Hiking the Otter Trail

When they say you have to be ‘reas­on­ably fit’ to be able to do the Otter Trail it means you bet­ter be able to carry all your equip­ment across rugged ter­rain for five days. However, as any ser­i­ous hiker will con­firm, the Otter Trail is simply the most glor­i­ous hik­ing trail in South Africa.

The Otter Trail is for people who really want to hike and enjoy the extraordin­ary land­scape as they go along, who want to immerse them­selves in beauty and do not mind get­ting sweaty and hav­ing aching muscles at the end of each day. In other words if you spend more time think­ing about what out­fit to wear to go hik­ing than actu­ally hik­ing itself, maybe this isn't the one for you.

You are going to have five days and four nights of nature cram­ming all of her sights, scents and sounds into your body and mind. You are going to be so tired each night that'll you'll sleep like the dead only to do it again the next morn­ing. But one thing is cer­tain: you will go to sleep exhilarated ...

The Otter Trail runs through the Tsitsikamma National Park near Plettenberg Bay on the East Coast and is well organ­ized by the National Parks Board and they make it as con­veni­ent as pos­sible for hikers. The trail is clearly marked with a blue otter signs and painted otter spoor on rocky out­crops as guide.

The Otter Trail starts out from the Storms River Rest Camp and you will walk along 42 kilo­metres of stun­ning coast­line, through rugged ter­rain with the ocean one side and the indi­gen­ous rain­forest inland. You will cross 11 rivers and you may have to swim the Bloukrans River on day four, so remem­ber a water­proof bag for your equip­ment. On the fifth day you will reach the end of the trail in Nature’s Valley. There are two overnight huts for each of the four nights you will spend on the trail with bunk beds and mat­tresses, cook­ing facil­it­ies and a toi­let for each hut. You want to wash or bath? Bring a cake of bio­de­grad­able soap and jump into the nearest stream; nature provides.

The daily hikes are not too long, the excep­tion is day four with a 14-kilometer hike, so take your time, don’t rush or you will miss out on so much to see and do. Sit on the cliffs and watch the whales out at sea and the dol­phins com­ing right into the break­ers. Snorkel in the rock pools and take breaks to watch the birds in the tree­tops. Drink in the sights of stun­ning beaches, majestic rock form­a­tions and water­falls as you hike one of the most beau­ti­ful places on earth. Go home with aching muscles and scraped knees but with a soul filled to burst­ing; that is after all what you came for.

Additional Reading — Read a more recent art­icle at: Forget about its name – there’s noth­ing cute or cuddly about the Otter Trail

Links to Related Pages:
SA-Venues — The Otter Trail
The Garden Route
Eastern Cape Hiking Trails
Hiking in South Africa