Information about Wild Coast

[Flavia]

Hello,
I'm writing to ask about the Wild Coast area.
I'd like to go there but I read about the kidnapped woman going to Umngazi Lodge, she was driving in the middle of the day. Luckily released yesterday.
It scared me a lot, also because it seems it's not the first kidnapping in the Wild Coast or Eastern Cape: at the beginnng of September 3 old people were kidnapped near Kei Mouth!!!
We are a couple and it would be our 16th trip to South Africa, a country we love so much.
We are aware of the many problems in SA, we are always careful, but we never heard about kidnapped tourists until now. It's a problem you can't avoid, if a car with armed men accost you in a secluded place there is anything to do.
Until now we knew about problems we can avoid: card scammers, robberies. We don't walk in the dark, we don't walk if there aren't other pedestrians around us, we don't drive at night outside towns, but there is not any precautions against kidnapping.
I also read that driving through Mthatha is very dangerous, that people can rob and steal from your car at traffic lights. We drove in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, but never felt scared.
We went through Eastern Cape in 2009 from Addo to Durban (sleeping one night in East London and one in Mthatha and driving in the early evening to go out for dinner) and everything was OK.
Reading opinions from people here and there, some are very scarying, they say it's better to avoid to go there, other say it's ok, just be careful, but it's not easy to understand when people are exagerating on one side or another. The accommodation owners say it's ok, but I'm not sure their opinion is 100% honest, since they have an interest.
What do you think about?
Thanks in advance.

[Elsa]

Flavio, I'm sorry the information you have received is mostly negative for that area.
Afraid I don't know it very well, certainly not enough to comment or offer any advice.
As its not strictly forum related if anyone would like to comment on it please would you do so via PM (private message)
Thanks.