Otter Trail

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

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.

Start

Finish

Trail start and finish

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

Storms River Mouth 34°01′15.6″S 23°52′48″E
Ngubu huts 34°01′2.9″S 23°50′31.2″E
Oakhurst huts 33°59′42.7″S 23°44′2.5″E
Scott hut 34°00′22.4″S 23°47′10.1″E
André huts 33°58′45″S 23°37′5.3″E
Grootrivier, Nature's Valley 33°58′56″S 23°34′36″E

Trail stages

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) André - Nature's Valley
Total distance 44 km

Elevation distances - vertical climb and descent

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

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References

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

Gallery

Tidal pools at Ngubu huts

Oakhurst huts at Lottering estuary

Sunset at André huts, Kliprivier

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[sayb15-1] 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.