Wild Ride Day 4 Oceanview Hotel, Coffee Bay to Mgazi (nearly)

It rained all night! I hoped it was the sound of the sea, but no such luck! Breakfast was at 07:30 with the aim of getting away at 08:30. Mike A piked up a problem with his knee and decided to give it a miss. Tom did not feel well yesterday with flu signs and also decided get into the backup vehicle.

Martin had trouble to contact the guy who was due to take us over the Mtatha river and it was therefore that we wiil go inland on mostly gravel roads. Out of the hotel's grounds we went the same way we came in and then right for a 700 meter hill which went up to 15%! It was a tar road, which made the climbing a little easier. Thereafter it was mostly good gravel. This part of the country is very hilly and we either went up or down. We did a lot of climbing today and had many downhills. After 2 hours our average speed was 12.9 kph! This looked promissing, but then disater struck. Steve cut his rear tyre so badly that it could not be plugged. The only option was to put a tube in. This took longer than antisipated due to problems with the value, with the result that or average dropped to 11 kph. Then that tube also picked up a leak and had to be replaced. That dropped our average to 10kph. Fortunately that held to the end of the day. 

After 45 km we entered Hluleka Nature Reserve, our what was left of it! Obviously this used to be a wonderful place but now it was in a state of disrepair. The entrance gate was unmaned and not in a good state. The road down to the river, which once must have been suitable for sedans is now not suitable for 4x4's! The bridge over the river has been washed away! The beautiful main building has no water and in need of a lot of "love and care"! The road out in a Nothern direction is beter and the chalets seems to be in a good condition. At the top there is a viewing deck and construction going on, so maybe some improvements are in the making. 

Down the otherside Martin took us down good country roads and "interesting" little paths and single track to link up with country roads again. At 61.55 kilometers we met up with our backup bus and Jeanie's dad with Martin's Pajero. He arranged for them to meet us at this point with some pizzas and beer. This then signaled the end of this day. 

61.55 km; 6:49:48; 1,436 meters of climbing.