The Wild Coast
by Peter Baxter | www.southafricalogue.com
In the modern world, ‘wild’ as far as nature is concerned is a relative concept. It is enough, perhaps, that an area of natural beauty is not utterly trampled by urban development, or destroyed by irresponsible land use, for it to deserve the term ‘wild’. Certainly this is the case in the developing world, and most particularly along the earth’s tropical coastlines. The Wild Coast of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, although hardly wild, is by comparison to the KNZ South Coast in a different world altogether. It is a gorgeous natural environment, comprising the signature open grasslands and hill country of the south coast, with deep cut ravines peppered with groves of aloe, and deep tidal estuaries cloaked on either bank with rich and unsullied riparian forest. There is no sign anywhere of mock Tuscan gated developments, of strip malls or the blanket sugar estates so ubiquitous throughout the region. It is moreover an environment fiercely protected by both a large cohort of outside environmentalists and significant numbers of local community members. The latter, almost uniquely, have successfully resisted the temptation to climb into bed with property developers and sell the long term integrity of their landscape for short term profit.
The Environmental Frontline
Currently, however, the issue is less property development and more highway construction and strip mining. The controversy in the first instances involves the extension of the ubiquitous toll road system, that is the pride of the South African transport infrastructure, through the Transkei, and secondly whether to grant Australian mining conglomerate, Minerals Commodities Limited, and Local Black Economic Empowerment group Xolobeni Empowerment Company, license to dune mine substantial base metal reserves along the coast. While the intricacies of this contest are beyond the scope of this narrative, they do broadly pit local concerns against central and international financial interests. At the core is the question of land ownership, which, in the case of the wild coast, is land owned by the state and held in trust for the people.
N2 Toll Road debate reignited!
N2 Toll: Proposed route (Mostly existing road)
THE decade-long N2 Wild Coast Tollroad debate was re-ignited this week with the release of a new – and final – environmental impact assessment.
Over 7800 submissions from the public were included in the report, which started afresh in 2007 by CCA Environmental (Pty) Ltd after an original EIA was shelved in 2004 when it was found that the “independent” environmental consultants had financial links with companies that hoped to build the road.
Revoke mining right
By John GI Clark
Stephan Hofstatter’s report on the shenanigans surrounding the Wild Coast mining saga refers (Transkei dead’s nod to dune deal, March 5). So it is at the discretion of the minister whether or not to revoke a mining right, even when there is clear evidence of a fraud having been perpetrated to secure a mining right by the holders thereof.
The latest evidence of fraudulently obtained lists of people, many of whom are long deceased, on “certificates” stating their free and informed consent for the Xolobeni Mining venture on the Wild Coast, provides Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu with a more than adequate basis to revoke the mining right immediately.
Transkei Dead's Nod to Dune Deal
By Stephan Hofstatter
Johannesburg — EVIDENCE of misrepresentation has emerged in papers submitted in an application that led to a decision by the Department of Mineral Resources to allow titanium mining on the environmentally sensitive Wild Coast.
If proved, the disclosures could jeopardise plans by Australian company Mineral Commodities (MRC) and its empowerment partner, Xolco, to extract heavy metals worth an estimated R11bn from the coastal dunes of the Transkei.
Toll road opposed by Mkhize
By Tony Carnie
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize has re-iterated his opposition to the proposed N2 Wild Coast toll road, saying more tollgates in the Durban area will cause further financial hardship for commuters and slow down economic growth.
Reacting to the news that the proposed N2 toll had been given another green light after an environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, Mkhize said the KZN Provincial government had always been opposed to the proposed Wild Coast toll road, especially the proposed toll gate at Isipingo.
The Premier noted that there was general agreement in the legislature that all political parties should speak with one voice in opposing this tollgate and he promised to make an official announcement later this week on how the legislature would respond to the latest EIA recommendation.
Green light given for N2 toll road
Fri, 2010-03-05 09:21 | 
Related Article:
The N2 Wild Coast toll road project has been given another green light after a decade-long controversy, but final approval could still be thwarted by strong opposition from Durban, the KZN legislature and other interest groups.
White Clay
The next 21.1km "White Clay Cross Country Challenge" is on the 28 August 2010.
Contact:
For more info please phone Roy or Karen at White Clay on 047-575 0008 or 083-979 4499.
White Clay Resort is situated 1,5 km south of Coffee Bay on the “Hole in the Wall” road on the Wild Coast, nestled between the cliffs and only 100 m from its own private beach and bay. The setting is unrivaled with vast, rolling hills and rocky cliffs shearing off into the ocean. All accommodation is sea-facing offering guests fabulous vistas. The bay and private beach below is ideal for fishing and swimming at low tide.
