7. Pollock Beach to Coega Harbour

7. Pollock Beach to Coega Harbour

 

Sunday, 11 September 2011

​

Spontaneous Walk 

ANNIVERSARY OF CARMELLA'S PASSING, I WAS HOME > I WALKED

​

This walk was completely unplanned. I woke up after the family had a braai at Ed and Delene's house the night before. (Cathy's sister and husband). It had been exactly a year since the passing of their daughter, Carmella. I drank too much and I woke up feeling sick and disappointed in myself for the lack of respect I showed to Carmela (and the family) by using the occasion as an excuse to consume alcohol. Truth be told, I had never needed many reasons to seek out the comforting chokehold that is alcohol. 

​

I decided to clear my mind by going for a walk - this was an impulsive decision. Like many of such decisions made in my life, without thought does sadly not equate to without consequence! In a somewhat rushed effort to be somewhere else, and contending with a slight mental haze, I emptied my green fishing bag and packed only an extra shirt and a warm windbreaker. I left our home in Summerstrand by foot and stopped at the Humerail Spar to buy some bread, a 2-liter Coke and a few energy bars. I then walked past the taxi rank (under the freeway) toward North End, leaving at about 08:30. I had arranged with Cath that I would phone her when I needed to be picked up, as I wasn’t sure how far I would walk. 

​

I crossed under the freeway again at the North End off-ramp and followed a footpath along the railway tracks towards the Municipal Water Works. From there, I crossed a concrete canal and walked along a tarred pedestrian and bicycle road between the N2 highway and the famous dolosses by the sea. The walk was easy, and I was amazed by the size and length of the railway sheds that stretched for at least 2 to 3 kilometers, all under one roof.

​

To pass the time, I decided to track my pace. The tarred path had distance markers every 200 meters, and I covered 1 km every 10 minutes (6 km/h). I passed the "stinking factory" on my left and a large parking area with a play park full of swings and slides on my right before reaching the Swartkops/Uitenhage off-ramp. 

​

This off-ramp also served as the entrance to the play park and a short harbor wall, where a few fishermen were scattered about, all hoping for luck. The bicycle path continued along the N2, and I followed it as the tide was high, leaving the beach and now almost submerged mud flats. The dolosses had stopped at the small harbor wall, and from there, the natural landscape stretched all the way toward the Bluewater Bay River Mouth.

​

At 10:45, I crossed the bridge over the Swartkops River and took a photo of the river below, flowing into the sea. After crossing the bridge, a cement staircase led to a road that ran along the riverbank towards the beach. I sat down for the first time on a bench overlooking the river mouth, with the city of Port Elizabeth visible in the distance. I ate some dry bread with Coke, which made me feel a little better. Amazing how much ground gets covered by action. 

​

Feeling refreshed, I continued walking past the Life Saving Club and onto the beach. The wind was strong, and I had to turn my head quite sharply to prevent sand from blowing into my eyes. The beach was deserted. An hour passed. At 11:42, I reached St. George’s Beach. I took a photo of a building shaped like a ship, with various decks and railings, which housed the Life Saving Club, a restaurant, and a community hall with ablution facilities. However, due to the windstorm, the facility appeared closed. Or perhaps altogether neglected. 

​

Continuing on, I saw the Coega Harbour wall in the distance, stretching into the sea. It took another 45 minutes to cover the final 3 kilometers of sand until I reached a fence blocking the beach, with large signs warning "No Entrance – Restricted Area." The harbor wall was only about 100 meters beyond these signs. I took a photo of my “dead end,” realizing that was the end of my walk for the day.

​

By this point, I was tired. I had walked almost nonstop for 5 hours and covered around 25 kilometers. The walk itself had been easy despite the dehydrated pounding in my head which was a travel companion for the day. The landscape had been easy going with no hills and only the one bridge crossing over the Swartkops River. I walked toward some buildings and homes and stepped over a broken fence on a dune between the beach and the Coega neighborhood. The harbor with ships was never in sight, only the harbor wall itself.

​

I followed a well-worn footpath past several houses, leading to a security checkpoint at a gate with an access road from the Coega harbor. I had planned to walk this road back to the N2, where I would wait for Cath to pick me up. But suddenly, my plans changed when two security guards confronted me. They asked for my ID and my reason for being in the restricted area. I was quite sure “contending with guilt and a hangover” would be an ill-suited response, I tried to assure the guards that I posed no trouble despite being in (another) restricted area

​

I presented my fishing license, which included my ID and address and showed them the photos on my Blackberry phone, proving I had come from the beach and had not crossed the fence or climbed over any other barriers. While I am sure they believed me, they radioed their superior in a patrol vehicle to have me detained for further questioning. 

​

After explaining my situation to the arriving officer, he kindly accepted my explanation. I was “just a hiker trying to get to the main road for my wife to pick me up, as I couldn’t walk all the way back” was I think what I said. The officer graciously gave me a ride to the main entrance security offices, where I waited for Cath and Delene to pick me up alongside the N2. 

​

As far as impulsive decisions go? I've done worse. Thanks to some level headed kindness from some security personnel and my lift home, I had another 25km done, and could relax comfortably looking out at some of the coastline I had just covered from my balcony above Kings Beach. That night I skipped the beer as I reviewed some of the pics I had taken along the way.