Original subtitles

(upbeat music)

- My journey begins a Plettenberg

on the Eastern Cape

and one of the country's main resorts.

We then follow the garden route and auto trail

along the dramatic coast to Port Elizabeth,

one of the country's oldest cities.

One of the most dramatic sites along the coast

is the The Hole in the Wall.

Where the sea has carved a hole in a rock Island

and waves crashed through it, sounding like thunder.

Inland another deep mysterious Canyon

are the majestic Magwa Falls

which drop 144 meters into darkness.

We continue up the coast

for spectacular cliffs and rock formations

to Durban known as Surf City for its great waves

and a very popular holiday resort.

Our final location is the impressive Howick Falls

where local legends tell of a giant serpent,

which lurks in a pool at the bottom of the waterfall.

Plettenberg Bay is one of South Africa's main resorts.

Cape Town, maybe better known,

but it's said that this

is where their inhabitants come to play.

The town has a history stretching back to the Portuguese

who mapped the Bay in the 15th Century.

Standing out from the beach is Beacon Island,

which was once home to a Whaling Station,

but is now one of the most popular resort hotels.

The town stands on what is known as the Garden Route,

which we are following for the next 50 miles

to its Eastern end.

The route stretches for roughly 300 kilometers,

that boasts with good reason, as we can see

some of the most outstanding scenery to be seen anywhere.

This beautiful unspoiled estuary

has been formed by salt river

as it empties into the Southern ocean

and is known as Mermaids Cove.

The Garden Route also offers

some of the best hiking trails and activities

for the more energetic visitor.

This is the start of the auto trail,

which is widely regarded as one of the finest in the world

and stretches 26 kilometers as the crow flies

and 41 kilometers following the route.

Walking the trail takes five days

and the nights are spent in comfortable huts

with superb views.

The route is located entirely

within the Tsitsikamma National Park.

Which protects an 80 kilometer

long strip of coastal mountains, forests and beaches.

The auto trail passes the Bloukrans River Bridge,

which was built in the 1980s.

But it is perhaps most famous

for being the site

of the world's highest commercial bungee jump at 216 meters

and holds several world records

including the oldest person to jump at the age of 96.

How far people fall is dependent on the jumpers weight.

(screaming)

(gentle music)

How safe is it?

Well, the owners have an accident free record of 23 years.

Is it scary?

Well, two out of every 10 jumpers still back out of it.

If jumping off a bridge attached to an elastic rope

is too much to ask,

then perhaps a boat trip up Storms River Gorge

is a better option.

It passes under the 77 meter long suspension bridge

and one end of the auto trail hiking route.

As the Gorge is inaccessible on foot,

the boat trip gives visitors

the opportunity to marvel at one of nature's many wonders.

(gentle music)

Huge Carvings are interspersed on either side of the river

providing a habitat for rare bat species.

(gentle music)

Straddling the Gorge is the Storms River Bridge,

constructed in the 1950s.

At 120 meters above the river,

it was the highest concrete arch in Africa

until the Bloukrans bridge opened in 1984.

Port Elizabeth is one of South Africa's largest cities.

But in centuries past it was merely marked on early charts

as a landing place with fresh water.

This landing place is now one of the most important ports

in the country.

The oldest building in the city is Fort Frederick,

which was constructed on a natural Promontory in 1799

in order to stop the French from conquering the Cape colony

during the Napoleonic Wars.

It also played a vital role in establishing British Rule.

It was named after Frederick, Duke of York

Commander in Chief of the British Army.

In 1820 when settlers arrived,

the Fort was already out of date

and had never fired a shot from its guns and still hasn't.

Port Elizabeth gradually grew up around the Fort

and one of the earliest areas to be established

was the Donkin Reserve.

In the middle of The Square is the Hill Lighthouse,

Built in 1861.

It was heightened in the 1930s

so that it could stand above the city lights.

In 1973 it was abandoned,

when a new lighthouse was built further up the coast.

The old light is now a city feature.

In a corner of the square is the old King Edward's Hotel,

a fine example of Victorian architecture.

Close by is Market Square and City Hall.

Was completed in 1862 in a neoclassical style

with the clock tower added 20 years later.

The Square is surrounded by other imposing civic buildings,

illustrating the growing economic success of Port Elizabeth.

Along the coast to the East is the Alexandria Dune Field,

one of the largest active dune fields in the world.

This constantly shifting massive sand,

is almost completely untouched by human activity

and is now on UNESCOs tentative list

for becoming a world heritage site,

as a landscape of outstanding beauty.

This entire coastal dune field

has been growing for 6,500 years

since the end of the last Ice Age,

when the sea dropped to its present level

and left massive amounts of exposed sand.

To the North of the dunes is the Shamwari Game Reserve,

covering 250 square kilometers

in South Africa's Eastern Cape District.

By African standards this is not a large reserve,

but it is well suited for short visits

and very family friendly.

Over the years, the owners have returned the land

after many decades of farming,

to its original natural state.

There are six lodges dotted around the reserve,

which vary in their level of luxury and cost.