The resort offers self-catering, a Guest House with B&B and DB&B, camping, and a pub, curio shop and restaurant with full sea view specializing in seafood. Attractions in the area include fabulous rock, surf and river fishing, deep sea boat charter, hiking trails between the magnificent “Hole in the Wall” in the south and Mdumbi Beach in the north.
1 comment | 
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Tags: Accommodation, B&B, Camping, challenge, Coffee Bay, Self catered, sport Offshore Boat Trips
Experience a wild ocean adventure and be one of the few lucky people to explore our beautiful wild coastline from the ocean.
COASTAL WALKS
The Gap and Blow Hole
Exploration includes : River Launch - View Port St Johns, Lighthouse & Gap from the Ocean
Drop off by boat on beach then Walk from beach to Gap & back to Port St Johns. Brunch included
Noqhekwana Village Beach & Cave
Exploration includes : River Launch - View Port St Johns, Lighthouse & Noqhekwana Cliffs from the Ocean
Drop off on beach, Walk from beach to Cavem swim in lagoon, walk back through Noqhekwana village with its beautiful views of Ocean, forest & Beach. Brunch included
Isinuka Springs
Exploration includes : Boat cruise up River - View the Old Pont, drop off at Banana Point, walk to Isinuka Springs to experience an old Pondo tradition, boat pickup back to Port St Johns. Brunch included
Dolphin & Whale Spotting
The Wild Coast waters have very rich and well established feeding and breeding Marine systems. Included in these are Dolphins all year round, but tons during Sardine season - May - Aug. Humpback Whales migrating to Madagascar: they cruise up the coast in pods around April to July and return to the Southern Ocean about August to December.
3 Day & 6 Day Coastal Beach Backpacker to Backpacker & Christian Youth Outreach Trips.
Come dressed to get wet / Dry hatch onboard for Cameras
For Bookings and further Info, contact the Skipper - Michael:
Xolobeni Hearing - Canceled
By: Christy van der Merwe
10th February 2010
The hearings involving interested parties appealing a decision to grant Transworld Energy Minerals (TEM) a licence to mine heavy minerals from the dunes near Xolobeni on the Wild Coast, scheduled to take place this week, were cancelled.
The committee of four people, which was appointed by the Mining and Minerals Board to oversee the presentations from all parties involved, could not proceed because it had not received the necessary documentation from the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).
Committee chairperson Pathekile Holomisa told Mining Weekly Online that it had now received the documentation, which it would go through, and would decide in March whether or not hearings into the matter in fact needed to take place.
"Ultimately, our piece would be to advise the Minister, either to proceed with granting the license, or cancel or withdraw it, but that depends on our understanding of the issue. And we shall also decide whether there is a need to invite more oral presentations or not," he explained.
Grahamstown-based Legal Resources Centre (LRC) representative Sarah Sephton said that the cancellation of the hearings was "completely unsatisfactory', as the LRC had made the effort to submit its volumes of documentation on time to the DMR.
She added that the LRC, as well as representatives from the mining company TEM, and the company's black economic-empowerment partner, Xolco, travelled to the KwaZulu-Natal DMR offices for the scheduled hearings "at great cost", only to be told that hearings were not going to take place.
The LRC represented the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), which was appealing the mining right, which the former Minerals and Energy Minister, Buyelwa Sonjica, granted in August 2008.
The LRC stated that one of the grounds for the appeal was that the mining right was granted to the Australia-based mining junior without sufficient and reasonable consultation with the Xolobeni community as an interested and affected party.
On September 28, 2009, the LRC submitted two expert reports to the Minister in support of the appeal to set aside the mining right. One of the reports provided that the heavy minerals mining operations planned by TEM had been discontinued in other jurisdictions, such as Australia and New Zealand.
Resolution on whether or not the licence to mine for titanium-bearing minerals would, in fact, be granted was expected by June 2009, however, little clarity on the matter had emerged.
Edited by: Mariaan Webb
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/xolobeni-appeal-hearings-cancelled-2...
