The Outeniqua Hiking Trail
Av Hiking Time: 7 hours.
Highlights: Beautiful views.
Be prepared for: Very tricky (technical) climb out of river with ladders and bridges.
The days starts off with a very quick start for first 8 Km to river. I recommend you complete this section at a little pace as you will slow down tremendously after you cross the river.
The river crossing is quite tricky with overgrown plants making it difficult to spot a nice path to cross - this will be more difficult after rains.
Then next 2 km after the crossing is probably the most "technical" section where on has to climb up ladders and cross a bridge with chain link for support. The slope is quite steep and novice hikers may struggle here.
We crossed after rains so it was very slippy and slow going. It took us 2 hours to move the 2km after crossing the river!
After 2km the climb is still steep but less technical as you near the Rondebossie hut. Cold water at the hut and not the best braai area but nice loos with flushing water.
You will notice in the hut on the wall is a menu for a community tea garden for the FOLLOWING nights hut. You have to pre-order if you want a large dinner (although they serve smaller meals and hamburgers without ore-order).
The tea garden is right next door to the hut and not 50km away as shown on the menu. This was in place at time of writing (March 2014) but is subject to change - PLEASE DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE AS THE KITCHEN MAY BE CLOSED!.
Tips for Day 5:
- Try complete the first 8km to the river quickly to give you time to navigate the technical section.
- If travelling in large group make sure you pair up the strong hikers with the novice hikers at the river to help with the technical section.
| « Day 4 | Day 6 » |
Photos from Day 5
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