Goukamma sits between Sedgefield and Knysna, a stretch of dune, fynbos and forest wrapped around a freshwater lake, and it is quieter than almost anything else on this coast. The Bush Pig is its best short circuit: 6.5 km, two to three hours, up onto a fynbos ridge and back down through milkwood forest.
This is the walk that gives you both halves of the place in a morning: the high open ground with the sea on one side and the lake on the other, then the low dense forest on the way back. It is circular, so no transport to arrange at the far end — worth knowing at Goukamma, where two of the longer routes finish somewhere other than where they start.
A hiking permit is collected on arrival and no booking is needed. Treat the two to three hours as the real measure, and check the gate hours when you collect the permit so you plan to be back inside them.
