Category: Transkei

The most dangerous drive in the world

Driving down the coast from Durban on the southern freeway is a delight. It really must be one of the most beautiful drives on the planet as it skirts the coastline and weaves through indigenous thickets and over a stream of rivers and estuaries. And then it all ends. Abruptly. Just after Port Edward. The most dangerous road in my world unfolds as a snakes and ladders affair with huge potholes vying for attention with huge trucks and busses coming the other way. Pull this all together and you survive, but one mistake can cost you dearly. Add into the equation the overpopulated roads filled with kids, adults, dogs, goats, cows, sheep, horses, donkeys and mules! And then they even got the cheek to throw cops at you, with road blocks and all!

Basically, hit two or three of those potholes properly, and you lose one or two tyres. Every time!

Advice – embrace the situation, don’t overtake or get overtaken unnecessarily, give plenty space in front of you so you have a chance to see the potholes coming, and just take it easy up and through the hills of Bizana, Flagstaff and Lusikisiki, because the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, is just a few clicks away. The descent into the lush fruit bowl of the Wild Coast brings it altogether again as the now awesome stretch of road takes you down into the super cool town of Port St. Johns.

There is so much to do in Port St. Johns you could get lost for weeks exploring its treasures. Leaving there south takes you basically along the coast but about 20kms inland. From this easily passable dirt road there are more dirt roads that lead to the many beaches, points and bays of the Wild Coast. Use a GPS and choose your spot. Keep heading south to find New Road that connects to Coffee Bay. In the old days we used to have to drive all the way up to Umtata and then back down to Coffee Bay, so this new connection really opens this stretch of coastline up. The GPS recognizes new road and navigates remarkably well out in the sticks.

But the road is torrid, the heaving rains washed away the dirt in between the rocks so it’s like driving on a pebble highway. Tyres get hammered and this road is where we started our troubles. We had decided to head up to Ngcwanguba Store for supplies and on the way back we got our first flat. Spare tyre out, and a speedy tyre change gets us back on the road. It’s dark, raining and 10kms from home, the next tyre goes?! No choice but to drive very slowly on the rim through the dirt, mud, puddles and dongas to our fleeting home at Mdumbi. Thank goodness for good people and the next day Warren from Cool Banana Spaza Shop at Mdumbi (they sell everything including fishing tackle), took it upon himself to drive the 50kms to Coffee Bay and repair our one reparable tyre. He was so considerate – made us breakfast and insisted that we spend the day walking to Umtata Mouth and back. We grabbed our rods and dogs and for a few hours, once again, got completely wrapped up and lost in the magic of the Kei. Thank you Warren and Noli!

The road up to Umtata…is slightly better than what you will have been accustomed to. You just get a few new ingredients to throw into the mix. The roads were not built with cambers in mind. No, they were just slapped down onto the hills willy nilly so cornering is best done very carefully. The goats and horses pose the next risk, the taxis not to be forgotten, potholes still vex…

Umtata to East London…is a pleasure, after what we have just been through. We got a new tyre in a small town on the way to Viedgesville, where we turned south again. Wide roads mean more time to avoid obstacles like cows and sheep, and the odd darting bush cat.

Having done our business in the Cape, heading home through Umtata, we left Spargs Superspar in Beacon Bay, at 11am. Except for the usual hazards, the trip was uneventful until…

30kms Outside Kokstad, a cop comes screaming up behind me, light and sirens blazing and blaring. I thought he was after me, so pulled over but he just sped on past, really fast. 2kms Further and there he is, stopping all traffic?!

A kilometer ahead are about 30 taxis, a huge crowd, a battalion of police officers. Turns out the taxi operators in the area wanted to put a stop to some impending competition, and as the luckless trio came round the bend ahead, the taxi operators opened fire with 9mm weapons and shot the three to death. Their car careened off the road and the crime scene allowed absolutely no traffic through. Either way.

After an hour, somebody in our queue researched and found a dirt track around the problem. That took an hour of sweat droplets each time we went over a sharp stone or through a pothole. The road was narrow and in places only one car at a time could navigate through. So into Kokstad for some much needed coffee and sustenance, back on the road, and safely home at 7:30pm. 2 Hours late?!