Mthatha

The town of Mthatha lies inland in the northern part of the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape. Though this inland region is also considered part of the Amatola region, and it is called the Mthatha or Umtata Region.

Nelson Mandela was born in a village near Mthatha, and a tribute to this remarkable man’s life can be found at the nearby Nelson Mandela Museum in the village of Qunu*

Mthatha was the Capital of the former independent homeland of the Transkei, which has now been incorporated into the Eastern Cape and is called The Wild Coast. Mthatha is still the main centre of this region, though it as more of a last stop for travellers to the remote bays and river mouths of the Wild Coast than a tourist destination in itself. The area around the town is fairly flat and overgrazed – a little sparse other than in the rainy season (although the larger Mthatha region has some beautiful scenery), and there’s can be rubbish blowing about, but if you can look past the plastic packets, crisps (what we call chips) packets and cool-drink bottles that litter the verges and stick on fences in parts of Mthatha and the surrounding countryside, you will see the beauty of a traditional Xhosa way of life that has resisted the imperious march of western modernity.

Look past what supermarket commercialism (and a whole bunch of other influences) has tragically added to the environment, and you will see goats, cow, sheep and skinny yellow and piebald dogs wondering along the streets just outside the town; you will see Xhosa women carrying water jars on their heads, many with babies wrapped in blankets on their backs, some wearing traditional patterned dresses and huge head turbans, bedecked with bangles and beaded jewellery, their faces painted with white clay, some elders smoking long Xhosa pipes, on their way home to the pretty pastel and sometimes patterned painted rondawel homesteads that dot the countryside.

Although there are some beautiful old colonial buildings, such as the sandstone town hall with its clocktower, stop in Mthatha for a full tank of fuel, food and supplies (all food and supplies recommended if you are heading for some of the more remote parts of the Wild Coast such as Mdumbi) and to check your spare tyres are up for the long road to whatever piece of heaven you are headed for on the Wild Coast – a road that will become progressively more full of potholes (don’t take this lightly), goats, sheep, cattle, horses, donkeys, lots and lots of the “Transkei special” dogs, geese and grinning barefoot kids as the environment gets more lush and the roads wind down toward the coast. Drive slowly.

*Please note: The Nelson Mandela Museum building in Mthatha has closed its doors till 2014 for renovations, but the Museum’s other site at Qunu is still open.

Getting to Mthatha: Mthatha lies on the N2 between East London and Kokstad.

Getting to Qunu: Qunu lies about 30km south of Mthatha on the N2 toward Butterworth.

(When using Google Maps – type Umtata)