PICS: John Maytham goes on Wild Coast adventure to GweGwe Beach Lodge 'dream destination'

It was my most dramatic arrival ever at a holiday destination. I could have driven, but the roads aren't great and you need time. I could have arrived by private plane or helicopter, but that’ll have to await the winning of the Lotto.

I decided to arrive by boat.

It's not the choice for everybody perhaps, but I could not resist the thrill of the adventure. The sardine run was in full swing, the sea and weather conditions were perfect, and a swim under a waterfall was waiting – and that was only the beginning of the fabulous visit to Wild Coast’s GweGwe Beach Lodge, the latest addition to the stunning Natural Selection safari lodges and camps portfolio. Located on a 5000-hectare private concession within the Mkambati Nature Reserve, GweGwe is a dream destination, made even more so by visiting during the sardine run.

Leaving the beach of Port Edward with the sun rising on the horizon, I could not anticipate the wildlife riches we would encounter on the two-hour boat trip to the Mkambati River mouth. Hundreds of Bottle-nosed and Common Dolphins, Hump-backed Whales by the dozen and pelagic bird riches I’ve never seen that close to shore. Twenty different species feast on the schools of sardines beneath the surface of the sparkling sea.

The boat surfed a wave into the mouth of the Mkambati River. I jumped into the water and swam to the rocky shore, where a GweGwe guide waited. 

After a short scramble up the side of the first waterfall, and then, following the Maytham tradition of immersion in any body of water I visit, I dived straight back in again to swim under the tumbling water of the second, and higher, waterfall, simultaneously taking in the breath-taking view of the bay and ocean below.

Then the grateful acceptance of the towel, the coffee, and the snacks that were part of this unusual welcome to Paradise. A 2.5 km hike to the lodge followed. Although this is the Pondoland coast, not the landscape of Ixopo, it was impossible not to be reminded of Alan Paton’s immortal words in Cry, The Beloved Country: “These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it.”

At the Lodge, I was welcomed by the singing staff with a refreshment towel and a glass of bubbly. As I found out later, for most of them, GweGwe is a new chapter in their life’s adventure. The lodge employs locals from the nearby villages, allowing them to gain skills, earn proper wages and work towards the protection of the astounding piece of land they call home, which visitors discover is a small paradise on earth.

I was touched by the story of one woman who had her first-ever cup of coffee when she started working at the lodge …

The lodge includes nine en-suite rooms (seven twin deluxe suites, and two family suites). Architecturally integrated into the beauty of the surroundings, each suite includes a double vanity, a bathtub, indoor and outdoor showers, a fireplace and a lounge area. Outside, a garden, a private deck and a small pool with exquisite ocean views await the weary traveller, offering a place of calm and rest.

Calm and rest if you want, and plenty of activities if that’s your desire. Game drives with knowledgeable guides offer a couple of hours of viewing the exquisite landscape while understanding the web of plant, insect and animal life that pulls everything together into a sustainable whole.

There are not many large animals, though there are zebra, eland, gemsbok and red hartebeest, as well as other, shyer and smaller, herbivores. The bird list is extensive and interesting.

Frog hunters are spoiled for choice with gems like the Knysna leaf-folding frog Afrixalus knysnae, the Natal chirping frog Arthroleptella hewitti and bush squeaker Arthroleptis wahlbergi. The yellow-striped reed frog Hyperolius semidiscus, forest tree frog Leptopelis natalensis and plaintive rain frog Breviceps verrucosus have also been recorded.

There is a high level of plant endemism in Mkhambathi, and Pondoland Scarp Forest, one of the rarest forest types in Africa, supports an endemic family, Rhychocalycaceae, with the false water-berry Rhynchocalyx lawsonioides growing here. The endangered Pondo palm Jubaeopsis caffra is known only from this area, where it grows along the banks of the Msikaba and Mtentu rivers. The general point is that while guided drives or walks might not present Big Five and charismatic animal sightings, there is more than enough diversity and beauty and strangeness to wonder at and to have explained by guides intimately steeped in the lore of the place.

