Originally, today´s Tsitsikamma National Park consisted of two individual nature reserves, one inland and the other located along South Africa’s coastline and in 1989 the two parks were united thus a unique and successful combination of land, forest and water came into being.

Dense forest covers vast sections of the nature reserve. Mighty fifty metre high yellowwood trees surround the park’s various walking trails including the most famous, spectacular and oldest hiking route in South Africa, the Otter Trail, that extends for more than forty kilometres.

While walking through the park the sound of the roaring surf of the frequently stormy Indian Ocean is always within earshot. The nature reserve does not end at the coastline as it stretches five kilometres into the sea where it is possible to spot the occasional whale.

Due to the fusion of the oldest national coastal park in South Africa to the nearby immense forests, a fantastic habitat of unique nature has been preserved for future generations.