My Garden Route

I made new friends here in South Africa! And I went hiking!

Friends in Cape Town had told me that - since I am so much into hiking - I should not miss the Otter Trail, an extremely beautiful and famous 42km+ trail in the Tsitsikamma National Park along the coast of the Indian Ocean. It is a must for any serious hiker and reservations are usually made a year in advance. Only 12 people are allowed per day since the huts along the trail accommodate only 12 people. No camping is allowed.

I had now set this as my goal: to get onto the Otter Trail. And since there was no opening for the next while my only option was to count on a cancellation.

I left Cape Town by bus going straight to Nature's Valley and the Wild Tongue Backpackers a few hundred kilometers East of Cape Town. The place was a surprise: a large farm in the forest with great views of the distant mountains at sunrise, beautiful old oak and maple trees and a wild colourful garden. Lots of driftwood sculptures and craftworks were adorning the place. It has known better days, but its charm and magic are there as strong as always.

The next day I could not get onto the Otter trail and stayed in Nature's Valley.
Jenny, the lady owning the place, gave me a ride to the start of the Salt River Mouth Trail. And I was on my own walking through the native fynbos, then through indigenous forest and finally downhill to the river and the little cove at its mouth. From here the trail led along the rocky shore over cliffs (or the hill, depending on the tide) to the wide and beautiful sandy beach of Nature's Valley.

The beautiful little cove with shallow clear saltwater had a small sandy beach washed by the tide and sometimes by the runout of a bigger bolder wave. It was dotted by many beautiful shells. The river was deep enough to swim. The water had the light brown colour the tannins lend it, yet was clear and fresh. I checked the water by dipping in my feet and it felt soooo good. Those who know me better can already imagine what followed.
I cannot resist the temptation of a clear lake or river unless it's much too cold. I looked around to make sure there was really nobody around. I placed Pepe on watch and I quickly stripped off my clothes before dipping into the fresh clear water. That felt great! Hmmm, lovely winter on the Garden Route...

I reached the village beach after another couple of hours of wandering on the cliffs and around taking lots of pictures and inspecting and enjoying the many flowers thriving there: some yellow daisies clinging on to the cliffs, flame red lilies and white khale growing sheltered beneath the rocky walls. What a wonderful winter, I thought, with so many flowers to choose from... On the way down through the fynbos I was lucky enough to find a few fresh red protea flowers amidst the many dried and wilted ones.

I enjoyed some more wandering around the farm and hiked on short local trails at sunrise and sunset. Jenny shuttled me around the next day again and eventually drove me to Storms River Rest Camp beautifully located in the Tsitsikamma National Park. This is where the Otter Trail starts, but I had yet to wait for a spot.

The setting of the rest camp is stunning. The scenery is magnificent: the rugged coastline in sight and the rocky shore pounded by huge waves and populated by lots of birds and wildlife. The steep hills above are covered in indigenous forest or fynbos. The firy red aloe flowers looking like huge candle holders provide strong accents to the seascape. I guess pictures can express this much better than any words. I'll let them speak...

For 2 days I wandered around or simply sat watching the waves. I did a couple of hikes and took lots of pictures. I listened to the sound of the ocean and observed the birds and dassies. I saw dolphins while sitting on a bench in the late afternoon and I watched bushbuck roaming around. My hopes to get on the trail dropped by the third day. And yet that day - while I was sitting on the rocks watching the waves - I got the awaited call from the ranger.
"Do you still want to get on the trail? There's a group of 4 here. They should have been 6." YESSSS! I ran to get my backpack and plunged into the next adventure.



Five days later the Otter trail ended on the same sandy beach of Nature's Valley I had been on more than a week ago. I had new friends and we hugged each other warmly when the time to say good-bye came. They were going to drive back to Jo'burg, I was returning to Cape Town.

Jenny picked me up once again from the village and, after spending another night on the farm and enjoying another spectacular sunset and sunrise, I got on the bus and returned to Cape Town in the rain.

My Garden Route did not have any stops whatsoever along the coast. And there were lots of beautiful places: clear blue lagoons, beautiful quiet beaches, wonderful forests and parks. I missed most of these by passing by on the bus.
And yet I felt that I had been blessed with the essence of it all during the days of hiking the Otter trail. Furthermore, it also felt as if I had had everything just for myself without sharing it with crowds and the "civilized world".