Stormsriver Mouth Hiking Trail
Starts at Sandy Bay and takes one along a winding board walk through indigenous forest to the mouth of the Storm River, the famous suspension bridge, the Stormsriver Mouth Cave and to the Spirit of Tsitsikamma boat jetty. For the more energetic, the trail continues after the bridge and leads to the lookout point on the plateau. The journey to the bridge and back will take approx. 40 minutes.
Visitors will need to pay for access to the Garden Route National Park, Tsitsikamma section to enjoy this free activity.
Garden Route National Park, Tsitsikamma Section
Hike the Sacramento Trail
The Sacramento is a popular 8 km round trip coastal walk through the Schoenmakerskop-Sardinia Bay Nature Reserve that starts in the coastal village of Schoenmakerskop.
Gqeberha
Diaz Cross Beach Walk
1 hour’s walk along the beach. The unspoiled beach walk within the Addo Elephant National Park to Kwaaihoek and Dias Cross.
Cannon Rocks & Boknes
Take a selfie and view the highest commercial bungee jump in the world
You don’t have to jump to get a view of the Bloukrantz Bridge and surrounding scenery. The long The picturesque views from close to the jump offer an opportunity to capture some beautiful pictures with the eyes and with a camera.
Bloukrantz Bridge Tsitsikamma
Free Hiking in the Tsitsikamma region
Hike the trails through the Plaatbos Nature Reserve, the historic Storms River Pass or the Goesa Trail. All right next to Storms River Village
Stormsriver Village
Bats Cave Trail
The Bat’s Cave Trail in the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve, East London, starts at the MBSA Coastal Education and Visitors Centre. The trail winds along the beach and sandstone formations through a number of coves and steep sandstone cliffs. Bat’s Cave itself is only accessible at low tide and is about 1,1 km’s from the Education Centre.
Buffalo City
Surf the world-famous Supertubes
Dolphin Beach is one of the few beaches in the country that has achieved Blue Flag status (2013). Situated in the renowned surfing hotspot of Jeffrey’s Bay, Dolphin Beach is where Supertubes (known well to avid surfers) is situated. Supertubes is acclaimed as one of the top five right-hand breaks on the planet.
In addition to fabulous swimming and surfing, Dolphin Beach is also popular amongst those who simply want to stroll along the water’s edge and enjoy the magnificent views. Snorkelling on the reef is an unforgettable experience.
Jeffreys Bay
Experience walking the Labyrinth
All are welcome to experience walking the Labyrinth at the Edge whilst enjoying the spectacular views and their garden, which is one of the largest in the world. For many centuries the Labyrinth has been used as a pathway to spiritual discovery and fulfilment and is used as a means to enhance prayerful attitudes, intimacy, meditative states, and spiritual focus, The Chartres design, eleven-circuit Labyrinth, is one of the most intricate Labyrinth designs, with a diameter of 29m and a circumference of 91m. After your walk enjoy a delicious lunch or slice of carrot cake at the restaurant.
Hogsback
Self-guided historic walk of Graaff-Reinet
The oldest town in the Eastern Cape, the fourth oldest in South Africa and certainly one of the most atmospheric, Graaff-Reinet lies enclosed by a bend in the Sundays River, overshadowed by the rocky Sneeuberg Mountain within the Camdeboo National Park. With over 200 buildings claimed as National Monuments and an entire street restored, including its slave cottages, Graaff-Reinet has retained much of the character of a typical 19th century town and is well worth a visit because of it.
Graaff-Reinet, Karoo Heartland
Self-guided walking tour of Cradock
Cradock is the principle town of the Karoo Heartland Route and an important agricultural centre, Cradock boasts fine architecture and a number of important monuments and museums (including the Olive Schreiner House, home of the writer of the classic, ‘Story of an African Farm’). The area was considered strategically important by the early 19th century settlers, and this heritage is reflected in many of the well-preserved buildings - including the old parsonage (1849), which today houses the Great Fish River Museum, a fascinating showplace of settler culture.
Cradock, Karoo Heartland
Climb to the top of Oukop Hill and enjoy the view of Cradock. Find the Anglo Boer War inscriptions
Oukop Hill is about 2.5 km from Cradock and offers a breathtaking view of the whole of Cradock and parts of the Karoo.
