This trail is on every hikers bucket list and I got to do it at last just after Christmas with good friends, Christine and Stephan. It almost didn’t happen however as I got COVID a week beforehand and it was touch and go at one stage as to whether I would make the hike. I had fairly mild symptoms and we decided to take our chances and go for it - I wore a mask whilst travelling and was out of the isolation period by the time we started the hike.
We never did see the elusive and shy Cape Clawless Otter, only its footprints on the beach!
Day 1- Storms River Mouth to Ngubu Hut - 4.8km
A fairly easy introduction to the trail although it involved a lot of boulder hopping. Not easy with a heavy pack and still trying to find hiking legs! I was immediately struck by the amazing rock formations and pools along the coast which would be the dominant feature of the hike ( apart from the many climbs!) We had decided to leave early as heavy rains were forecast for that afternoon and arrived at the hut around lunchtime. I felt a bit lightheaded on this first day, but was fine for the remainder of the hike. Because of COVID precautions, we were limited to three per hut ( there are two huts in all) and Sanparks had put up a couple of canvas tents to accommodate hikers. A bit of a bummer if you ended up here as there was no discount offered. We settled in and the rain arrived mid afternoon. The other party were not as lucky as they arrived late and endured the entire walk in driving rain. They were a young crowd and appeared quite happy to organise themselves between the other hut and the tents. It would appear that security has become a problem as all the huts on the trail had security doors ( although not all were in working order)
