Hiking the Robberg Peninsula

About Hiking the Robberg Peninsula

Start: parking area at the Robberg Peninsula Nature Reserve
Finish: parking area
Duration: three circular routes, ranging from 2 km to 11 km
Fitness: the 11 km route is challenging
Our tip: take your camera, do the hike in the cooler months, and watch out for waves, particularly at high tide

The Robberg Nature Reserve, a national monument and marine protected area, lies on a peninsula – a scenic and inspiring finger of land on which to hike that provides access to Cape fur seals and beaches that stretch for miles. Only a few kilometres from Plettenberg Bay.

When hikers speak about the Robberg Peninsula hike they are referring to the 11 km circular trail that is fairly taxing to do.

There are another two options that are 2 km (to the Gap and back) and 4 km (to Witsand dune and The Island and back) apiece, but neither of them gives you quite the same access to views, inspirational geology and sightings of whales and dolphins.

The route takes one to the point of the peninsula and back .

You need to keep an eye on the tides as there are rocky sections that are difficult to manage at high tide. Definitely no small children should attempt this route.

You could choose to break the hike over two days, over-nighting in the wooden Fountain Shack provided by Cape Nature.

On the eastern side of the route there are some pretty sheer drops for part of the way, and if you have not a head for heights, this may be a little daunting. But the consistent access to Cape fur seals, makes it worth it. The north side of the Robberg is prone to unstable sand.

The point is a good midway stop for lunch, but the most beautiful section of the hike is said to be the area just past the shack ruin where there are a series of sandstone boulders covered with orange lichen.

Be sure to include The Island – connected to Robberg by a beach. Cape Nature have built a boardwalk right around it and it is one of the walk's highlights.

To return you walk the southern shoreline, pass through the Gap and head to the car park.

Get your permit at the gate of the nature reserve.