Waterval - new hiking trail

Otter Trail

Gautrain Station Marlboro

Stand clear on the platform train approaching.

10 minutes earlier I have departed from Centurion station and I am looking at the solar heaters installed on the houses of Alexandra.  Only minutes later and all the passengers walk into O.R. Tambo International Airport. R50 and my backpack is wrapped like sandwiches and then off to the luggage drop-off.  My pack weighs 13.7kg with a few items, clothes for the return trip, still to be removed before my 5 day hike starts.

Nowadays one can select your seat online and make a printout at home, to ease boarding at the airport.  Do not pack any fuel for your hiking stove into your luggage, airport officials will make your Glad Wrap look sad and interrogate you to see what your links are with Freedom in Syria.

After a 20 minute delay we leave Johannesburg and land at George Airport on time.  Linda, Lisanne and Pieter, some of my fellow hikers were on the same flight.  An old friend Jurie, who has relocated from Gauteng to George, meets us at the airport.  Jurie is retired and in his sixties but as fit as many a twenty year old. 

Pieter and myself are shown our bedrooms and after a quick change of clothes we are dropped by Estelle at the Nelson Mandela University in Sedgefield.  From here we hike through the beautiful forest for about 7km back to Jurie's home.  Jurie said he is so happy that he has moved here and should have done it years ago.  He knows the mountains like the back of his hand and shows us all the paths and cycling tracks that he uses daily.  We also hear an old steam train that transports timber through the forest and Pieter identifies it as a Garratt.

27 September and we leave George and drive the beautiful Garden Route.  The rain is coming down gently.  We pick up Andries and Johann at Nature's Valley, where they have left their vehicles.  Nature's Valley is where the Otter trial ends.  At the end of the hike, Andries will bring Jurie back to the starting point at Storms River where Jurie's vehicle will be left.  Days earlier Andries and Petro left Gauteng by car and Johann flew from Josi to Port Elizabeth where he hired a car.

As we near Storms River we see some hikers in the rain along the paved road.  One of them has injured his leg on the first day, so they decided to take the escape route.  Last year some of the hikers in our current group arrived at the Otter trail in glorious weather only to be hit by a severe storm a day later. They were also forced to take the escape route, which is a very difficult climb in wet conditions.

Sanparks checked us in and then it's off to the Otter briefing room where an official shows us a video about the Otter trail.  She really only wants us to see the Bloukrans River crossing.  This is an old video by the looks of the hikers bathing costumes.  We all gather for a group photo and set off in the rain.  As we enter the indigenous forest we soon find that the dense leaf cover stops most of the gentle rain.  30 minutes later and the rain stopped and the rain gear is stashed away for the rest of the 5 day hike.

Day 1's stage is short, less than 5km and it takes you down through the forest onto the rocky shore. There is a beautiful waterfall, an ideal place for lunch.  The stage ends at Ngubi huts.

The Sheraton is a short head behind the luxuries on the Otter Trail.  The 2 wooden cabins at each overnight spot have six beds each with matresses as hard as rock.  A work surface for cooking and a wobbly bench to sit on.  Cold showers (use just enough soap as you have to rinse with ice cold mountain water).  A toilet with one of the best views in the world.  An undercover braai area and enough wood.

All the huts are at sea level, so each day ends with a steep descent and each morning you start off with a steep climb.

• Day 1 = 4.8km (± 2 hours) Ngubi
• Day 2 = 7.9km (± 4 hours) Scott
• Day 3 = 7.7km (± 4 hours) Oakhurst
• Day 4 = 13.8km (± 6 hours) Andre
• Day 5 = 6.8km (± 3 hours)
• Total Distance = 42.5km

The distances are fairly short but can be physically demanding.  There are many streams along the route but one is never sure whether they are flowing, therefore carry at least two litres of water. River crossings are fairly easy if they are reached at low tide.  We reached the Lottering River with the tide coming in and had to wade through hip high water, very rocky and slippery down below so use a survival bag to keep your backpack dry.

The Otter trial is normally planned around the tides.  Keep in mind that on day 4 the Bloukrans River has to be crossed and that there is a 10km hike of around 4 hours before the river is reached.  We reached the river at 09:30 exactly at low tide.  The sea was gentle but the river bed is washed out deeply from last years storms. I swam across with my pack in a survival bag. Somewhere in the middle I went down to check the depth but could not touch the bottom.  The temperature of the sea water is around 18°C, so fairly pleasant.  If you doubt your swimming capabilities rather take the 6km detour.  After the swim there is a very steep climb and some scrambling to be done over exposed rocks.

Fauna and Flora.
Otters, genets, dolphins showing off in the surf, Knysna Loerie, fish eagles and some salamanders.  Fynbos, ericas, proteas and pin cushions.

The Otter marathon is also run annually since 2009 and the elite runners complete the run in around 5 hours.  This year the race was run in the opposite direction and was aptly named the Retto.  The winning time was 4 hours 24 minutes.  The competitors are limited to a small number and the cut-off time is 7 hours.

As I said earlier the stages on the hike are short, so take your time each day and enjoy the scenery and swim when you get the oppurtnity.  Truly one of the top hikes in South Africa and in my personal top 5.

The hike is limited to 12 people in a group, my fellow hikers were:
Pierre, Annetjie, Amanda, Tom, Johann, Pieter, Andries, Jurie, Linda, Petro and Lisanne.