The Ultimate Wild Coast Hiking Guide
If you’re thinking of self-hiking Wild Coast hiking, start here with the ultimate guide. We hiked the Wild Coast from Bulungula Eco Lodge to Mdumbi, a journey of around 45km, across 5 days. It was amazing but also made me cry several times. We had muddy weather and I was not emotionally prepared for the type of hiking the Wild Coast offers. I expected hiking along beaches. This is a lie. You will hike up and down hills and cross countless rivers… And you will be rewarded with the hike of a LIFETIME. Yes, the tears were worth it.
You don’t need to hike with a guide as the path is fairly simple, but it is most common to hike the coast with a guide. The best way to navigate the trail is to find the cow paths and stick to the coast. Ask your lodge as you leave for a little explanation on how to get to the next destination and they will point out the right hills to climb. I am a moderate hiker but was pretty slow on these trails. Reduce the hiking times I suggest below by an hour for CrossFit junkies and motivated peeps.
Wild Coast Self Hiking Itineraries
I’m suggesting two different itineraries. The first is what I wish we had time for and the second is a quick version.
Best Wild Coast itinerary for a week (ish)
- Day 1: Arrive at Bulungula Eco Lodge in the morning. Spend 2 nights.
- Day 2: Do community activities and lounge at the beach at Bulungula.
- Day 3: Hike to Wild Lubanzi. Spend 2 nights.
- Day 4: Enjoy the lodge and walk around the village.
- Day 5: Hike to Coffee Bay. Spend 1 night.
- Day 6: Hike to Mdumbi. Spend 2 nights.
- Day 7: Enjoy Mdumbi.
- Day 8: Get your transfer back to the airport.
A quick Wild Coast itinerary
- Day 1: Arrive at Bulungula Eco Lodge in the morning. Spend 1 night. (Add an extra night here if you can).
- Day 2: Hike to Wild Lubanzi. Spend 1 night. (Or, start here and spend 2 nights).
- Day 3: Hike to Coffee Bay. Spend 1 night.
- Day 4: Hike to Mdumbi. Spend 2 nights.
Check out the Wild Coast Accommodation post for details on the lodges and what to do around each lodge.
Wild Coast: Hiking from Bulungula Eco Lodge to the Wild Lubanzi
The Basics
- Distance: 14km, 5 hours
- Terrain: 2 river crossings, a short beach walk, and several hills to climb up and down
- Check the low tide timings and arrive 30 minutes before
This post doesn’t have as many pictures because my phone drowned in a river this first day! Use your imagination….
Hiking from Bulungula Eco Lodge to the Wild Lubanzi is a dramatic adventure through rivers and up and down mountains. The most important part of your journey will be to make sure you arrive at Mncwasa River at low tide. When hiking from Bulungula Eco Lodge to the Wild Lubanzi, you must leave Bulungula quite early (depending on low tide as was our case) because it will probably take 3 hours to reach Mncwasa River.
Although we had expected heavy rain due to the horrendous storm that attacked the coast of KZN a couple of days before our arrival, there was only a drizzle at 8am, so we set off. Unfortunately, this turned out to be too late for the Mncwasa River crossing. I fell into the river and my phone drowned!
The Beginning: Bulungula Eco Lodge
Starting at Bulungula, the first thing you’ll do is find a shallow path through the Bulungula River. Check out a couple of different locations as you’ll see how quickly the riverbed disappears. Send one person in without your bags to test the river path depth. This river crossing will be the least of your concerns. (However, it started my personal battle with the rivers of the Wild Coast).
We made a couple of false starts before we were able to cross with the water just going up to our thighs.
Hike along the beach until you reach “Secret Beach.” Here, you’ll notice a path up a hill (or is it a mountain…?) Climb the mountain and descend to the other side to cross another river. This river will likely only come up to your knees at best. (This is the Wild Coast though, so it may turn into a raging river one day).
