Our first stop on our way to Shelly Beach, Margate was at the Savoy Hotel in Mthata which is the traditional ‘capital’ of the Eastern Cape’s Xhosa people and Nelson Mandela’s homeland. It’s about a 3 hour drive into the interior from East London. During the Apartheid era, it was the capital of the Transkei. We were told that in this part of the country, the women wear ochre-coloured dresses with turbans, wire bracelets and white clay on their faces and bodies. They carry jars of water on their heads and domestic animals dawdle along the road sides. We only saw a couple of these celebrated ladies (without water jars but with bowls of oranges or pineapples instead) but we did see plenty of cows, goats, sheep and horses dawdling on the road sides. There seems to be no attempt to fence or tether the animals which must be in constant danger from the fairly heavy traffic that belts along the highway. Indeed, on day two of our journey, not only did we see a dead donkey and a dead horse, we very nearly hit a cow which decided to cross the road just as we approached it. Even though we must have been travelling at least 60 mph, Mike somehow managed to stop just a few inches from the animal - which looked at us curiously, blinked and then continued on its hazardous journey.
It was an interesting drive from East London to Mthata across the mountains; much of the land is green and lush and everywhere there are tiny Xhosa villages dotted across the landscape as far as the eye can see
. Apart from the livestock, there is no real evidence of any proper farming, despite the fertile land. Sadly, the Savoy Hotel did not live up to the standards of its namesake in London and is part of a busy shopping and service station complex. However, it was relatively clean, comfortable and secure. Breakfast was served in Mike’s Kitchen, which specialises in T-bone steaks and burgers. We did not once see a white face in Mthata but the people were so friendly and welcoming everywhere.
The next morning we motored on to Kokstad which is a very ancient town founded by white settlers in the 1800’s. However, the whites have long since left and Kokstad is another black town. We climbed higher and higher up into the Drakenberg mountains and the land became browner and barer but nevertheless, the colourful Xhosa villages still dominated the landscape in all directions. In Kokstad there is still some evidence of colonial times - a bandstand and a cathedral, a bowling club and a golf club
. We had lunch at the golf club which was very good indeed but it was to be the last meal of the day as we found the guest house I had booked did not serve dinners and we were warned not to walk out at night. However, Lindela House was a lovely old colonial style house with beautiful wooden floors and high ceilings built in 1901. That is very old by South African standards!
As we left Kokstad on Tuesday morning we were astonished to find that almost immediately, the countryside changed from brown and barren to heavily forested rolling green hills, and the valleys were planted out with crops. There were no Xhosa villages at all and the land appeared to be very well cultivated and maintained. As we approached Margate, it became green, lush and beautiful with palm trees and flowering shrubs everywhere. We have now left the Wild Coast and are in Kwazulu-Natal, home to the Zulu Africans.
Shelly Beach in Margate is much more like the Western Cape than any of the towns we have visited on the Eastern Cape so far; very prosperous with more than its fair share of whites
. Our exchange house perches on top of a hill overlooking the sea surrounded by superb, mature gardens. It is the home of Kogita Pillay, a wealthy and beautiful Indian lady and her partner, Mike, who is from Lancashire and moved to South African some ten years ago. We have been allocated a pretty, two bedroom cottage in their garden. They have two pools (one of which is for our use) and a very beautiful, extensive house. There is a Porsche parked in the driveway but Mike gets about on a beat-up scooter. Mike has been married three times before and is currently being milked by the last - a Russian that he met via the internet. He plans to marry Kogita who thinks he is 14 years younger than he actually is! On the first evening evening he insisted we joined him and a lady friend for drinks and he downed four whiskeys even faster than my Mike can! He then wanted to take us all out to the ‘pub’ for a meal but we declined as his choice of transport was for us to be ferried there on his scooter. He and his lady friend disappeared off into the night and we went home to our own little braii
.
Kogita has been in Durban on business all week; she runs a successful business selling Omni, a natural progesterone cream. She arrived home on Friday night and they invited themselves round for a drink. Interesting to meet this clever and attractive women.
