The Hole in the Wall at Coffee Bay is a unique structure with a huge detached cliff that has a giant opening carved through its centre by the waves. The local Xhosa call this place “izi Khaleni”, which means “place of thunder”.
Xhosa mythology tells a romantic tale of the sea people, semi deities who look like humans but have supple wrists and ankles and flipperlike hands and feet. The story goes that a beautiful girl living on the Wild Coast, in a village near a lagoon, cut off from the sea by a mighty cliff, was seen by one of the sea people who became overwhelmed by her beauty and tried to woo her. However, her father was not too pleased with this development and forbid any interaction between the two. In dealing with the wrath of her father, the sea people enlisted the help of a huge fish who battered its way headfirst through the wall of rock. Through this hole spilled the sea people who swept the young Xhosa maiden away…..
The location?
Google Maps https://goo.gl/maps/a1AYRDLa442jpQD9A
How to get there?
Follow the N2 from Durban in a south-westerly direction along the coast. The trip is approximately 520km / 7 hours.
Things to do?
Take a stroll from Coffee Bay to Lubanzi beach which is about 5km or snorkel in the lagoon which is teeming with fish.
Best place for your photo?
Climb to the top of the hill overlooking the Hole in the Wall bay and take a photo looking back to the beach. If you do this early in the morning or at sunset, you get bonus points!
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