Amadiba Crisis Committee submission to DME
The Legal Resources Centre's submission to DME on behalf of the ACC and Xolobeni community is rather long-winded and dry; but also interesting, and thoroughly convincing:
THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS AND ENERGY
INTERNAL APPEAL/REVIEW OF THE AWARD OF A MINING RIGHT TO TRANSWORLD
ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES (SA) (PTY) LTD
Appeal/review instituted by:
THE AMADIBA CRISIS COMMITTEE
Directed to:
MINISTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS AND ENERGY
APPLICANT'S FURTHER GROUNDS OF REVIEW AND REPLY TO SUBMISSIONS FROM TEM AND XOLCO
Strong public opinion against mining Xolobeni
2 Recent print articles, which only appeared in the Daily Dispatch Online today, have already been published in the Weekend Post and on other environmental sites; proving conclusively that public perception is strongly against the mining:
The stories have been published at
http://www.weekendpost.co.za/article.aspx?id=527361
http://saweatherobserver.blogspot.com/2010/02/another-environmental-disa...
and
http://www.savingwater.co.za/2010/02/04/heavy-minerals-mining-in-environ...
and are also reproduced in full below:
2010/02/04
THE granting of a mining licence to Australian mining group Transworld Energy Minerals (TEM) to mine heavy minerals on the pristine dunes at Xolobeni on the Wild Coast was “clearly improper and ought to be withdrawn”.
...
Fishing permit fee increase from 1 May 2010
From page 76, Government Gazette 29 , January 2010
Annual & temporary permit prices with effect from 1 May 2010:
Fees payable in respect of issuing a permit to undertake Recreational Fishing (annual), and fees payable in respect of issuing short-term permits (only valid for 4 weeks) of:
NB. in addition to the permit issuing costs, on page 74 it states that:
Fees payable in respect of an application for a permit to undertake recreational fishing - R30 (additional)
(Furthermore, to apply for a permit to undertake subsistence fishing costs R6, and for the issuing of the permit, a further R40.)
Interested and affected parties may submit written comment to Revenue Management at the Department of Environmental Affairs:
Marine & Coastal Management
Private Bag X2
Roggebaai, 8012
Written comments may be posted by mail to the above address, or:
Fax: 086-613 6256
Email: revenue@deat.gov.za
All written comments must be received by the department by no later than 16h00 on 1 March 2010.
Xolobeni Hearing: 8 - 10 February 2010
LRC to make oral submissions on behalf of the Amadiba Crisis Committee at Xolobeni.
On 8, 9 and 10 February 2010, the Minerals and Mining Development Board will receive oral submissions on behalf of interested parties involved in the appeal against the Minister’s decision to grant a mining right to Transworld Energy Minerals (TEM) at Xolobeni in the Eastern Cape. The Board will then make recommendations to the Minister of Minerals and Energy.
The LRC will be representing the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) who are appealing the granting of the mining right. One of the grounds for the appeal is that the mining right was granted to TEM without sufficient and reasonable consultation with the Xolobeni community as an interested and affected party. Counsel for the ACC Advocates Gilbert Marcus (SC) and Isabel Goodman will be submitting written heads of argument that will be made available to interested parties.
Recently, on 28 September 2009, the LRC submitted two expert reports to the Minister on behalf of the ACC. The reports were in support of the ACC’s appeal to the Minister to set aside the mining right. One of the reports provided that the heavy mineral mining operations planned by TEM have been discontinued in other jurisdictions such as Australia and New Zealand. TEM is a subsidiary of the Australian group Mineral
Resources Commodities (MRC).
The details of the hearing are as follows:
Date: 8, 9 and 10 February 2010
Time: 8 February (12h00 to 16h00), 9 and 10 February (9h30 to 15h00)
Venue: Department of Mineral Resources KZN Regional Office
333 Durban Bay House
Smith Street
Durban
For further information contact:
Legal Resources Centre
Sarah Sephton
046-6229230/0834107646/
Check out these film clips that have been made about the amaPondo people’s battle against the mining proposal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XriivLxBoZ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXQmpSNqH40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClDk33tAVpk
Warning: Permits required for Wild Coast
This is important information if you are planning on going on holiday, day trip or fishing along the Transkei Wild Coast:
You will need a permit to travel to cottages that are not on proclaimed or designated roads. (E.g. the road to the Jacaranda.) If you do not have a permit for these routes you may be charged by the Green Scorpions and given a spot fine of R2500.
If you are a cottage owner and your cottage is not on a proclaimed road you will need to present your PTO (Permission To Occupy) at the Environmental office and acquire a permit to travel on the track to your cottage. No permits will be awarded to anyone without a valid PTO. Cottage owner permits are valid for one year.
If you are traveling to a cottage that is not on a proclaimed road you will need a letter from the PTO holder which you can present at the offices to acquire a temporary permit. There is no charge for the permit. The permit is valid for one month.
