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Cape Kayak Camino

This special kayak tour is called a Camino as it offers the opportunity to have a personal journey along which you can reflect on life, love and nature. 

Whether you are a couple traveling independently, a large family, or a group celebrating a milestone, or a tour company seeking a unique eco-friendly tour, look no further.

This is the quintessential overnight Kayak & Hiking Tour in South Africa brought to you by REAL CAPE ADVENTURES cc.

Bucket list

The unique Camino experience is a bucket list must. Whether it is hiking km to the holy city in Santiago or kayaking 30km along a serene untouched estuary, this is an experience that you not only want to tick off but also remember !

local guides

Experience the beauty that is Plettenberg Bay, South Africa and who else better to share their love and knowledge than local guides who want to share their love and passion with you.

unique location

Explore the ocean, estuary, gorge and wild beaches around the Bitou area.

distance

kayaking: 24km

hiking: 36km

includes

Lodge nights: 5

restaurant meals: 10

set lunches: 2

set picnics: 4

transfers

travel without a trace

Environmentally friendly

Make it your own

Wanting more ?

  • Individual groups
  • Extend your trip
  • Chalet options
  • For birthdays and or team building.
  • Add yoga and meditation  

featured in

the-camino-of-the-bitou1

You’re encouraged to paddle in a mindful way during this overnight trail near Plett. But, ultimately, the rhythm of the river will lull you into it anyway… Read More

(Matthew Sterne: Getaway)

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Cape Kayak Camino Schedule

OPTIONAL 7TH DAY: The Bungalow, Hobie Beach. Choice of activities: Sea Kayak Trip, Seal Swim, Boat Excursion, Surf Lessons, etc.

TOTAL DISTANCES.

KAYAKING: Two Days, on Day 2 = 10km. Day 3 = 14 km. Total Kayaking = 24 kms

HIKING: Three Days on Day 4 =12 km. Day 5 = 12 km. Day 6 =12 km. Total Hiking = 36 kms

TOTAL Kayaking & Hiking = 60 kms.

TOTAL LODGE NIGHTS: 5

TOTAL RESTAURANT MEALS (Breakfast & Dinners): 10. Set Lunches: 2. Picnic Lunches en route: 4.

TOTAL COST: R13500 (USD750)

Optional Extra 7th Night, One Night, Breakfast and One Activity: Price TBA.

Cape Kayak Camino Brochure.pdf

The Route

It’s easy to be dazzled by Plett, so it’s essential to use an experienced company like RCA. The Cape Kayak Camino (Plettenberg Bay)highlights Plett’s universal appeal; an unparalleled synthesis of ocean, indigenous forest and wildlife and standing sentinel over it, the majestic
Tsitsikamma mountains. (Khoi word for Place of Abundant Water. Also called the Serra da Estrella, the Mountains of the Stars, by the old seafarers)

Day 1

Meet at the stipulated lagoonside lodge at 5 pm for an orientation and allocation of equipment, followed by dinner at an oceanside landmark. The evening offers an opportunity to settle in and to meet your group.

RCA’s Johan Loots has a special association with Plett’s beaches, having been its first
professional life-saver in his student days. He and assistants patrolled Robberg, Central, Hobie and Lookout Beaches on surfskis, setting the stage for his sea kayak adventures to come. Loots fell in love with the place as he experienced the beaches, their timeless swaying, the marine
life that thrives here, the bountiful seasons and the many appreciative visitors who enjoyed them too, so when he started his commercial sea kayak operations in the early 1990’s, Plett was an obvious choice. Over the years the beaches have gained International Blue Flag status and have been visited by many famous people from around the world, including the original founders of Greenpeace and Dr Sylvia Earle, the eminent marine biologist, eco-campaigner and founder of the International Hope Spot Foundation. Indeed, she was honoured in the same restaurant we will meet in so a special place from which to begin the Cape Kayak Camino.

Day 2- Bitou estuary kayaking

After breakfast and outfitting, the adventure and unwinding starts with an easy paddle up the lagoon taking you to the confluence of the Bitou and Keurbooms estuaries which brim with marine life and a variety of coastal birds. You may find seals swimming nearby and gulls, ibis’s, oyster-catchers, terns, kingfishers and cormorants about. You may see flamingoes feeding in the shallows in their distinctive manner and if the conditions are right and you have good eyes you may even spot a seahorse or two under the water, possibly the only camino on which you can do that! After a hearty packed lunch on the lagoonside and a further paddle up the river, you disembark on Stanley Island in the middle of the lagoon for a traditional dinner and a night in a comfortable lodge.

Stanley Island is the only South African island in private ownership and takes its name from the
family which ran the pont here over a century ago. Plett’s best known island is Beacon Island, just off Central Beach. At the beginning of the

previous century it was still being used as a whaling station, with whalers coming here to hunt and process their catch. They also clubbed the
seal population (after which Robberg is named, a” rob” being a seal in Dutch), into oblivion. The island is now occupied by the Beacon Island
Hotel, a popular establishment featuring avant-garde architecture and grand views of the bay and mountains. It resembles an ocean liner moored
next to an island and once inside you get the feeling of being in the belly of a whale. The hotel is frequented by families from around the world,
many returning year on year.
‘Die Eiland’ (The Island) is situated on the western side of the magnificent Robberg Peninsula , forming our famous bay. It can be walked to at
low tide and offers a glorious circular wooden boardwalk with views of the Indian Ocean, Robberg and the rare tombolo beach (like the famous
one at Mont Saint-Michel, in Normandy) connecting it to the mainland. On the Cape Kayak Camino we visit all three islands and you might well come away talking of “Island Plett”, like some locals do.

