Beach and bush

1 A West Coast endurance walk

2 A Garden Route slackpacking trail

1 16 Mile Beach Challenge, Yzerfontein

DURATION: 2–3 DAYS (1 DAY HIKING)

FITNESS LEVEL: HIGH

Salt-white sand lines the shore of one of South Africa’s longest uninterrupted beaches, an endless sliver that disappears into the sea mist. Here and there, it’s splashed with the deep greens of kelp, silvery layers of mussel shells and dark brown dots of exhausted seal pups, all washed ashore by the raging Atlantic. Grey gulls, black oystercatchers and speckles of sandpipers dot the tideline, scouting for critters beneath the sand. Light green splatters the dunes, with patches of Strandveld protruding through the slip face. And then, of course, there’s the synthetic clash of brightly coloured plastic – 28 kilometres of trash.

I’ve always been a sucker for the ocean and long walks on the beach. So naturally, when Getaway needed a team to test out the recently launched 16 Mile Beach Challenge on the West Coast, I was first to sign up.

Our group of four left the bustle of Cape Town in our wake as we nipped up the R27 and soon, after a mandatory pitstop for roosterkoek, moseyed into the whitewashed and windswept village of Yzerfontein.

Informal town ambassador and brain behind the community-driven Challenge, Karen Schräder greeted us at the local Sport en Ontspanningsklub with watermelon cocktails and small-town hospitality. Before we