After crossing the small river, you’ll climb the mountain on the other side… And then go back down again. Get used to this! The hiking turns into a mixture of beaches, jagged black rocks, and the hillside. Use your best judgment. We started off on the beach and black rocks and then eventually started hiking on the cow path hillside until we reached the beach at the Mncwasa River.
The Middle: Mncwasa River
You should plan to get to Mncwasa River at or before low tide. Check the Coffee Bay tidal website for accurate timings.
I was so tired from hiking up and down the hills so much so that early on Wilhelm even took my bag and was carrying both. My slow pace meant that we arrived about 1.5 hours after low tide. We could see and feel the ocean water rushing into the river mouth. Scary.
I decided to go ahead with all my stuff on my back and without the stick that Wilhelm specifically broke off to test the water depth… After a short couple of steps, I fell into nothingness, soaking myself and my phone. Luckily, I was carrying the backpack that was filled with drybags.
I was so dumb not to put my phone in one of them before crossing the river… Learn from my mistakes. Don’t think it’s going to be an easy crossing and take the time to put your stuff in dry bags especially if you’re late to the river crossing.
If you arrive at the river too far past low tide, bring something that you can use as a floatation device to get your stuff across. We met a couple who used a deflated yoga ball to float their items across the river as they swam. Yes. You absolutely WILL have to swim if you get there too late.
This is the river looking back once we crossed it.
The End: Wild Lubanzi
After you cross the river, there is a trail that starts up at the sandy hill here. We started up that way, but we couldn’t find the trail and instead went along the coast and joined the road later on. This may have added just under a kilometer to our hiking.
You’ll see Wild Lubanzi in the distance as you enter the village. The google maps location is correct on the map so you can use this to help guide you in the village.
Wild Coast: Hiking Wild Lubanzi to Coffee Bay
The Basics
- Distance: 14km, 4-5 hours (with a stop for lunch at Hole in the Wall)
- Terrain: 1 river crossing and several hills to climb up and down
- Check the low tide timings and arrive 30 minutes before
The Wild Lubanzi to Coffee Bay hike is the most memorable on the Wild Coast because of Hole in the Wall. This is a must-see sight. The Hole in the Wall is a natural rock feature formed after millions of years of pounding sea into the rock and was my hiking highlight!
The Beginning: Wild Lubanzi
Ask Wild Lubanzi for advice before you leave so that they can point you in the right direction (because my photo markers are not making that much sense to me anymore. It all looks like grass.)
Start off by hiking on the road that’ll take you out of town. Then, cross a tiny river (which made me cry, but it was barely knee level) and head up the hillside until you reach a home that has a little forest/trees. Go around the house on the right then continue until you reach a fenced farm and keep the fence on your right. Follow the path along the coastline and you’ll eventually come to Hole in the Wall.
The Middle: Mpako River
You must cross Mpako River at Hole in the Wall during low tide. Try to arrive 30 minutes before. Otherwise, you WILL have to swim across or spend an extra hour walking along the river until you get to a shallow point. This was suggested to us by Wild Lubanzi but even they said it was hard to find exactly where to cross.
Wilhelm was our test dummy and went into what we thought was a shallow part. It was not and the water quickly came up to his neck. Looking around we saw some other hikers who found a better path and so we followed suit at the river mouth. We ended up hiking together with a couple for the remainder of our hike. Chit-chatting gave me serious energy!
After crossing the river, continue along the trail. You’ll come to a little village scene with women selling things and a restaurant.
We stopped at the Hole in the Wall Hotel restaurant for a light lunch. Have around R100 per person cash with you for a meal. They also sell drinks.
Keep hiking along the coast at whatever cow paths you see. You’ll climb a lot of hills here. Eventually, you’ll reach a waterfall crossing. Keep steady across the rocks at the top and continue to climb the mountainside.
At some point, we lost the trail after hiking up a steep mountain after the waterfall crossing. It seems like you should hike on the coast but we were further inland. If you miss the trail as we did, you can easily join the road. Check out the AllTrails guide to help you find the trail.
Waterfall scenes from different angles while hiking.
