Road Tripping Through the Unexpected in South Africa

by Taylor Jordan (Canada)

A leap into the unknown South Africa

This is the story of how I found myself in the middle of an African Xhosa ceremony, eating freshly slaughtered meat and questioning my life decisions. My boyfriend and I embarked on a trip to South Africa, road tripping along the coast of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. While our journey was filled with beautiful scenery, questionable driving conditions and culture shock, there’s one day in particular that stands out. Halfway through the trip we were traveling to Coffee Bay, a coastal town with rugged terrain. We decided to book a hike through our hostel. Our guide's name was Prince and he had a bit of a listening problem. We had agreed that the next day we would hike to Hole in The Wall, a unique rock formation in the ocean. Geared up in our athletic wear, we met Prince the next morning. Things started off strange when he asked us to get in our car with another couple so that we could drop them off in town. But we didn’t question it. Prince hopped in the passenger seat and popped in a CD. During the journey into town we blasted Prince’s favourite beats. We dropped off the couple and Prince told us that we were going on a tour of the local school. After visiting the school, we went to Prince’s house for lunch. To get there, we drove our rental car through the rocky countryside, crossing through villages and bottoming our car out along the way. At this point, we’re starting to question when the hike would begin. Then Prince took us to a shebeen which ended up being closed, so Prince made a few calls. He told us that it was our lucky day, and we were about to find out why. Turns out everyone was at a ceremony of the Xhosa people which was taking place in the village. We walked to the entrance of someone's property. Smoke was billowing over the fence and music was pumping. For a small fee, they let us in. I don't think I've ever been stared at so intensely in my life. My boyfriend at the time, who is 6'4" with long blonde hair, was the subject of everyone's photos. They were just as fascinated with us as we were with the situation we found ourselves in. But why were nearly 100 people gathered here, cooking a freshly slaughtered cow? Prince explained that when a member of the Xhosa tribe dreams about their grandfather dying, they must slaughter a cow and eat it to prevent harm to the family, crops and livestock, and they invite family and friends to help. What I didn't realize is that the men and women sit separately. Prince and my boyfriend went to one area, while I sat with a group of women who were laughing and enjoying homemade beer. They welcomed me into their circle immediately. Despite the language barrier, they were genuinely interested in getting to know me, especially why at 24 I wasn't married with kids (which, afterwards, led me to asking my boyfriend why he hadn't proposed yet). Many of these women were married by 18 with an army of kids. Then, I had a plate handed to me that came straight from the open fire. With a wooden knife, one of the ladies cut the meat and watched with excitement as I took a bite. I won't lie, I was hesitant to find out if my stomach could handle it. Needless to say, it was delicious. We left the ceremony a few hours later. On the way back, Prince offered his friends a lift in our car and before we knew it, we became the local taxi. Finally, around 9pm, we made it back to our hostel. We spent the rest of the night sharing the story around the fire with other travelers. So while we didn't experience Hole in The Wall, we got something much more eye opening which is now a travel memory that will always stay with me. I've been fortunate to experience much of the world, and to this day, this story stands out as a fascinating look into a culture and its people.