from $350* per person | 3 Days | Year-round |
Simple accommodations | Exertion level: 5 | |
Operator: Tokoloshi Expeditions | 10 people max |
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The Woody Cape section of the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa, Port Elizabeth, Africa
Tokoloshi Expeditions
After questioning what a Tokoloshi is and discovering it meant “A mischievous hairy dwarf” who is known in African folklore as something “thwarted by ladders and unable to climb” we would never have predicted the days ahead.
After meeting our wonderful guide, who was on time and greeted us with a friendly “Howzit”, we were driven to a cabin in the Woody Cape Section of the Addo Elephant National Park. A couple of beers, a braai, and early to bed.
We woke early and set off on what seemed to be a gentle stroll through the beautiful Ancient Yellowwood forests. Our guide stopped to show us prints and tell us about plants. The forest which initially sheltered us from the sky, slowly opened to allow swords of light as the sun rose. Some early animal sightings kept us alert but before we knew it we went from forest to foreshore, as small wooden steps led us to the ocean.
Walking along the sand was somewhat mystic as we looked in every direction and could not see a house, a car, or even a footprint. The largest dune field in the Southern Hemisphere is sure not to disappoint. The only thing to cause us grief was the fact that the camera would not do the sights justice… the dunes were bigger, the water was clearer and the scene was more dynamic than we could ever describe.
With the beautiful view below we were told we were staying just around the corner which was technically right but it was a hell of a corner. We shifted from flat sand to slight inclines and then rocks and we hugged ‘the corner’ of massive dune. We knew that there were stairs to take us to the top of the dune but couldn’t imagine how someone could have built stairs all the way out there. And then we saw it. A simple rope. We had to pull ourselves up, eventually hitting the wooden stairs. The top was amazing! Indescribable!
The accommodation was at least 5 stars - not that it had running water, power, or a spa but the fact that it sat under a million stars with a view of hundred dolphins. We were exhausted but somewhat reenergised by our surroundings.
The next day didn’t fail to keep impressing us. Beautiful dunes to farm land and back to the forest. This is not something you can do without the help of a guide and ours at Tokoloshi Expeditions was extremely capable and thankfully neither “mischievous” nor “unable to climb ladders”. If you are spending time in South Africa the Alexandria Trail is a must. Forests, fynbos, fields, foreshores… Unforgettable!
Lucy EdwardsLanguages, Performing Arts, English Coordinator
Balaklava High School
Ph: (08) 88620600
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