OTTER TRAIL
WEDNESDAY 25 TO SUNDAY 29 AUGUST 2004.

Barbara & Peter Giddy
Tim, Sue and Jessica Gendall
Pat & Gerald Scheepers
Nick Prinsloo
Engela Wyatt
Lucie Runnels
Cathy Lucie’s friend from the Vet.

We had planned this hike for a year as we had had to book one year in advance for the Otter Trail. The Otter takes a maximum of 12 people. We had eleven. The cost of the hike at this time is R450 Plus a R80 entrance fee to the Park. You can also buy a Wild Card which entitles you to entrance to all the National Parks for one year, Some of the original team had pulled out. So some of the hikers were on a first time hike. Tim had hiked the Otter many years ago. Peter & Barbara had hiked this trail twice before.

We had a pre-hike get together where we discussed logistics and meals. Lucie was to take her bakkie and the rest would be in our Combi. We arranged to meet at 06.00am in Cape Road on the Wednesday morning.

Day one
On the morning as we waited we realised that something was amiss when Lucie and Engela were late. Well a phone call sorted that out as Lucie had overslept and Engela was so happy as she was still busy with packing.

We left PE at 07.00. The drive to Storms River Mouth is just about 2 hours. There was quite a line of people at the registration office which is now located at the gate. We checked the tide for Saturday, which was going to be our Bloukrans crossing day. Low tide was expected at 09.00am. Armed with our permits and maps we parked at the start of the hike, off loaded the trailer and Lucie and I drove through to Natures Valley where we left the Combi in the caravan park. This transfer takes about an hour. So we were able to begin the actual hike at about 11.00am. I had come with my video camera. So I was able to film most of the interesting bits of the hike.

The first part of this hike is fairly tough going as the bags are at their heaviest and there is quite a bit of boulder hopping and rock-face to negotiate. This kind of terrain makes for very slow going as we had discovered the previous month in the Fish River Canyon. The pace is at about 1 to 2 kays an hour. We stopped at the cave where we did a bit of exploring. Unfortunately this cave has been used as a toilet by a number of hikers. It may be an idea for the Parks board to site a toilet along the trail for the day hikers. Today we encountered a number of day hikers. Many of them foreigners.

The front walkers set up a good pace and after about two hours we were at the Waterfall. Out came the cookers and dixies and we were now truly in the way of all hikers making a warm drink. Some of us had a swim. For myself it was very quick. Tim and Jessica were bolder as they swam all the way to the falls.

From here it is not more than an hour to the first huts. As we had arrived early we were able to have a swim and set up a relaxed camp. Setting up camp is quite an interesting activity as people claim their own favourite bed, cooking and storage areas. This afternoon we were able to enjoy a swim in the tidal pools just in front of the huts. At this hut there is no stream nor a shower for washing. The walk between huts is about 50m and the loo is situated in a convenient position between the two huts and with a magnificent view. In fact it is a feature of the Otter Trail to be able to sit on the loo and enjoy one of the most scenic views in Africa. Another feature of this afternoon was the Bushbuck that seemed to be quite happy to graze on the foliage as we walked past. It is an idea to bring a pair of good water resistant sandals for the evenings as the sea water has all kinds of spiky creatures and the rocks themselves are quite sharp to walk on. Also I discovered this evening that “stokies” are not acceptable as attire for “Real Men”. Lucie admitted that they were okay for grandfathers like myself though.

Most of the campers had brought fresh meat for the first night or two so we lit the fire and had ourselves a braai. The first two huts on the Otter have “bins” for fire wood. They allocate one per evening and if everyone sticks to their allocation there is quite sufficient for everyone. It was this evening that we discovered that Engela had packed toiletries and creams that would have done a beautician proud. She had also brought a pile of fruit juices and by her own admission…No Beers! The only problem was that this added quite a bit of weight to the pack. And unlike the rest of us whose packs weight reduced daily, Engela’s pack weight seemed to remain constant. But no moans from Engela who seemed to cope particularly well on this hike.

Hiking is a strange activity which makes people very sleepy very early. So many of us were asleep fairly early in the evenings. Our hut slept with the door open to be able to enjoy the fresh air. This meant that we had the full moon shining in the hut at some stage of the evening and only in the early morning would we have actual darkness. I have tried to read by torch and candle light but I am not normally successful.

Day two
We had decided that we were on holiday and had a relatively easy day of 8 kays ahead of us so we agreed to leave at 09.00. Many were ready earlier but as we had basically agreed to stay together as a team the earlier group had to wait for the procrastinators. This morning we met two men who had the job of bringing wood down to the huts, (Rowland and Jan) We thought that they had brought the wood from way up the hill but found out that there was a substantial pile of wood not far from the huts on the trail of the second day.

