Eden to Addo Hike

About Eden to Addo Hike

The Eden to Addo hike is considered by some as the longest, if not the toughest hiking trail in South Africa. Regarded as a 'mega' hike, the Eden to Addo entails an 18-day haul from Knysna to Addo and the Addo Elephant National Park, on its way to being one of the largest national parks in southern Africa. The 'eden' in the title no doubt suggests a 'lost' paradise; a play on what would once have been deep forests along the coast.

Inbetween the trail meanders through the Baviaanskloof wilderness and the many folds of the varied Cape mountain ranges – Tsitsikamma, Langkloof, Couga, Groot Winterhoek and Klein Winterhoek.

The hike is an endurance test that pays off because of the sheer beauty of the largely deserted surrounds. Gentle hills, mountains, valleys, folds that go on forever. Those who walk the hike marvel at the distinction between a coastal area under human pressure, and the incredible wilderness so close by, filled with biodiverse vegetation, blue skies and mountains and mountains. The effect of this wild beauty on those who do the hike is enormous.

The hike starts in Kranshoek, one of Knysna's indigenous forests. From here it winds its way through three mega-reserves – The Garden Route National Park, the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve and the Addo Elephant National Park. This corridor is known as the Eden to Addo Biodiversity Corridor, its aim to conserve endemic species.

The hike is made slightly easier, and possible, by the slackpack element – your luggage is transferred, your tent pitched and your meals prepared for you – but this by no means deters one from the average 26 km day. That's seven mountains, six national parks and nature reserves and five biomes in total.

At the moment, the hike is not yet formal, and happens only once a year in September.