Coastal Adventure Trail
10 June 2023
The Riding
The Accommodation
Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?
The accommodation was actually better than expected. Your descriptions made it clear we weren't staying in a four star hotel. Nevertheless, they were clean, the beds adequate and the staff hospitable. The standard of food varied, very good at Kei Mouth, poor at Mazeppa Bay. The food standard at Seabirds (our non scheduled stop) was good and they probably had the most comfortable beds. For reasons you will be aware of, we didn't get to Kob Inn.
We all managed to work round the nightly Load Shedding and we were all glad we had bought torches, but the water outage on our last night was unexpected. The frequent electricity cuts cause the water pumps to blow apparently. However, our hosts were well prepared; no different from camping.
Before Your Holiday
Did you have all of the information you needed to:
How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?
Your little book was concise and informative.
Do you have any other feedback for us?
Super holiday. Thank you.
[In The Saddle replies: Many thanks for sending your detailed and constructive feedback. We are very pleased that you enjoyed the trip].
Roger who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Wild Coast Adventure Trail - The best beach ride in the world. | Not only was it great riding, the area is really interesting and like nowhere else I have ever visited and I have been on lots of riding holidays. I think your literature should make more of this aspect. The Transkei is totally undeveloped and the local tribes people were both fascinating and friendly.
This ride is only suitable for good, fit riders. Those who are not will not stay the course and will hold up the rest of group. You can get all aspects of terrain in one day and often at pace and it is not possible to get the lunch stop and say "you can't carry on". This area is remote and there are no roads to get you out. This is what makes it so special.
As you know one of our riders came off and was badly hurt and concussed. I must commend Tertia our guide and Jess our back rider, for their professionalism in taking command of the situation, mobilising our group and getting outside assistance. I also know Julie-Anne did a lot of organising and provided support to the injured rider as we all carried on with our holiday. Most impressed.
The nearest hospital is in East London, some two hours drive away and we were able to get the injured rider off the beach with the help of a local who managed to get his flat bed truck over the sand dunes. Most of the beaches would have required a helicopter. Makes you realise the importance of good riding insurance.
[In The Saddle - as we all know, unfortunately anyone can fall off a horse at any time. We were fortunate that this accident happened relatively close to a hotel - but it must be remembered that this is a remote part of South Africa and medical support will not be as quick as we are used to in the UK.]