How to Hike the Pondo Land Wild Coast from Port Edward to Port Saint Johns

A few weeks ago, a friend and I hiked Pondoland on the Wild Coast, starting from the Wild Coast Sun and ending at Mbotji Lodge, just 30km from Port Saint Johns. This was an incredible experience, but it took me a long time to figure out if doing this trail unguided was still a possibility. After extensive research, I finally nailed it down, and I have a strong desire in my heart to share everything I’ve learned with other hikers so you can make an informed decision about hiking this absolute gem of South Africa.

This hike has earned the top spot among my favorite hikes, and I believe every hiker can and should experience this trail. From towering waterfalls and freshwater swimming pools to shipwrecks, tropical beaches, and meandering rivers, this journey is filled with history, diversity, and incredible culture.

Here is a video of our experience doing this coastline:

Multiple ways to hike Pondo Land Wild Coast

When it comes to hiking this section of the Wild Coast, there is an option for anyone wanting to do it. Whether you want to slackpack on a fully guided and catered trip or backpack unsupported, I don’t have all the answers. However, the couple of days I spent on this trail have taught me enough to hopefully help you make a wise decision on how to experience Pondoland and this magical part of South Africa.

Because there were just two of us, and we had limited time to complete this trail, a guided tour wasn’t an option. This left us with no other choice than to hike on our own, organizing our own accommodations along the route and gathering all the information we needed to make it possible.

Slackpacking

This is possibly the trendiest way to hike in Pondoland. If you’re considering this option, Wild Child is the first one that comes to mind and has introduced many newcomers to this historic trail. I’ve only heard incredible things from people who have hiked with them. While this is the most expensive choice, Wild Child takes care of everything you need, including accommodation, bag transportation between camps, organizing transport, providing food, and even meeting you on the beach at the end of your day’s hike with a G&T.

Wild Child’s Pondo experience tends to book out a year in advance, and though it may be costly for some, I genuinely believe you get what you pay for. For more information, check out Wild Child here. Unfortunately, we were unable to use Wild Child due to our limited time and their lack of availability.

Guided with accommodation, bedding, and three meals a day.

Local tour guides like PondoTours offer a truly unique experience in Pondoland, staying in different villages with the Pondo people. Local families provide accommodation, bedding, and three meals a day, and because it’s fully guided, you don’t need to worry about a thing. When booking, they typically also include transport back to the starting point.

I can only imagine this being an incredible cultural experience and would have loved to hike this route in this manner. However, because there were only two of us, we didn’t meet the minimum group requirement.

Hiking South Africa has an excellent write-up on this, which you can read here. PondoTours, guided by a local guide named Bongani, has consistently come up as a recommended choice and seems to be highly regarded. You can contact Bongani on WhatsApp at +27837282007.

:bulb:Quick Note: A quick Google search will bring up other tour companies and local guides who can offer something similar.

On Your Own - No Guide - Organise It All!

In recent years, finding information on how to do this route self-guided has become increasingly challenging. My hope with this write-up is to change that. I believe everyone should experience this incredible coastline, no matter how or when they wish to hike it. I also believe that the more hikers on it, the more it will uplift the Pondo people.

For many years, this is exactly how this hike was traveled. You’d book accommodations along the coastline and stay in beach camps that were built by the British in the 1800s but are now owned by the Mpondo tribe and rented out to groups that manage the camps, providing a portion of the income back to the Pondo people, whose land the camps sit on.

From what I’ve been told by locals, one of the very popular and recommended slackpacking organizers seems to be aiming to take over the trail, limiting others from hiking it solo, like we did. I experienced this when I tried to book accommodations at Msikba, Luphathana, and Manteku but was refused once they found out we were hiking solo. This upset me because these camps used to be Drifter’s Adventure Camps, and anyone hiking this route could stay there without question. However, I was also told by some that this group does incredible things for the community, and I believe this group will be the ones fighting to keep this trail open. I just hope they do it for all hikers, including local guides and solo travelers like us.

Hiking Pondoland self-guided requires a lot of research. You will need to navigate yourself without any trail markings, cross potentially dangerous rivers, book accommodations, carry your own food, and organize transport back to the starting point. I do not necessarily recommend this option, but as mentioned, it shouldn’t be something you cannot do, especially on a stretch of South Africa where this has been done for decades.

