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The Otter Trail hike is undoubtly one of the most popular hiking trails along the Garden Route coast of South Africa, in all likelyhood attributed to the scenery and spectacular vegetation. It is magnificent...The hike is run over five days with four nights spent in comfortable forest huts on the trail, the path following the coastline. We cross several rivers and streams on our way, walk along beautiful beaches, and climb steep hillsides, never leaving sight of the ocean for long as we at some sections walk under a canopy of trees. The Otter Trail is situated inside the Tsitsikamma National Park, home to a large number of species, and the waters off the shore is an established Marine Protected Area since decades back, displaying whales migrating in season, and your chances of spotting porpoises playing in the waves are high. On the undulating Otter Trail hike we make time to stop and enjoy, not the least streams where you cannot resist a swim in the rock pools.

Bottle nosed dolphins are often seen playing in the surf close to shore and makes delightful entertainment during stops on the Otter Trail. On the trail you might even quite likely spot the Knysna loerie or the black oyster catcher, the latter being on the red list and a threatened bird species. The Cape clawless otter, for which the trail is named after, is another character you could bump into when walking along this fantastic shoreline. The forest in Tsitsikamma (Khoisan phrase meaning place of abundant water) is green and lush with comfortable shade during the warmer part of the day, with numerous streams throughout the length of the Otter Trail that are potable, although filtering or purifying the water is nevertheless advisable.

The Otter Trail is definitely less about covering distance than to revel the views and spoil your senses.

The Otter Trail hike is walked over 5 days. Distances and approximate durations are:

•Day 1 = 4.8 km (± 2 hours)
•Day 2 = 7.9 km (± 4 hours)
•Day 3 = 7.7 km (± 4 hours)
•Day 4 = 13.8 km (± 6 hours)
•Day 5 = 6.8 km (± 3 hours)

A fair degree of fitness is required as there are some steep sections on the Otter Trail, which together with a backpack at some times might be a little bit challenging, particularly after a long day of hiking. The longest distance to cover is on Day 4. The terrain is at times steep and rough, and consists of many ascents and descents.

Perhaps the most challenging part of the Otter Trail hike is by many considered to be the crossing of the Bloukrans River on the fourth day of the hike. The river should only be crossed during low tide, and even so the current can be strong enough to prevent a safe crossing. A good idea here is to use a line tied to yourself while swimming across, but in either case there is always the bail-out route to get around this obstacle should it be too tricky. Another nice safety aspect is the sporadic cell phone reception on the trail, which, although we definitely want our phones off while hiking, provides a bit of comfort by knowing it's there, just in case.

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