Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Otter Trail: 26 - 30 January 2013



Otter Trail – Garden Route National Park – Tsitsikamma,26 Jan – 30 Jan 13

Team: Russell, Farzana, Lucy, Mike, Estelle, Petra, Jason, Lee, Alison, Chantal, James, Cameron


 



















The Build Up
  • We booked the Otter Trail a year in advance for our Team of 12 people.
  • We had 1 prep meeting to confirm what suggested items we needed to take along.
  • Some of us trained with several day hikes in and around Town but this was done without a loaded backpack – big mistake!!
  • We booked 4 huts at the Storms River Mouth Rest Camp to arrive and stay over the night before our trail started: http://www.saparks.com/accommodation/tsitsikamma_storms_river.aspx
  • We borrowed backpacks – the smallest I could find was a size 55 (Thanks to Sam) and Mike hiked with a size 75 (Thanks to Chris).
  • We shopped to be sure we had most of the items we needed as well as our food and snacks for all of our meals. You need to be sure to have enough for 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 4 dinners as well as at least 2 snacks per day.
  • The night before departure it took us 3 hours to pack, ditch and repack – in the end I was carrying 9.5 kg in my pack (including 2 water bottles which weighed in at 1.5kg alone!) and Mike’s pack was weighing in at 15kg (including a 2L bladder pack which weighed in at 2kg).
  • On the Friday morning, we were picked up by our friends, Russell & Farzana, who we drove with from Cape Town to the start, taking us about 7 hours with a recommended stop at ‘The Red Tractor Café’ at the Peregrine Farm stall. http://www.peregrinefarmstall.co.za/red-tractor.htm

The Otter Trail Journey

The Otter Trail is a dream come true for many outdoor enthusiasts. It is a 5 day, 42km trail that is undoubtedly unique and one of the most beautiful and popular nature trails in the country.

At the start, I would like to mention that if you love the Outdoors then this Hike has got to be on your Bucket list. It provides the most spectacular views of the ocean, cliffs, forests and each of the overnight huts are situated right on the beach, with the sea on your doorstep. Absolutely awesome!
However, I did not anticipate how tough this hike would be as I thought I was fit enough – so don’t underestimate this challenging trail. The fitter you are, the more comfortable and enjoyable it will be!

Day 1: 4.8km / 2 hours to Ngubu Hut - We left at 10:10am and arrived at 12:25pm.
  • Relatively easy hiking day.

Day 2: 7.9km / 4 hours to Scott Hut - We left at 7:40am and arrived at 11:50am.

  • Tough ascents and descents all the way.
  • Felt and looked like the Forest Terrain of Frodo and Sam in The Hobbit.
  • Crossed the Kleinbos River Mouth – needed some help to get over the free flowing river.
  • Stunning beach views from the top.

Day 3: 7.7km / 4 hours to Oakhurst Hut - We left at 7:40am and arrived at 12pm.
  •  2 river crossings – Elandsbos River mouth & Lottering River mouth.
  • Not as hectic as day 2, although there were steep ascents on each day which were always tough!
Day 4: 13.8km / 6 hours to Andre Hut - We left at 5:25am and arrived at Bloukrans crossing at 9:15am, and then at the hut at 12pm.
  • A buck jumped straight in front of us on our hiking path.
  • Spotted an Oystercatcher & a Sugarbird amongst many other birds and their tweets – but alas we didn’t spot the Cape Clawless Otter on the Trail at all.
  • Low tide at Bloukrans was at 11am but when we got there just after 9am we were able to walk across in knee deep water – what a pleasant anti-climax after stressing for months about our swim across the river.
  • Challenging terrain – lots of rock climbing and scrambling, lots of ascents, rough terrain, little water and no watering points. There were 4 watering points marked on the map but our party didn’t find them, so a few ran out of water.
Day 5: 6.8km / 3 hours to De Vasselot Parking / Showers - We left at 8:10am and arrived at 11am.
  • However, we got lost and did an extra 2 km’s on the beach, right to the end of the beach as there were no signs to the finish. Very disappointing to not have a proper and clearly marked end to the Otter Trail especially since the past 5 days were very clearly marked all the way!
  • We finally ended at the Natures Valley Trading Store – the famous spot where everyone hangs up their boots in the tree at the pub. However, we had read previously that there was pizza at the end and this place served no pizza and confirmed they never have!
  • To book / for more information: http://www.sanparks.org/parks/garden_route/camps/storms_river/tourism/otter.php

