DAY 5 10 km

Tshani to Coffee Bay

We sit outside and feast on vetkoek, pap and scrambled eggs. Sheep graze next to the hut. In the distance, a truck rumbles past. We pass one last family hotel typical of the Wild Coast, the Anchorage Hotel, and walk along another deserted beach. We cross the Mthatha River by boat and hike over the hills towards Coffee Bay. I watch a woman stomping her laundry in a skottel while sending a WhatsApp voice note. Under the sign that says “Welcome to Coffee Bay Beach”, we say goodbye to Yongama and the porters. I’m going to miss this place: the clucking chickens, the barking dogs, neighbours chatting among themselves; being welcomed with a smile and bread fresh from the oven; coffee and tea prepared in a pot over the fire; a cold Zamalek… I feel at home here, not just geographically but in my own skin. That’s why I’ll come back to do this trail in a few years’ time – it makes you fall in love with South Africa all over again.