This is Long Lee Manor, built in the 19th Century

and is more of a conventional hotel.

Deep in the reserve is the luxurious Eagles Crag

with nine stone and glass thatch lodges

set amongst the trees,

each with a deck and a small private pool.

(gentle music)

When it comes to watching the animals,

the park rangers are in two-way communication

with each other at all times.

So on any day they know where the game is,

being big cats or the elusive rhino.

The Wild Coast is a section of the Eastern Cape

and an area of outstanding beauty

and one of the country's most underdeveloped areas.

Where communities still pursue age old traditions

and much of the land is owned by the local inhabitants.

This region was the birth base of Nelson Mandela

and his successor Thabo Mbeki.

They would have probably witnessed in their youth

the surprising local tradition of taking cattle to the beach

for what can only be described as a holiday.

(gentle music)

There's no grass or drinking water,

but rather like humans,

they just seem to want to relax, sleep

and generally chew the cud.

All along the wild coast,

cattle can be seen enjoying a day at the seaside.

(gentle music)

Many rivers empty into the sea along the Wild Coast

and have helped create some extraordinary rock formations.

None more so, than one of the most impressive landmarks

on the entire South African Coastline,

The Hole in the Wall.

In the local Xhosa language this area is called esiKhaleni,

which means the place of sound.

Some say it's because under certain conditions

the wave slapped the rocks with a resounding cracking sound,

when it roars during storms.

Others say it refers to a Xhosa legend,

involving a young maiden who fell in love

with one of the mythical sea people.

Such was the love of the sea person for the maiden,

but he and his people rammed a hole

in the side of the lagoon wall, with a help of a huge fish

so that they could reach her,

she was never heard from again.

In this version,

it's the voices and seeing of the sea people

that give the name esiKhaleni.

Local people also believe

that this is the gateway to the world of their ancestors.

Either way, The Hole in the Wall

is one of the outstanding landmarks of the Wild Coast.

(upbeat music)

In the Eastern Cape, many local people

still cling to ways of life unchanged for centuries,

including the style of their houses.

They are known as rondavels

and can often be seen in small clusters

surrounded by vegetable patches and enclosures for cattle.

Many are built in the traditional manner

using thatch with earth and cow dung walls.

However, in places the thatch has been replaced

corrugated tin and the earth and cow dung walls

with cement blocks or bricks,

but the shape has remained the same.

Originally built with no services,

many now have electricity and running water

with a separate earth closet outside.

On a Hill overlooking the Wild Coast.

A group of Xhosa women wash clothes in a way,

that is not altered for centuries.

Fresh water, a convenient bush and a warm wind

is all that's needed for a perfect days washing,

unless something comes along to disturb it.

Of course what has disturbed this unchanged way of life

in such a sublime landscape is tourism.

In a secluded spot, at the mouth of the river Umngazi

is a luxurious resort with thatched bungalows

designed to sympathetically fit in

with the local architecture and landscape.

The climate and the beauty of the Wild Coast,

gains in popularity year by year.

And holiday makers bringing much needed income

as what as work for local people.

Here at the Umngazi river bungalows,

thatched lodges offer every type of luxury

that an international visitor would expect

including a pristine beach

and the most wonderful views along the shore.

For centuries, the aptly named Wild Coast

has been strewn with the remains of ships,

caught in fierce storms and driven onto the rocks

as they stray too far in shore.

Cape Hermes LightHouse at Port St. Johns was built in 1904

and it's powerful light

can be seen 20 kilometers out to sea.

It also guarded the entrance to the harbor,

which in 1940 was abandoned due to silting up.

The lighthouse stands at the entrance

to the dramatic Umzimvubu River Gorge,

which is also known as the Gates of St. John.

Further up the coast and a few kilometers inland

is a very dramatic geological fault

caused by the sudden movement of the Earth's Crust

millions of years ago.

Flying up this narrow Canyon

is like stepping back into a landscape

completely untouched by humans.

And at the end is a magnificent waterfall, the Magwa Falls.

(gentle music)

The river offers local children

a great place to swim and have fun,

but not to get too close to the edge of the Canyon

where the river plummets 144 meters into the Gorge.

The Magwa Falls have the great advantage

of being accessible from above

and can be viewed from a variety of different angles.

Today the river is low

but following rain it swells in size

and cascades in an awesome display.

However, even at low water levels,

it is still a very dramatic site,

as the water tumbles to the dark Canyon.

Overlooking the falls is the Magwa Tea Plantation,

one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

At its height,

it produced over two and 1/2 thousand tons of tea a year.

With 2000 permanent employees

and an extra 1800 during picking season.

However, the estate has gone through hard times

with damaging industrial action, which in 2011

necessitated the local government taking it over

to avoid it collapse.

It's hoped that a private investor will be found

to take the plantation back into profitability.

Back on the coast

and onto one of Africa's greatest stretches

of coastal rock formations.

Where over thousands of years

the sea and rivers cascading off the cliffs,

have carved out wonderful shapes.

One of the best is Cathedral Rock.

It's free standing and over the centuries has been sculpted

by the sea and wind.

