Taking a walk down to Victoria Bay and meeting the "caveman"

The To-do board at Fairy Noir

Today would be the day for me to leave Fairy Noir but fortunately the bazbus would only be arriving around 3 pm or so. This meant that I still had half a day to explore the place. We had heard about a walk to Victoria Bay, a popular surfing site that was via an abandoned railway line and by the coast. It seemed the perfect thing to do for half a day or so. We got a drop off to the starting point, and commenced walking on the railway line.

Flip flops weren't the best to wear during the walk and it did stretch to some distance, going through tunnels hewn through rocks and beautiful scenery of the coastal line. Charl had mentioned to me about a caveman, saying that " If you meet him, you'd know him" and walking past a man, I had a feeling this was him. The place where we were at seemed more like a restaurant or shop and as we spoke to the man, he beckoned us inside, taking us on a tour around the cave.

Following the caveman 

It was a quiet walk through what was the caveman's living space, complete with lounge, kitchen and much decoration mostly derived from seashells collected from the seaside. Apparently he had been there for 6 years and there was a silence in the place that appealed much to me. The roof ended with bare cave walls and drawings covered some parts as well as hanging seashell bits. It seemed like a work of art.

Inside view of the cave

The 'tour' took us about 15 minutes or so and at the end we had an option to donate to the caveman which I did for the efforts he had taken to build and create a living space out of a cave. The rain did come through only at the entrance he mentioned but otherwise it was a cozy life in a cave. We had truly met the caveman that Charl had mentioned. The railway tracks carried on to a large bridge which offered scenic views of the surroundings as well as open gaps which led directly to the ground below.

There was a side path which we could walk on but somehow walking on the railway tracks and peering at the fall below seemed way more appealing to me. The tracks carried on till a pathway that led to Victoria Bay itself and here was the place to surf and unwind after the walk we had completed.

The group of us pretty much sun tanned and relaxed for some time before grabbing a bite at the shops nearby and starting the walk back. We had to walk back all the way and I had to be back by 3 pm to be on the safe side. I was heading to Port Elizabeth next and it would be a long ride as well with me reaching the backpackers in the evening.

The beach at Victoria Bay

The walk back allowed me to take more pictures of the scenery and time to chat more with the group before we separated. I had been with Miriam and Jurgen for a good 5 days or so now and it would be a goodbye as we were heading for different destinations.

The Baz bus arrived on time and I left at 3.30 pm, saying goodbye to a group of people who had become fast friends and would continue to be so in time to come.

I had just had a taste of the magic of Wilderness.