Pondoland by Horseback

We just got back from four days of camping and horseback riding though Pondoland. Pondoland is the area that borders on where we live, and the area I work in (Mbizana- part of the Eastern Cape and former Transkei).

Day 1: The departure point (Mzamba Village) burnt down last week and so we started our trip at the Wild Coast Sun Casino. The fire not only took the offices of Amadiba Adventures, but also the saddle bags and all their equipment. We were not prepared for this because we had over-stuffed our backpacks. We started off walking 1.5 miles down the beach where we met up with the first group of horses. The first day was very long. We rode horses for four hours, maybe more, and made it to the camp after 4pm. The camp was simple, and hot coffee was waiting for us.

The area we passed though is soon to be developed. A new highway is in the design phase and titanium has been found in the area and mines are in the pipeline. The area is so beautiful with red sand, turquoise water, and green brush.

Day 2: We rode to the second camp early, ate lunch, and then made an attempt at canoeing. I say attempt because the canoe paddles were too short- we think that they were kayak paddles. We really struggled with paddling, so we only were in the water for an hour or so. We then relaxed the rest of the day.

Day 3: We hiked 7 miles in Mkambathi Nature Reserve. Our guide, Mandla, explained that this area was a former leper colony before it was turned into a nature reserve. We didn’t see much wildlife, but we did see some awesome waterfalls and a shipwreck.

After our hike we returned back to the camp, ate lunch, and then rode our horses to the next camp (same camp from the first night). We were fortunate that we stayed dry because soon after we arrived at the camp it started to rain!

Day 4: Back to the Wild Coast Sun. We got up early and we managed to miss the rain. We rode back along the beach.