom Jan Terblans who came to fetch me from there. He and tannie Lorraine were both surprised to see the effect of 6kg of regained weight since I had last been there two weeks ago. We spent the rest of the day chatting and eating!
08/05/09
After an extra long breakfast, I said goodbye to tannie Lorraine and oom Jan drove me back to Port Edward, where I had ended two weeks ago. It was hard to get into the walk after my extended sick leave and seeing as I had only about 14km to go to Munster, I took it slowly. The scenery was great but the terrain was tough with a lot of rocks and the footpaths along the coast were muddy and swampy after the recent rains. I slipped and landed on my bum a number of times but eventualy saw the Munster Life Saving Club and knew that I was almost at the Mittendorf Caravan Park, belonging to my friends, the Stoppel family. The beach was ful of running, playing, shrieking kids and I spotted a very calm looking gentleman who had an air of gentle authority, standing aside, watching over the kids. He introduced himself as Andre Schutte. As head of the local branch of regional environmental education network, he had many contacts and offered to assist me in finding accomodation along the coast. For now, he gave me the directions to the Stoppels’ place. Half an hour later, I arrived and was greeted with open arms by Denise and Dave. Christine was still at work, but her daughter, Jade, was all over me, as energetic as ever. We threw frizbee until Christine arrived and things calmed down a bit. We had a lovely evening catching up, but after my first day back on the walk, I was quite tired and passed out just after 21h00.
9/5/09
It was Saturday, so the Stoppels didn’t have to get to work early. That meant a big breakfast, but by 8h30 we were on our way back to the Munster beach, where Denise first took some photo’s that she wanted to send to the local newspaper. Then, after saying our goodbyes, I set off for Margate, my planned stop for the night.
The whole of the South Coast is densely populated and the small villages tend to blend into each other, which means that sometimes I had no idea which one I was walking through unless I asked the people I met along the way. Furthermore, the coastline was much more rocky than I had expected and the going was not always easy. The recent rains had created a lot of marshes just beyond the high tide mark above the rocks and even the footpaths and paved walkways were muddy and I ended up on my backside more often than anywhere else on my walk up to now. But the scenery was great and the people really friendly, so before I knew, I was in Margate and my day had come to an end… or so I thought. I still had not secured a place to stay overnight and camping on the beach in a densely populated area such as this, is never a good idea. After buying dinner at KFC (always a bonus in towns!), I started enquiring about a caravan park or cheap accommodation. There seemed to be a caravan park “just up the hill” and I followed the directions but it was already dark and I saw none of the signs I was told to follow. After more than half an hour of wandering through dark and quite dingy streets, I saw the familiar blue lantern of a police station. The officers on duty gave me much clearer directions and within minutes, I found the caravan park. But… as I had no tent, I would not be allowed to camp here (for all practical purposes, I was seen as a “squatter”). BUMMER! Now what? Only one option, find a cheap backpacker’s lodge or boarding house. As I was making my way back towards the beachfront, I found what I was looking for, The ………………… is a bording house that would only charge me R95 for a single room and shared bathroom. That was more than I needed and since I had been blessed during the day, I had accumulated more than R500 in donations! Margate was starting to look less hostile than I had first thought. I dug into my now cold KFC meal with gusto and was asleep soon after.
10/5/09
As I was walking down to the beach at around 8am, I was stopped by two families who had seen the You magazine article and recognised me. A photo session followed and ended in breakgast at the Wimpy with Llwellyn, Louse, Rudi and the family. Margate on a warm winter morning, is a magic place with a beautiful beach… not at all the dark, unwelcoming place I had thought it to be the night before.
But I could not linger, Port Shepstone was not getting any closer as long as I was sitting around, so I bade my breakfast hosts goodbye and set off. As yesterday, I was passing many small connected coastal villages. It was Sunday and many people were out on the beaches and in the streets. I was stopped often by interested people and was even offered accommodation in uMkomaas, by a lady, Susan, who stopped me on the road. uMkomaas was still a few days away for me, but she gave me her phone number and told me to phone them when I get there. My spirits were high and I was quietly praising the Lord for His Love and Mercy, as I quickly completed the 25km to Port Shepstone.
But Port Shepstone was not an easy place to find accommodation either. However, at the Engen One-Stop, I ran into Beverly, who called her manager, Louis, who knew of a good backpacker’s lodge just a few kilometres on, at Mzumbe. He gave me directions and even phoned ahead to ensure that they had a bed available for me.
It was already dark by the time I had covered the 6km from Port Shepstone to the Mantis and Moon Backpacker’s Lodge in Mzumbe, but it was worth the extra distance. Gert, who is originally from Holland, runs a very efficient, clean, friendly hostel and made me feel very at home, in my own private teepee. The other guests there were very interested in my adventure and my plans for an early evening, soon evaporated as I was peppered with questions, but it was, all in all, a great evening of conversation and friendship.
11/5/09
When I checked out, Gert told me that my accommodation and breakfast was on the house and I ended up paying only for dinner and my cold drink of the previous night. Generosity just seems to have no end on this journey of mine and I left with a song in my heart!
From here, the population gets less dense and more rural. The N2 highway runs along the coast here and I found it easier to walk on the road than on the coarse, deep, calve cramping sand of the beach. However, the road was busy and I have always been nervous of the big trucks passing so close to me and when a small truck’s steel hubcap came off and nearly hit me on the shin, I decided that the beach was a better option. However, the road had gradually led me further and further from the coast, so I was stuck in the highspeed traffic. At least, until I could find a way to the beack. At the Mthwalume turnoff, I saw my chance and left the highway.
