Garden Route | Kayaking

Check in at the camp is from 14h00 - so soon after arrival and introductions, your guide will take you through the plan for the next four days and introduce you to the camp and the activities which are available for unlimited use throughout your stay.  Activites include but are not limited to - Bird Watching & Photography: There is a bird hide at Bitou Valley Bush Camp, great for sundowners and photography enthusiasts as well as Stand Up Paddle boards and canoes for unlimited use

Before sitting down to one of our legendary dinners around the campfire, everyone is free to explore the surroundings and to make use of the available options the camp offers.

After a hearty breakfast next to the Bitou River, our guide takes us down the Bitou River sharing his knowledge about the local vegetation and the abundant birdlife.  We kayak from our camp towards to sea – a journey that takes between two and five hours depending on fitness levels and which way the tide is going.

We enjoy a packed picnic lunch beside the river and upon arrival at the bridge, our transfer collects us and takes us back to camp where we are able to spend the afternoon at leisure exploring the site, for those more adventurous souls - a MTB ride, a swim in the river or a snooze under the Milkwood trees.

Sundowners at the Bird Hide is followed by dinner around the campfire while your guide shares his knowledge of the area and the night skies to the sound of frogs croaking and bushbuck snuffling nearby

Our mobile bush kitchen produces another of their delicious breakfasts which provide us with the necessary fuel to take us exploring on the Keurbooms river.

Today we have two opitons and can kayak down the Keurbooms river to the mouth of the estuary – without doubt one of the most beautiful estuaries in South Africa - where the gorge flattens out into large expansive beaches and the sea. 

Lunch is a packed picnic lunch and is enjoyed al fresco en route or on one of the sandy beaches.

Alternatively, we could kayak in the opposite direction towards the river’s source through an awe inspiring river gorge enfolded in dense Afromontane forests and home to a wonderful display of birds and small fauna - wild pigs, monkey, blue duiker, mongoose, the Cape clawless otter and antelope -  this kayaking experience offers the opportunity of a quiet and soulful commune with nature providing calm, quiet waters marred only by the call of birds and the subtle voice of the forest.

Lunch is a packed picnic lunch and is enjoyed along the way on one of the small secluded beaches

After returning to camp we have the option of unwinding with a good book, exploring the wetland, or even a trip to the beach - before an evening sundowner cruiser on the Keurbooms river while Dinner is served around the around the campfire

In the event of unfavourable weather conditions and / or depending on your own kayaking preferences TWO OPTIONS are offered for Day 4

OPTION #1: SEA KAYAKING EXPERIENCE

After breakfast we head for the Keurbooms river and our kayaks on the other side of the bridge. We make our way down the river, through the estuary and out to sea for an exhilarating sea kayak experience that often takes you in amongst dolphins and always around the prolific pelagic birdlife this coastline offers.

Our route back takes us via Anath Peninsula where we stop and enjoy our picnic lunch before returning to camp.  The afternoon is spent relaxing on the beach or at camp enjoying busy one of our many offered activities and Dinner is enjoyed later in the evening around the Campfire

OPTION #2: TSITSIKAMMA NATIONAL PARK

The alternative to a sea kayaking adventure is Black Water Tubing at Storms River, in the Tsitsikamma National Park.

After another deliciously good breakfast we depart Bitou and travel to Storms River, a 45-minute drive from our camp site.  The 3hr Blackwater Tubing adventure on the Storms River is a fun easy and safe adventure activity that allows exploration of the more remote areas of the Tsitsikamma Goesa & Plaatbos Nature Reserves. 

After our picnic lunch at Storms River (Sit down lunch at Storms River optional), we enjoy the transfer back to Camp and spend the afternoon at our leisure or doing one of the camp activities.

Dinner is around the Campfire

This morning we rise early to enjoy our last activity as the sun rises – SUP'íng or Stand Up Paddle-boarding along the Bitou River which affords us a unique perspective to the last of our water based experiences, and after a leisurely breakfast, we pack up and head home.