When we got off the BazBus at Wild Spirit Backpackers, two Danish girls whose path we kept crossing were getting on. “You must do the “Big Hike” while you’re here,” they told us, “it’s absolutely incredible.”

The Fynbos are filled with beautiful Protea Flowers.

Two days later, we did the hike. After taking the shuttle the six or seven kilometers to the trailhead, we were off. The “Big Hike” is about eighteen kilometers through five different South African biomes. The first was fynbos, where the trail cut through a field of the endemic flora at the top of the mountain. It was a hot day, and the fynbos trail is quite exposed to the sun, so we were happy when the trail started to cut down the mountain and into the second biome: the kloof (forested valley/canyon in Afrikaans). We walked along the mostly dried up riverbed under the shade of some massive trees. We even saw and heard another Knysna Loerie with its distinctive, almost alligator sounding, defense call.

After the kloof, we walked along the lagoon where we saw fish playing in the shallows, and cormorants drying out their wings on logs. The water was chilly, but we stayed a few minutes enjoying the view of the marshlands and lagoon silhouetted by mountains. Then we crossed over the dune and onto the beach for the fourth biome. The waves were crashing on the beach, unearthing hundreds of small snails that would then find a new landing spot to bury themselves until the next wave came. We stopped for lunch in Nature’s Valley.

Natures Valley Lagoon

Rocky Shoreline of South Africa’s Garden Route

After lunch we were back along the ocean into the fifth biome. This is a wave battered, tide pool filled rocky seashore. Everyone recommended that we do this portion of the trail at low tide, because at high tide it’s swallowed up by the crashing waves. Of course we hit it at high tide and found ourselves traversing the sharp granite edges. I was thankful for the month we spent at the climbing gym because those skills were tested here. We rounded the mountain and found ourselves in a stunning lagoon that comprised the mouth of the Salt River. The high tide had filled in the lagoon with beautiful turquoise water from the Indian Ocean. Because it was high tide and the trial was submerged, we found ourselves wading through waist deep water to get to the secluded beach. It was gorgeous and we wanted to stay longer, but we were short on time, so we promised we’d come back later. Then it was back up through the jungle and the fynbos (where we passed an African termite mound!) and to the road where we picked up our awaiting shuttle. It was a really special hike.