As I entered the village, I spotted a small café and stopped for a cold drink and some biscuits. And a slab of chocolate! While sitting on the lawn outside, a car stopped next to me. Oom Tinkie and Tannie Pop Bodenstein, and their friend, Tannie Letta, had recognised me earlier in the morning as they passed me on the road. Their invitation to stay over at their home around the corner, came as a surprise but at just the right time, as I was exhausted (mostly psychological, I suspected, as my nerves were shot by this time).
The Bodensteins are beautiful people and made me feel like I was part of the family!
12/5/09
After another big breakfast, Oom Tinkie decided to walk down to the beach with me to see me off. Tannie Pop came down with the car to drive him back home. It was warm and I walked well on the low tide, but soon the wind came up and the sand became deeper and soft. It slowed me down considerably and I was relieved to reach Pennington during the afternoon. From here it was only another 8 km to Kelso, where I planned to find overnight accommodation. The incredible storms of the 2008 spring had caused massive destruction along this part of the South Coast. The road between Pennington and Kelso had been closed for vehicles ever since, but I would be able to walk it. This was a relief, because the N2 is quite a few kilometres inland and would mean a long detour. The exact reason why the road had been closed, became evident when I came upon the bridge across the river. One of the concrete pillars supporting the bridge, had been washed away and a definite, dangerous dip, with matching cracks, was visible in the road surface. The reinforced concrete rails also showed a sad sagging in the middle of the bridge and even though I had been assured that people regularly walk across, I made sure not to waste any time getting to the safety of the far bank.
Upon entering Kelso, I saw the sign for VulaManzi (Place of Flowing Water), a local self-catering lodge and surf camp, pointing towards the east. Twenty minutes later, the owners, Nick and Colleen, checked me in and gave me a discount of R100! Even though I immensely enjoy and appreciate the hospitality of all my newly acquired friends along the way, it was good to have some privacy and free time to reflect on my experiences since I had resumed the journey.
Before I had reached the South Coast, I was uncertain of what to expect. That had created some trepidation in my mind, but now I was starting to form quite a different opinion of the area, and even more so, of its people. Wherever I went, the locals and visitors had treated me so well and had been so generous and friendly, that I even felt more than a little guilty about my previous perceptions. I am very thankful and extremely proud of being a South African. I share this beautiful country with the best people on the planet! And I challenge anyone (my often pessimistic countrymen included) to prove me wrong!
13/5/09
From Kelso, my next stop would be uMkomaas, where I had been offered accommodation with Susan and her family. However, her uncle had been seriosly injured in a mining accident a few days ago and she had taken her mother to visit him in hospital in Pretoria. But not before she had made alternative arrangements for me with other friends of hers, Narda and her son, Liam.
The walk to uMkomaas was uneventful but tiring and I was glad to see the village in the late afternoon. We had a great braai and I fell into my bed exhausted and passed out within minutes.
14/5/09
Liam had to get to school early and Narda to her business, so I too, had an early start. Walking along the road at the beach front, the evidence of last year’s storms was again very visible. One entire lane of the tar surface had been destroyed, in fact, it was completely washed away and construction teams were still busy building up an embankment on which to rebuild it. The raw destructive and landcaping power of the elements was evident here and I was reminded that nature is never to be underestimated.
As I was walking through Mgababa, Narda phoned me to say that she had arranged with Shelly, a reporter of The Mail, the local newspaper, to meet me at the Ultra City, on the N2. It so happened that I was just approaching the Ultra City when she called.
The interview didn’t take long and it would help to make people in the area aware of what I was doing.
From here I took the road to Amanzimtoti, through Winkelspruit. As I enetered Toti, I phoned Ollie Nel. Ollie is a friend of Andre Schutte, whom I had met on the beach at Glenmore, a week ago. In the meantime, Andre had been busy getting hold of friends and associates along my route, to assist me as I go along.
It was late in the afternoon when I met Ollie at the Amanzimtoti Life Saver’s Club on the beachfront. With him was Marius, Andre’s brother, who was in town for business, and would also spend the night at Ollie’s place. We had a very enjoyable guy’s night at Ollie’s private lapa, The Fig Tree, on top of the densely vegetated dune in front of his house. They are about ten years older than me, but we soon established that all of us had done army service during the “old days” and had been posted to similar bases, at different times. As any South African man between the age of 35 and 60 would be able to confirm, the rest of the evening was taken up with stories of the army. Stories we had told a thousand times before, legends we all knew very well. About the tough times during training, good times during operational service, but nothing of the real war we were involved in. To those who had not experienced it, it would seem that the war was no more than a time of useless running and inspections during basic training, followed by good times and silly anecdotes of guys getting up to no good, with no real fighting. But it is also true that nobody who had been there, really wants to talk about what had happened there. It is better this way. We talked late into the night until I had to excuse myself to get at least some rest before daylight. It was a great evening one I would remember for a long long time.
