My Wild Coast

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Things To Know...

Many impressive rivers that rise in the Drakensberg empty into the sea along the Wild Coast. In the southern-most parts of the region, where low hills, sprinkled with traditional huts, roll down into a forest-fringed shoreline, the rivers tend to be mature and are characterized by wide floodplains. But in the rugged north, where young rivers find their path to the sea blocked by massive cliffs, many, like Waterfall Bluff, simply leap over the rocky crags and plunge into the surf below.

About half the coastline comprises indigenous forest, large parts of which remain undescribed by botanists. In fact, many forest species that were previously unknown to science have been discovered in places such as Umtamvuna and Mkambati. About 900 forest and grassland species from the Wild Coast region have been identified as having commercial, traditional or homeopathic value.

Small sandy bays and long stretches of open beaches are often found near the mouths of large rivers, such as the Kei, Mthatha, Mbashe and Mzimvuba (Long Beach at the Mthatha river mouth was voted the best beach in South Africa by Getaway Magazine). There are also many smaller rivers which, owing to their protected sources in the coastal forests, have much less siltation than the larger rivers, which drain vast tracts of land where poor farming practices are in place. Estuaries, bays and headlands are plentiful, whilst rocky shores predominate, be they smooth wave-cut platforms with jagged and uneven surfaces or precipitous cliffs that plunge into the sea.

Large mangrove communities occur at six estuaries on the Wild Coast and the mangrove community at Kobonqaba, just north of the Kei River, is the southern-most mangrove community in Africa. Three species of mangrove are found on the Wild Coast: the white mangrove (Avicennia marina), red mangrove (Rhizophora mucronata) and black mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza).

Adapted from the "Wild Coast" article in the 2003 issue of the Coast care Fact Sheet Series, an initiative by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) towards implementation of the White Paper for Sustainable Coastal Development in South Africa.