26. Xhora Mouth to Bulungula River Mouth

26. Xhora Mouth to Bulungula River Mouth

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13 November 2023

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landscape as memory​

... fifty years back to Xhora Mouth

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[Xhora Mouth heading north for there and back walk]

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For the first time in over 50 years, since September 1972, I returned to Xhora Mouth. Back then, my dad and I camped there for a weekend, and it was the home village of Alfred, our gardener at the time. Alfred stayed with his family, and we camped in a tent. This time, I had booked The House on the Hill for the night through the internet, and arranged to meet a domestic helper there at 12:00.

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The road leading to Xhora was in terrible condition, full of deep potholes, which upset Cathy as I drove our brand-new Nissan Magnite, still under 1,000 km on the clock, along these rough tracks. We arrived just before noon, and were greeted by two dogs that ran alongside the car all the way to the river mouth. They became a nuisance once I stopped, jumping onto the car doors, scratching them as I tried to chase them off. However, they only barked briefly before enthusiastically returning to lick my feet. There were about eight cottages along the road, but none appeared to be occupied. Unsure which one was ours, I drove slowly back up the road and spotted an unlocked gate. I entered the property and found a friendly and polite domestic worker inside the cottage, making herself lunch on a gas stove.

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The cottage was well-equipped, with stunning views of the river and the beach below. She kindly offered me a paddle ski that was kept in a shed next to the house so that I could cross the full river and walk to Bulungula and back that afternoon.

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We quickly unpacked the car, and I carefully dragged the paddle ski down a steep, grassy slope for about 500 meters to the river. Conscious of my back problem, I made sure to avoid unnecessary bending or straining of muscles. After taking a few photos and a video, I carefully balanced myself on the paddle ski and crossed the river without getting too wet. I hid the paddle about 50 meters from the ski behind a dune and began my walk. It was an overcast day, with rain clouds building in the distance. The tide was high, but I knew there were no more river crossings ahead—just soft sand and limited time to walk the 12 km there and back, with a maximum of four hours to complete the journey.

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I walked briskly, but still took time to appreciate the beauty of my surroundings. Most of the walk was along the beach, and after crossing a high dune an hour into the walk, more beach stretched ahead. At 13:30, I reached Bulungula River Mouth, taking some photos and videos as I recalled my walk six months earlier, on 7 May 2023, when I had reached the same point from the opposite side. One of the best parts of having walked like this, is finding familiar destinations - but from different angles. The river was now full, and the tree stump I had seen exposed on the sand in my video from May was now submerged in the river, with three large birds perched on its branches. I took a moment to pay tribute to Andre Freitag and Johnny van Heerden, my two schoolmates who had helped me out on that earlier hike, fetching me from this point and taking me back to Hole in the Wall. They sacrificed an entire day of their holiday, braving bad roads, to help me achieve my goal.

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The blue building where we had celebrated the end of my hike with beers was locked, and no one was in sight.

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My return walk was uneventful, though it started to rain, and I still had to deal with soft sand. I reached the paddle ski at around 16:15 and safely paddled back across the river. However, I now faced the challenge of getting the paddle ski 500 meters back up the hill to the cottage. I fetched my car and towed the paddle ski all the way back. By 17:30, the fire was burning, and I could finally relax, planning the next day's hike to The Haven.

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The two dogs, one of which had small pups and was still carrying milk, stayed with Cathy throughout the day while I was out hiking.