September 4-6: Tsitsikamma National Park

Notice, you may not have received an email notification of my last post for Addo Elephant National Park because my mail service was suspended for having too many spam comments. It is actually posted in case you want to go back and see it.

After leaving Addo Elephant National Park, I headed to the coast and south along it to Tsitsikamma National Park:

Tsitsikamma is a coastal reserve known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail – a 45 km 5-day rugged shoreline hike. The park covers a 50 mile long stretch of coastline. The word “Tsitsikamma” originates from the native Khoekhoe language and means “clear water”, probably referring to the clear water of the Tsitsikamma River. The Park was established in 1964, but later was combined with a couple of other parks to create the Garden Route National Park. The Park represents the eastern anchor of what is referred to as “The Garden Route”, which is a glorious 190-mile stretch of coastline in South Africa, running from the small town of Mossel Bay (Mussel Bay) in the west to the mouth of the Storms River in Tsitsikamma National Park in the east. It’s called the Garden Route because of the lush coastal forests that line the wide sandy beaches and rocky shoreline.

Tsitsikamma Park conserves a considerable portion of the natural biota of the Garden Route. The primary vegetation consists of mountain and coastal fynbos (what we might call shrublands and heathlands), montane forest, sandy and rocky shoreline, and the inter-tidal and sub-tidal zones. I spent 3 nights in the Park, which afforded me the time to do a couple of long day hikes.

My first day hike combined an indigenous forest hike in the steep hillside leading down to the rocky shoreline with a hike to the famous suspension bridges over the mouth of Stormsriver and to a lookout point high up on the bluff overlooking the Park’s coastline. Here are some photos from these hikes:

On my second full day, I hiked the first section of the Otter trail, which led me to a beautiful waterfall and beyond to the first overnight hut on the trail. It was a stunningly beautiful hike along rugged rocky shoreline and bluffs – I would love to come back and do the full 5-day hike. Here is a photo journey:

I camped at the The Stormsriver Mouth Rest Camp. Yes, it as a typical South African National Park rest camp, hundreds of packed together campsites, chalets and the works, but you have heard my rant before. Fortunately, I found the one and only campsite nestled in the coastal scrub and relatively secluded and private (because it was the farthest you could get from the ablutions). And there was perhaps only 1 or 2 other campers in the entire campground, so it was actually pretty nice! Here’s my campsite and 1 of the 3 campground sections in the Park:

Here’s my composite video of my campground and hikes at Tsitsikamma National Park:

Tsitsikamma National Park composite (16 minutes)

Ok, next stop a little farther down the coast for some more hiking. See you there.

New Species:

1. Kelp gull
2. Knysna turaco