This year my birthday present to myself was spending the day at the Tsitsikamma National Park with my daughter as hubby was in a far away place in Africa.
Situated halfway between Port Elizabeth and my hometown of George it was an ideal place to hook up with my daughter to do a hiking trail or two in the park. The weather was just what we have ordered – sunny without wind and low humidity.
Before we settled for our walk to the mouth we enjoyed brunch, on the deck of the Cattle Baron, with breathtaking views of the river mouth and cliffs as a backdrop. The day is going to be good!
The wooden walkway contributes to an easy walk to the mouth …… until you get to the last steps. Well going down is still easy going and not the biggest problem, but as you know what goes down must go up again. So you will need knees, knees, knees and more knees to climb the stairs back up the incline.
After watching the resident dassies (rock hyraxes) basking in the sun we set off for another of the many trails. This time the Loerie trail. this is named after the smallest antelope in the park. They are of nature very shy and you will be extremely lucky to spot one while on the trail itself. So off we go. Up another steep incline again with steps, steps, steps. The walk then meanders through fynbos until you get to a viewpoint with some benches. Now you are about midway and if you feel energetic you can opt to include the Duiker trail as well – this is named after the smallest antelope in the park. They are of nature very shy and you will be extremely lucky to spot one while on the trail itself. The last part of the Loerie trail consist mostly of a tree section until you descend again to emerge into the sun near the camping grounds.
The Tsitsikamma will always be dear to my heart!
–oOo–
Sadly the park’s restaurant and shop burnt down on 25 November 2016 apparently due to a gas leak in the kitchen just before the start of the peak holiday season!
Photo credit: PE Herald (shared via Facebook)
While shoppers go bargain hunting on 25 November, also called Black Friday here in SA, the sad end of the restaurant is my take of a black Friday ……
Photo credit: PE Herald (shared via Facebook)
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