15/5/09
Once again, I had to first have a big breakfast with Ollie before setting off. For someone who has never been much of a breakfast eater, I was having a lot of large breakfasts lately! From here, I had to walk mostly through the Durban Industrial area, along King’s Way, which follows a section of the now famous route followed by Dick King on horseback on his epic journey during the Anglo Boer War of the late 1800’s. It looks a lot different to what he must have seen more than a century ago and I must admit, it must have been much more scenic then. Now a large area from here to the Durban harbour is taken up by factories. Amongst these, is the Toyota plant, a huge, spread out maze of massive workshops, warehouses and office buildings. However, after working my way through this labyrinthe, I reached the beach again. It was great to feel sand under my feet but this also didn’t last long, because I soon encountered one of the roughest sections of rocks that I have had to cross in a long time. Fortunately, it was not a long stretch, and after almost two hours of scrambling, climbing, and crawling, I was on sand again, a long straight, deserted beach, all the way to The Bluff, where I climbed the 398 steps to the top of this ridge that shelters most of southern Durban from the sea.
At the end of The Bluff, just before the Army Base, I was met by Wally Pelser, another friend of Andre Schutte. At the café where I waited for him, I met the owner of the shop, Babs Naidoo, who is also I minister, doing a lot of missionary work amongst the Zulu sangomas in the area. We were still chatting when Wally arrived and we only left after Rev Babs had prayed for me. It struck me again, how God brings people across my path in such unexpected places and always at times when I really need their help, even though I often don’t even realise that I have a need of their words and support. Many times I only become aware of this need AFTER the encounter. Which is all the more profound, as it reinforces the fact that God knows my needs even before I do.
Wally, his wife Tammy and their baby daughter, Madison, live in a big old house in Glenwood. He also runs his successful business from here, facilitating corporate teambuilding, conferences and running educational adventure camps and excursions for schools. It is something that I have been dreaming of for many years (the educational aspect) and I connected with Wally from the start. His passion and faith is evident in his business and also his family. I enjoyed my stay so much, that I accepted their invitation to take the next day off and spend it with them. It was to be my first off day since resuming my walk after the tick bite episode.
16/5/09
It was great to wake up early and knowing that I could lie in a bit longer, but I smelled breakfast. Wally’s friend, Berto and his wife, Marcelle, who had joined us for dinner the night before, came over again. The ladies went to town and us guys went to Ushaka, the Durban waterfront, for lunch, where we met Wally’s other friends, Jean and Morne. We took little Maddy with us. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the mood at the beach was festive, with an electric atmosphere of anticipation… the afternoon would see Kings Park hosting The Bulls against The Sharks, in the last round before the semi-finals of the Super 14 rugby tournament.
Wally and his friends are Sharks supporters. I had no loyalties towards either team, my team having been eliminated earlier in the play-offs. But let me rather not get into that. Being a Stormers supporter is like having a brother in jail… you still love him, but you just don’t talk about him in public. Even though The Sharks still had an outside chance of making the semi’s with a win and bonus points here, that would mean both teams would have to play their vital games overseas. If The Bulls win today, they would have a home semi. And we all agreed that South Africa needs to have at least one team going through to the final. The Bulls had the best chance, so when they narrowly beat The Sharks, we all agreed that it was for the better.
Rugby has to be followed by a braai. It is not a custom, it is a rule. So we had a braai. A good one, a massive hump of beef in the kettle braai. And because we are South Africans, and because we are rugby fanatics, we spent the evening reliving the game. And discussing the various possible outcomes of the semi’s and ultimately the final. And who would be chosen for the Boks in the upcoming British & Irish Lions tour. And who would end up winning the series. And reflecting on previous Lions tours, from 1893 to the present. And how impossibly expensive tickets have become. Ah, rugby is great.
17/5/09
Early on Sunday morning, Wally, Tammy and Maddy drove me back down to uShaka, where I was to start walking again. Between The Bluff and uShaka, is the massive Durban Harbour complex, through which I would not have been able to walk.
The weather was great, and the beach was almost packed with sunseekers, something that was weird for me as a Kapenaar (resident of The Cape), where our winters are cold and wet. Durban, however, is famous for its warm sea and all year round warm(ish) weather. The whole beach front exuded a holiday atmosphere and many people were dressed in light blue t-shirts and rugby jerseys. They were Bulls supporters and many of them had no tan, identifying them as visitors from the north, where it was already winter.
It was a great day for walking and I only stopped at a petrol station in Durban North for a bite to eat. Here I met Jacqui Wilkes, her son, Simon and daughter, Georgina. They insisted that I accept their invitation to stay over with them in Groutville, when I get there. That would be in about two days time. I was very thankful for the invitation because I had now entered the North Coast, another area of which I knew nothing.
I reached Umhlanga Rocks by early afternoon. As I turned down the first road into town, a car stopped next to me. The driver, Anton Muller, had seen an article about my walk. He invited me to a late take-away lunch with his family and to spend the night in their home. His wife, Rianne, and daughters, Anneri and Monique were eager to hear my story and after attending church with them, we spent the evening chatting about it, and also about our individual spiritual experiences. It was great to be able to share with such a faithful family.
18/5/09
Anton dropped me down at the beach again and I set off for Balito, where Wally had arranged accommodation for me with his friends, Johnny and Yvette Grace.
Not far from Umhlanga, as I entered Umdloti, I was stopped by three ladies in a bakkie. They had also read my article in the You magazine and wished me well. Shortly after that, I walked past a small complex on the beach front and got the smell of coffee from the restaurant upstairs. Not just plain coffee, but GOOD filter coffee. The temptation got the better of me and I pulled in. I was sitting on the balcony and as I ordered my second cup, I saw people waving from the parking area below. It was the same ladies,Zelda, Joey and Ashlyn, who had stopped me before and they came upstairs for a chat.
