TAKE A HIKE

FISH EAGLE TRAIL, PORT EDWARD

- ZAAHIRAH SHAIK MOIDEEN

Drive south from Durban on the N2 and you'll soon be rewarded with views of the Indian Ocean, and green hills blanketed in sugar cane, banana plantations and macadamia trees.

After about two hours, you'll arrive at Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, next to the river that marks the border between KZN and the Eastern Cape.

This is where I plan to take on the Fish Eagle Trail, with my bug-averse bestie, Atiyyah Moola. You start by walking along the fence of a neighbouring property. A trekking pole comes in handy here, mainly to clear all the spiderwebs from the trail (much to Atiyyah's dismay). After about 10 minutes, we pass what must once have been a gate and officially enter the reserve. Samango monkeys swing through the canopy. We press on until we reach a fork in the path. You can go either way to complete the Fish Eagle Trail - it's a loop - but we decide to keep left. It looks like the climb going this way will be steep, with an easier descent. (If you choose the right path, you'll climb more easily but descend steeply.)

We walk through the forest into the river gorge, with huge trees all around us: white stinkwood, red beech, forest mangosteen, Natal milk plum, Natal forest cabbage and many cycads, most of them labelled.