Wild Coast

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wild Coast ( German  Wild Coast ; formerly Caffir Coast or Kaffir Coast ) is a stretch of coast of South Africa on the Indian Ocean . The region belongs to the Eastern Cape Province .

geography

Wild Coast at Coffee Bay

Geographical location

The Wild Coast stretches from the eastern edge of the metropolitan municipality of Buffalo City (eastern urban area of East London ) in the southwest to the mouth of the Mthamvuna at Port Edward in the northeast. The Wild Coast thus roughly corresponds to the coastline of the former homeland Transkei . Today the coast is in the districts of Amathole and OR Tambo . The entire coastline is about 270 kilometers long.

Numerous rivers flow into the Indian Ocean on the Wild Coast, such as the Great Kei , Mthatha , Mbashe and Mzimvubu . Especially in the south of the Wild Coast they form large estuaries with sandbars of considerable extent. There are larger beaches near most of the estuaries. In addition, the coast is mostly rocky. To the north the rivers are shorter and flow into rocky areas. There is the Waterfall Bluff , a waterfall in the Indian Ocean. The Hole in the Wall is a rock group in the ocean not far from Coffee Bay.

Forests with native tree and shrub species stand along about half of the coastline. Many of these species have been discovered in this area.

climate

Average temperatures along the coast range between 17 ° C and 28 ° C in January and 8 ° C and 20 ° C in July. The Wild Coast lies in the catchment area of ​​the warm Agulhas Current . Around 1170 millimeters of precipitation falls annually in Port St. Johns . It remains relatively dry in winter (May to August), while the rest of the time there is evenly high rainfall. The winters are mild and sunny.

Localities

There are only smaller towns along the Wild Coast. Natural harbors are almost completely absent. Exceptions are the city of Port St. Johns at the mouth of the Mzimvubu and the small town of Port Grosvenor . Other localities are from southwest to northeast Cintsa, Kei Mouth, Coffee Bay and Xolobeni. Overall, the coast is quite densely populated. Most of the people in the villages are Xhosa .

history

The Wild Coast was the site of spectacular ship accidents. There are still many wrecks there today. In the 19th century, the coast belonged to the Kaffraria area , after the Xhosa who lived there and were called "Kaffirs" by the white inhabitants at that time; the north belonged to the Pondoland . Subsequently, the coast came to Transkei, which became formally independent in 1976 and became part of the new Eastern Cape Province in South Africa in 1994.

Infrastructure and economy

traffic

A section of the national road N2 runs inland almost parallel to the Wild Coast. Main roads lead to the coastal towns. There is no road that runs directly along the Wild Coast. An alternative route N2 from Mthatha to Port St. Johns and continue along the northeastern part of the Wild Coast to Port Edward is a toll road N2 Wild Coast Toll Road planned. It would be shorter than the existing route of the N2 via Kokstad and would better connect the Wild Coast. The road is controversial because of the possible ecological consequences and the tolls. Among other things, it is believed that the road will be used to develop the controversial Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project . Due to the protests, the Austrian company Strabag withdrew from the project.

There is no rail traffic on the Wild Coast.

economy

The Wild Coast is mainly used for tourism thanks to the sometimes spectacular landscape, the warm climate and wide beaches. The holiday resorts are usually quite remote and also attract alternative-minded holidaymakers. Hikes lasting several days can be undertaken along the coast, whereby the estuaries of the rivers have to be crossed by ferry boat or swimming. Several nature reserves are located on the Wild Coast. In the north of the Wild Coast is the Mkambati Nature Reserve . It is to become part of the 500 km² Pondoland Park national park , which is to extend from the mouth of the Mzimvubu northeast to the border of the KwaZulu-Natal province .

Between Mtamvuna and the Mzamba River, a bathing and entertainment center was planned over a length of four kilometers around 1979, for the first construction phase of which up to 1981 a budget of 7 million rand of a total of 12 million was estimated. At the time, it was a joint project between the state-owned Transkei Development Corporation and the Holiday Inn company . 30 roulette and blackjack tables, 150 slot machines and a 188-room hotel with a swimming pool were planned for the casino . The facility later developed into a large tourism business on the Wild Coast under Sun International .

Besides tourism, agriculture is practiced, mostly in subsistence . Despite the fish-rich waters, fishing plays only a minor, local role.

The controversial Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project provides that a large amount of ilmenite -containing dune sand will be mined near the town of Xolobeni by the Australian company Transworld Energy Minerals over 25 years . There was resistance among the population in the region, which is organized, among other things, in the Amadiba Crisis Committee . Its co-founder and spokesman, Sikhosiphi Rhadebe , was murdered in 2016 after shortly before he had warned of a death list for mine opponents . He was succeeded by Nonhle Mbuthuma . In 2018, the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa in Pretoria decided that mining licenses may not be granted for the time being.

literature

  • Robin Palmer, Herman Timmermans, Derick Fay (Eds.): From Conflict to Negotiation: Nature-Based Development on South Africa's Wild Coast . Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria 2002, ISBN 978-0796919922 , at Google Books

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Information on the Wild Coast, with climate data and overview map (English), accessed on July 13, 2010
  2. ^ Juta's New Large Print Atlas . Juta, Johannesburg 1985, ISBN 0-7021-1545-2 , p. 51
  3. ↑ Konstanze Walther: STRABAG prestigious project in front of the corner. wienerzeitung.at from December 7, 2018, accessed on February 5, 2019
  4. ↑ Konstanze Walther: Strabag stops South Africa project. wienerzeitung.at of February 3, 2019, accessed on February 5, 2019
  5. ↑ The sea-way principle. In Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on October 21, 2012, p. V5
  6. ↑ Information about the planned national park ( Memento from September 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  7. ^ SAIRR : Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1979 . Johannesburg 1980, p. 357
  8. ↑ Wild Coast Sun, Self-Presentation
  9. ↑ Information on the project (English; MS Word ; 492 kB), accessed on July 12, 2010
  10. ^ Ultimate Price for Coastal Protection. Financial Mail dated March 24, 2016, accessed March 26, 2016
  11. ^ South Africa: Taking on a mining firm and winning. BBC, December 3, 2018, accessed March 24, 2019 .

Coordinates: 32 °  S , 30 °  E