Day 12: Grahamstown - Port Elizabeth

Total Distance Covered: 1,207 km
Distance Remaining: 803 km

We hiked past the Addo Elephant Reserve (home to a herd of more than 450 elephants) and the Shamwari Reserve. We kept our eyes peeled as we hiked, but sadly we couldn’t see any elephants from the road…there was, however, a couple little herds of bushbok and springbok in the distance. For a South African, that is about as exciting as an American seeing white-tailed deer in a field along the highway…but, for those of us not yet used to seeing them, it’s still fun to catch a glimpse of the bok (for those of you wondering…bushbok are similar to a very large deer or a small elk without horns and springbok are similar to small deer or a gazelle without horns).

It was fun to hike past the Port of Nguqa and the salt flats of the Cerebos Salt Company on the way to our destination. The flats are flooded regularly with the sea water, allowed to dry and crystallize, and then harvested, purified, packaged and shipped. Having used Cerebos salt all year, it was fun to actually see the salt flats where it comes from.

Around noon we hiked over one last hill and the ocean and the most massive sand dunes we’d ever seen came into sight (some must have been 5 stories high, absolutely dwarfing the houses in front of them). In Iowa at least, the dunes would be considered mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking to see these pale golden sand dunes set off by the striking contrast of the dark blue of the Indian Ocean beyond them.

Sadly, we were not able to enjoy the scenery for long. From the first day of the hike, we’ve been blessed with very little traffic on the roads and very safe hiking conditions. As we got close to Port Elizabeth, however, that changed quite rapidly. Hiking along the highway as we came into the city, we found nearly constant traffic (mostly due to the seasonal migration of South African holidaymakers to the coast) and spent most of the time hiking in the rough grass for fear of the semis and other vehicles swerving into the median in order to pass slower traffic. It was a rough on the legs, slowed us down a bit, and required a bit of nerve-wracking driving in order to get the support vehicles stopped on the side of the highway to pick up the last of the hikers, but we made it safely and were very happy to be done. Let’s hope the traffic eases and hiking conditions improve in the days ahead.

After finishing up our day’s 130 kilometers, we drove into Port Elizabeth to meet and stay the night at Ruan’s father’s home. While Kelly & Ryan enjoyed a braai with members of the Port Elizabeth and Port Elizabeth West Rotary Clubs, Ruan and Keegan washed and cleaned the van and Jacob slept. We all met back at Martin & Theresa’s home and enjoyed an absolutely delicious beef poitjie (stew).

It was so nice to be able to do our laundry, clean out the van, and just relax all evening. We’re finding ourselves more and more tired every day, despite getting a full night’s sleep most every night. We seem to be both physically wearing out and emotionally wearing down a bit. The physical strain is accumulating day-to-day and we’re really missing Ikumi.