INTO THE WILD EASTERN CAPE | PART 1

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-09

[00:00:01][music] If you watch the news, you'd think that the [music] Eastern Cape is falling apart.

[00:00:12]But when you travel it, you quickly realize that it's [music] one of the most stunning places in the country.

[00:00:26]Some trips [music] you plan and others you feel.

[00:00:34][music] [music] This one, however, felt like an answer to a calling.

[00:00:53]A 10-day journey through [music] one of South Africa's most underrated provinces, the Eastern Cape.

[00:01:02][music] [music] [music] We've been here before, but this time we slow it down.

[00:01:25]>> [music] >> And we venture deeper from the highlands [music] to the wild coast. This is South Africa at its most untouched and Africa at its most spectacular.

[00:01:48][music] Heat.

[00:01:53][music] Heat.

[00:01:58][music] Heat. Heat.

[00:02:16][music] >> [music] [music] >> Every great adventure begins [music] the same way with a long drive towards the first stop. [music] >> [music] >> down at 3:34. Half past 3 pretty much 1,000 km to go.

[00:03:08]11 hours to go. The beginning of an 11hour journey. This is how it starts.

[00:03:16]Hello. Thank you.

[00:03:21]Heat. Heat.

[00:03:30][music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> We are currently at three sisters.

[00:04:39]We've been on the road for 6 hours.

[00:04:41]We've got six more hours to go. [music] Today is a nice long journey. We're meeting with our very good friends that are coming from Buluguan which is the opposite end of the country and both of us are driving 1,000 km [music] to the meeting point which is pretty fair I think. All right, onwards with the journey. Our next stop [music] is K'sburg which is around 230 km [music] [music] with a long drive starting to >> [music] >> down. We decided to take a little detour.

[00:05:40]What started as a side quest [music] quickly turned into a really interesting discovery and then we decided to go on a side quest to take a little bit of a side quest because that's what we do.

[00:05:54]Um, we just saw something interesting and we were like, "Hey, let's check this out." I want you guys to take a look at this.

[00:06:03]It's absolutely amazing. Check that out.

[00:06:11]Welcome to Karip Dam.

[00:06:20][music] Resting quietly on the border [music] between the Free State and the Eastern Cape lies the largest dam in South Africa.

[00:06:32]>> [music] [music] >> Fed by the mighty Orange River, the longest river in the country, this vast body of water stretches across [music] the landscapes like an inland sea.

[00:06:51][music] The scale [music] of the structure is difficult to comprehend.

[00:07:09]The demo wall rises nearly 88 m above this valley floor [music] and extends for more than 900 m from one side to another.

[00:07:22][music] Beneath the calm surface, a hydroelect electric power station harnesses the force of the river, generating electricity for communities across the country.

[00:07:37]Because of [music] the landscapes and water views, the area is popular for road trips, fishing, boating, and overlanding.

[00:07:48][music] >> [music] [music] >> Driving across the wall only offers a brief glimpse of its true size.

[00:08:17][music] >> [music] >> Now, normally when you drive past a dam, it's over in a [music] few seconds.

[00:08:41]But this thing, we drove for several kilometers [music] and we were still driving alongside it.

[00:08:51][music] [music] We're out of fuel in the middle of nowhere on a muddy road with no extra fuel.

[00:09:15]But other than that, everything is perfect.

[00:09:20]Just survive the first day and then everything else is smooth.

[00:09:27]So if we we survive today, then we know the rest of the trip is going to be awesome. You think?

[00:09:39][music] [music] Luckily for us, a few minutes later, we rolled into our meeting point, the quaint little [music] town of Malitu, formerly known as Ali North. [music] We met up with our friends, stocked up on supplies, [music] and pointed the cars towards our accommodation, which according to the map [music] looked deceptively close.

[00:10:37][music] What we didn't realize [music] was that the short drive ahead of us would turn into several hours of rough remote [music] farm roads deep in the middle of nowhere.

[00:11:02]>> [music] [music] >> It was starting to get dark, but at the time we were still not worried, completely oblivious [music] to what was waiting for us ahead.

[00:11:21][music] As we got closer, the roads became narrower and the farm gates began one after another after another after another.

[00:11:42][music] >> [music] >> And then eventually [music] after a few hours, we arrived at the reception.

[00:12:12]With a sigh of relief, we checked in as we thought the west was finally behind us.

[00:12:20]But what we didn't realize was that the challenge, the real challenge, had only just begun.

[00:12:28]With even more gates to open and close, we began the 18 km 4x4 trail [music] up the mountain. The only route to where our accommodation was hidden.

[00:12:48]Right. We're going to take it nice and steady.

[00:12:52]Um, we're already here. No need to rush anymore. Um, just going to enjoy the drive. G flop on when it becomes a little bit tough.

[00:13:09][music] A few rocky drop offs. Yeah.

[00:13:23]Yeah.

[00:13:31][music] Brilliant.

[00:13:45]Let's go.

[00:13:51][music] [music] >> [music] >> It's a little bit of a steep drop off.

[00:14:46]After 2 hours of slowly crawling through the mountain trail, we finally arrived at our accommodation.

[00:14:54]Safe and exhausted.

[00:14:57]Finally, we're here. Oh my god. The road to come here, the trails, the 4x4 trail to come here was the absolute craziest.

[00:15:06]And it took us maybe 2 3 hours to just drive 2 kilometers. That was crazy. And this is very scary. Anyways, [music] >> [music] [music] >> Today we [music] crossed into the Eastern Cape, took an unexpected detour, [music] and ended the night with a challenging 4x4 climb into the mountains.

[00:15:51]A long day, but only the beginning of the adventure ahead.

[00:15:58]Next time we wake up in a cave per patched on the edge of a cliff.

[00:16:05]And only in the morning light do we finally realize just how far down it actually goes.

[00:16:14]Thank you very much for watching. See you soon.

[00:16:24]>> [music]