The Otter Trail is a hiking trail along the Garden Route coast of South Africa and is named for the Cape clawless otter[1] which occurs in this region. This trail is widely regarded as one of the finest in the world and stretches from Storms River Mouth in the east to Nature's Valley in the west, is 26 km long as the crow flies and 44 km as the hiker walks. Walking the trail takes 5 days, and the 4 nights are spent in comfortable huts with superb views. The route is located entirely within the Tsitsikamma National Park, which protects an 80 km long strip of coastal mountains, forest and beaches.
| Otter Trail | |
|---|---|
 View from Skilderkrans across Bloubaai-Wes | |
| Length | 41 km (25 mi) |
| Location | Garden Route, South Africa |
| Trailheads | Storms River Mouth Nature's Valley |
| Use | Hiking |
| Trail map | |
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The trail traverses a very scenic landscape, never straying far from the shoreline, but often climbing steeply and then descending to the beach or a river crossing. Vegetation along the way is either fynbos, dense gallery forest or open, rocky sections near the sea with an abundance of wildflowers.
Trail landmarks
edit- Storms River Mouth 34°01′15.6″S 23°52′48″E / 34.021000°S 23.88000°E
- Ngubu huts 34°01′2.9″S 23°50′31.2″E / 34.017472°S 23.842000°E
- Oakhurst huts 33°59′42.7″S 23°44′2.5″E / 33.995194°S 23.734028°E
- Scott hut 34°00′22.4″S 23°47′10.1″E / 34.006222°S 23.786139°E
- André huts 33°58′45″S 23°37′5.3″E / 33.97917°S 23.618139°E
- Grootrivier, Nature's Valley 33°58′56″S 23°34′36″E / 33.98222°S 23.57667°E
Trail stages
edit- Day 1 - 4.8 km (± 2 hours) Storms River Mouth - Ngubu
- Day 2 - 7.9 km (± 4 hours) Ngubu - Scott
- Day 3 - 7.7 km (± 4 hours) Scott - Oakhurst
- Day 4 - 13.8 km (± 6 hours) Oakhurst - André
- Day 5 - 9.8 km (previously 6.8 km) (± 3 hours) Vasselot - Nature's Valley
- Total distance 44 km
Elevation distances - vertical climb and descent
edit- Day 1 - 561 m total vertical - Climb 188 m - Descent -373 m
- Day 2 - 1480 m total vertical - Climb 746 m - Descent -734 m
- Day 3 - 1257 m total vertical - Climb 623 m - Descent -634 m
- Day 4 - 1905 m total vertical - Climb 945 m - Descent -960 m
- Day 5 - 926 m total vertical - Climb 466 m - Descent -460 m
- Total elevation distance 6.13 km
Gallery
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Tidal pools at Ngubu huts -
Oakhurst huts at Lottering estuary -
Sunset at André huts, Kliprivier -
Bloukrans river mouth
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Delien Burger (ed.). "20. Tourism". South Africa Yearbook 2007/08 (15 ed.). South African Government Communication and Information System. p. 548. ISBN 978-0-621-37568-8. Archived from the original on 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
External links
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