illuminating the taillights

I'm writing from Durban, South Africa, on the tail-end of my road trip that began in Cape Town almost two weeks ago. Renting a car and traveling at my own pace, with the windows down and my music on the radio, was a very refreshing break from public transportation. With South Africa's (usually) well-maintained roads and civilized drivers, this was a good country to drive. And since I was driving one of the most popular routes in the most visited country in Africa, there was always someone nearby to chat and share experiences with.



To briefly outline my trip, I left Cape Town on the 12th, about twelve days ago. You can use the map above to get a general idea of where I was, although the smaller towns aren't on the map. In general, I followed the red line that goes from Cape Town east along the coast, all the way to Durban.

On the first day I drove about nine hours, ending up just outside Knysna, a beautiful beach town on the coast. That night I went to a reggae concert in a nearby township (the South African term for a 'slum' or 'shantytown').

The next day, I drove from Knysna to nearby Plattenberg Bay, a smaller town with an equally impressive beach. That night I went to bed with a headache, which I thought would disappear after sleeping. In the morning, I still had the headache, and it was worse than before. It didn't keep me from driving from Plattenberg to Jeffrey's Bay, the mecca for South Africa's surfers (and many shoppers, too). On the way to Jeffrey's Bay (which I thought was a really nice little town, with a laid-back surfer vibe and several nice little coffee shops), I passed the world's highest bungee jump. I had previously had my heart set on doing the jump, and I was even considering doing it even with a splitting headache. But my head was getting worse, and I decided to wait on the bungee jump. That night in Jeffrey's Bay, my sickness spread from my head to my stomach, and I spent a good part of the late night with a trashcan in my lap.

The next day, feeling a little better than the night before, I left Jeffrey's Bay and drove to Port Elizabeth, one of South Africa's larger cities. I decided that this city would offer the best hospitals in the region, so I decided to go into one to find out what was wrong with me. After running the requisite malaria tests, they reassured me that while I did not have malaria, I did have a virus that was spreading throughout the region. They recommended that I take aspirin. Since it was the early evening when I left the hospital (and since Port Elizabeth is a pretty average place), I decided that I could still make some good progress along my road trip. I left the hospital and, after a couple hours, arrived at the small, inland college town of Grahamstown.

In Grahamstown I stayed at one of the most interesting hostels I've been to: The Olde Gaol. The Olde Gaol, decades ago, was actually the town's jail. Today, it is a bar and hostel--after walking in through the large iron front door, I found my room in what was formerly a jail cell. To make the experience a bit more eerie, the place was almost empty, so I had a large dorm including eight beds all to myself. Although Grahamstown is located a short distance from the coast, it has a completely different, almost enchanted feel to it. And for such a region, there wasn't a better place to stay than an old jail.

In the morning, I checked out of the jail and wandered to the nearby university, where I had an amazing spinach and feta omelette. Being near the university made me feel studious, so I read some of the two books I'm reading: "The State of Africa," by Martin Meredith (really great book, if you're interested in understanding the recent history of Africa), and Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot" (also a great book).

After leaving Grahamstown, I wandered farther from the coast into what might be called South Africa's hill country. The landscape gets greener, waterfalls begin appearing, that eerie "enchanted" feeling becomes stronger, and the roads get worse and worse. In the late afternoon I arrived at Hogsback, a tiny mountain village of 1500 people. After checking into a hostel called "Away with the Fairies," I started to realize just how bizarre this village is. It has an area called "Hobbiton," and it's liquor store is called "The Ring." People in Hogsback claim it was the influence for Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," and I think I believe them. Wandering around the many hiking trails running near the village, I almost expected to see a fairy. Instead, I was followed by families of monkeys and the smallest hummingbird I've ever seen. Eventually, I stumbled upon a large, beautiful waterfall, where I sat to write in my journal and watch the river crabs walking nearby. I think Hogsback is as close to enchanted as the real world gets.

Unfortunately, Hogsback also left me with a flat tire, so, first thing the next day, I drove to the largest nearby city, East London, and spent my afternoon at a shopping mall (that had an electricity outage) near the mechanic. A new tire and a few hours later, I was on the road again, heading to what is known as the Wild Coast.

South Africa's coastline is divided into several different regions, the most popular being the Garden Route. The Garden Route, which begins near Cape Town, is heavily touristy, with well-developed towns, shops, and roads. Along the Garden Route, it's oftentimes hard to meet locals, since foreigners work at the hostels and, oftentimes, even at restaurants. The Wild Coast, in contrast, is definitely wild--the towns are oftentimes very isolated and out of the way. There were a couple times I went hungry since there were no restaurants nearby. But, on the upside, the Wild Coast is closer to what is called "real Africa." In fact, the reason why the towns along the Wild Coast are less developed is because the region belongs to one of the various tribes that populates South Africa.

After changing my tire, I drove to my first destination in the Wild Coast, Chintsa. The tiny town of Chintsa looks onto a gorgeous bay. Rather than lying in the sand, I preferred to sit on some large rocks that projected into the ocean and allowed me to be surrounded by crashing waves. The waves have eroded large holes in the surface of the rocks that are submerged during high tide, and that leave isolated natural aquariums at low tide. It was fascinating to sit by these holes and watch the tiny, independent ecosystems that lived inside, filled with coral, crabs, and snails.

In Chintsa I met another American (Bostonian) named Anita, who had just finished volunteering for several weeks at a local game reserve. She invited me to visit the lion cubs she helped to raise, which made for one of the most amazing experiences I've had in South Africa. The three female cubs, being three months old, were already too big to be picked up, but letting them lick my hand, gnaw on my watch, and playfully scratch me with their huge claws was something indescribable, and unforgettable.

I ended up tearing myself away from Chintsa and driving to Coffee Bay, another tiny coastal village. In Coffee Bay I felt closer to the local community than I had at any other point along the road trip--I hiked around the area, meeting several people and lots of their livestock.

After Coffee Bay, I drove to my final Wild Coast destination, Port St. Johns. Even though the weather had deteriorated to the point that it was impossible to enjoy the beach, I think Port St. Johns would have been my favorite destination along the route--the nearby town is active and full of life, the hostel I stayed at was laid-back, colorful, and had tons of character, and the beaches were beautiful.

Yesterday I left Port St. Johns and arrived here in Durban, South Africa's third largest city. Durban is also, I believe, South Africa's most diverse city, being home to members of various tribes, and the largest Indian community outside India. I've really enjoyed Durban--I'm staying at a beautiful, comfortable hostel (the Hippo Hide), and I've been able to explore the city a bit. Today I walked up and down Durban's coastline, watching everything from a skateboarding competition, to dancing minibus drivers jamming to their booming stereo, to an X-Games style motorcycle jumping competition.

Tomorrow I'll leave Durban, drive through the Drakensburg Mountains, and eventually arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa's biggest, baddest city. I've been repeatedly warned about how dangerous Johannesburg is, but I'm looking forward to experiencing firsthand the city that encapsulates so much of what is South Africa. On Monday morning I'll have to say farewell to my VW CitiGolf. On Tuesday morning I'll take a taxi to the airport, where I'll check in for my flight to Bangkok and begin the next chapter of my journey.