Storms River cliffs
We ate our last breakfast in Hogsback at the viewpoint before making our way back to the coast. Our route took us through Addo Elephant Park, which offered us a chance to see the Big 5 again. We drove through during midday so we weren’t expecting too much, but did manage to see several elephants at watering holes as well as more warthogs than we could count. It didn’t compare to our visit in Kruger, but it gave us different scenery to look at rather than taking the highway.
Storms River
Wave splash at Tsitsikamma National Park
Shortly after arriving at Dijembe, we spoke with the owner about our plans. He told us about the animals he had on the property including a rescued mountain goat and horses. He said our stay wouldn’t be complete without meeting the latter. Our conversation stopped there and before we knew it there was a horse in the bar. To add to the absurdness of this, the bartender started feeding her carrots directly from his mouth.
The horse in the bar at Dijembe Backpackers
The next morning we made our way to the Tsitsikamma National Park to see the suspension bridges. Storms River flows out of the mountain and through a gorge before meeting the ocean. They have built bridges so that you can see the gorge from different angles. We wanted to get an even better view so we took kayaks up the river and then floated even further on lilos (inflatable rafts). There was the chance to try to surf on the rafts as well as a cliff jump that we took advantage of. Afterwards, we went back to the bridges to watch the sunset and had fresh oysters to finish off the day.
Kayaking in Stoms River
Suspension bridges at Tsitsikamma National Park
The following day was Tico’s birthday and what better way to celebrate than jump off the world’s largest bungy bridge. The structure is 216 meters (708 feet) high and drops you over the Bloukrans River, which then feeds into the Indian Ocean. I did the jump 10 years ago so I stood at the viewpoint and listened as he screamed “hooooooly sh********t” the whole way down. In his words, it felt like he just kept falling and he didn’t have time to process how fast he was going. The whole event lasted less than 5 minutes, but it felt like much longer and in slow motion.
World’s highest bungy jump!
View more pictures of Storms River here
Wilderness
From the bungy jump, we moved down the road to Wilderness. This is a place that has stuck out in my memories for years and I was excited to see it again. We stopped at the top of the hill before reaching town and ate our lunch while watching the waves. The difference between Storms River and Wilderness is by far the beach. The latter has an expansive beach with transparent turquoise water while Storms River is mostly rocks.
Wilderness beach view
We went for a hike in the Garden Route National Park that followed a river to a waterfall. The interesting thing about rivers in this area is that they have clean water, but it looks like a strong-brewed tea. This is caused from the tannins in the trees that have fallen into the river, which oddly enough is in tea as well. The trail crossed the river so we opted for the self-pull platoon on the way there and the stepping stones on the way back. At the waterfall, we hopped in to cool off. Tico ventured to the other end of the pool and when I looked again there was a small snake slithering its way across the water. He wasn’t too worried about it, but I was glad I was already out as I was thinking it likely had family nearby.
Garden Route National Park
To finish off the birthday celebrations, we went for a walk along the beach and observed the fishermen and snails. Then we splurged by going out to dinner. We got the fresh catch of the day while enjoying the sunset over the ocean even though it was blocked by clouds.
Fisherman at Wilderness beach
View more pictures of Wilderness here
Helpful tips:
- If bungy jumping, book the 9 am spot if you want to get in/get out. It starts to fill up and you wait for everyone with your booking time.
- Tsitsikamma National Park allows you to stay even once it is closed. The stop letting people in, but they do not fine or close the gate immediately.
- Because of this, you can enjoy the bridges and sunset with hardly no one there.
- If kayaking, book through your hostel as we were able to get a 10% discount. Also ask when the best time would be to kayak in the ocean as we had to walk to the bridges to start.