The waves that crash on the rocks give new meaning to lullabies.
That was last night.
Amid twittering birds announcing a new day, the same soothing soundtrack of waves keeps its role as the audio landmark and natural GPS to the beach. Such sounds arouse people at Margate, a seaside resort in KwaZulu-Natal. The horizon, as the curiously warm autumn refuses to pass the baton to winter, is an alluring pink and grey.
Standing guard on either side of the kilometre-long Margate Beach, rated KwaZulu-Natal’s best, are two enormous boulders. Two anglers, who have come here at dawn, toil, probably nonchalant to the sound of the waves. When waves crash on these boulders and other rocks; foam fills the frame. For fishermen, it’s all in a day’s work.
The scene, with hints of light before the tangerine sun emerges from the Indian Ocean, is the stuff of good photographs. An elderly couple, standing against pier rails, are sightseeing as the reflection of the sun bounces on the beach.
Armed with rods and standing or sitting on the pier, anglers spend hours combing the beach with their bait. The dawn is the ideal time to land a catch reckons a Ramsgate man as he casts his bait during a shift that could span five or more hours. A nip of brandy is keeping him company.
Three anglers from nearby KwaNzimakwe, a lush village where thatched rondavels and brick houses define the landscape, start their shift at about 9pm, they say as they replenish their bait. They’ve had a good start. Temperature levels are cooler but this is pretty warm for an autumn night.
Whatever the best time to fish, you’re sure to spot anglers plying their trade on this pier – night and day – said to be the only one in the province’s south coast.
Known as eNkongweni in precolonial times, tiny Margate is a two-hour drive from eThekwini (Durban), and hardly 30 minutes south of Port Shepstone – a coastal town dissected by the majestic Umzimkhulu River that flows from uKhahlamba to the ocean. Margate has an airport but it is road users who get treated to the sea-tracing N2 freeway’s subtropical views. Lying along the R61 road, this destination is a hop to Oribi Gorge and a skip to the Eastern Cape’s pristine Wild Coast.
That also goes for bikes. Thousands of bikers invade Margate at the end of April every year for the Bike Africa jamboree. Holiday makers, mainly inlanders, take over during the school breaks and festive seasons. At this point, the laid-back and sparsely-populated town contrasts its usual self.
Margate’s range of establishments – from accommodation and outdoor activities, to eateries – in different budgets, makes it accessible to just about anyone. But the tinge of racism is a drawback.
Long beach walks are priceless. That’s how I feel as I head back to the touristy Marine Road – the town’s response to Florida Road in Durban.
Right now, my bare feet are enjoying the sand but my eyes are battling with the ocean’s random spray as waves come in different sizes and intensity.
To my right, young and old frolic with their dogs. Swimmers take a dip. Picnickers chill in the sand. A few fitness fanatics jog up and down the esplanade. To my left is a lagoon with brightly-coloured boats, an array of restaurants, an ice cream outlet, and pricey sea-facing flats which kiss the blue sky.
Artworks and souvenirs on the road overlooking the tourist centre are reasonably priced. Paintings, clothes, beadwork, wired car toys, sandals and gaudily-painted T-shirts make the list of wares on offer. So do the sea shells.
The sight of ketis (catapults) evokes images of township lads of an era narrated by Chris van Wyk in Shirley, Goodness & Mercy. That was long before the arrival of digital TV or cellphones. On the blue flag-rated Lucien Beach, to the other side of northern boulders, I chance upon fascinating life-sized sculptures of members of the Big Five. Their price tags, of up to R70 000, are sobering.
Since it’s off-season, and with the sun having set, the beach has cleared. The relaxed Desroches Hotel’s rooftop bar is the vantage point to take it in. Restaurants on Marine, in contrast, are not about to set. The well-liked Just So Chinese, off Marine, adds an interesting flavour. Seafood eateries abound but the town is poor on vegetarian menus. Tourist types sport hats and sunburnt skins at these and at the Keg, where giant screens beam cricket, rugby and soccer games at once.
Senzi’s, a restaurant that boasts good meals and lovely ambience, attracts office workers and family types who come here for lunch or sundowners. The music of Cassper Nyovest, Fifi Cooper and Mpumi fills the air at this hour, with youngsters dressed to the nines.
Outside the many clubs, pubs and restaurants, everything else has gone quiet bar the waves-and-rocks soundtrack that has picked up volume.