TAKE A HIKE

Harkerville's mini Otter

- ESMA MARNEWICK

Wheeee! A scream pierces the canopy. I narrow my eyes and see a thin line strung across a kloof. A small figure dangles below- one of the guides from Knysna Ziplines testing the cable before the first tourists arrive.

It must be dizzying up there. I'm grateful to be anchored to the soft forest floor! The Kranshoek Coastal Day Walk is perfect for hikers who want an Otter Trail experience in one day. The 9 km circular route runs through the Harkerville section of the Garden Route National Park and gives you scenery reminiscent of the Tsitsikamma coastline on the Otter. It's also a great way to hide from the holiday crowds in Plett and Knysna.

For the first 1,5 km, you go slowly through Kranshoekbos down the side of a cliff. You'll soon notice that the surrounding vegetation is not like the lush Knysna forests. The steep, eastern slope is exposed to the hot midday sun, which means rainwater is not easily retained, resulting in this "dry forest". It becomes characteristically green as you descend. In the kloof at the bottom, you cross tributaries of the Kranshoek River. Ferns tickle your legs and every stream is the colour of golden syrup.

Linger in the coolness. Sit on a rock and drink it all in.

About 2 km from the start of the trail, there's a narrow opening in the coastal fynbos. It's early morning and the coast is still in shade. The sky is hazy, as if the forest breathed out.

On the other side of the gap is a pebble beach. It's not a typical Garden Route beach, full of people, umbrellas and cooler boxes. This is a wild spot. You might see a dassie or an African oystercatcher at most.

We follow the path, past jagged rocks that reach up to the sky all along the coastline.

According to an information board, these rocks were part of the cliff overhead thousands of years ago. During the previous Ice Age, erosion accelerated and the huge fragments broke off, forming their own mountainside.