Chinsta is one of the last stretches of the Wild Coast and I decided to come here because I loved the stunning scenery of the Wild Coast first time round at Coffee Bay and also because a few people have said it is really not to be missed. My tight time schedule means I have had to miss out Hogsback and East London but apparently the latter is pretty grim so I am only gutted about the first.
Mandela's house.
Once I had arrived and settled in to the hostel I booked myself onto a couple of activities and joined the communal dinner which happened to be an Indian buffett. So curry again! I met a couple of people at dinner and then spent my evening having casual drinks in the bar with them but they were all leaving the next day. I had another fairly early night but the heat made sleeping pretty difficult which was extremely frustrating.
View from the reception area of the lodge of the bay and lagoon.
Blue dorm where I stayed. It was separated into two rooms with about 4 beds in each which was nice compared to some of the bigger dorms I've stayed in.
The next morning, after my fruit salad with a view for breakfast, I joined a group of people from the hostel to go horse riding on Chinsta beach. I was on a lovely chestnut called Frodo who was amazingly speedy which was brilliant. We rode through a tiny bit of bush land downhill to the beach, across the slightly rocky bit onto pure and pristine sandy beaches. We went quite far down the beach, passing the lagoon and part of the bay you can see from the hostel.
Amazing view to enjoy along with my fruit salad.
Frodo getting a lil' excited to be on the beach.
And having a doze here when we gave the horses a break in the heat.
There was a big group of us with eleven horses in total and it looked quite spectacular looking back from the front seeing all these horses along the beachfront. Five of the riders were beginners so they stayed with one volunteer whilst we took the other horses for a canter and gallop which was incredible. It's always enjoyable galloping a horse but getting to ride surrounded by such beautiful scenery was a real treat. Unfortunately, due to the humidity and hot weather we couldn't run the horses as much as the guide wanted to because they were sweating out. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant ride and I'm so glad I waited to do a beach ride in such a spectacular setting.
The motley crew.
Views of the beach on the ride and the ever present mist.
Riding back up towards the hostel.
The afternoon was spent cooling down in the pool and meeting other guests. At 4pm each day the hostel runs a free activity which involves free wine. Obviously I signed myself up for that, free wine, who wouldn't?! The activity that day was sundowners on a sand dune and then walking back along the beach to the hostel. The weather had been misty all day so it wasn't clear for sunset but that didn't reall matter. After the trek up the sand dunes the wine and company was good enough. There was one bit of the dunes that was so steep that you end up climbing using your hands too, whilst sand is giving away underneath you meaning that you are slipping downwards too.. That was difficult work.
About halfway through the epic sand dune trek.
View from the top of the sand dune looking at the steepest bit of the climb.
I was drinking a wine sundowner whilst watching the sun go down and the mist creep across the shore.
When we left the dune and we were walking back along the beach we did see a pretty incredible sunset. It was definitely not a conventional one but the setting sun combined with the mist and the sand dunes led to one of the coolest and most ethereal, magical sunsets I've ever experienced. I don't really feel the photos below do it justice. I've thought that often about many things when writing this blog that although I've captured the image of the moment it is never complete.
For instance, there was a slight drizzle from the mist making it a bit chilly, I had goosebumps and our clothes were pretty damp. Also a couple of minutes before this we'd gone in the sea which was freezing. The sea water was sticky on my calves and some had splashed up above my knees drenching my leggings. The smell of salty sea water was in the air and the wind was whipping my hair into some frenzied mess. The sand covered my feet, was between my toes and was the kind that you sank into. That coupled with good company and the red plastic cup in my hand with the remains of wine was the moment this photo was taken. I already write essays as it is so I can't ever describe each photo like this and it forever feels incomplete, just a snapshot.
I love the pastel colours present in all these photos compared to the normal vivid colours of an African sunset.
That evening I joined in with the big dinner again as I had nothing to cook and we had a delicious spaghetti. I'm sure subconsciously I never buy food as I know my cooking would never match up to what some of the hostels have to offer! After dinner we migrated to the bar and spent the evening drinking and playing pool with some of the staff members and more long term guests which was great fun.
