Coffee Bay Explained

Coffee Bay
Native Name:Koffiebaai
Pushpin Map:South Africa Eastern Cape#South Africa#Africa
Coordinates:-31.9861°N 29.1472°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:South Africa
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Eastern Cape
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:O.R. Tambo
Subdivision Type3:Municipality
Subdivision Name3:King Sabata Dalindyebo
Subdivision Type4:Main Place
Established Title:Established
Leader Title:Councillor
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:0.64
Population Total:258
Population As Of:2011
Population Density Km2:auto
Demographics Type1:Racial makeup (2011)
Demographics1 Title1:Black African
Demographics1 Info1:73.0%
Demographics1 Title2:Coloured
Demographics1 Info2:3.5%
Demographics1 Title3:Indian/Asian
Demographics1 Title4:White
Demographics1 Info4:20.8%
Demographics1 Title5:Other
Demographics1 Info5:2.7%
Demographics Type2:First languages (2011)
Demographics2 Title1:Xhosa
Demographics2 Info1:65.5%
Demographics2 Title2:English
Demographics2 Info2:22.9%
Demographics2 Title3:Afrikaans
Demographics2 Info3:7.4%
Demographics2 Title5:Other
Demographics2 Info5:4.3%
Timezone1:SAST
Utc Offset1:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code (street)
Postal2 Code Type:PO box
Postal2 Code:5082
Area Code Type:Area code
Area Code:047
Website:www.coffeebay.co.za

Coffee Bay (Afrikaans: Koffiebaai) is a town on the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is located about 250 kilometres south-west of the city of Durban[2] and has a population of 258 people.[3]

The town is named after the hundreds of coffee trees which grew from beans either scattered by a shipwreck or by plunderers.[4] A holiday resort in Tembuland is located 80 km south-east of Viedgesville. It can be reached via a turn-off from the N2 highway.

The Mthatha River's mouth is near Coffee Bay.[5]

History

One of the arguments is that the town was named Coffee Bay in 1893 after a shipwreck lost its cargo of coffee beans near the coast of Coffee Bay, although there may no longer be any coffee trees or beans in the Coffee Bay area. The municipality is located in an area that was previously part of the Xhosa bantustan, Transkei, and the population is still predominantly Xhosa.[6]

Geography

Coffee Bay is a small village situated on the South African "Wild Coast" which stretches for 160 kilometres South from the Kei River mouth to Port Edward in the North and approximately 100 kilometres inland. The nearest large town, Mthatha, is approximately 80 kilometres away. Coffee Bay falls within the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) district of the O.R Tambo District Municipality. The area is filled with diverse wild flora and fauna.[6]

Infrastructure

The community is largely rural and Coffee Bay's infrastructure includes informal settlements, a trading store, a plain camping site and two resort hotels.

Community

The traditional Xhosa lifestyle in Coffee Bay is one of the aspects that draw tourists to the area. At the same time, the Eastern Cape Department of Social Development identified challenges that include high unemployment rates, malnutrition, housing shortages, infrastructure backlogs, low levels of health facilities, low levels of education, HIV and environmental degradation. The communities’ lives are dominated by poverty and ill-health,[7] and most of the population do not comply with the environmental legislation regarding the use of natural resources. A study has suggested that the high illiteracy and unemployment compels people to use coastal natural resources to satisfy their basic needs.[8]

Folklore

Hole in the Wall, in Coffee Bay, is a large hole which is scored neatly into a cliff that extends over the sea. The hole amplifies the sound of the waves onto the rock, inspiring the local Xhosa people to name it esiKhaleni which means ‘place of sound’.[9] There are many different folklore tales about the Hole in the Wall. Many believe that the hole is a gateway to ancestors. People also believe that the Mpako River once formed a landlocked lagoon blocked by the cliff.[10] Most accept the scientific explanation that the hole is the result of many years of waves breaking against the cliff.[11]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Main Place Coffee Bay . Census 2011.
  2. News: Ship sinking in rough seas. 4 August 1991. The Milwaukee Journal. 7 February 2011.
  3. Book: Fitzpatrick. Mary. Armstrong. Kate. South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland. 2006. Lonely Planet. 1-74059-970-5. 287.
  4. Web site: Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain). Human Science Research Council. 120.
  5. http://www.ewisa.co.za/literature/files/458%20Kululwa.pdf Mthatha River System - 2008
  6. Web site: About Coffee Bay - History and Legends . coffeebay.co.za . 16 January 2018.
  7. Web site: http://www.sustainablecoffeebay.org.za/about-coffee-bay/ . www.sustainablecoffeebay.org.za . 15 January 2018.
  8. Mahlangabeza, Neliswa Joyce (2016) Perceptions of local communities on legislation governing the use of natural resources in coffee bay and hole in-the wall, Mqanduli, Eastern Cape, South Africa, University of South Africa, Pretoria,
  9. http://www.southafrica.com/eastern-cape/transkei/coffee-bay/ Accessed 15 December 2018
  10. http://www.awesomesouthafrica.co.za/2012/10/the-legend-of-the-hole-in-the-wall/ Accessed 2018
  11. Web site: Legend of the Hole in the Wall . www.news24.com . 15 January 2018.