South African Ecotour

By Mary Kate Hogan

Among the many community-run ecotourism organizations that have recently emerged in South Africa one of the most successful is Amadiba Adventures, a project of the Wild Coast Community Tourism Initiative (WCCTI) (www.wildcoast.org.za/wc/). The initiative seeks to improve the lives of people living in one of the most pristine but cash-poor provinces in South Africa.

The Amadiba program is a 4- to 6-day horseback, hiking, and canoeing trek through the breathtaking countryside of the Eastern Cape. Travelers walk and ride through peaceful Pondo villages dotting the coast, chatting with locals along the way.

Emphasis is on interaction between the visitors and the local people. For example, when we arrived at our first camp in the evening our guide and the two camp-keepers taught us some of their dances and asked us to teach them some of ours. By the end of the evening we were all doing the limbo.

I highly recommend this adventure to anyone who wants to spend their money in a responsible way and hang out with local people. It is extremely affordable at $40 a day (depending on the season it can be up to $50), including everything. Contact: info@wildcoast.org.za.

MARY KATE HOGAN writes from Easthampton, MA.