It’s not only hotels and resorts that have seen a decrease in footfall. Privately run tourist attractions and specialised tours have also been hit hard.
Acknowledging this, and as a means to encourage #SupportLocal, Sun International is supporting locals by providing details of two privately run activities that are great excursions for guests at the Wild Coast Sun.
A petrified forest tour is an unforgettable experience. Close to Port Edward near the Wild Coast Sun is a hidden gem – a petrified forest underfoot. The forest does not stand tall but the 80-million-year-old fossilised trees dating to the cretaceous period have become one with the rocks underfoot. Many visitors to the area are unaware of what lies below their feet; that’s why a tour guide, like the knowledgeable Lonwabo Dlamini (contact him on his mobile at +27 78 631 2730), is essential. The rates are very reasonable.
Hikes with Dlamini start at the gathering point at the parking of the Wild Waves Water Park. The 2km (two-hour) tour starts down a short path on to the beach. The petrified forest forms part of this walking tour, and participants walk along the rocks and discover the tree and log formations, as well as multiple fossils – beautiful examples of tightly coiled ammonites, echinoids (sea urchins) and bivalve shells, with the magnificent Indian Ocean on one side and a 10-metre cliff on the other. The cliff is largely fossil material and alongside it, walkers reach a series of caves, known as the ‘White Man’s Caves’ – after the shipwrecked Portuguese sailors who sheltered in them during the 1800s.
The pandemic and lockdown restrictions have negatively impacted the livelihoods of the tour guides, who rely on tourists as their only source of income. Visitors not only enjoy the quiet thrill of a paleological experience, but they get to support these guides.
*Tour availability may be governed by tide tables.
*Sunscreen and hats are essential.
*Slip slops or other waterproof walking shoes are required.
*Walkers may carry a light pack containing drinking water.
Longer walking tours
Dlamini also conducts more advanced and longer inland guided tours, from a half-day walking tour, up to an eight-day hike, doing 15km – 21 kms a day. A four-day hike is 83kms in total and hikers spend nights in homestay villages and experience the hospitality of the locals. The (reasonable) fee for this hike includes catering in the villages and packed lunches and transport back to Wild Coast Sun.