:warning: River Crossings - Warning :man_swimming:

If you are going to organize hiking Pondoland self-guided, you need to be aware of river crossings, as crossing rivers can be extremely dangerous. According to locals, there are often ferrymen at these river crossings; however, we never saw anyone at the major rivers when we crossed them. This could have been because we were fortunate enough to cross all the major rivers at low tide, so we didn’t have to worry. The exception was Mtentu, where there was a ferryman whom we paid cash to transport us across the river. If you do get to a river crossing and there is someone on the other side of the river, a loud whistle will get their attention, and they will come to collect you.

With all that said, be prepared to swim with your bags across these rivers. My recommendation is to try to time your crossings with low tide when possible and speak to locals and staff where you are staying to get their recommendations.

If you are slack-packing or going on a guided tour, your guide will arrange ferries beforehand, so you will not have to worry.

:compass: Maps & Points of Interest :world_map:

Finding map information, routes, and points of interest for our hike was one of the most time-consuming tasks. I compiled tons of data during my research, and I am sharing it all with you so that you have everything you need and more to explore. I load all my maps into an app called Gaia, so I have all the information I need offline on my phone to continue navigating without a cellphone signal.

:exclamation:IMPORTANT NOTE ON MAP DATA :warning:

Whenever using GPX and POI waypoints, always use them as a guide as they may not be 100% accurate or correct. This is self-generated data, and it’s up to you to navigate from one point to the other.

🌊 Pondo Wildcoast Trail - Port Edward to Port Saint Johns - Google My Maps

:raising_hand_woman:Have something to add?

Do you have a point of interest to include in this map? Post it below and I will add it!

:sleeping_bed: Accommodation :tent:

I will list all the accommodations I was able to find below that would allow us to stay there. At this point in time, Pondo Beach camps that own Msikba, Luphathana, and Manteku camps will not let hikers stay there. If anything changes, I will update this.

All accommodations have been listed from Port Edward towards Port Saint Johns. If there is a star next to it, then we stayed at this accommodation.

Mtentu

  • Mtentu Lodge* (Fully catered)
  • Mtentu Campsite (Camping only)

Mkambati Nature Reserve

  • GewGwe Boutique beach lodge (Coming soon)
  • Msikaba Mkhambathi Lodge* (self-catered) - Run by Eastern Cape Tourism. We stayed here and booked online here. For more info, watch my YouTube video above.

Msikaba

  • Msikaba - Pondo Beach Camp (Will not accept hikers not hiking with them)

Port Grosvenor

  • Lambazi Lodge* (Fully catered or self-catered)

Luphuthana

  • Luphuthana Beach Camp (Will not accept hikers not hiking with them)

Mbotyi

  • Mbotyi River Lodge* (fully catered)
  • Mbotyi Camp Site

Mzintlava

  • Manteku beach Camp (Will not accept hikers not hiking with them)

Ntafufu

  • Beach Camp @ Ntafufu

:taxi: Transport / Transfers :motorway:

Transport back to the Wild Coast Sun from Mbotji or Port Saint Johns is not cheap, and unfortunately, our organized transport tried to increase the price the day before, claiming one vehicle was in use and the other was broken, which meant it would cost more :person_shrugging: Luckily for us, the only other couple staying at Mbotji were driving past The Wild Coast Sun the next day and had a 1.5 Bakkie that the two of us squeezed into the back of, allowing us to avoid the increase and save money.

Recommendation: Ask the place you are staying at what they would recommend.

With all that said, here are the contacts I was given:

  1. Tovey – Mbotyi based – 076 567 8423 / 078 777 4103
  2. Jola – Psj transfer provider – 078 322 7777
  3. Chippa Transport Shuttle - 078 637 0109

Our Route

The route we took and the places we stayed are all documented in the video above; however, a quick summary would be as follows:

Day 1: 27KM from The Wild Coast Sun to Mtentu Lodge.
Day 2: 14KM from Mtentu to Msikaba Mkhambathi Lodge.
Day 3: 12KM from Mkhambathi to Port Grosvenor Lambazi Lodge.
Day 4: 24KM from Port Grosvenor to Mbotji Lodge.

Final Thoughts

I sincerely hope that the information provided above helps you embark on this trail in a way that aligns with your preferred hiking style. With the N2 being constructed so close to the Wild Coast, reducing travel time from hours to minutes, there is a growing concern about how long this section of South Africa will continue to live up to its name, “Wild”. When you step onto this trail, it feels like you’ve been transported to another country. While the N2 is still years away, my hope is that you can experience this trail in its current, unspoiled form, just as it has been hiked for decades.