But Balito was still some distance away and I had to limit myself to just two mugs of coffee, as hard as it was for me.
Most of the day was quiet and easy going, but one of the most profound meetings on my journey occurred just as I came up from the beach to the parking lot where I was to meet Johnny. A middle aged man was standing at the top of the stairs, looking out across the sea. When I was a few metres away from him, he suddenly looked me straight in the eye and asked, “Why are you here?” I was slightly surprised by the strange question and laughed (I probably sounded a bit nervous), telling him the condensed version of my story. He then asked me if I were a Christian, to which I could answer with confidence, “Yes”. What he said next, completely caught me by surprise: “I’ve been waiting for you”. Then, probably because he saw my consternation, he added: “Well, not YOU, personally, of course, but I’ve been asking for a sign and I came here for an answer. You see, five years ago I was diagnosed with cancer and was told I had five years to live. Since then, I had received treatment and now the doctors say I can live longer but they don’t know how much longer. I don’t know what to do. I had budgeted for five years, that is over now and I don’t know how to deal with my extra time. I am not a believer in the sense that you Christians believe, but I do believe that there is a higher power and I have been coming to this place regularly for the past few months to meditate and try to find answers. Tell me your whole story.”
I was almost in tears when I saw the fear in his eyes and I told him of how God had heard my prayers when I called out to Him in my desparate hours and how He has been revealing Himself to me on this journey. I then asked him if I could pray for him and he said, “Yes please, I would really like that”. It was such a profound, intimate moment, as we stood there together in a deserted parking lot, praying quietly. As I looked up, he turned away with tears in his eyes, said, “Thank you. My name is Paul”, got into his car and drove off. I stood there for a few minutes, not really able to fully grasp what had just happened. I started praying again, silently, asking God for an answer. Had I done the right thing? Had I done enough? Should I have done more? Did I let Him down? Did I let Paul down? All the while I was walking on towards my meeting place with Johnny.
Johnny Grace met me at the parking area in front of the small shopping mall and immediately we hit it off. We just clicked from the moment we met and I know that our friendship will last for many years. His wife, Yvette, is just as lovely a person and his two little girls, Tineal and Jordan, are absolutely adorable!
19/5/09
With the promise of finding contacts for me further along my route, Johnny said goodbye to me and I walked down to the beach, on my way to the Wilkes family at Groutville. They were the ones whom met in Durban North a few days ago.
But today is also another big day for me, because before I reach the Umvoti river mouth, I would hit my 2000km mark.The route followed the beach for most of the day, with only a few sets of rocks around Tinley Manor and just 2km after this little village, I reached this important milestone. At my 1000km mark, my son, Philip, was with me and we could share the moment, but now I was all alone and apart from sending a text message to Yzelle and some friends, there was no celebration. So I set off again to finish the last 6km to the mouth of the Umvoti, where Simon agreed to meet me.
My welcome at the Wilkes home was more than warm. This devout family not only took me in, but urged me to spend an extra day so that I could meet some of their friends.
It turned out that they are also friends of Johnny and Yvette, who had already arranged to come over to Jaqui and John’s home to celebrate my 2000km.
The evening was spent in praise, worship and prayer. Johnny wanted me to share with them my experience in the Balito parking area. But before I could start, Jaqui said something that both baffled and reassured me. She said that she had had a vision of me after our first meeting, a few days before. In this vision, she saw me as a farm hand, sowing seeds. I was not the farmer, tending the crop, but one who sows for the farmer, then moves on. I was shocked at the clarity of her vision, but suddenly it made sense. It was not my job to save souls, I am human. Only God can save souls, my role here, is to plant the seeds through my testimony. It is then in God’s Hands to use that if and how He pleases. He has appointed some individuals to guide and support those souls on His Path, people like John and Jaqui. We all have different talents, some seemingly small, others bigger. But no one is more important than the other. I will probably never know what has since happened in Paul’s life, but I find peace, knowing that he is in God’s Hands and that I have not failed in my task, regarding him.
20/5/09
It was a lazy rest day for me. Simon took me for a drive in the old Ford Fairlane, a car that he had inherited from his grandfather and which John had resprayed in bright orange. It was a nostalgic moment for me. A friend of my dad had a similar car when I was a little boy and Dad owned its cousin, a Ford Fairmont. I remember how my dad had traded this car in for a lighter Audi 100LS, in 1974, when the price of petrol had shot up to 8 cents a litre! Those were the days.
Later in the morning, a friend of Jaqui’s came for a visit. Jo had a book of Billy Graham, called The Journey, that she gave me to read on my travels.
In the evening, we drove back towards Balito to attend their Cell meeting at Don and Viv Charles’ home. It was again, a wonderful evening of praise, worship and sharing.