This applies to anywhere within 1km from the high-water mark along the Wild Coast from Kei Mouth up to Port Edward. You may not drive a motor vehicle in this exclusion zone without a permit. This includes quad and motor bikes, etc. If a proclaimed road goes all the way down to the sea you can then walk left or right to your angling spots from that point. If the road stops 1km before the sea and a bush path carries on towards the sea, you will have to walk from where the proclaimed road ends. You may not ride these trails.
Contact details to aquire a permit are:
edwina.oates@deaet.ecape.gov.za
Tel: Edwina Oates - 043 740 4068
Fax: 086 519 3200
Thanks to www.fishingec.co.za for the information.
Active Escapes - Hiking & Biking Adventures on the Wild Coast
Active Escapes offer unique mountain bike and guided hiking trail tours along the Wild Coast.
For more information about cycling or hiking the Wild Coast, please see www.wildcoast.com/active-escapes or check their website.
Contact: Sarah Drew (Active Escapes)
Tel: 084 2407277 or 033 2344367
Email: sarah@active-escapes.co.za
Website: www.active-escapes.co.za
MRP Highlights
For the past 3 years DEAT SRPP (Social Responsibility, Policy & Projects) has funded the Mussel Rehabilitation Project (MRP) which has been implemented by Walter Sisulu University along the Wild Coast between Umtata Mouth and Hole in the Wall.
The initiative has, without a doubt, been one of the most successful and effective social responsibility projects in the Eastern Cape. It has not only proven that rehabilitation and controlled harvesting of mussel beds is sustainable, but has literally produced tons of protein rich mussels for the benefit of the local community, while also contributing employment, skills training, environmental awareness, resource monitoring, catch-data collation, and many other vital linkages and benefits.
Operating since 2000 under the care and guidance of Zoology lecturer, Dr. Calvo-Ugarteburu (affectionately known by all as “Gugu”),
Gugu & Tuse the Mussel Rehabilitation & Food Production Project has been funded variously by Marine & Coastal Management (MCM), WWF, and DEAT SRPP.
Green Scorpions
Crackdown by Green Scorpions
2009/11/16
THE Eastern Cape’s highly specialised environmental unit, known as the “Green Scorpions”, has cracked down on people and hotels along the Wild Coast for flouting environmental laws and has issued fines totalling more than R30 000.
The Green Scorpions, or the Environmental Management Inspectorate, is a network of environmental enforcement officials from different government departments.
The joint operation involved the provincial Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (Dedea), Kei Mouth police, East London Dog Unit, police airwing and Marine and Coastal Management.
They embarked on a crackdown at the weekend to enforce the law and to warn people to abide by the country’s environmental laws.
The operation kicked off at around 5am in Kei Mouth on Saturday. From there members of the team crossed the Kei River to inspect the coast.
The team was joined by a police helicopter from Bhisho, which swooped on a number people driving off-road vehicles or riding quad bikes illegally along the beach. The transgressors were issued spot fines .
Dedea senior manager for environmental compliance and enforcement Div de Villiers , who heads the Green Scorpions in the province, said they fined 12 people for driving along the beach illegally. All were issued with fines of R2500 each and ordered off the beach.
The team also visited hotels in the area. “Basically we did hotel checks and found one with excess alikreukel (a type of shell fish),” said De Villiers. “The reason for taking action is the amount of damage caused ... trucks ... ride over birds’ eggs and nests and vegetation. They churn up the mountainside, which leads to erosion.”
From the chopper, the Green Scorpions also spotted people mining sand illegally. The damage, seen from the air, “was unbelievable”, said an inspector. “We impounded the truck and issued a R5000 fine for his mining and driving along the coast. But he paid the fine and the truck was released,” said De Villiers.
“No vehicles were confiscated and not all of them paid their fines. It (operation) definitely yielded positive results. It’s also proactive and warns people to stick to legislation.
“The word is out; there will be zero tolerance over the forthcoming festive holiday season.”
Dedea acting head of department Sybert Liebenberg, who took part in the crackdown, said environmental crimes were also economic crimes.
“They erode our tourism. Twenty years from now there will be nothing left in the Transkei for our children. ” — By BABALO NDENZE, babalon@dispatch.co.za
Khululeka Retreat
Self catering lodge in Port St Johns area, offering rooms or whole lodge rental. Rates, facilities, property images, and location map included in website.
Web: www.khululeka.co.za
Email: stay@khululeka.co.za
Mobile: +27 (0)72 1943644 Fax: +27 (0)86 6724096
Paradise. Right Here, Right Now.