On Thursday my onwards bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until 5pm so I was able to spend my day at the hostel. In the morning I relaxed by the pool soaking up the sun which finally made an appearance. One of the guys who is staying in the hostel and is from around the area made me a lovely beaded bracelet in the traditional Xhosa turquoise colour. It's been made to size with fishing wire so I don't think it's coming off anytime soon, not that I'm overly bothered by that.
What a gorgeous day.
Perfect pool weather.
In the afternoon I joined a cultural tour of the local area which included visits to a Xhosa village, East Chinsta township and Emerald Vale micro brewery. The first stop was Ngxingxolo, the Xhosa village, where we visited Mama Tofu, a 94 year old matriarch who is working on keeping Xhosa traditions alive. We learnt many things from her although sometimes the conversation was a little bit hard to follow as wild tangents were followed and what we were originally talking about was totally forgotten until about 10 minutes later.
Mama Tofu teaching us about Xhosa traditions and customs in a rondavel.
Mama Tofu was extremely feisty, definitely preferring the women in our group whilst condemning the men and the Xhosa way of life which saw the women doing much of the work and not being recognised as ancestors... Or that was what she seemed to be saying. Her other advice centered around love and how to find a husband which follows four steps:
1. Asking them what is their clan - to ensure you are not already related
2. To ask them if they are already married
3. Find out where they live
4. Find out where they work
Along with this, one should never let a man try and kiss you in public as it makes people talk and implies you are not pure. Also, you are never to say you love a man before getting answers to the four questions above because if you do you may be marrying the wrong one. It was interesting if a little bit difficult to follow properly.
Beyond giving us all lessons in love Mama Tofu valiantly tried to teach us some Xhosa (often referred to as the clicking language) with varying degrees of success. The click letters are c, x and q which each make a different sound. For those interested, the c represents dental clicks, x is lateral clicks and q is post-alveolar clicks. That means nothing to me, I was shown the sounds but had to turn to Wiki to help me describe them. Either way, it is an incredible language and extremely difficult to pick up. I can just about say Xhosa, meaning I get it right once in about every three attempts!
Mama Tofu and I after she berated us for not asking to have a photo taken with her. What a lady.
The rest of our time in Ngxingxolo with Mama Tofu was spent trying our hands at manual labour, grinding maize down into powder, browsing the women's craft work and watching and participating in dancing and singing with the local girls. As well as striving to keep Xhosa traditions alive and well, Mama Tofu and her daughter have provided a home for many orphans who have lost their parents due to the prevalence of Aids and HIV. They are both incredible, wonderful women and it was an experience to visit Ngxingxolo and humbling to meet everyone there.
Having a go at grinding maize whilst the local children sang for me. This would occur to newly wedded women.
The rondavel where woman would go if they were sick. They stay behind the screen for a month and work on their beads and crafts and the children sing to them each day. I couldn't work out if they meant sick or pregnant but either way... Maybe both.
The dancing and singing put on by the children.
Our next stop was the nearby township. I find these kind of tours quite odd as essentially we are walking past peoples houses and where they live and just taking photos of it. Despite this it is still extremely interesting as the way of life and living is completely different.
Some houses in the township. Some are government built after apartheid ended and others were built by the people. This had led to issues of who should receive funding and help with maintenance.
A clapped out car. Thankfully we didn't ruin Matt's this badly!
More houses sprawled across the hillside.
Pigs in the playground. All the animals wonder round and are not clearly marked which again causes problems amongst the community with accusations of theft.
After walking through part of the township we piled back into the bus to visit the Emerald Vale micro brewery established in 2012. We had an interesting tour where we were talked through the manufacturing process, not that I remember much about what was said, and after we could try a sample of all four of the ales they produce. It was a good part of the day but definitely something my father and brother would have appreciated a lot more than me seeing as I don't actually like ale. I did try them all though which is progress.
The awesome logo for Emerald Vale brewery.
The four ales they produce: (from l-r) pale, gold, amber and dark. I didn't really like any of them but I think the gold would be my favourite if I had to pick!
Upon returning to the hostel I had to sit around for the bus which turned out to be an hour late this time. The ensuing journey turned out to be a bit of a disaster but that's a story for the next blog.
Until next time.
A x
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