Xhosa hospitality and Milky Way views await in Coffee Bay.
Three German holidaymaker are ordinate a burnt umber on Fox Street , a.k.a . Johannesburg ’s backpacker boulevard . Fresh from OR Tambo International Airport , they have n’t even shower yet and they ’re already comparing itineraries with the brace buttressing their 60 - litre Quechua bag against a barstool . South African backpacker universe is bookended . In a area as dense and vast as South Africa , it ’s common to start in Joburg and fly out ofCape townspeople — or frailty versa — meaning that most traveller are looking at a built - incross - country road tripamenable to last minute of arc changes of heart . In conversation like these , it ’s inevitable that the most elderly traveller in the group will ask : “ You cerebrate you ’re gon na make it to the shack ? ”
There are two possibleness here . They ’re either referring to the diviest , most pre - apocalypticbilliards barin Africa , the poppycock ofCape Townlegend — or they ’re talking about theCoffee Shack . In either case , they ’re in all likelihood take in the coy , acknowledge tone that means you ’re about to be in on an incredible secret .
The Coffee Shack is a hostel and guesthouse so far off the main puff that essay to travel there at all mean that you ’re set about a pilgrimage , and a rather pure one at that . The Coffee Shack ( or simply “ the hutch ” ) cast anchor the tiny settlement of Coffee Bay deep in the ticker of the Eastern Cape ’s Xhosa — pronouncedtongue click+ “ hosa”—country . It ’s where the trilled emerald hills of the former Transkei adjoin a striking end on a much untouched stretch of the Indian Ocean . Outside of folk tales , coffee doesn’treallygrow here , but that ’s not what draw the great unwashed in , and it ’s sure enough not what the local anesthetic are trade . Perhaps as a function of its remoteness , but amplified by its rude stunner and unlined desegregation between breaker bums and the local Xhosa residential area , Coffee Bay is that rarefied bohemian idyll where you may abuse into — but not intrude upon — what feel like an eternal place .
Photo by Sean Baker, courtesy of the Coffee Shack
Still , against all odds , there is n’t an omertà composite about it . The Coffee Shack and the local Tshezi community are more than felicitous to receive you to Coffee Bay , but they ’re serious about keep the orbit ’s natural beauty . Here , the approximation of leaving no trace is an imperative more than a suggestion .
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David Malherbe opened the Coffee Shack in January , 2000 . He raise up at the invertebrate foot of what South Africans call the Wild Coast , which stretches from Malherbe ’s hometown of East London to the border with the KwaZulu - Natal state . Malherbe , a lifelong surf bum , reckon that he first traveled to Coffee Bay with his granddad at the age of 14 . Even during his years traveling around Europe , Malherbe would always venture back to the Transkei to get by wintertime in the northern cerebral hemisphere and catch some of the Wild Coast ’s legendary waves . As he distinguish it , the Coffee Shack was contain of its predecessor ’s short sale on account of a sudden expiry in the family . face with “ three or four Clarence Day ” to buy the position , Malherbe went for it . His married woman Belinda , an Australian , passed through Coffee Bay on the eve of the hut ’s first anniversary , and the rest is history .
In the 23 twelvemonth since opening the Coffee Shack , Malherbe has forged strong bonds with the local Xhosa community , but he does n’t make a heavy deal about it . Grant money from the European Union provide for the Tshezi community to purchase a 30 % stake in the business — the folk now have 40 % of the Coffee Shack — and Malherbe says it ’s really just about trying to “ spread the love , so to speak . ” To him , bringing Xhosa collaborator and employees into the business was “ a ordered thing . ” In fact , not only do the local have a share in the business , but a sizable portion of the shack ’s income go toward erudition for Tshezi community members . And even during the astuteness of the pandemic , the shack never laid off a individual employee .
This dedication to the community is seeable in nearly every aspect of the hovel . The bulk of the lodging at the shack draw from Xhosa rondavel ( army hut ) architecture , and novel arrival can anticipate impossibly nuttyXhosa breadwith most meals — but they wo n’t feel like they ’re being transactional about it . For one thing , the Coffee Shack and its community of interests cooperator offer chance to engage with the village through weekly dinner in traditional Xhosa homes ; the shack is more or lessinthe village to begin with . Also , the hut lock on a tab system , so guests wo n’t feel as though they ’re being rung up for every little matter , be it traditional Mqombothi ( maize beer ) , intro surfing lessons ( equipment rental included ) , or a walking tour of the mythicalHole in the Wallcliff shaping . And both the welcome drink and a 5th night ’s stay are on the house . As a tribute to the conjuration of Coffee Bay , Malherbe has plenty of history to secern about fifth night that turned into 50th .
“ Visitors get down a midget , bumpy road … it looks a piddling bit questionable , ” Malherbe says . “ And then you walk into the little courtyard , and essentially they ’re like , ‘ Wow , this is what we were expect , ’ and then everybody ’s very well-disposed and smiley . ” He adds , “ We find that people who stay three days or longer , they leave embassador . ”
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Despite the shack ’s far flung locale , visitor might feel better connected to the outside world in Coffee Bay than in most of rural South Africa . The Coffee Shack ’s eco - conscious investiture in solar jury and rainwater capture mean that loading shedding ( electrical blackouts ) are circumscribed and all of the water is potable ( and yummy ) .
Whether you ’re looking for dependable Xhosa hospitality , a surfer ’s Shangri-la , or a few days off the grid , the Coffee Shack is deserving the detour . So how do you get there ? Well they do n’t call it the Wild Coast for nothin’ . rough six hours by bus or car from either Durban or Gqberha ( Port Elizabeth ) , the journey to the Coffee Shack begins in Nelson Mandela ’s hometown of Mthatha . A Coffee Shack van will bring you from the local bus post and whisk you three ( bumpy ) hours away to Coffee Bay .
Luckily , while paradise may be far , it comes pretty punk — Campsites will only go under you back $ 6 or so , student residence bed get going at $ 11 , and single rooms cost $ 30 and up . It ’s a small price to ante up for a truly genuine experience and unobstructed view of the Milky Way .
Photo by Sean Baker, courtesy of the Coffee Shack
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Photo by Sean Baker, courtesy of the Coffee Shock
Photo by Sean Baker, courtesy of the Coffee Shack
Photo by Mica Wright, courtesy of the Coffee Shack
