It was 03:01 under a canopy of stars when Liam and I left Haven Hotel. Our first few hours in darkness were exhilarating as we navigated across the Mbashe river onto driftwood strewn beaches and grasslands. Our headlamps casting shadows and raising the heart rate.
With the sun up, the undeniable beauty of the Wild Coast took over. We traversed the landscape with the Indian Ocean on our left, the terrain constantly shifting and propelling us forward. We went from eroded cattle paths to coastal forests, and from slippery boulders to peaceful lagoons. The cambered beaches and saturated sand were a constant test. We passed scenes typical of the Transkei: hopeful fishermen on the rocks, weathered shipwrecks, and fat black pigs and cattle roaming the beach. A few locals and holidaymakers definitely questioned our sanity along the way.
We broke our distance into manageable chunks, looking forward to small rewards like an ice-cold drink or a pair of dry socks. As a team, Liam and I worked incredibly well together. We stayed consistent and knew instinctively when to push our pace and when to ease up. We fuelled and hydrated well, despite Liam losing three bottles on the route!
Our timing throughout the day was uncanny. We managed to swim across every river in daylight; caught the ferry just seconds before it departed and even got to watch kick-off (Springboks vs Australia) at Morgan Bay Hotel with pizza and beer in hand.
We trotted into Crawfords on a low-tide beach with our loved ones waiting to give congratulatory hugs. We were totally stoked - tired legs and very happy hearts