21/5/09
Time to go, but it was with sadness that I bade the Wilke’s family goodbye, as Simon drove me back to the beach at the Umvoti mouth. The river was shallow and I waded through easily. I had not encountered any deep river mouths that I had to swim through, since leaving the Wild Coast. The few big rivers on the South Coast all have bridges crossing them near the sea. Now I had one big mouth ahead of me, the Tugela. In the 1800’s, the mouth was big and deep enough for relatively large ships to enter, but through agricultural irrigation, commercial damming, and maybe climate change, its flow had been diminished to such an extent that the once mighty Tugela now consists mostly of a few channels, intersected by many sanbars. And these sandbars are often covered in crocodiles. I’ve been told by many that the Tugela is the boundary between civilization and wilderness. North of the river, I need to be wary of everything: people, crocs, hippo’s, leopards, snakes and sharks. It was not reassuring, but I am determined to stay positive and to keep my faith. It has not failed me yet.
But at Zinkwazi, just before the Tugela, I was forced to make a responsible decision. Fishermen told me that there has been considerable crocodile activity in recent weeks. Viewing crocs, or even getting close to them, on land, is one thing, but swimming through a river where they are known to hunt, is stupid. That is, if you have an alternative. On the Wild Coast, I had no other way of crossing the rivers, even though I knew there were Zambezi sharks around. Here, however, the N2 runs parallel to the coast, about 8km inland. So, with sanity prevailing, I chose the longer, safer route.
Just west of the N2, on the southern bank of the river, is an adventure camp, belonging to Wally Pelser’s company, The Venture Group. It is called Seula and is managed by Wally’s parents, Willy and Lydia Pelser. They had already invited me to stay over and that solved my dilemma of getting across the Tugela. From their place, I could walk across the N2 bridge, making my way back to the coast further along.
The camp was swarming with about forty ten-year old girls, an educational weekend excursion from one of the prominent Durban primary schools. It was clear that they were having fun. Willy is one of those gentle giants, an ex-provincial rugby player, now playing grandfather, mentor, and entertainer to a new generation of city kids, coming to enjoy an adventure in the african bush. At dinner, under the huge roof of the dining shed, a sudden shriek erupted from forty young female throats, a hairraising sound on its own. The cause, is the unexpected and loud entrance of “the witchdoctor”. He is actually the old night watchman, dressed up and masked like an ancient sangoma, shouting and performing a wild dance. Within moments, the girls were singing and dancing with him, the shock forgotten. Oom Willy laughs delighted, telling me that the girls were expecting the surprise, it is a fixed feature of every dinner at Seula, one that has become a tradition, yet, everytime the witchdoctor makes his unexpected, expected appearance, the reaction is the same. Later in the evening, back in my sleeping quarters, I reflect on how much kids are missing, living sheltered lives, dictated by television and playstation. This group of girls come from wealthy homes where they would most likely have all these luxuries and probably take it for granted. Yet, could anything in their own environment get the same unabashed, extatic reaction from them, as this simple old man did tonight? I wonder.
22/5/09
I left at 10h00, much later than planned, but Wally had driven through from Durban to help prepare for a corporate group that was coming for a day of teambuilding and I decided to wait for him before I set off.
As I crossed the bridge over the Tugela, I saw my first crocodile of the journey. It was small, hardly 1,5 metre long, basking on a sandbar, about a hundred metres downstream from the bridge. It looked quite harmless at this distance, but I felt a shiver down my spine at the thought of swimming through the river with this youngster’s dad and uncles around.
My plan was to take the first road or path towards the sea, but before any sign of a turnoff, Don Charles from Balito, phoned me to say that an associate of his, Richard McKibbon, has asked if I would stay over with them at their mission station near Amatikulu. It was near the tar road and just the right distance for a day’s walk. I accepted and stuck to the N2. Walking on tar again, was quite rough and my feet soon started feeling the abrasive effects. But I made good time and reached the village well before sunset.
Richard welcomed me at the creche, which forms the main base of the community project. A few of the local young men involved in the project, sleep here, while Richard and some of the others live in a homestead of simple mud huts further up the road. I had a choice of either. I caught an instant liking of S’du and JJ, both staying at the creche, so I opted for staying over there too. After spectating at the daily soccer practice on a dusty, sloping pitch, we all went back to the creche for dinner. With no electricity in the area, cooking is done mostly on gas and woodfires, water for washing is also heated on a fire outside.
Richard is one of a very special breed of young men who have had a definite calling and are now living their lives for God. Coming from a wealthy background, with a university education and a promising career as a professional sportsman, Richard gave it all up when God showed him his calling. He now lives a spartan life, but clearly filled with an inner joy and peace that is infectuous. I felt so at home here, that I accepted their invitation to spend another day with them and attend their community meeting the next morning.
23/5/09
We got up early for a quick breakfast of maize meal porridge and then sat around chatting until it was time to go to the community meeting. JJ was telling me how he had lived as a street child in Umhlanga. He had met Richard there for the first time while the young missionary was working amongst the homeless youth in the area. He laughed, embarrassed, as he recounted the story of how their gang once ambushed Richard and beat him up, but he wouldn’t give up and kept coming back. Then JJ fell sick and ended up in hospital. That was when he made the decision to leave his life of glue sniffing and drugs behind and joined Richard at the youth centre. He is now a devout Christian and is trying to find his own calling in life. Maybe he will go back to the street kids, after all, he understands their life and has the necessary survival skills to be able to work with them, but most of all, he has a testimony to share with them, about how Jesus has made all the difference in his own life.
The community meeting is an informal, interactive session of prayer, singing and games and it was with a sense of shame that I witnessed these poor, simple people, praising the Lord with such childlike and uninhibited joy. How pretentious are we, most of the time, in our formal, judgemental churchlife, compared to their innocent spirituality.
