Hiking between North and South and encountering elephants

During this time, we have already met many other international students, and one of the most popular topics of conversation is, of course, the day and weekend trips we have already taken. While we explored the Wild Coast over the long weekend, another group of Germans followed the call of the Garden Route. When exchanging reports and pictures, I was immediately excited by the descriptions of the hike through the Robberg Nature Reserve. I was not alone in this, and soon my familiar group of excursion girls had reunited here as well.

Our destination for the upcoming weekend was set: Plettenberg Bay.

A little outside of this small town, the peninsula extends into the ocean, on which the Robberg Nature Reserve was established. There were three hiking trails of varying lengths to choose from, but since we wanted to explore the entire island, this decision was not difficult for us. The longest route starts on the north side of the island, where you are immediately greeted with a fantastic view of Plettenberg Bay.

As the peninsula can be seen as a kind of barrier that protects against the stormy winds and high waves of the ocean, we encountered a calm water surface that invites the city's tourists to swim. Especially in comparison to the later explored south side, we noticed the special vegetation here. We hiked along green mountain sides and even through naturally grown plant tunnels.

In the middle of the peninsula, there is a notch in the mountain called "The Gap," which allows you to quickly switch from the north to the south side. From here, we could already observe the difference in location just by the color of the water and the waves. In the north, there were light blue glittering small elevations in the water, while in the south, high waves towers were building up from dark blue water. If we had chosen a shorter route, we would have switched sides here.

For us, however, we continued on the "friendly" looking sunny side. And after a short time, we could see who else benefited from this particularly protected location. At first, we thought it was a normal bay with many rocks when we looked down the cliff from a lookout point. But on second glance, we realized that those were not stones down there. A seal colony, which is also responsible for the name of the reserve, frolicked there and enjoyed the sun on their fur. We observed the 50 or so animals, including many young ones.

We learned that this place is the perfect place for their upbringing, as it is protected from enemies and the rough sea, but still offers opportunities for hunting in the open sea. Our path led us further to the tip of the peninsula, always accompanied by the calls and above all the smell of the seals. The ground became sandy and eventually resulted in a large sand dune before we finally reached the south side of the tip. Here, we could observe the seals up close again as they fought their way through the stormy waves.

A glance at the route that lay ahead of us was enough for us to understand what it means to stand up to the forces of the sea day after day. The way back, which now awaited us, had nothing to do with leisurely walks on predetermined paths. It consisted of large stones protruding into the water and demanded climbing and finding a secure foothold. But the orange hue of the rocks and, of course, the thrill that comes with such a route, motivated us very much!

Even at a point where we really had to climb the steep cliff with our hands and feet, it could not stop us from moving forward! Shortly before we reached the "Gap" a second time, we found ourselves on a huge beach that offered a path to another small peninsula.

We did not leave this peninsula unexplored and it provided a nice opportunity for a little break. By the time we reached our car again, we had been on the road for a proud 5 hours and were accordingly exhausted. We ate comfortably at a restaurant right on the beach, explored the main street of Plettenberg Bay a little more before ending the evening in the hostel playing cards.

The following day, I had a little highlight planned. We drove to an elephant sanctuary to see and experience the elephants living there up close. The animals lost their mothers to poachers or could not be integrated into a herd. In order to give them a good life, they were brought to this sanctuary, where they were nurtured and became tame. We were allowed to walk hand-in-trunk with them, learned something about their anatomy, and generally experienced their proximity. The elephants radiated such calm and serenity!

I will make an effort to report on my experiences here a bit more regularly. Unfortunately, I still have a few excursions to catch up on. I will do my best and wish you all the best until then,

Your Caro

Completed steps of the "Africa" race: 452,360