If you want to get off the beaten track to a place that is unique for its beauty and unspoilt surroundings, you will love Khululeka Retreat. Set in an Indigenous State Forest high on the hills with an awesome 180-degree view of the sea and estuary, Khululeka Retreat is just that. Peaceful, private and remote.
LRC submits expert evidence against mining in Xolobeni
2 October 2009
LRC submits expert evidence against mining in Xolobeni
On 28 September 2009 the Grahamstown office of the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) submitted two expert reports to the Minister of Minerals and Energy on behalf of the AmaDiba Crisis Committee (ACC). The reports were in support of the ACC’s appeal to the Minister to set aside the mining right granted to Transworld Energy Minerals(TEM) at Xolobeni in the Eastern Cape.
One of the reports compiled by Jan Meyer, a soil fertility expert, provides that the heavy mineral mining operations planned by TEM have been discontinued in other jurisdictions such as Australia and New Zealand. TEM is a subsidiary of the Australian group Mineral Resources Commodities (MRC).
The report states that ‘a significant amount of heavy mineral mining previously took place along the East Coast of Australia, New South Wales. However many of the mining operations in New South Wales have been asked to desist.’
The report also lists 10 reasons why the mining operations in New South Wales have been discontinued and describes several of them as relevant to the proposed mining at Xolobeni.
This means that TEM seeks to legitimise operations in South Africa regardless of their negative impact. The intended mining will adversely affect the traditional way of life of the Xolobeni community, some of whom have occupied the land for centuries, and will irreparably damage the coastline.
This matter began on 2 September 2008, when the ACC made an application to appeal/review the decision in terms of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002. The basis for the appeal/review is that the mining right was granted to TEM without sufficient and reasonable consultation with the Xolobeni community as an interested and affected party.
It is not known when the Minister will reconsider the decision to grant the licence but the Department has announced that the appeal/review will take place.
For further information contact the Legal Resources Centre:
Sarah Sephton
Attorney
0466229230
For some background on the status of the appeal, please see this Mining Weekly article from March this year. It's great to see Creamer Media batting for our team.
The Fisherman
by Trevor Gothan
14 October 2009
The Fisherman
As a teenager we often spent the holidays on the Wild Coast, where my father loved fishing for steenbras off his favourite rocks. On one blustery day, I chose not to fish alongside him in the cold salt spray and rather joined a Xhosa fisherman at a more sheltered spot, some distance away.
Both hoping for a few bream for lunch, we stared at our lines in fruitless expectation for the first hour. Thereafter, we engaged in a more interesting, but somewhat difficult conversation, for his mastery of English was about as limited as my abilities in isiXhosa.
After some formalities about weather, bait and fish, our conversation turned to our lives. Zamuxolo pointed out his kraal on a green hill across the bay, and then asked where I was from and what I did.
I enthusiastically explained that I was studying to be an engineer at Wits and finding it quite tough.
"Why are you doing that?" he responded.
"To get a good qualification and hopefully a well paying job," I replied.
"What for?" he queried. This required some thought.
"To earn enough to educate my kids, pay for a nice home and retire comfortably one day when I'm old," I confided.
"And then what will you do?" Zamuxolo probed.
"Probably live at the coast in a place like this, where I can fish and relax all year round," I said, trying to think of what else I might do.
He stared at me for about a minute and then lit his pipe, as if to try and understand my thought processes a little better. "You mean to do what I have been doing all my life here at Qora? Why must you wait until you are an old man?"
I had no easy answer.
I still chose to complete my engineering studies and, while working in Germany a few years later, I received another lesson in the philosophy of life. I had just spent a year working in the UK, which I had found difficult. It was during Harold Wilson's premiership when unions ran amok and companies were battling to keep afloat. My German colleague explained the problem.
"The Germans," he said, "work very hard to accumulate the trappings of material success, for which they are proud and they would gladly take you to their fancy home in their Mercedes to show it off."
"The French," he added, "love the 'joie de vivre' and prefer to entertain you at their favourite bistro with their friends - even if it costs them their full day's pay. Their home is not usually for showing off.
"Then there are the Spanish. They prefer to work less in their heat and would happily earn less, provided they still get their siesta in the afternoon.
"The British, however, want to work as hard as the Spanish, but enjoy life like the French and have the accoutrements of the Germans."
For me, these two encounters summed up the choices we have. None of the above philosophies is "better" than another, just different in priorities.
What I know, however, is that one cannot have it all, except the few that are able to cheat the system and do so at somebody else's expense. I chose what I got; accept what I missed and I'm happy.