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Day 3- Gorge kayaking

On Day Three we paddle through one of South Africa’s most breath- taking natural wonders, the Keurbooms Gorge. If you are a keen
observer, you may spot fish eagles circling above, occasionally giving their distinctive African call, setting the tone for the experience ahead.
Paddling into the gorge you rapidly leave behind the sounds of civilization and soon become enveloped in silence, but for the sound of water
gurgling past your kayak and unseen birds in the forest. A picnic lunch is enjoyed on the water’s edge, surrounded by the forest and a variety of
natural sound. Returning to Stanley Island after an invigorating paddle you enjoy a relaxed evening looking back in wonder at the stars blinking
in the gorge that you have just experienced by kayak.

The meandering and deep Keurbooms River has cut a magnificent gorge through the towering coastal cliffs on the edge of town. The banks are thickly forested, conjuring up images of greater forests and jungle. Film crews come here when requiring Amazonian backdrops! The difference is that the Keurbooms is benign with no lurking alligators or slithering pythons and invites all to enjoy its small beaches and coves and its warm and gold-tinted water which arises from the rain leeching through the dense forest alongside. The forest hides many inhabitants, including the famous Knysna touraco, flashing its crimson wings as it darts from tree to tree, wild baboons, leopard, waterbuck and many smaller animals in their natural habitat, all safely out of sight as you paddle past. Giant Outeniqua yellow- and stinkwood trees tower over you, providing a canopy of green in which to quietly immerse yourself. To many, paddling into the gorge is a highlight of their visit to the Garden Route and South Africa.

Day 4 - Beach hike

It’s a full day’s hike the next day through the coastal forest to the remote Salt River Cove (also called Mermaid’s Cove and site of a
Robinson Crusoe film) and on to charming Nature’s Valley, which may just be the original Eden of the Garden Route. After a walk along the beach and past a small lagoon nestled in the forest, hikers are transferred out of the steep valley back to their next beachside accommodation in
Plett. Its location will allow participants to enjoy Plett’s beach culture, have a dip in the waves and enjoy a relaxing seaside

But for a few private homes tucked away behind the dunes, the first ten kilometres of this stretch of coast
is a remote beach hike. It follows the curved bay, widening your perspective as Robberg recedes into the background and the rugged Tsitsikamma coast with its high mountains appear ahead. This part of the bay is pounded by large rollers with a variety of marine life, all exulting in its wildness. From whales and dolphins to birds and shells, along the way you may be lucky enough to pick up a rare and delicate pansy shell,
Plett’s beloved icon (like the scallop shell of the Spanish Camino, the latter’s striations signifying the converging of hikers and pilgrims in Santiago de Compostella.) The pansy shell has its own legends, like other sand dollars, where they are taken to be the lost coins of Atlantis, or mermaids. Look closely and you will see images of a lily and poinsettia on it too and if broken open, it may reveal five white doves waiting to be released to spread their goodwill and peace.

Day 5 - Coastal hike

It’s a full day’s hike the next day through the coastal forest to the remote Salt River Cove (also called Mermaid’s Cove and site of a
Robinson Crusoe film) and on to charming Nature’s Valley, which may just be the original Eden of the Garden Route. After a walk along the beach and past a small lagoon nestled in the forest, hikers are transferred out of the steep valley back to their next beachside accommodation in Plett. Its location will allow participants to enjoy Plett’s beach culture, have a dip in the waves and enjoy a relaxing seaside dinner

The 5 th Day of our Camino includes a visit to the Matjies River Cave which proves that prehistoric people
chose to stay along this breathtaking stretch of coast. The shelter offers a commanding view of the famous Arch Rock formation through which at certain times of the year the full moon shines through. The cave is small, but yielded one of the world’s largest middens, inhabited for
thousands of years by middle stone age man and later by ancestors of the Khoisan. Nelson’s Bay Cave on the western side of the Robberg
Peninsula, to be visited on the 6th Day of the Camino is larger and has been the focus of a number of significant digs with archaeologists recovering many implements and a number of skeletons of ancient people.

Day 6 - Nature Reserve hike

The following day brings a wondrous hike on Plett’s western side along the Robberg Peninsula, a nature reserve called home by hundreds of seals and surrounded by the ocean and even featuring its own island, and officially rated as one of the top ten day hikes in the world. Besides viewing nature at its most splendid you visit the archeologically relevant Nelson’s Cave, and some hidden rock pools in the fascinating geological formations and conglomerate which covers much of the area. After the hike the Plett Cape Kayak Camino ends with a farewell lunch back at Hobie Beach.

This geologically impressive peninsula in essence makes Plettenberg Bay the protected bay it is. For centuries now residents have availed themselves of its boating. diving, fishing and recreation. At its furthermost point lies Whale Rock, accounting for the wrecking of the Sao Gonsalves in 1632 which resulted in the establishment of the first European settlement at the southern tip of Africa, almost twenty years before Van Riebeeck’s arrival at the Cape. Nobody hiking along Robberg is left untouched by this special place. A light beacon at its highest point signals all night long, reminding those who live here, or who visit Plettenberg Bay, just how fortunate indeed they are.

Those who want to experience some of the other daily activities on offer in Plett, such as a sea kayak excursion on the open ocean,
a deep-sea boat trip, a zipline, a bungee jump or a surfing lesson, etc., can extend their stay by a day, or more.

IN SUMMARY: Throughout the Camino there’s an emphasis on the history and nature of Plett and your interaction with it in a mindful way. Daily yoga as well as a complimentary massage and a bottle of local wine per couple will be on offer en route, with everything geared to ensure your enjoyment and your Camino, returning home knowing that you experienced in the best way possible what makes Plett so very special.

Places to be

Maps & Location

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