The Otter is the trail every other South African hike gets measured against. Five days and four nights along the Tsitsikamma coast, starting at Storms River Mouth and finishing at Nature’s Valley, walked in one direction only, sleeping in huts above the sea. It books out a long way ahead and it deserves to.
The days are not evenly matched: 4.8 km, then 7.9 km, then 7.7 km, then 13.8 km, then 10.8 km into Nature’s Valley. Day four is the long one and the one with the Bloukrans River on it.
What it asks of you is unusual for a South African trail. There is a minimum age of 12 and a maximum of 65, and a medical questionnaire signed and stamped by a doctor that you hand in at reception before you start. There is no cellphone reception on any part of the route, and six numbered escape routes exist because you may need one. The huts have beds, mattresses, firewood and a braai grid; everything else, including bedding and food, you carry.
The rivers are the thing to plan around. The Bloukrans on day four is the well-known one, and SANParks advises crossing at low tide and arriving early enough to work out how. Getting hold of a tide table before you leave is the hiker’s own responsibility, and it is not optional.
