We’ve been here in Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa for the last few days. The rest has been welcome and the relaxed atmosphere of this surf town is just what we needed.
Today my aunt and I headed to the Kabeljous Nature Reserve for a gentle coastal hike.
We decided to start on the river walk and then make our way around the outer edge of the reserve to see the various scenery the reserve had to offer.
The river was beautifully calm and the sounds of the local bird life kept us stopping to listen and keep our eyes up. As the lower reaches of the river meanders down towards the sea it opens into a beautiful lagoon closed off by large white sand dunes in the distance.
On the way we saw beautiful flowers and plant life on this western side of the reserve. Including the very tall succulents that towered above us. They were actually the tallest plant life that we came across on our walk as most coastal reserves here don’t have tall trees and forests.
Small buck tracks
It was a treat when we realised we weren’t alone in the reserve. I couldn’t believe how tiny these little buck tracks were - smaller than my thumb! They’re most likely from a little buck called a Duiker.
The path towards the lagoon
The porcupine bridge
After passing the wide open space of the lagoon we came across the bridge that took us across a tributary of the lagoon and over towards the southern Dune walk. This lead is higher up and the views extended back over the whole reserve and lagoon as well as Jeffreys Bay in the distance.
Garlic Buchu
Here the plant life changed from succulent to more hardy small leafed fynbos or fine bush. The Garlic Buchu with its white fluffy flowers has a particular smell when you rub it between your fingers.
Next we spotted a very interesting plant with flowers and leaves that looked like dark orange balloons. And lastly a very pretty white flower that is similar to an Everlasting but seems smaller.
The walk down the hill took us through a bush tunnel
over another bridge
and finally we took a right hand turn to THE GAP!
The gap is a dip between the plant covered dunes that leads to the beach dunes. A wide open space that is seldom touched by people and absolutely beautiful in it’s simplicity.
The patterns and shapes in the sand are all absolutely natural and formed by the wind and rain that we have had over the last couple months. Although we may be wearing summer clothes, it’s actually our Winter but this area of the Eastern Cape tends to escape from the worst of the winter weather and enjoy a milder climate.
This was definitely the highlight of the hike. Every single hike that I have ever done whether long or short has its highlights. But I won’t forget these golden dunes soon. In fact we will probably come back for another look before the end of our trip.
After spending a decent amount of time admiring the dunes we headed back through the gap and towards the final eastern side of the reserve along the fence. The terrain, although still reasonably flat, changed dryer with more scrubby low bush.
The walk along the eastern fence brought larger hoof tracks and evidence of wildlife that seemed to be evading us in the late morning. But it also brought more beautiful spring flowers at our feet.
Vygie
We hurried to the car as we got messages about caramel pancakes at a local restaurant. I’m a sucker for pancakes but especially the sweet ones!
Heres a map of the route that we took from the parking entrance at the main road
If you’re ever in the area this is a lovely kids friendly hike for the whole family of just over 5 kilometres. Take water along and wear decent shoes and a hat, but other than that I’d say be prepared to spend some time on the dunes and enjoy a picnic.
The reserve has free entry but accepts donations via SnapScan QR.
Hope you enjoyed the tour with us??!!
