Above: View from a tent in The Coffee Shack Camp Grounds.
“ BUFFALOOOOO!” The War Cry is loud enough to be heard from Cape Town. The victim, inevitably a newbie is stunned, looking wide eyed around the room at beaming folks. Then recollection dawns, she was warned within half an hour of her arrival along with her free welcome beverage. “Left handed drinking only, everyone is a Buffalo Soldier in Coffee Bay.”
Coffee Bay is about 60km from Mthatha, the former Capital of the Transkei Region, in the Southern Cape of South Africa. Mthatha is regular drop off/pick up point for the major buses and local taxis, and for the car-less, Shell Ultra City in Mthatha is the departure point for the 3pm daily shuttle to Coffee Bay.
The Coffee Shack is one of two hostels. It’s a cosy fairytale place flecked with hidey holes and hammocks, where it’s common to see teams of dreadlocked, sun laden, bare footed souls playing board games, reading books and sharing meals. Nightly rates range from ZAR 70 – 300 pp per night depending on your lodging preferences, and your fifth night is free. “No matter how hard we tried to leave, we kept waking up there the next morning. Coffee Bay seems to have that pull, it can haul you in, and then you find that you are just part of the furniture. So be careful if you don’t have much of a time limit on your travels, are a little bit easy-going with your plans or can somehow move that departure date, you might just find yourself here for life!” Warns Belinda Malherbe, Australian born and manager of The Coffee Shack since March 2000.
A nightly meal is prepared, generally of local origin, at a cost comparable to that if you made it yourself. However it is advisable to bring any other food with you from town, as the local stores have an extremely limited selection.
The bay consists of no more than four commercial lodgings, two or so local stores and local shack huts that the local Xhorsa people live in. You can expect cultural immersion, rustic surf beaches, stray cows, green hills, and an electric atmosphere. The lack of commercial stimulus is what makes the Bay so unique, it is a kingdom of childhood riches. There are trees to climb, hills to roll down, sea beasts to be caught, woods to traipse through, drums to bang, rhythm to dance to, local jewellery to make, cliffs to jump off, surf to be carved and hikes to be conquered. And after all that, there are friends to be made and discussions to be had about lives gone by, before retirement to a safe, warm place to sleep.
If you would like further information on The Coffee Shack, visit their website at http://www.coffeeshack.co.za/
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