A bunch of 9 of us from our church (5 had been to HITW before, and 4 x newbies) left JHB on Friday afternoon 9 June around lunch time, with the intention of sleeping over at Aliwal North (named after my great great great uncle Sir Rufain Donkin - the hero of Aliwal - a battle in India). We were travelling in 2 Toyota Land Cruiser Prados. Amazingly, I was one of the skinnier people, and was relegated to the car with 5 people. We swapped seats regularly, as 5 people is a bit cramped. Stayed at Umtali Inn (R375 pppn sharing). Had dinner a a tiny little place called the Little Ranch where they serve mammoth sized steaks. To be honest, if you did not know how to find it, you would not even know it exists.
Next morning we hit the road for Barkley East and Elliot. Stopped in Elliot for breakfast, at a little coffee shop next to BuildIT. Chatted to some of the local people about the best route to take, as the Langeni Pass between Ugie and Mthatha was closed, due to damage caused by rain and heavy trucks. The advice was not to travel via Maclear, as there were roadworks between Maclear and the N2. The only other option was via Engcobo. The road from Elliot to Engcobo was OK. Not great, but not that bad. Scenery is great. Engcobo to Mthatha was good. Stopped off at the NGCWANGUBA trading store about 20 KM from Hole in the wall, where we had arranged to pick up 24 boxes of sards. The road from Mthatha to the store was mostly vaguely OK, till about 10km before the store where they were resurfacing the road. Not great but drivable. The road from the store to Hole in the Wall is a sand road. The first km or so is not great, but OK. The rest of the way was fine.
The cottage had been upgraded since my last visit, and my bed looked out onto the Hole in the wall.
A number of the fishing spots were closed to us. The river in front of Hole in the Wall was very deep, making it virtually impossible to cross over, so that cut out The Ledges, (a nice flat spot for cob and bream), as well as Little Shelly (a favorite spot for bronze bream). Most of the fishing was done from the Queen (I know a number of people do not like this spot, but that is where the fish come out. And yes lines get tangled, and you don't have much of your own space, but with a bit of patience and grace, you can cope. I fish with nylon on the Queen, because it is just easier to work with when sorting out the odd tangle up). Mostly we caught shad in the morning sessions, with one or 2 small cob (which were were put back) and some blacktails coming out. I also fished at the hole, and caught a decent sized stone bream. Some days were unfishable due to weather and massive surf. The shad coming out were a good size - 40cm plus, and gave a good fight on light tackle. Probably around 2 shad per person in the morning session for us visitors. Most locals completely ignore the bag limits.
Most of the fish were consumed for breakfast. Some people brought some home.
We were able to get crayfish, mussels and oysters, as well as some crayfish for bait (always good for bream). The sea was warmish (for winter), and we were able to swim without being too cold. There was abundant signs of the sardine run coming past. Dollphins, whales, game fish jumping out of the water, birds diving. The one comment I remember was from a newbie on the trip saying "I have seen more whales here on this trip than I have ever seen in my entire life".
This is not a "purist" fisherman's trip, where you get space to fish in idyllic conditions, but is rather a men's trip for a bunch of guys from our church, for an opportunity for us spend a bit of time together and to get to know one another a bit better, with fishing thrown in. For some guys, it was their first experience at sea fishing, and they caught their first fish. Some did not fish at all. We also spent a lot of time just talking, and also playing various card games when not fishing (Monopoly Deal, Mudsucker, spite and malice, and a crazy game called spoons). This was my 20th or 21st trip to Hole in the wall with the guys, and it was great.
Probably the most awkward thing when planning a trip like this is the cost. We pegged it at R6500 pp, including petrol, accommodation and food, also including 2 x gillies, and 2 maids at the house. This included the overnight stay at Aliwal North, but not the dinner at the Little Ranch. This may not be an obstacle for everyone, but it was for some people (we normally do 16 people, and the fact that we could only get 9 this time shows how tight times are) It was amazing to see the generosity of people coming forward to help those wanting to go, but battling with the costs. The cost of petrol / diesel was also a big factor. The price of food has skyrocketed since my last trip 2 years back.
Coming back, we left around 04:00 on Saturday the 17th, and arrived back in JHB around 16:00. (12 hours is a long time in a car, especially as you get older). There were some STOP/GO's where they were doing roadworks, but these were fairly short waits. We did see one major accident on the N2 between Coffee Bay and Mthatha, that had just happened. It was a full on head on between 2 cars. There were other people stopping to help, so we just drove past. Otherwise it was an event free trip home.
Will I go again..........absolutely. How do you get an invite to one of these trips...........this is a trip for the men in our church, so kind of across the road from Leeukop prison is a big building called The Crossing Church. See you there on Sunday at 09:00.
A final thank you to Brandon (Fishatic), who put magnets into my new Grand Wave 50 (more than a year ago). Fantastic job Brandon. I did not even have to adjust the magnets, and it cast beautifully.
Will post some pics in due course, once I have sorted through them