Some Tips / Lessons that we’ve learnt
  • Buy a Wild Card which is an Annual Membership fee but allows you free entry into any of the nature reserves else you have to pay a daily entrance fee of approx. R34 per person per night.
  • Backpack:
o   Your backpack should weigh < 25% of your body weight, however mine was less than this and still very heavy for me to do a comfortable hike. I would suggest doing a few training hikes with a loaded backpack prior to the Otter Trail!
o   Also – test that the backpack is the right size for you. I had a problem on some of the ascents where my backpack kept hitting the back of my head – not comfortable at all!
o   If you are hiking with water bottles, test that you can reach the bottles on your backpack as it is not practical to remove your backpack each time you want a sip of water.  If not, then rather invest in and hike with a hiking bladder.
o   Check that your backpack has some easy accessible compartments that you can store your snacks for when you need a bite while walking, this will save you from unpacking your backpack each time you need something.
  • The Spork Saga:
o   So I am sure that every hiker owns a Spork – well to be honest I am not a fan of it. It is meant to limit how many pieces of cutlery you need to take but if you have steak or a meal where you need a knife and fork, 1 Spork just won’t do as you need both a knife and fork in opposite hands.
o   Then you have the problem that some Sporks, have the knife and fork on the same end – so this doesn’t work well when you need to spread something like marmite!
o   … and other Sporks have the knife and fork on opposite ends but if you have 2 Sporks for cutting a steak with well then you have the one end of the Spork being the knife side in your palm, which is not comfortable at all. Actually the Spork doesn’t work well for cutting steaks anyway so leave it at home and take a decent knife and fork – it will be worth carrying the extra few grams of weight than the frustration of attempting the use of a Spork.
o   I think I found another person with the same view as they left their Spork firmly planted into a tree stump at the last hut we were atJ.
  • There is a single toilet elevated on a throne at each hut, but there is no basin to wash your hands – for this you need to go to the tap situated outside your hut. A recommended item to take along, are the Pocket Soap Leaves. They are small and compact and you pop 1 paper leaf into your hand with some water and works like a charm for washing your hands.
  • Bring a Lightweight book or a pack of cards for the huts, there is a lot of chill time as we arrived about lunch time daily and besides taking in the spectacular views I did wish I had my book with me.
  • Take a small kettle or a pot with a spout for pouring of hot water for coffee or tea.
  • We all struggled without a pillow and we tried to make pillows with stuffing our clothes into our sleeping bag covers but this did not work well. Take a decent blow up pillow or a small foam pillow if you can.
  • If you are braaing (which you can easily do for the first 2 nights, if you have taken vacuum packed meat), wood is supplied but you need to take some blitz. If you do so, then don’t store your matches with the blitz as it soaks up all the liquid in the blitz and the matches are then wet and useless.
  • Food and Drink Tips:
o   Buy vacuum packed steaks or wors for the first 2 nights, freeze it the night before you leave.
o   Bring pasta and sauce sachets e.g. Pasta Arrabiata as this works well with adding just water.
o   Bring chakalaka sachet as a meal with Smash – this is a hearty meal.
o   Cup of soup sachets work well for a mid-afternoon snack.
o   Don’t skimp on your protein / energy &/ peanut butter chocolate bars – they are a treat when you need that boost for the very steep ascents.
o   Ensure you have enough Game sachets to premix with your water for hiking. You need 1 sachet per litre of water.
o   Bring extra tea bags, as they are light to carry and you can make 2 teas out of 1 tea bag if needed.
o   Premix coffee, sugar and powdered milk in separate servings and package these separately.
o   Bring hot chocolate if you’re a fan of hot chocolate.
o   Bring condensed milk for tea – if you can find small sachets or decant this, the big tin is too heavy to carry.
o   Bring some wine even if you have to decant or bring a small box wine, would have been nice to have some gluwein….

In conclusion, if you haven’t already done the Otter Trail then add it to your Bucket List – go online and book it now, as you probably have a year- long wait before you can get onto the trail. Start training and before you know it, you too will be enjoying this spectacular experience!

PS. Last Tip – be sure to have a good pair of hiking boots. I wore Merrell hiking boots and of course my Cura Soles gel filled insoles for extra cushioning. I finished the hike with tired shoulder muscles and quads but my feet were blister free and perfect!

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