Zithulele Family Reunion

It's taken me a while to get around to writing this blog post but here goes. On May 28th I woke up to find that text from Bonga saying she had bumped Zithulele and after a hectic day at work in the aftermath of that, I set off from Umtata with Taryn and the Gauntlets. They were heading towards Durban for so Ben and Taryn could attend a TB conference [TB is somewhat of an issue here...as in, it's EVERYWHERE]. We picked up Ben from Umtata airport, smallest airport in the world, then drove to the backpackers where I was meant to be staying. However, when we got there, they wouldn't open the gate or answer the phone so I was in a bit of trouble as Mthatha doesn't really have another option, mainly because no one in their right mind would actually stay there except out of necessity! [Turns out the entire city had a power cut so nothing was working...]



In the end, Ben and Taryn took me with them to their friends house where they were staying and I had a lovely evening with the Gaunts, Barry, Louise and their kids. It was properly nice of them to let a complete random stay with them, especially as the next morning they let me stay even after the Gaunts had left for Durban and then drove me to the airport! I'm so grateful to them and am not exactly sure what I would have done otherwise [except walk there...].



Anyway, the point is that I was going to meet Mum who was coming to visit me and see my life here in Zithulele :) After our initial reunion [it's the longest time we've been separated since, er, my birth] we went out into the big wide world that is the Umtata, managing to successfully navigate the lack of traffic lights and general randomness of the city. Then we were on our way to Coffee Bay and Mum got a taste of the Transkei when navigating the pothole ridden strip of tar that serves as a road here. [Just as a measure of how bad it is, they are now carting in tonnes of earth to turn the tar road BACK into a dirt road in certain places. You have got to love progress.] Eventually we arrived in the metropolis that is Coffee Bay and checked into Coffee Shack. After introducing Mum to the resident bead sellers and drug dealers we went for sundowners on the hill then to Papazela's so she could taste the legendary pizza that I am always going on about...

Mum comes to the Transkei

Sunday was spent in the beautiful/a tad run down area around Coffee Shack. We had a walk along the beach in the morning sun and sat on the sand then spent some time chilling in the Shack with the legendary Joe and Silas. We went for dinner at White Clay which proved to be rather stressful as there was extreme doubt as too the capability of our miniscule rented Hyundai of getting up the vertical hill that the restaurant sits at the bottom of!



On Monday we braved the never ending steepness and potholes on the road that leads you to the best place in South Africa [aka Zithulele] so Mum could be the first [and only] person from hope to truly appreciate what it is like here and what I'm actually spending all my time doing. [Contrary to popular belief, I don't just eat, sleep and go to the beach!] After a long and tiring journey which I think is summed up by Mum's comment 'I feel like I'm driving in a Playstation game!' we arrived. It was weird to come back here with Mum, I felt like I was seeing everything for the first time again. I'd forgotten how bizarre it is that people come to hospital on their horse and tie it up outside the gate and how people in the UK don't rountinely carry their posessions on their head...



We had a brief tour of our house and I introduced Mum to Sam and all the other people who make up my everyday life here. I showed her the hospital and the pharmacy which has really become my entire world over the last 6 months before going for coffee with Sally :) It was great to finally have someone from home realise what a different world it is in Zithulele; there's definitely something about this place that you can't grasp unless you are actually here.



On Tuesday we went on a hike to Hole in the Wall - the reverse of the famous walk that Sam and I never completed due to our unfortunate detour onto a cliff face. It was an absolutely stunning day and despite most of the hike being conducted on precarious cliff ledges [OH, the flashbacks were bad] it was an enjoyable day – we even saw some dolphins swimming off the coast. When we arrived at the Hole we had a toastie and a swim in the sea, a perfect end to the day.

The cliff! (from afar)

On Wednesday we went back to Zithulele to pick up Sam so she could share in the good times that take place in the Coffee Shack. When we got back, Jo, one of the staff who had rather taken to Mum and I and kept coming over and sitting with us, said everyone was going for sundowners at 'the most beautiful place in Coffee Bay'. However, there were too many people for that so we went to another place which was apparently better...something tells me he makes it up as he goes along. Anyway, it was a bit of an epic fail as far as sundowners are concerned. You see, the point of sundowners is to have a nice drink and watch the sun go down. We, however, were sitting on a cliff ledge on the opposite side of the hill to where the sun was setting, so not only did we miss the sunset, but we faced imminent death while we did. But I guess it's part of the Coffee Bay experience and afterwards we had a lovely meal together and spent the night chatting to various people who were staying in the backpackers.



On Thursday we took a rather tired out Sammy back to Zithulele and started the long road trip back to Umtata, and it seemed Mum's visit had lasted a grand total of about 5 seconds. There was so many more parts of my life in Zithulele that I had wanted us to see but I guess there's never enough time :( We checked into our hotel then went to the Country Club for a slightly more sophisticated dinner than those at Coffee Shack. On the way home we had extra good times at the petrol station: it was deserted so all the attendants were fighting over who got to serve us, so at one point there were nine guys all washing the car with watering cans and then drying it with toilet roll, all of them scrambling over who actually got to put the petrol in. We only had a single note to give them as a tip so chucked it out the window in the hurry and watched them all jump on the guy who received it and try to share out the one note in a somewhat aggressive manner...you can't help but love the Transkei!



And that was it! It was brilliant to have Mum and visit and finally share what I've been experiencing here for the last 6 months with someone else. Better prepare yourself for all the stories when I get home in, would you belive it, 38 days!



Xxxxxx