You can wander around on the slopes and enjoy a picnic or sundowners from the top. The hill was used as a lookout post during the Anglo-Boer war, and you can see soldier etchings on some of the rocks.
Cradock, Karoo Heartland
Visit the Roodewal Historic site outside Cookhouse
The Roodewal historic site next to the N10 near Cookhouse doesn’t just have one, but three separate heritage-related items all linked to the same place. Roodewal Farm. The site has a significant relation to nearby Cookhouse and the district in general.
The first site, and the one pointed out by the road sign on the N10, is a small stone pyramid relating to the Pringle party’s rest camp. It was at this site that a Scottish party of British Settlers stopped in 1820 en route to their new settlement in the Baviaans River Valley.
Cookhouse, Karoo Heartland
Visit the Steytlerville Open Air Museum and view the Family Crests on the main street
The Steylerville Museum, situated in the town of Steytlerville was initiated in 1967, and is a small community run museum which houses the history of settlement in the Steytlerville area. The museum includes clothes, house implements and memorabilia from the turn of the century, and includes much about the history of the town of Steylerville and the surrounding farming communities.
The museum also houses artifacts from the Boer War era. An open-air museum, also managed by the museum, exhibits farming implements and turn of the century home articles.
Steytlerville, Karoo Heartland
Visit the Stone Folk of Ongeluksloot outside Nieu-Bethesda
The Stone Folk is a new permanent outdoor installation of stone figures are carefully placed in the landscape of Ongeluksloot, on the farm Doornberg, outside the village of Nieu Bethesda.
Niue-Bethesda, Karoo Heartland
Harry Potter’s Grave
The Cradock cemetery boasts the grave of a legendary Harry Potter, who, according to the inscription on the tombstone, died on 27 July 1910.
According to the locals, the resting place of Harry Potter was discovered by a German who dedicated his time to traveling around the world in search of graves of famous personalities.
Cradock, Karoo Heartland
Visit Egg Rock outside Cradock
Deep in the Karoo Heartland – along a dirt road and, seemingly, in the middle of nowhere – is an egg-shaped rock precariously perched on an unstable surrounding surface.
Standing 10m high and weighting in at around 480 tons, you would have trouble cracking the mysterious “Egg Rock” to make an omelette! Egg Rock is actually located just 8km outside of Karoo Heartland town, Cradock but visitors can be forgiven for feeling completely swept away from civilization by the silence and panoramic Karoo views that surround the dolerite rock.
Cradock, Karoo Heartland
Walk around the dirt roads of Nieu-Bethesda, follow the water farrows, visit Helen Martin's grave in the cemetery, pop into the historic church on a Sunday morning, walk the Labyrinth at the Gregg Price Gallery, browse the books at Dustcovers and enjoy the fresh air of the Karoo
Whether your interest lies in art, bushman paintings, fossils, climbing, hiking, bird-watching, mountain-biking, horse-riding, game-viewing, star-gazing or stoep-sitting, you’ll never be at a loss for things to do in Nieu Bethesda.
Nieu-Bethesda, Karoo Heartland
Visit the Anglo Boer War cemetery at Grootfontein outside Middelburg
The PW Vorster Museum at the Grootfontein Agricultural Institute is housed in the original farm dwelling, erected in 1827 and extensively renovated in 1887. The collection consists of Anglo-Boer War artifacts and a Post War collection as well as a large collection of farm implements.
Middelburg, Karoo Heartland
Climb to the Bergvenster and enjoy the magnificent view
The Bergvenster is a natural arch that has been created by weathering of the Enon Conglomerate in the area and can be reached from Philips Tunnel.
The path is rough to say the least but well worth the effort. The view across the mosaic of farmlands is breathtaking.
Hankey, Kouga
Surf Museum in Jbay
Essentially, Jeffreys Bay is one of the top ten surfing destinations in the world, so to have a surf museum in this typically surf driven town was always a must. The museum is also about remembering the history of surfing and paying tribute to the many surfing pioneers and legends that have developed the sport over a span of several years.
Jeffreys Bay
Bathurst – Centre of the Universe
Spend a morning exploring the village’s studios and quirky shops; the toposcope; have a pint at the oldest operating Inn, the Pig n Whistle. Visit the farmers morning market every Sunday.