You can ride a mountain bike along some challenging and view-rich trails; kayak with kingfishers at sunrise, snorkel and picnic on a picture-perfect beach with not another human being in sight. Unfortunately, there were other human beings in sight when I made my many attempts to stand up and move forward on a SUP. Many attempts - all of them failed. The observers had the good grace to avert their eyes and hide their smiles.

There was the consolation of disappearing into the riverine forest for a soak in the most perfectly located hot tub I have ever experienced. Not far from that is a spa, also integrated into this enchanted garden and also providing an immediate sense of release and calm. And that’s before the treatment even starts.

After every activity, I returned to a delicious meal and a great selection of wine from a cellar, open for guests to browse and enjoy whenever we felt like a glass of something special.

Candlelight dinner on the beach one evening was a highlight. Everything on offer strikes a wonderful balance between sheer relaxation and the possibility of adventure.

One gorgeous morning, I did nothing for several hours, other than laze in bed, watching pods of dolphins surfing the waves of the bay, thirty metres from where I lay. Olympic gold medals for them all. Other visitors went out to dive with the sardines and came back glowing with amazing photographs and videos to share.

I returned home revitalised and enchanted, and my love of the Wild Coast deepened.

GweGwe’s existence is not without controversy. This is part of the Wild Coast which has historically had unencumbered access to its beauty spots. Where the Lodge now blends into the environment was where families from the wider region used to pitch their tents for family holidays, and the cliff and beach boundary of the reserve was freely traversed by people staying outside of it, many detouring to take in the spectacular waterfalls that are part of this untamed landscape.

That access is now – and this is an important distinction – not forbidden, but regulated. Day visitors are still welcome, but only by prior arrangement, and on payment of a conservation/entry fee.

A tiny bit of the area’s rich history is now relevant. In 1920, the local Pondo people were forcibly moved out of the area and a leper hospital was established. That hospital became a tuberculosis facility when leprosy was brought under control. In 1977, the area became a formal provincial nature reserve and wildlife was reintroduced.

In early 2000, seven villages inland from Mkambati formed The Mkambati Land Trust and lodged a land claim to have returned to them the land that had been inhabited for many centuries by their ancestors. That claim was successful, and ownership of Mkambati is now in the hands of those villagers.

This is an important point to keep in mind. It’s their land. Their private property, which surely entitles them to use that private property as they see fit. They decided to entrust the co-management of the northern part of the Reserve to a newly formed entity, Mkambati Matters, with Natural Selection and Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism (ECPTA) as the implementing partners.

(A brief aside – driving from the Mkambati Matters concession into the southern section which still falls under the control of Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism is a chalk-and-cheese experience, and explains why the Mkambati villagers want that section of the park concessioned as well.)

In addition, the Mkambati Land Trust has agreed to expand Mkambati Reserve by around 40% and committed the use of the reserve in perpetuity for conservation in return for the financial benefits and jobs that the reserve will create.

And those benefits are significant and obvious. 9% of Lodge turnover (total revenue, not income minus expenses) goes to the Trust and conservation. There are also plans being put in place to start and scale community-owned businesses to supply the Lodge with products and services. The kitchen is supplied by national retail chains many kilometres and hours away. It makes so much more sense to set up community gardens along with the necessary training.

The potential for meaningful economic upliftment in the villages surrounding the reserve is clear.

There is also the registration as a Section 18a PBO entity of the Mkambati Conservation and Community NPC. This entity will receive all park fees and daily visitor charges, as well as a further 1% of GweGwe turnover. This money will help fund the conservation of the reserve and help finance and manage upliftment projects within the communities.

It is always sad when areas of such natural beauty become less affordable or completely unaffordable for locals, but I am convinced, after five days in the area, and after many conversations with locals in my (surprisingly still serviceable) isiXhosa, that the current situation is the optimal balance between preserving a very special environment and doing so in a way that offers an extremely high-class visitor experience, while maximising the potential for economic and developmental benefits for the owners of the land.

And, keep in mind, there is a SADC rate that allows locals a 50% discount. I can’t wait to go back. Maybe this time, I’ll master the SUP.