Uvongo-Oribi GorgeOctober 19-21st

After we left Knysna we started up the coast line towards our ultimate destination, the mission trip in Swaziland. We only had 5 days to get there so we wanted to make the most of it and see as much as possible along the way.We consulted Ron on the path he would suggest and mapped it out before we departed.One of the areas we had to drive through is called the Transkei and to most of the locals is the most dangerous terrain to travel through.Ron said he would never pass through that area again even if it cost him several hours on the road.The problem with the area is there are no fences so livestock roams freely as well as the people along the street.It is another very impoverished area so crime is also a concern as well as dangerous drivers.So, we said a prayer and took off.The trek to our first stop was five hours on the current path so we wanted to keep it at that. Therefore, we chose to travel through the Transkei and take our chances.It really turned out to not be that bad and the area was interesting to say the least. We passed through Nelson Mandela's home town of Mvezo.Our first stop we had planned along this path was East London.The plan was merely to stay one night in this location and wake early the next day to make our way to Uvongo.We booked a little self-catering cottage in a town just outside of East London called Ganobi.It turned out to be a really nice little area and we were a little sad we didn't plan to stay longer.It turned out to be a nice little place with the exception of laundry facilities, which we requested, and a not so clean unit.Anyway we quickly adapted as we have throughout our journey and started to unpack.The weather in this area was about the same as Knysna had been with cool temperatures and a little wind.We found a run down "swimming pool" near the beach and there were couple of kids playing there.Emma and Sam had no qualms about jumping into a pool that wasn't the cleanest in freezing cold temperatures.They amaze me, more adaptable than we are most of the time.After two nights in Uvongo, we started to head towards Durban.

Oribi Gorge
We saw a place in a magazine called the Oribi Gorge not far from Uvongo.The place got a great review, so we decided to stop by on our way to Durban.It was well worth it and again, we would recommend it.It is a smaller version of the Grand Canyon.Beautiful views with different scenic areas along the gorge.They boast the longest swing ride, so we had to check it out.If you are old and scared like us you basically pay them to jump off the side of the mountain and free fall until the rope runs out and then you start swinging.I (Susan) did something like this in college called bridge bombing, which was a 50 ft drop over a river.This was about a 170 meter (~500 ft) drop into a dry canyon.No thank you!We did pay one of the guides to do the jump which was good enough for us.Take a look at the pictures which gives a better idea of the place.