Bathurst is a quaint and quirky village with much to see and do for both outdoor adventurers and people wanting to experience the best of what eastern cape has to offer. With many great restaurants, pubs, shops and historical sites, Bathurst will keep you busy and make you smile.
Bathurst
SANPARKS Open Week
South African National Parks (SANParks) will be presenting its 18th annual SA National Parks Week from 16 to 24 September 2023. The week grants free access to most of the 21 national parks for day visitors, especially people from the local communities.
The week was established in a bid to cultivate a sense of pride in South Africa's natural, cultural and historical heritage, protected by the national parks system.
It should be noted that free access to parks does not include free access to accommodation facilities and other tourist activities. Some of the parks will be extending the week to include the two weekends.
Various locations
Walk your way to mindfulness at Jeffreys Bay’s spekboom labyrinth
The Kouga Municipality and the ‘Dorp van Drome’ (town of dreams) have built a spekboom labyrinth for residents and visitors to enjoy.
Spekboom is an indigenous South African succulent, and was chosen because it is easily propagated, is water efficient and is very good at capturing carbon.
Jeffreys Bay
Poor Man’s Game Drive
If you enjoy a game drive in search of Africa’s awesome wildlife, then this is for you. And if it’s for free, so much better! Affectionately known as ‘Poor Man’s Game Drive’, this popular route borders some of the well-known Big Five game reserves in the area.
Kenton On Sea
Follow the trails through the Kabeljous River Nature Reserve
The Kabeljous Nature Reserve is located north of Jeffreys Bay and offers the visitor a 2.5km coastline complete with dune thickets, forests, bushveld and wetlands.
For the avid hiker there are various three to seven kilometre walks - you may be lucky enough to see bushbuck, duiker, bushpig, grysbok, caracal, mongoose or even some of the 100 species of birds that are found in the reserve. So for a change from the beach spend a day at the Kabeljous Nature Reserve. A picnic area is available at the Estuary.
Jeffreys Bay
Hole In The Wall
The Hole in the Wall at Coffee Bay is a unique structure with a huge detached cliff that has a giant opening carved through its centre by the waves. In front of the Hole in the Wall, there is a long shallow area that is teeming with life. This is ideal for families with little ones that enjoy splashing about in the warm waters of the east coast of South Africa. It is also popular for snorkellers because, just centimetres from the surface of the water, loads of marine species can be enjoyed.
Coffee Bay
Sundowners or Picnic Morgan Bay Cliffs
Pack your camera and go for a hike over the spectacular cliffs. These impressive slabs of dolerite, which drop some 50 metres into the pounding surf, are ideal vantage points for watching the sunrise or enjoying a sundowner with friends. If you're lucky, you may even see the dolphins frolicking in the waves which crash against the rocks below.
Morgans Bay
The Woody Cape
The Alexandria dune field is considered to be the best example in South Africa of bare coastal dune field, often referred to as a dune sea. It offers a unique and extraordinary wilderness resource which only a few other landscapes in South Africa provide. It is the largest and least degraded coastal dune field in the southern hemisphere. The dune field imparts a unique experience of solitude, infinity and spatial freedom.
Alexandria forest: from Kenton to Boknes, turn right at the 4-way stop, drive 600m and turn left to Cannon Rocks and then follow the road down the ‘golden mile’ through some of SA’s finest dairy farms. Pass Woody Cape, & enjoy the views of the ocean, Bird Island, the southern hemisphere’s largest shifting dunes, then through the Alexandria indigenous forest and on to Alexandria.
Alexandria
Kouga Dam
Built in the 1960s, the Kouga Dam was the first double-arched dam in South Africa. It's worth a stop for the beauty of its setting in amongst the mountain folds of the Gamtoos Valley, known for its fertile soils and fresh water.
Patensie
Eersterivier - the Tsitsikamma's hidden gem
Hidden on the rugged eastern coastline of the Tsitsikamma is a little gem that not a lot of people know of. Somewhere you can get away from it all and enjoy stunning scenic coastal landscapes bordered by cliffs and lush vegetation. Somewhere you can take in a bit of beach life and lots of vitaminSea without being trampled underfoot by crowds.
Tsitsikamma
