Having ventured in most directions from Port Elizabeth, the far north-east of the Eastern Cape remained one of the few unexplored regions. Paul and Heather kindly invited us to join them at their beach house in Southbroom for the Easter long weekend, which not only was an attractive offer alone, it also enabled us to drive through the Transkei.
The Transkei, meaning the area beyond the river Kei, is most famously known as the birthplace of Nelson Mandela. It was previously an area set aside for Xhosa speaking people. The region became a nominally independent state in 1976; however, joined the Eastern Cape in April 1994 after becoming a participant in the CODESA negotiations for a new South Africa.
The Transkei is a distinct area covering 45,000 square-km sandwiched between the Indian Ocean and the Drakensburg Mountain Range. No doubt due to its history, the region appears very poor with infrastructure, agriculture and development. The inland N2 highway is one of the few tarred roads which traverse through to the hilly region from near East London to the neighbouring province of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
It was quite a fascinating region to drive through as it is so undeveloped. Tiny houses and huts dotted the entire region, with hundreds of houses visible at any time in all directions. There was hardly any agriculture so we can only assume that the people are quite poor, living basically, and within their means (the opposite to how a lot of South Africans live!). There is no fencing so the minimal livestock we did see was mostly grazing on the side of the road. Pete did a great job of ensuring a safe return drive by successfully navigating through the stray donkey's, vervet monkey's, warthog, sheep and cows!
Each town we passed through in the Transkei was a shambles and definite reminder of our travels through South-East Asia. We may as well have been invisible given the dodging required to go around the hundreds of locals and predominantly taxi's which used the road as a side walk! We were experiencing a new side of South Africa where there was no evidence of Dutch or English settlement.
The Easter Bunny brought Harrison an early gift - a bucket full of beach toys which he loved playing with.
The Burger's beach house hidden within the tropical jungle
Mmmm... chocolate... (apparently the foil even tastes good!)
Harrison exploring the garden during his Easter Egg hunt
The Transkei, meaning the area beyond the river Kei, is most famously known as the birthplace of Nelson Mandela. It was previously an area set aside for Xhosa speaking people. The region became a nominally independent state in 1976; however, joined the Eastern Cape in April 1994 after becoming a participant in the CODESA negotiations for a new South Africa.
The Transkei is a distinct area covering 45,000 square-km sandwiched between the Indian Ocean and the Drakensburg Mountain Range. No doubt due to its history, the region appears very poor with infrastructure, agriculture and development. The inland N2 highway is one of the few tarred roads which traverse through to the hilly region from near East London to the neighbouring province of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
It was quite a fascinating region to drive through as it is so undeveloped. Tiny houses and huts dotted the entire region, with hundreds of houses visible at any time in all directions. There was hardly any agriculture so we can only assume that the people are quite poor, living basically, and within their means (the opposite to how a lot of South Africans live!). There is no fencing so the minimal livestock we did see was mostly grazing on the side of the road. Pete did a great job of ensuring a safe return drive by successfully navigating through the stray donkey's, vervet monkey's, warthog, sheep and cows!
Each town we passed through in the Transkei was a shambles and definite reminder of our travels through South-East Asia. We may as well have been invisible given the dodging required to go around the hundreds of locals and predominantly taxi's which used the road as a side walk! We were experiencing a new side of South Africa where there was no evidence of Dutch or English settlement.
On Thursday afternoon we drove to East London and stayed at a B&B for the night. We then continued the remainder of the 800km arriving at Southbroom mid-afternoon. The humidity as you disembark the car at Southbroom immediately makes you relax and adopt holiday mode! Paul and Heather (& 6 month old Erin) have a great beach house nestled in the tropical jungle with ocean views. Whilst in Southbroom we enjoyed spending time at the beach, exercising or relaxing at the house.
The Easter Bunny brought Harrison an early gift - a bucket full of beach toys which he loved playing with.
The beach at Southbroom is a bit of an institution where all of the holiday makers set up camp for the day on the grassy slopes overlooking the lagoon and bay. Paul went early to secure our spot and we followed shortly once the babies had woken up from their morning naps.
Harrison definitely took an interest in Erin always wanting to know what she was doing. Erin was so excited when she first saw Harrison squealing with delight- very cute. The below photo encapsulates the relationship- a bit of a play together first, then Harrison off to explore!
The Burger's beach house hidden within the tropical jungle
Mmmm... chocolate... (apparently the foil even tastes good!)
Harrison exploring the garden during his Easter Egg hunt
The return drive of 800km took us 9 hours including breaks (ahhh... we will miss travelling in RSA and returning to the more conservative road rules of Australia). Harrison was a great traveller, keeping entertained easily provided one of us occasionally sat with him in the back. Great to meet Erin, explore the Transkei & spend time with Paul and Heather in Southbroom.
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