Hunter Gatherer Hike

About Hunter Gatherer Hike

Start: Boggomsbaai, Garden Route
Finish: Gouritz
Duration: daily distances vary; 12km - 20km
Fitness: relatively fit if you are going to tackle the five days
Our tip: the slackpacker version includes all meals and accommodation; don't forget sturdy boots, sunscreen, a hat, costume, goggles and snorkle (worth it for the swim at Fransmanshoek)

Designed to cover a portion of the very popular Oystercatcher Trail's route, the Hunter Gatherer Trail is a guided five day hike that has you beach-combing and rock-hopping the beautiful coastline of the Garden Route, covering the paths of the Khoi San hunter gatherers who survived on these beaches thousands of years ago. You also kayak along the Gourits River.

The hike has a slackpacker or a self-catering option. It is aimed predominantly at families and small groups and, because of the intimate nature of the beachcombing element of the hike, really allows the hiker to become acquainted with the sand, rocks and sea of the area.

The trail takes you along beaches, rocky shores, massive sand dunes and a bit of the Gourits River. Accommodation is pretty basic, incorporating tented camps, dormitories and rustic cottages. But you even get to try your hand at catching your own food and cooking it over an open fire.

The hike is led by a tour guide, there not so much to show you the way as to add meaning to the hike with relevant historical and geological insight. Hikers are also given other reading material about the history and ecology of the Khoi San, their diet, weapons, life style, the middens, and oystercatcher nets, to add further interest.

The bird life on the hike is said to be pretty spectacular. Pack your binoculars to sight fish eagles, sand plovers and oystercatchers.