24/5/09
Richard arranged for me to stay over with friends of his near Mntunzini, if I don’t find accommodation elsewhere. I was sticking to the tar road for now, and though the tar was rough, the terrain was easier than the deep sand along this part of the coast. And Mntunzini is right next to the N2 anyway. As I got to the toll gates at Mntunzini, a car hooter blared out at me. I looked around to see Richard, waving at me and signalling that he will wait for me at the toll plaza. He had decided to visit his friend, Leigh Eggers, on her family’s farm. So I had a lift in stead of walking the extra distance off my route. But just as I reached his bakkie, another car stopped next to me. It was Claude, owner of Nature’s Way Backpackers in town. A friend of his had seen me walking earlier and told him about me, so he decided to come and intercept me. Leigh, her mom, Joan and brother, Mark, agreed that I might have a better opportunity to share my testimony at the hostel, so I decided to accept Claude’s offer.
By the time I had checked in and got my pack in the room, Claude and his wife, Aga, had already arranged interviews with three local and regional newspapers for me. We sat around the fire, chatting and sharing until late into the night, with two half tame zebras coming right up to the fire. Claude explained that they had come from the reserve next to their backpackers, after being kicked out of the herd.
25/5/09
Claude was very keen to walk some distance with me but had some business to attend to first, so we arranged that he would meet me somewhere on the road when he had done. He dropped me back on the N2 where we met the day before and I set off towards Richards Bay.
I was really looking forward to seeing Francois and Ida Malherbe again. I had first met them in the early days of my journey, at Kleinbrak, where they were on holiday. At the time, Richards Bay still seemed very far away but now, suddenly, I was almost there. I had spoken to Francois two days ago to confirm that they were home and that he would fetch me at the N2 turnoff, as the town is quite some distance off my route.
Claude caught up to me about halfway through the day and Aga, after dropping him off, continued on to Richards Bat to do some shopping. She would pick him up again on her way back.
It was great having someone to chat to while I walked. It took my mind off the boredome of walking along a main road. Along the coast or in the bush there is always something to see or hear, but on a busy highway, the noise and smell of cars and trucks drown out most of the natural sounds and smells. Time passed quickly and before we knew it, we had covered the distance and phoned our respective lifts to pick us up. Francois arrived just a few minutes before Aga and then it was time to say goodbye.
My feet were killing me, and I was glad that tomorrow would be an off day. I still had some distance to go on tar and was worried that my feet would deteriorate to the condition they were in when I had just started in Cape Town. Even though I had been able to walk through the pain at the time, I did not want to ever relive it again. Also, Richards Bay would be the last big town for a long time and I needed to stock up on supplies before tackling Zululand.
Francois had retired recently and they were in the process of moving down to Kleinbrak, so the house was half packed up and boxes were everywhere. So much so that we stayed over at their daughter, Michelle’s, house.
26/5/09
The Malherbes are wonderful, warm people and we share many interests, so we had hours of stimulating conversation and I felt refreshed and full of eagerness to face the challenge ahead.
But Francois and Ida had family coming to stay over and I didn’t want to impose for a second night. Fortunately, I had an alternative. Yzelle’s brother, Gerhard, had phoned me a few days earlier to say that his friend, Albert Driesch, would be happy to put me up for a night on his yacht in the marina. I phoned Albert and he came to fetch me in the afternoon.
Staying on a small yacht was a new experience but at least we were moored safely against a pier and not out on the open sea. Albert and I sat chatting for hours after dinner and when I finally bunked down, it took me a while to get used to the gentle rocking of the yacht and the sounds of fish jumping and water gently splashing against the hull. It gave me time to reflect on the people I have met on the way and how everyone seem to be, in many different ways, so similar to me. People from such varying backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. But wherever I went, I found common values and interests, to which we could relate. Maybe Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder were right after all, in their 80’s song, Ebony and Ivory, saying that “People are the same wherever you go, there is good and bad in everyone”.
Eventually I must have drifted off to sleep, with images of Albert’s photographs of Zululand on my mind. He had surveyed the area a year ago and his photo’s had given me an idea of what to expect, in terms of scenery, at least. Now I was really looking forward to it.
27/5/09
Albert dropped me off on the edge of town and I walked towards the N2, my objective for the day was to get to the KwaMbonambe area and maybe make camp away from the road, in one of the many eucalyptus plantations.
However, I hadn’t even reached the N2 before a car stopped next to me. Irma was on her way to do shopping in Richards Bay and when she heard that I was headed for KwaMbonambe, she was very excited, inviting me to stay over with her family. She would be back there around lunch time and gave me her number so that I could phone when I get there.
Walking on the tar has some advantages, there is more contact with people and I still can’t get used to how many strangers actually know about me and support my quest. One such person, is Johan, who had seen me on the road a few days earlier and then read an article about my walk in the Zululand Observer. He regularly drives between Durban and St Lucia, so when he stopped next to me now, he already had a pie and juice that he had bought in Mtubatuba, hoping that he would meet me along the way. I just can’t get over the generosity of people!
I walked into KwaMbonambe at exactely 16h00 and Irma picked me up at the police station. Their home was on a farm a few kilometres outside of town. There I met her husband, Tokkie, son, Armand, his wife, Chantelle and their baby, Edwin.
