GCALEKA COAST

The Gcaleka Coast is home to two small yet stunning little nature reserves: the Dwesa and the Cweba. The southern- most one, Dwesa, is the oldest nature reserve on the coast. It has spectacular stands of yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius) and white stinkwoods (Celtis africanus), under which graze an impressive array of animals including white rhino, buffalo and eland. The rare mangrove kingfisher flashes from the trees. The reserve has wooden huts on stilts hidden in the trees, and you might find yourself sharing accommodation with a rare tree dassie or two.

The northern one, Cweba, is home to the beautiful Mbanyana Falls. It compensates for its lack of big game by being densely packed with subtropical forest, teeming with samango monkeys and other smaller fauna and flora. Tiny walking trails twist through the forest which opens out onto a wide , beach.

Between the two reserves lies the Mbashe River, known for many years as the Bashee. This river is famous worldwide as being one of the most uncertain water-courses in the world. On its way to the sea it meanders in so many directions that it appears in serious danger of running back uphill, but finally it arrives at a bay which is famous for its fishing . As one gloomy old fisherman said to a newcomer: 'If you don’t catch anything here you’ll never catch anything anywhere!'

At the mouth of the Mbashe is the resort of The Haven, a ramshackle collection of rondavels only a few metres away from the beach. Even when there is no moon the nights are split by the slow sweeping beam of a lighthouse. The silence of the midnight hours is broken by the snorting and breathing of herds of wildebeest and zebra as they come to mow the lawn of the golf course. Just off this coast is where the Greek cruise liner Oceanos sank in August 1992, littering the nearby beaches with the strangest flotsam and jetsam.

To access this region, travel along the N2, then take one of the several small routes to your particular destination.

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Wild Coast Community Tourism Initiative

Postal Address: PO Box 18171, Quigney 5211, South Africa

Physical Address: Tourism Centre, Eastern Cape Tourist Board, Quigney, East London 5211, South Africa

Telephone: +27 43 7222203
Fax: +27 43 7222219
info@wildcoast.org.za