We have spent a couple of days on Shelly Beach which is gorgeous; lovely golden sands and huge breakers, along with a very nice beach restaurant serving excellent fish, sushi and Thai dishes. It is very hot but the wind by the sea keeps the temperature down to an agreeable level.
On Saturday we visited the Butterfly Farm in Ramsgate which was very disappointing. Our tour started with a video about a butterfly that flies from Canada to Mexico and then a lightening tour by a guide who proudly showed us various caterpillars and just-hatched butterflies in rather grubby little glass boxes and then left us to enjoy the gardens. They were pretty but there were very few butterflies; maybe it was too hot or the wrong time of the year but we soon got bored and went off in search of lunch. On the way back to Margate we discovered Pebble Beach which has an excellent restaurant overlooking the bay. The surf was huge and the sharks a real danger but no-one seems to take much notice
.
On Monday we drove the 20k to Port Edward - an interesting drive through acres and acres of banana plantations and other lush vegetation. Port Edward is not a port at all but a pretty little bay and not much else. The only beach restaurant was closed but driving back up the hill we saw a sign saying ‘ Ice cold beers on tap’ which sounded too good to resist. A very English expression and not surprisingly, the pub/B&B was run by a Yorkshire couple from Whitby! Glyn and Blodwyn have been in SA for 13 years and love every minute of it. We exchanged many happy memories of life in Yorkshire and had quite a laugh. Amazing who you meet. They sent us on to their favourite pub for lunch and we had the best SA curry we have had - albeit overlooking a car park.
This is the rainy season and although it is very hot, we have experienced a couple of impressive storms with rain bucketing down
. No wonder everything is so green and lush. Yesterday we discovered there was an ‘Ocean Basket’ (our favourite chain of restaurants in SA) and we had lunch there, overlooking the sea, but in a shopping mall. And then we went to the cinema, just because we could.
Today is our 48th wedding anniversary and we used our ‘selfi-stick’ (a Christmas present from Victoria) to take this photograph to commemorate this fairly amazing achievement.
Tomorrow we move on to Umzumbe - another coastal town in Kwazulu-Natal south of Durban. Our exchangers there have offered to pick us up from here so all we have to do is take the hire car back to the airport and meet them there. We find the South Africans so kind and helpful.
Thank you for all your lovely comments; with some help from the TravelPod people, I can now answer them all. I have also made our blog private and it will only go to friends and family on our mailing list so feel free to say whatever you like!
KwaZulu-Natal and Margate-by-the-Sea
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Shelly Beach, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Other Entries
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1The wait was worth it!
Jan 0819 days priorGraaff-Reinet, South Africaphoto_camera20videocam 0comment 6 -
2Chilling out on the Wild Coast
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3KwaZulu-Natal and Margate-by-the-Sea
Jan 27Shelly Beach, South Africaphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 14 -
4Photos from Shelly Beach
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5Beach Bums!
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Comments

2025-02-14
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Phil and Jan
2016-01-27
48yrs ,Congratulations!!
Once again enjoying reading about your travels and adventures
Take Care
Phil and Jan
gillie.bowen
2016-01-28
Thanks Phil and Jan - having a great time!
mike farland
2016-01-28
Dear Gillie and Mike,
I am following your SA travels with much interest and even more laughs! I can imagine being at least 14 years younger! In my mind at least! An amazing anniversary and my very very best wishes to even more great years! Keep posting!
Love
Mike xx
gillie.bowen
2016-01-28
Thanks Mike; we think it's a pretty amazing milestone, too!
Victoria
2016-01-28
Happy 48th wedding anniversary - a fabulous achievement and another one is working out how to use your selfie stick!!! Well done! Love you both and am so proud of you both having the time of your life's together - can't wait till its me and Matts turn xxxx
Victoria
2016-01-28
Happy 48th wedding anniversary - a fabulous achievement and another one is working out how to use your selfie stick!!! Well done! Love you both and am so proud of you both having the time of your life's together - can't wait till its me and Matts turn xxxx
gillie.bowen
2016-01-28
Thanks darling. Hey, it will soon be your turn; just keep working hard and save a few pennies from time to time!