TRAVEL Tsitsikamma
Everyone has heard of the wildly popular Otter Trail, a world-famous Southern Cape multi-day trek along one of the most stunning stretches of coastal scenery in the world. It's a top-tier bucket-list activity. But try as I might to secure a slot for the family, that damn SANParks online reservation portal always comes back at me with a resounding, ‘Nope! Don't be silly. We're fully booked, of course.’ The waiting list can be years…
‘But I want to hike in Tsitsikamma!’ whined my 15-year-old daughter when I told her for the umpteenth time that the Otter Trail was fully booked again.
However, this year, I made a backup plan by signing us up for the criminally underrated Tsitsikamma Trail, a 64 km, six-day journey into the picturesque coastal mountains between the Eastern and Western Capes.
Running nearly in tandem with the Otter but tracing a path further inland, the Tsitsikamma Trail may lack the coastal splendour of its sibling but more than makes up for it with beautiful mountains, flowery fynbos, and lush, evergreen forests.
The daily distances are reasonable (even for sluggards such as me), the overnight camps are charming and comfortable, and what's more, because very few people know