Dog Drama
Somewhere after lunch, our little hiking group collected a pack of dogs. Watch out for them. Though they are friendly to humans, they will follow you forever and may attack sheep, goats, and cows. If they attack, you will be held responsible for bringing the dogs to a village. The dogs attacked a goat and we were chased down to provide compensation. Read my full rant here.
The End: Coffee Bay
The coastal route from the waterfall area to Coffee Bay seemed like it was a stunning hike. I saw some of this trail around the mountainside once we reached Coffee Bay.
If you’re taking the road route, it’ll be smooth sailing (though still hilly). Continue along until you reach your accommodation.
Wild Coast: Hiking from Coffee Bay to Mdumbi Backpackers
The Basics
- Distance: 13km, 4 hours
- Terrain: 2 river crossings (one with a boat!), beach walk, some hills to climb up and down
- Take the coast path or the village/road path
- Check the low tide timings and arrive 30 minutes before at the Mapuzi River if you’re taking the coastal path. It won’t matter for the Mtata River crossing.
On this last leg, you can choose to hike through villages or along the coast. I was feeling the most excited and prepared for this last part of our journey and the weather was finally sunny. We decided to take the village route. The coastal route will have you hiking through two different rivers.
I recommend the village route for a change of scenery and my kinda river crossings: bridges.
The Beginning: Coffee Bay
The goal for this hike is to follow Google Maps. As you hike along the (steep) tar road leading away from Coffee Bay, make sure you turn right off the tar road into the village at the top of the hill. There will be a brown sign for “Mapuzi Cliffs.”
I really enjoyed hiking through the cute villages and waving at the friendly bambinos as they greeted us from their homes. The kids may scream “sweets” at you but if you wave, it’s good enough. They were pretty shy in our hiking experience.
Follow the road, crossing the Mapuzi River with a bridge (yay!). Continue along the road until you reach the Mtata River crossing.
The Middle: Mtata River
The final river crossing to get to Mdumbi village is a boat-only experience. The river is too deep to swim across even at low tide. Because it is so deep, sharks from the Indian Ocean frequently follow fish into the river mouth making it dangerous to swim across!
I asked a local who said he had never heard of anyone getting bit by a shark in the river (probably because there is always a boat at the river crossing). We paid R15 per person for the river crossing and it takes just a couple of minutes for the man to row you across.
If there isn’t a man with the boat, apparently, it’s okay to shout at the white house to get his attention.
The End: Mdumbi Backpackers
After the river, it’s a smooth 3km hike to Mdumbi and most importantly, it was finally the hike that I expected our whole journey: a beautiful beach, clear blue skies, and excellent weather.
In all, I think only about 5km of the 40+ km we hiked was along a beach. Definitely not what I expected.
Keep an eye on your Google Maps to know when to cross over from the beach to Mdumbi. We climbed up a forested hillside and arrived at this view of Mdumbi. You’ll have to hike around the property to enter on the other side.
Tips for Wild Coast Hiking
I am very grateful that I was able to complete this once-in-a-lifetime hike and hope you’re inspired to learn from my mistakes and do it too!!
- Did I mention using the website to find out the low tide for the day? Don’t skip this part. Try to arrive 30 minutes earlier.
- Take the time to put your items in a dry bag before you enter the river. Don’t be overconfident.
- Bring something that you can use as a floatation device to get your stuff across like a deflated yoga ball if you’re going to be late to the river crossings.
- There is very little beach hiking (which is what I thought the whole hike was honestly). You will climb up and down hillsides constantly.
- Pack a light bag for your journey or chose a life partner that will carry your bag for you. Read my guide on what to pack for hiking the Wild Coast (including what shoes to wear).
- Luggage transfer between lodges along the Wild Coast is common. Tell your lodge in advance that you want to do this before your arrival so they can arrange it.
- Get down on your bum when necessary. I slide down one of the hillsides because it was too scary for me to descend at such a steep angle. I couldn’t get a steady footing either. Instead, I just yolo-d it down.