Shorelines

This popular author duo pack their trusty bakkie and drive the entire length of South Africa's shores, from Alexander Bay in the west to Kosi Bay in the east. On their 10-week journey, they meet the weird and the wonderful, the criminal and the crazy elements of seaside South Africa. The issues, the drama, the history, the adventure and the comic humour one finds every day on the coast of this country make for an enthralling armchair travel read. Shorelines is all about diamond divers, surfers, skippers home from the sea, fishermen, smart baboons, dodgy developers, Rastafarians, Cadillac collectors, forest adventurers, Transkei nannies, sushi chefs, Zulu-shield makers, abalone poachers and a modern-day Robinson Crusoe. It's a generous slice of South African life, with its foibles, squabbles and the occasional homicidal oyster. Come in, the water's fine - for now... Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit - authors of A Drink of Dry Land and Namibia Space - are travel writers who have won numerous awards for their magazine work over the years. They traverse Southern Africa in search of good stories and interesting people. Shorelines is their latest trip and, in terms of encounters and issues, their biggest - and most rewarding - challenge so far.