Have something to share?

If you have something to share with others for this route, please post it below, and I will add it to the mapping data and modify the above post accordingly.

Have a question?

Post it below and see if someone can answer it!

8 Likes

Best time to do this hike?

Hi Celeste, you can hike the Wild Coast of South Africa anytime of the year, but the best time is between March to June or September to October.

Here are some things to consider:

Summer (November to February):
The weather is warm and sunny, with average temperatures ranging from 27-29°C. This is the best time to hike if you want to swim in the ocean and enjoy the beaches. However, it can also be quite humid, and there is a risk of thunderstorms.

Autumn (March to May):
The weather starts to cool down, with average temperatures ranging from 22-25°C. Days while not as long as summer are still great.

Winter (June to August):
The weather is mild, with average temperatures ranging from 18-21°C. However, the days are short, and there is a chance of rain.

Spring (September to October):
The weather starts to warm up, with average temperatures ranging from 22-25°C. This is a good time to hike if you want to see the wildflowers in bloom which actually starts in August. The days are also longer. However, there is a chance of thunderstorms.

So sad to hear you can’t book those camps when hiking solo! They were idyllic when I hiked there

We just did Pondoland with Wildchild! What an awesome experience 65kms over 4 days, views were amazing, accomodation in tented camps along the way

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Hi @BKassel I 100% agree. That was one of the reasons I created this thread. I was disappointed to see solo hiking along this coastline starting to be discouraged or treated as if it were impossible, reckless, or rebellious, when that shouldn’t be the case. I worry about this trail becoming commercialized by a select few, when it should remain accessible to all.

@BryanOC6 So glad you had a great time with WildChild! It looks like an amazing trip with them, and I’m glad they’re bringing more people to this trail. I would love to do it with them in the future. My hope is that they become the team dedicated to preserving this coastline, ensuring it remains pristine while also keeping it accessible to anyone who wishes to traverse it. This coastline should be accessible to anyone with the willpower to hike it, whether with WildChild, a local guide, or independently.

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Thanks so much for all the info!

I would like to do the trail with my dog (who is very used to hiking & swimming). Do you think that would be possible self-guided? And would any of the huts allow us access?

Hi @Miri you are not allowed to take your dog onto Mkambati Nature Reserve unfortunatly, because it’s a reserve. While the rest could be possible, you would need to find out from the places you stay. Some may allow it while others won’t.

Also, just be cognizant that this is tribal land owned by the Pondo people. It’s their land. I would be worried about people and other animals if your dog or other animals are not used to them and vice versa.

Personally, I believe we need more dog-friendly hiking options in South Africa for dogs and owners. It would be great to have them on trails in many cases, especially when it comes to safety. I do, however, understand the reasoning for reserves like Mkambati not allowing it. Your dog would be perfectly fine with the trail and swims, better than most humans!

Thanks so much for your quick and informative response :slight_smile: We have decided to leave her at home and do a recce ourselves. Maybe on a future trip we can bring her, once we have a better understanding of the area.

Hello again, I’m a bit further with my planning and was wondering if I could ask you a few more logistic questions?

Our current plan is to end the Giants Cup hiking trail on Monday the 15th and from there go to Coffee Bay for a few days for a rest (and to do work). Then we’d like to start the Pondo Trail probably that Thursday or Friday (18/19). First off, does this make any sense? Or is there a better way to do this? Secondly, would you recommend we roughly stick to your route, or would you do things differently knowing what you know now?

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

We have just completed the next stretch of the trail port St John’s to coffee bay. Guided and with village based accommodations with a small group of 3. Our guide informed us he does 1-24 people in a group. We used public transport from coffee bay back to port St John’s which was R250 pp, and goes via mtata as that is the only route. With our guide the public transport felt safe. I strongly encourage people to hike this guided and use the village based accommodation as it supports communities and many families benefit. Not only that but the food and hospitality is out of this world. When booking it also helps to book directly with the guides from the community and bypass the 3rd party your operator as this saves money. 5 years ago we did Msikaba to port St John’s and going through a third party made it more expensive. For this trip now one of our group found the guide via a Facebook hiking group. it is an absolutely incredible coastline and for us all even exceeded experiences we had with the likes of otter trail because of both the natural and cultural richness