Each day starts with an uphill. Be warned! It only takes a few minutes before those with a second layer of clothing were peeling off. The hills are quite tough and should be walked at your own pace. The front walkers were instructed to re-group as soon as they reached the top of any hill. This way we were able to stay together and still allow everyone to walk the hills at a pace that was within their capability.

Today we had plenty of stops and any stream was an excuse to remove the backpacks and relax for a while. The second stream turned out to be quite a nasty river crossing that required us to take off back-packs and shoes and socks. We had to assist one another across the fairly fast flowing water. Nick was always a willing helper as we crossed these rivers. Up to this stage Jessica had held back a little as she found her place in the group. However it was not long before she was one of the people willing and able to assist others up rocky climbs and across rivers.

The main feature of the second day is Blou Baai. This is a lovely beach that is found at about the 5 kay mark. We had seen the bay from a rocky outcrop and viewpoint that we had explored earlier. The best way to get to Bloubaai is to leave the pack on the path and take a snack and water down to the beach. The walk down to Blue bay is very welcome as we had seen blue bay from a rock outcrop early on in the hike and had anticipated the beach for the past hour or more. The swimming is not safe at this beach and care should be taken. But what there is however is a lovely place to park out and have a mid-morning nap. Today we saw a number of whales fairly close off the shoreline.

The Scott huts at the end of the second day are situated near a stream and on the beach. The stream allows for the first real “bath”. The water was cold but for me really refreshing and welcome. We had taken the full day to reach the overnight huts as we had made use of every opportunity for a sit down during the day. Tim had had a rough day and I recall that he was in no mood for much at all. Nick was in high spirits as was Gerald who I believe also had to bath in the freezing clod water (on instructions from Pat). The wash certainly cheered me up and as I had decided to pack 6 beers I was able to enjoy one early in the evening. Tim had brought so many cokes that he was always glad to be able to reduce the pack weight by drinking as many as possible.

The snacks in the evening are something to look forward to at the end of a day of activity. Barbara and I had brought some fresh veggies and dip for the evenings. As well as chips, biltong, crackers and cheese to add to each evening’s sundowners.

Barbara and I had brought steaks, potato and veggies in foil for the first three nights so were keen to get the fire going. Some of the others used the fire for cooking as well. The evening meal is always an important event on a camping trip. Barbara & I do not believe in being too Spartan. This is a time for really enjoying the outdoors but with as much culinary luxury as possible. Some of the group also enjoyed a pudding of fruit and custard or just a chocolate for dessert.



Day three.
Again today we decided that there was no reason to rush off at the crack of dawn. So it was a 09.00am start. Today the hike is much the same as the previous day. Many long hills, stream crossings and walking the ridges looking down to the ocean. After about an hours hike the trail leads to the Elandsbos river mouth. This is a great place to stop for a snack and a swim for the more adventurous (especially in the summer months). Today we experienced the longest hill of the whole hike. This is a hill that takes one past the “balancing rock”. This rock can be seen from the beach below and it is probably advisable to have a rest somewhere on this beach. When you reach the top of this hill you will be fairly close to the Lottering (Oakhurst ) huts and will want to press on.

It was at the top of this hill that we saw more whales. Some of the group decided to stay and watch for whales and others pressed on to the Lottering river. This is quite an awesome sight from the top of the hill. The waves come pounding into the mouth of the river and it looks like an impossible crossing. However at the bottom the path leads to a section of river upstream where the crossing is not so difficult. The crossing still requires the hiker to remove sock and shoes as well as backpacks. And expect to get your pants wet. Here we also enjoyed a swim before walking the last half hour to the huts. As Tim and I walked to the huts we saw Jessica crossing the river back again. This was strange as the tide was coming quite fast. But we realized that Suzan must have left her trusty stick on the other side and Jessica (faithful daughter) was kind enough to fetch it for her Mom.

The Oakhurst huts have a shower with a view. And although we got here by about 2 in the afternoon, there was soon after we arrived, a Q for the shower, then we laid our clothes and ourselves out on the rocks to enjoy the afternoon sun with coffee and snacks to warm our insides. Barbara spotted a whale crossing the river mouth. We then saw a few of them as they swam around the area in front of the huts for a while. This evening we had had to carry the wood a short way from a fork in the path to the huts. Only a few of us still had meat to braai but a fire has such a warming and soothing effect that we always lit one in the evenings.

We had worked out that Low Tide was at 09.00 the next day and as it is best to cross Bloukrans river mouth at low tide we decided to leave at 06.00am the next day. Crossing the Bloukrans River Mouth at high tide can be quite dangerous as this entails a swim across the river mouth with the waves making the going even tougher, floating back packs, and scrambling up jagged rocks on the other side. So it was early to bed. Tim had an eventful night as he was woken by the scratching of a little creature (probably a Genet or similar animal) in one of the packs. I am not sure who got the biggest fright but the little creature took off when Tim slapped the floor with his hand.

