The Kouga Yeeha!
A weh, my bru! Khangela mfethu! Kouga is a kiff plek, no matter what language you speak. In Khoi, the name translates as “Place of Abundance”, an apt term to describe what has become a multi-cultural melting-pot of a region. You find it all here – from unexplored wilderness areas and Big 7 reserves (yes, seven!), to a range of diverse ecosystems and more than a smattering of quirky dorps and unsung hamlets.
The people arenʼt too shabby either. Youʼre bound to bump into everyone – from earthy agricultural folk, svelte surfers and esoteric tie-dye hippy types, to urban metrosexuals and rural locals rooted deeply in the land.
Language ebbs and flows here, too, with English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans often blended into an easy-come-easy-go lingua franca.
Life is lived at a slower pace – for most, anyway – with the great outdoors beckoning 24/7, and the Kouganites (or should that be Kougars?) play as hard as they work. Adventure options abound, but before we all disappear into the wide-sky spaces, hereʼs a quick-fire geography lesson to set the scene…
Kouga unfolds between the Tsitsikamma River in the west and Van Stadens River to the east, and from here stretches to the Baviaanskloof in the interior. The main towns vying for attention include Jeffreys Bay, Hankey, Patensie, Humansdorp and St Francis, not to mention a whole bunch of smaller villages, each with its own off-beat vibe.
Prehistory on this south-eastern coastal plain can be traced back 190 000 years, based on evidence found in population at the time, with as few as 600 of our forebears surviving here upon the undulating Agulhas Plain.