And it does indeed take on the appearance

of a great flying buttress on a medieval cathedral.

This section of coast is part of a hiking trail

and is popular with visitors all year round,

even though it's in a very remote part of the Wild Coast.

Equally impressive are the waterfalls.

This one is called Waterfall Bluff,

and here the water cascades down a near 60 meter drop.

There are only a handful of waterfalls in the world

that fall directly into the sea

and on this stretch of the Wild Coast, there are two.

In stark contrast to the dramatic landscape

with the Wild Coast, is the resort Town of Margate.

(gentle music)

In 1908 an English surveyor laid out the town

and named it after the British seaside resort

on the English Channel.

This sub-tropical resort steadily grew in size

and is now a very popular destination for South Africans

as well as foreign visitors.

Who come for not only the immaculate beaches,

but also for scuba diving amongst the coral reefs.

which team, which tropical fish.

20 kilometers inland is the spectacular Oribi Gorge.

It's approximately 400 meters deep,

five kilometers wide and 30 kilometers in length.

At the base of the cliffs is a layer of ancient rocks

which have been aged at over 1000 million years.

The cliffs themselves are relative youngsters,

formed from sandstone deposited

about 365 million years ago.

At the East end of the Gorge

is the waterfall known as Lehrs Falls.

It's also a place for adrenaline junkies,

who can swing across the Gorge for the Lehrs daring

to slide across it.

Either way, they can get a spectacular

view of the waterfall.

South Africa is one of the leading producers

of high quality sugar.

And in this region of KwaZulu-Natal,

there are over 22,000 sugarcane growers.

Each year around 2 million tons of sugar are produced.

The industry makes an important contribution

to the country's economy

and also employs a large number of people

estimated to be around 79,000.

Sugarcane is harvested both by hand and mechanically.

Hand harvesting accounts for more than a 1/2 of production,

and is dominant in the Developing World.

A skilled harvester

can cut 500 kilograms of sugar cane per hour.

In hand harvesting, the field is first set on fire,

which burns dry leaves and chases away or kills

any lurking venomous snakes,

without harming the stalks and roots.

The world demand for sugar is the primary driver

of sugar cane agriculture.

It accounts for 80% of all sugar produced,

with the rest made up from sugar beets.

The cane is delivered to the local sugar mill

and the one here on the coast at Sezela,

was the first to be built in South Africa in 1915.

Traditionally, sugarcane processing

requires a number of stages.

The first is shredding the cane to a series of rollers

and squeezing it to extract its natural juice.

This is then boiled until it thickens

and molasses rich sugar crystals begin to settle.

At this stage, the aroma of sugar coming from this process

can be smelled down wind for many miles.

The final process is using a centrifuge

to remove the molasses

and leave pure naturally white sugar crystals

which are then dried.

Further up the coast is South Africa's third largest city

and its busiest port Durban.

It was established as a British colony

in the early 19th century,

and named after the then Governor Sir Benjamin D'Urban.

In the 1860s, the British brought in

thousands of Indian workers on 25 year contracts.

Who then stayed on and made Durban their home.

Giving the modern city a distinctly Asian feel.

In fact, it's the largest concentration

of people of Indian descent outside of India itself.

But Durban is perhaps best known as a holiday resort

with its warm weather all year round.

It's most famous attraction is the golden mile

of hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants,

and of course it's beautiful beach,

well known for large waves.

Durban is known as Surf City.

The Golden Mile had a major revamp for the 2010 world cup

which has paid off as it attracts visitors

from home and abroad,

especially during the Christmas high season.

Inland from the densely populated city of Durban

is the region known as the Valley of a Thousand Hills.

A province of KwaZulu-Natal, the Kingdom of the Zulu.

And on the top of these hills,

other traditional round homesteads.

The Valley has been home to the Zulu people for centuries

with many continuing to practice and live

their unique traditional lifestyle.

It's into this landscape,

that during 1787

the most influential Zulu leader was born, Shaka Zulu.

During his brief reign more than 100 chieftains

were brought together in a United Zulu Kingdom.

Our final location is known by the Zulu people

as the place of the tall one, the Howick Falls.

(gentle music)

This 95 metre high waterfall,

was first seen by European explorers

in the early 19th century.

But to being part of ancestral life to the local people

for thousands of years.

According to local legend,

the pool at the bottom of the falls,

is the residence of the Inkanyamba.

A giant serpent, light creature,

and it was said that only tribal healers

could safely approach the pool

and then only to offer prayers

and other acts of worship to the great god of the falls.

How many people have been swept over it

and perhaps being killed by the Inkanyamba

will never be known.

But since the discovery of the falls by European pioneers

and the opening up of the land to settlers,

several died crossing the river upstream

and getting caught in the fast flowing water

before plunging for their deaths.

It's also recorded that a few murders

took place here as well.

Perhaps because of this checkered history, the Howick Falls

have become a principal tourist attraction in the area.

For the local people,

it's just a great place to do the washing

with a clean supply of fresh running water.

A perfect place to end this journey.

(upbeat music)