Tokkie had attended the recent Mighty Men weekend in Greytown and was very keen to talk about the miracles that he had experienced there. It was so uplifting to hear how he had left his old ways and how God has also changed his life. He was now also leading his whole family on this new Path.
28/5/09
The first part of the road between KwaMbonambe and Mtubatuba was a barefoot dream, concrete in stead of tar. This surface is much kinder to footsoles and I enjoyed the 18km of easy walking. But when the tar began again, it was the worst kind, very rough, with no shoulder to walk on when oncoming traffic approached. It was slow going and painful. The thought that I still had to walk on tar up to Sodwana, was worrying me.
But then, just before I turned into Mtubatuba, Nick, a local businessman, stopped me to ask if I had accommodation for the night. Johnny from Balito had already arranged a place with his friend, Joe Pacheco, in St Lucia, and transport from Mtubatuba with another friend, Marind Scheepers. As Nick and I were chatting, he brought my attention to a group of young men who had also stopped by the road and were walking towards us.
Can you imagine my surprise when I recognised about half of our national cricket team?!
Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, AB De Villiers, Albie & Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn and Roelof Van Der Merwe. And they wanted to chat to me! Wow, I thought the situation was turned around and I told them as much. If I had known it was them in the minibus, I would have stopped them to have my picture with them. But now THEY wanted photo’s with ME? AB even recorded a short video interview with me on his cell phone! And they are really great guys!
The last two kilometres into Mtubatuba was quick, I was pumped up after my meeting with the Proteas. In town, I knew I had to go to Supaquick, where Marinda worked. From there we went to St Lucia, where Joe’s house is.
Joe was out of town,but he had already arranged that I have dinner at his restaurant. It was great, one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever eaten.
29/5/09
I had decided to try one more time to get permission from Isimangaliso Wetlands Park, to walk along the coast from here, but all the contacts I phoned, could not help me. By the time I had given up, it was too late to get back to Mtubatuba to continue. Marinda and Jacques had already invited me to stay over with them if I needed to spend a second night in St Lucia, so I phoned her to confirm. I had lost a day, but the rest did me a world of good.
30/5/09
Although it was Saturday, Marinda had to go to work in Mtubatuba, as she had to close off the books for month end, so I got a lift with her. Just after we arrived in Mtubatuba, I phoned Hugh, owner of Makhakhatana Lodge, to confirm that I would take his offer to overnight there. He was very disappointed, but they were not going to be there for the weekend. But he helped me much more than that, because as it happened, he was chatting to a friend of his, who was none other than the CEO of Isimangaliso. Andrew Zaloumis was unaware of my application for access through the Park, but he immediately gave me permission to proceed. Not only that, but he even invited to spend the night at his home at Mission Rocks!
Now my dilemma was to get back to St Lucia and Marinda still had to work until noon. But this was not too serious, seeing as Mission Rocks is only 14km from St Lucia. So I waited for Marinda to finish and then we drove back to St Lucia. I said goodbye to her and Jacques and then set off for Mission Rocks. The beach was deserted and beautiful, high dunes with dense vegetation cover, ran all the way up the coast above the beach, as far as the eye could see. It was such a wonderful feeling to be walking in unspoilt natural surroundings again, no other people or vehicles in sight. And sand under my feet!
I covered the distance to mission Rocks in just over two hours and Andrew, his son, Eman, daughter, Georgina and a few of her friends were waiting on the rocks for me. It was Georgie’s eleventh birthday party and up at the house it was a hive of activity with all the girls running, playing, laughing around the yard. Eman also had a friend, Nick, and the two boys had a hard time holding on to their sanity amongst all the girls.
The house is situated on top of some of the highest dunes in the area, almost 200 metres above the surrounding area, facing inland and overlooking the vast flat terrain of Lake St Lucia. The view is breathtaking and the sunset was one of the most spectacular ones I have ever seen.
The birthday party continues deep into the night and Andrew and I found refuge at the fire, talking about nature in general, our individual past experiences and what I could expect to encounter along this stretch of coastline.
31/5/09
After breakfast, Andrew and Tracy drove me and all the kids down to the beach again. Most of the kids wanted to go on the old shortwheel base landrover, but for safety sake, Andrew insisted that we split the load between two vehicles. It was a sight to see, as at Seula, how kids enjoy the simple things when taken into the bush. I am pretty sure that any one of these girls would rather sit down for dental surgery than being dropped at school in an old jeep like this. But here, in the Zululand bush, it was the biggest treat.
Down at the beach, the kids immediately engaged in reconstructing an old deserted fisherman shelter. It was just a rough frame of driftwood and the beach was full of branches and wood that had recently washed up, which they eagerly dragged closer. No fancy toys, no electronic gadgets, just a few pieces of wood and discarded rope. And the genuine fun they were having, was obvious.
They all gathered for a photograph with me and then I set off, everyone waving and shouting best wishes. My target for the day was Cape Vidal, one of the campsites in the Isimangaliso Wetlands Park. Andrew had arranged overnight facilities for me there.
I have been told that the coast starts getting really wild from here and I soon got the message in all the signs around me. The high dunes running parallel to the beach, are covered by dense dune forests and I saw game trails everywhere. Before I had gone two kilometres, I saw the first leopard tracks in the sand. They were clearly defined and fresh. The leopard had come out of the bush, jumped down a 1,5m embankment and then followed the beach for at least three kilometres before turning up into the dunes again. It was a very exciting feeling, knowing that I was walking through real wild bushveld. Bushbuck and mongoose tracks were abundant and I saw more leopard tracks twice during the day. But the most amazing creatures were the hundreds of thousands of goast crabs, running back and forth, from their holes on the beach, to the shelter of the shallow water. As far as the eye could see, was this pink line of crabs. I found them very amusing and they became my constant companions, a continuous source of interest and entertainment. I often caught myself laughing out loud at their antics.
