Lean in and take it like a man!

We made the drive into Port St. Johns last night and stayed at the Spotted Grunter. Wow… showers and real toilets! We met Michael Hale. Several years ago Michael packed up a couple of donkeys and hiked into the Transkei to do ministry. The faith I’ve run into is amazing & humbling. Michael took us on his boat, a 5.5 meter that is inflatable above the hull. You sit on the side and hang on! We put out in the Umzimvubu River at around 7am. The mouth of the Umzimvubu bashes into the Indian Ocean with a violence I’ve never seen. It takes skill and guts to select the right waves and troughs to negotiate passage. Michael reads the sets of waves, picks the right line and hits the throttle. Derek and I were seated near the bow; Michael said to us, “when we hit a big one, lean into it and take the impact like a man.” It was an incredible ride. We went 20 kilometers down the Wild Coast. I now understand why it earned the name. Several times bottlenose and common dolphins swam in front of the boat or jumped around us as sea birds dived like bombs falling into the water. I wish I could describe the rugged beauty of the untouched coast.
Next its off to Lusikisiki to meet up with the JAM folks for a KFC lunch.