11. Gamtoos River Mouth to Van Stadens River Mouth
22 May 2013
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11. Gamtoos River Mouth to Van Stadens River Mouth
22 May 2013
connecting another dot quickly...
In 2012, I joined the Voetsac Hiking Club in Port Elizabeth (PE) and befriended Marius Meiring, who was a team leader of the club. After many weekend hikes with the club, I told him about my dream of walking the Eastern Cape coastline from Cape St. Francis to Port St. Johns. He was very keen to join me, and we made arrangements for his son to drop us off at Gamtoos River Mouth and later pick us up at Van Stadens River Mouth Resort. A lady named Maureen (also from the hiking club) joined us for the hike.
The walk started at 07:40, and it was still cool and overcast. It’s quite a long walk from the car park area over the dunes before you reach the sea. I took a photo looking west (towards Jeffreys Bay), but the river mouth was not visible - only beach and dunes. From the same spot, I turned east (towards Van Stadens / PE) and saw the overcast weather and the long beach ahead of us for the day’s walk. The weather slowly cleared, and we walked at a relaxed pace for almost two hours before we came across two fishermen who had made an overnight shelter the night before and were still fishing. This was quite intriguing to me since we were in the middle of nowhere, with kilometers of beach on either side and far from any roads. They claimed they were from a nearby farm but had not caught a single fish the whole night. The determination of the human spirit shows up in many forms, if we develop the eyes to see it.
We continued walking, and at 10:00, we stopped for a break and something to eat and drink. So far, it was only sea and sand as the sun grew hotter, with no sign of people, birds, rocks, or even washed-up seaweed or shells - just desert terrain. By this time, I had walked enough to know that these barren stretches are just as crucial to the journey as any of the others - perhaps even more important. To take ground while uninspired - is this not the real walk of life?
The tide didn’t matter, as there was enough beach between the water and the bushes in the far distance or behind the dunes, looking inland. However, in some areas, the sand was soft and made walking difficult, while in others, the sand had washed away, creating small bays with a very uneven shoreline. I didn’t take many photos because there was absolutely nothing to photograph other than my fellow hikers and our footprints. At 11:15, we briefly stopped so I could take a few photos, then we were off again. Luckily, I had company on this hike because it was very monotonous and felt more like completing the stretch of coastline than experiencing and sharing the beauty of nature. There were no plants, animals, rock formations, or flowers—only the sound of waves and 20 kilometers of beach and dunes.
We phoned Marius’ son to collect us, and he could not believe we were nearly at our destination. At 12:00, we walked across the lagoon and towards my waiting green Audi, which was used as transport that day. It had been a very long stretch of beach with nothing in between—not even a fishing spot. I cannot recommend this route to anyone, especially in summer, as there are no water resources either.
