The Otter Trail is part of Tsitsikamma National Park, located about seven hours east of Cape Town along South Africa’s Indian Ocean coastline. The trail spans 42 kilometers and includes four camps along the way, with two huts at each site accommodating up to 12 hikers.
Those are the basic facts. But facts alone can’t begin to describe the beauty of this pristine wilderness. For five days I marveled at the sights around me: sheer cliff faces rising 600 feet out of the sea; massive waves crashing onto jagged rocks; boulders as big as my house; pods of dolphins playing in the surf. About the only thing I didn’t see was the trail’s namesake, the reclusive Cape Clawless Otter.
Then there was the physical aspect: This landscape is not only seen; it is very much felt. The trail traverses slippery rocks along the shore, where there is rarely level or stable footing; it’s replete with more lung-busting and leg-burning ascents than I could count; it features eight river crossings, including a rather treacherous one at the Bloukrans River that requires a swim followed by a climb up a near-vertical rock face using a series of fixed ropes.
Wilderness treks are made all the more memorable by the company one keeps, and this one was no exception. Besides me, our six-person party included my friend Nadine and her 12-year-old son Matthew; Fred and Angie, a couple from the Cape Town suburb of Somerset West; and Clarissa, a 19-year-old first-time backpacker who bravely overcame every challenge thrown at her. We shared our camp each night with two other parties: a young lesbian couple, and a suave Frenchman hiking with three ladies (typical Frenchman, right?). As I said, the company was memorable.
Rather than drone on endlessly about something that words really don’t do justice to, I’ll just conclude with a few bullet-point highlights and let the photos that follow tell the rest. Let’s call it Al’s Top-10 List of Otter Trail Memories:
10) Being lulled to sleep by the roar of the Indian Ocean each night
9) Eating fresh fish that Matthew and his mom bought in an impromptu transaction with local fisherman (who may or may not have been illegally trespassing on national park land)
8) The look of surprise on Clarissa’s face upon realizing the overnight huts had no electricity with which to charge her cell phone
7) Walking along exposed clifftops with nothing but ocean extending to the horizon
6) Not encountering any deadly venomous snakes (of which there are many in this country)
5) Enjoying the warmth of a good fire and the company of good friends each night
4) Al, seeking help to swim upriver in search of fresh water: “You don’t have to go if you’re not comfortable.” Clarissa: “Nothing about this trip has been comfortable. I will go.”
3) Successfully swimming the ice-cold Bloukrans River at high tide
2) Watching dozens of dolphins riding the waves at the Lottering River mouth
1) The feeling of satisfaction in walking off of Nature’s Valley Beach at the end of the hike, knowing something substantial was achieved
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