Mpenjati Nature Reserve - Natal South Coast

While our expeditions have been taking place in and around Jo’burg and Pretoria, we have recently had the privilege of expanding our horizons. Our adventure took place at Mpenjati, a twenty minute drive from my hometown of Port Shepstone during a weekend trip to visit the folks.

So, I come from this big traditional Indian family where weekends are planned for large numbers including aunts, uncles and grandparents. Louis is not so comfortable with these sort of set-ups but finds himself having no choice but to go along for the ride. This Saturday was no different. Plans were made for a braai at the Mpenjati River and although the weather didn’t pan out as planned we kept our spirits up and hoped that the wind would die down.

To my surprise they talked the man down to half his price and reminded him of a previous visit when they had bribed him with a bunch of banana’s

Expecting to pay a set fee on entering and having an entourage of three cars I was quite embarrassed when instead of paying the entrance my dad and aunt started to bargain with the guard. “Can’t you give us a discount?” they kept asking and in my mind I could even hear the Indian accent. To my surprise they talked the man down to half his price and reminded him of a previous visit when they had bribed him with a bunch of banana’s. I had never seen Indian bargaining power like this in action before. I was speechless.

The Mpenjati river, as we found out on arrival, flows into the Indian ocean. Many people find this a good spot for the family to braai as there are excellent facilities available. Also, perfect fishing spots as I was informed by my expert fisherman brothers. I did note that they were using squid for bait and trying to catch river fish but I was assured that this was not the reason that they caught nothing but leaves this day. They told me many exaggerated stories of when they did get the big ones. My little sister taught me how to cast and after getting her line caught in some plants I was relieved of my fishing rod.

When we realized that the elders in the family had wasted no time in getting the fire ready for the braai we decided that we would take the trail to the beach. My little siblings had been there before and they raved on and on about it being just like the Island that Jack… sorry Captain Jack Sparrow found himself stranded on in Pirates of the Carribean.

We even had to cross a shaky bridge that was very unstable and gave me the feeling that I was still on it after I had gotten off

 It had rained somewhat before our visit and a lot of the marked trail which ran through coastal bush and wilderness had been flooded. This did not deter us and we trekked on through the bush often having to go off the path to keep our feet dry. We even had to cross a shaky bridge that was very unstable and gave me the feeling that I was still on it after I had gotten off.

We eventually reached the end of the trail and white sand lay on the beach before us. A wooden walk led us over a mountain of sand, having been laid there to preserve the natural dunes. The surroundings were just like Krystil, Krielen and Felecia (My siblings) had described. As I walked over the dune to the water I stopped and did a little Jack Sparrow pose. The setting was perfect. I was in Paradise.

We found a wooden staircase that climbed up between beautiful tropical trees...

On our trip back from the beach we noticed that there was another trail that had been barricaded off. Krielen and I were feeling rebellious so despite Louis’ voice of reason that slowly faded out in the backround we started the new trail. We found a wooden staircase that climbed up between beautiful tropical trees and greenery to a platform with a view of the beach that we had just left behind. Luckily Louis had decided to follow us up and got a picture of the breathtaking scenery.

We got back to the picnic sight in time for lunch and due to the wind that would not let up we ended up leaving a little earlier than we would have liked to. As we said goodbye to Mpenjati I marveled at the fact that this little piece of Paradise had been under our noses all along and we had only just gotten a chance to experience its beauty.

You can view a slideshow of all Mpenjati photos here (Opens in a new window)

Directions: Mpenjati is situated only twenty kilometres south of Margate, near to the Wild Coast Sun just off the main south coast highway.

Tariffs:

A highly negotiable R10 per adult.

For more information:

http://southcoast.kzn.org.za/south_coast/about/176.xml
http://www.kznwildlife.com/site/ecotourism/accommodation/allaccommodation/Mpenjati
http://hibiscuscoast.kzn.org.za/hibiscuscoast/about/1.xml

Words By Kathy Beetge
Photos By Louis Beetge

Hennops Pride

A little bit of paradise 20 minutes outside Pretoria and an hour from Johannesburg.

As we entered the premises, there was no-one at the gate. "Great," I thought. "No entrance fee. They must only charge over weekends." We drove down the slanting pathway  and had to cross the Hennop's River over a dilapidated (plywood reinforced) bridge before entering the picnic site.

As we found parking, a guard walked up to us. Turns out the entrance charged that day was R30 per person. Not too bad considering that we heard the fee was R30 per person as well as R70 per car.

The picnic sites and braai areas are very nice. There are lots of trees providing shade from the hot Africa sun and a kiddies pool makes it fun for the whole family.

The trail down to the river was very nearly the end of me. I was carrying my camera bag on my back talking to Mark and my dad. Not paying too much attention, I turned around quickly and was dragged down the steps by my camera bag. Luckily I didn't fall very far, but my ego was sufficiently bruised to be very agitated with my companions' giggles.

The swing bridge across the river was quite exciting. It seemed quite neglected, which only added to the sense of adventure. The cables holding up the bridge was frayed and a couple of planks was missing from the floor. Exciting stuff!

Crossing the bridge takes you on a trail up the koppie (hill). This offers some really cool views as well as some climbs up and down rocks which get the blood pumping without being really dangerous.

As you climb down the tyre-ladder, you come to a "Hole in the Wall" type of rock formation. It is very pretty. People must camp there overnight, because we saw a lot of candle wax in the little crevasses and holes in the rocks.

After spending a few minutes looking at the rocks and the pretty views from he top, we made our way back to the parking area. The water in the river isn't the cleanest I've seen, but it is also not the dirtiest. People do swim in the river and I have even done so myself, albeit 7 years ago. You swim in the foam at your own risk.

 

Directions: Travel North on the William Nicol past Fourways Mall, Indaba Hotel and Diepsloot. Drive under the R28 Krugersdorp Highway and travel for 3.6 km. Turn LEFT on to R511 and drive for 8 km. (Signpost reads Hartbeespoort and Brits). You will drive past Idle Winds Conference Centre. The first river you cross over you travel for 40 m and turn LEFT into Hennops Pride.

Tariffs:

A little bit confused here, but we paid R30 per adult.

Words and Photos By Louis Beetge