Just as I spotted the Cape Vidal lighthouse high above me, I met a couple walking towards me. It was Dan and Trish Lecordeur, on holiday in the tranquil surrounds of Cape Vidal. It seemed that they were as interested in seeing leopard and just as amused by the crabs. We were going in different directions so I pushed on towards the camp.
Arriving at Cape Vidal, I encountered a hive of activity. It was Sunday afternoon and many of the weekend fishermen were packing up and preparing to go home. I asked the security guard where I could find Leo Frankel, with whom Andrew had arranged my campsite. As we spoke, Leo happened to come driving along. He was slightly sceptical about my mission, but very helpful and friendly, and before long, I was on my way, not to a camp site, but to one of the comfortable log cabins! On our way there, we walked past Dan and Trish’s cabin. They had, by then, returned from their walk, and shouted a dinner invitation to me. We arranged for 19h00, which gave me enough time to shower and relax on the deck of the cabin for a while. My cabin was at the far end of the complex and the bath through the bush was spectacular. Before leaving for dinner, I made sure that I had my little flashlight with me, as it would be pitch dark by the time I return.
Dan is an Anglican minister and Trish a pharmacist from Pietermaritzburg, using every opportunity to get away to the bush. This was their first visit to Cape Vidal. Dan insists on sleeping outside in his hammock, wherever they venture. He says he gets clausterphobic indoors. Trish recons it is because he snores too much. But that is why he doesn’t feel threatened by the resident leopard in the camp, he counters: “My snoring scares the wits out of them!”
Trish’s peri-peri chicken was a winner and with my sinuses scorched clear, we sat chatting until well after 10pm, before I said goodnight and walked back to my cabin. Falling asleep in these tranquil surrounds was a matter of seconds.
1/6/09
Leo had arranged with me to meet him and Selwyn Naidoo at the office at 8h00. I was surprised to see Selwyn waiting for me with a notebook and camera. He wanted to do an article for the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife newsletter. He and Leo then presented me with an Ezemvelo anorack and with a final few words of advice, they saw me off.
I would have no water until I get to Sodwana, 68km further along the coast, so I filled my waterbottles, a mere 4,5l. That gave me 1,5l per day. Not much, but the third day would be a short one and I calculated that I should get there before noon.
The unspoilt beaches in this area are spectacular and being there all by myself, was soul enriching. The only humans I saw, was Bheki, a huge Zulu anti-poaching officer and his partner. Both carried R5 military rifles and were clearly seasoned bush men.
At Levin point, I made a simple camp on one of the lower dunes above the beach. As always, I made a point of not disturbing the environment. My needs are simple, I would sleep on the sand, make no fire and break no branches. Whatever litter I create, would go back in my bag until I find a proper rubbish bin. My philosophy is “leave no trace”. It gets dark early here in the east and by 18h30 I was in my sleeping bag, staring up at the stars and listening to the little night sounds. Life is good!
2/6/09
Before the sun rose over the Indian ocean, I was up and packed. Boiling a cup of water on my little gas cooker, I sat on the dune, watching the sunrise changing the colours of the sea from dark blue to red, to orange to turquoise. Then I went down to the beach and walked off in the still cool morning air. There was no wind, the tide was low and the sand was firm, so by the time I reached Red Sands, my planned camp for the night, it was only 14h00. It would be senseless for me to sit here all afternoon, so I kept going and just before dark I found a sheltered area amongst some bushes at the foot of the dunes. As I started unpacking my food, I heard a vehicle approaching. It was Selwyn. He was on a beach patrol and decided to see how I was doing. But he also brought me a coke, chocolate bar and 2l of water, just to be safe. Thanks Selwyn!
Again, I enjoyed a clear cool night of star gazing, until I fell asleep.
3/6/09
Another glorious sunrise greeted me as I rolled out of my sleeping bag. There was no rush to get going, as I was only 12km from Sodwana, so I just sat there on the beach, enjoying the scenery, for another half an hour.
Eventually, I got up and started towards Sodwana.
After just more than an hour of walking, I saw a 4x4 approaching. At first I thought it might be a KZN Wildlife patrol, but then it dawned on me that they do not paint their vehicles red. It turned out to be two local residents, Herman and Andre, who had gotten permission from the authorities to scout how I was progressing. It seems that Sodwana had been waiting for me! The whole primary school met us on the beach and after showering me with questions, walked the last 2km to the main beach with me. This was by far the biggest welcoming I’ve had to any town on my journey so far! By the time we arrived in Sodwane, Herman had invited me to stay over at their home, I had lunch sponsored at the Beach Kiosk and had a microlight flight arranged for the next day (a rest day to accommodate a Rapport interview with Gerhard De Bruin)
Sodwana was fast becoming my favourite community!
Herman threw som steaks on the braai, and after a geat dinner, I went to the local christian cell group meeting, where I again had the opportunity to give my testimony.
It was with a feeling of peace and gratitude that I fell asleep after a long chat with Herman, Monica and their daughter, Simone.