Day four
As planned, we were up very early and set off in the dark at 05.45am. This was one of the highlights of the hike as we walked by torch light. The full moon seemed to leave us at that time and we were under bushes and shrubs during the early part of the mornings hike. However the walk went past without too much problems and the early start set us up for a good mornings walk. This morning we walked with few stops and none for more than a few minutes to regroup and to catch our breath. It was a welcome sight to see the Bloukrans River mouth as the tide was just beginning to turn. The walk had taken us about 4.5 hours. The walk to the Bloukrans is fairly well marked with Kilo markers. Just before the descent to the river is an escape route that can be used if the hiker has not timed the walk correctly.

We reached the bottom in good time, took off our socks and boots and waded across the (very cold) river. We noticed how the temperature of the ocean water was considerably warmer that of the river. Once we had crossed the river we unbundled and set up for a good long break We filled water bottles, made lunch and some of us had time to catch up on some sleep. Those who went to do a bit of exploring found an old rusted cell phone.

After an hour of baking in the morning sun we set off for the last huts of the hike. There is quite a bit of boulder climbing to be done after the Bloukrans and again a climb to the top of the ridge. Just before arriving at the Andre huts there is a steep descent where the hiker is asked to carry wood down to the huts. And here begins the story of the “Lost Phone”!

“The Lost Phone”
Tim and Sue were bringing up the rear. Jessica was up front with us. And, on seeing the pile of wood they had loaded themselves and set off down the fairly steep and long climb down to the huts. Sue had gone off ahead and when Tim seemed to take forever Sue off loaded the wood and set off back up to look for him, calling his name repeatedly. Eventually getting back up to the top she enquired what the hold up was. “I lost my Phone” says Tim. “Well, lets go and find it” says Sue.

Tim seemed strangely reluctant to go back and offhand about the expensive cell-phone that he has lost. But being the good and faithful wife that she is Sue sets off (on her own) up the path, past the pile of wood again, scratches through the snake infested wood-pile for the phone, finds nothing and walks back a long way searching the pathway. It is hot and after a long days hike Sue is quite exhausted and so finally turns back unsuccessful. Along the pathway she has found an animal bone that looked familiar (Tim had picked it on the beach earlier and carried it as a small keepsake). Anyway Sue finally gets back to where Tim is sitting and waiting on the top of the descent to the huts and announces that she too has been unsuccessful in the search for the phone. “What’s that in your hand?” asks Tim. “What?” says Sue. “That” says Tim. “ Huh” Sue looks perplexed. “My Bone!” says Tim triumphantly. The penny dropped! Tim had let Sue go back, bone tired (Excuse the pun) to look for his stupid bone that he had been carrying.

Well folks. That just goes to show that hiking is an incredible marriage builder. If you can survive something like that and still laugh when you look back, then your marriage looks good for the future.

Anyway back at the huts Jessica had been concerned for them and had walked back up the hill to find them. And saw them slogging it down the hill laden with firewood which is extremely difficult to carry and put the past straw onto Sue’s back when she announced that there was already enough wood at the camp!

This evening was our last. We were all a little sorry that the adventure was soon to be at an end. But we had had a rich time and been incredibly lucky with the weather, the walk itself and no injuries to talk about. Well maybe I had better acknowledge that Nick fell at Bloubaai and hurt his rear, Engela had grazed her knee, Gerald moaned and groaned constantly and vowed that this was his first and last Otter until I told him to “Shut up and walk” and I am sure that there were some other injuries but none that a plaster and Panado could not heal.

We had one of those incredible moonlit evenings again. At the Andre huts there is a swimming area in the pools in front of the hut area. Here there is also a shower with a view. So having swum, showered and relaxed for the afternoon the evening fire was a mixture of a fun time of story telling and melancholy of the end of a really great holiday. There were promises made to get together again for another hike in the not too distant future.

Day five
It seemed that there was a general consensus to get home as early as possible. We set off at about 07.00am and hiked the relatively easy section along the ridge of the coastline to the beach of nature’s valley. Here we took off our boots and walked along the beach barefoot enjoying the feel of the sand and the water on our feet. The last stretch is past the village of Natures Valley and along the old N2 to the campsite. Here we showered, borrowed a “start’ from one of the people staying there as the Combi had a flat battery and after picking up Lucie’s car at Storms River Mouth and a quick visit to the curio shop for souvenirs we stopped at the Tsitsikamma village hotel for a Pub Lunch and then headed home. We were home by about three in the afternoon.

And that was the Otter trail 2004.

Peter Giddy.