Coffee Bay – A Long (But Breathtaking) 10km Hike To The Hole In The Wall

Getting to Coffee Bay was such a flipping mission.  But breaking down in the dark and then waking up in the loveliest little rural town has its benefits.  You want to make the most of the time you have stuck there while the van gets fixed.  Also you don’t really have a choice but to make the most of it, so there’s that.  And thankfully there was a lot to do there despite there really not being much to do.  If that makes any sense.

Shame.  I left you hanging there a bit, wondering if I’ve lost my nuts out here in the bush.  No, it doesn’t make freaking sense.  So let me explain.  There’s hardly any shops (literally one that takes cards), intermittent electricity and iffy wifi signal.  Which leaves most people wondering what’s left to do?  Well, that’s when you actually get a chance to stop and take in the surroundings you’re in.  Quite literally some of the best we have been blessed to see on this trip so far.

See what I mean?  Bloody beautiful.

One of the huge things that was on our hit list was to see the Hole In The Wall which is about a 10km hike from Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape.  It’s an outcropping of rock that has a hole in the middle for the sea to wash through.  Pretty.  It’s one of those bucket list things to see and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you are in the area and don’t go.  If only to check it off the list.

The hike we organised through Prince, one of the guys that does tours at Sugarloaf Backpackers.  I’m sure you could do it on your own, but we liked having someone show us around and give us some tales along the way.  Plus he organised us transport home which I’m really glad about.  Man that guy can mission.  I mean we have done a few hikes by now (to the lighthouse in Morgan’s Bay and to the Madonna and Child Waterfall in Hogsback), but this was definitely the most character building.

Hiking through the forest is easy.  There’s so much you see all around you that distracts you from the fact that your feet are sore or that you still have a long way to go.  Or in our case, having the monkeys in the trees spur you on to make it before the thunderstorm hits and the sun goes down.  Good times.

But even though this coastline is the most varied and beautiful I think I have ever seen, only having rolling hills, the occasional sheep and dolphins faaaaar in the distance to look at doesn’t help morale.  We had to have lots of encouraging chats to keep the kids going, but they did it and I’m so proud of them.

It’s a heck of a long walk to the Hole In The Wall, but one that I won’t forget.  For the views and the fact that I thought it was a good idea to do such a long trek in my Converse without any socks.  These shoes have been with me forever, infact I could be their super spokesperson.  I wore them to tour Italy (doing more than 40 000 steps a day), on the coasts of South Africa, hiking in Hogsback and the snows of Lesotho.  These shoes man.  They’re all I have.

Knox did really well but did enjoy being carried by both Seth and Prince at various times in the adventure.  He’s good like that.  He looks so cute and walks so slowly so the only way to keep going is to pick him up.  Sneaky little sausage.

Anyway.  It took us a while but we made it!!  And the Hole In The Wall did not disappoint.

It’s the kind of place that if you took a car there, you could literally spend the whole day playing in the water and exploring the area.  It really is such a stunning place.  You’d still have to walk down a rather steep hill from the parking lot, but it would be worth it if that’s your thing.

But after walking for basically the entire day it was time to catch our lift home.

So fun being in the back of a bakkie again, even if it did bump us all over the place on the gravel roads.  This is how I grew up man.  My Dad owned a tiling business and there was only one passenger seat in the front.  So we went in the back and then had to climb out, covered in grout dust to go to Cavendish to hang outside McDonalds. You know, as you did as a teenager.  I remember being mortified that I had to do this at school and wherever I went but now I love that this is what we did.  Who the heck cares anyway?!

Some more pictures for you 🙂