Forest Hall Plettenberg Bay – taking the high road or the low road?

As Robert Frost says in “The Road Not Taken: “…Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. On a recent hike in Forest Hall, Plettenberg Bay, we recently had to make that very decision and, as you’ll see, it made all the difference.

As members of the Plett Hiking and Adventure Club, we love to explore the different trails and routes of the Garden Route and Plettenberg Bay. Hiking and walking are a popular pastime for locals and tourists, as Plettenberg Bay is located in the heart of the Garden Route surrounded by beautiful coastline, a national park, mountains and nature reserves.

Forest Hall in The Crags is situated on the edge of the Tsitsikamma National Park, just outside Plettenberg Bay. Located between Nature’s Valley and Keurbooms, the hike takes you through the forest, to the cliffs overlooking the ocean and down to the beach for a gorgeous walk along the coastline, past the iconic Arch Rock, to the Blue Flag “Singing Kettle Beach” and Enrico’s Restaurant.

Everything was going smoothly until we reached the beach and realised that we had mistimed the tides slightly and the waves were getting closer and closer to the rocky cliffs. There was some debate in the group as to which route we should take: the risk of getting wet decided some and they headed back up the hill to walk along the ridge, while the rest of us donned our swimming costumes and decided to brave the incoming tide = lots of running, fun and excitement! The hike took us around 2 – 2 1/2 hours and ended with a lovely lunch at Enricos. All in all, a wonderful day in Plett and a highly recommended hike for our walking friends. We were joined on the hike by travelling videographer, Aquila Stadtherr and he put together a superb video clip of our adventure, which you can watch below.

As we often do when we walk along the beach, we took along a bag to pick up plastic. It was wonderfully to see so many of our hiking group doing the same. We’re very excited to be hosting “extreme hiker”, Antonio da Silva-Swart at Cornerway House, before and after his fundraising hike along the Tsitsikamma coastline to raise awareness about marine debris.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: 

• There is no water on the trail, so bring your own bottles of water
• It can get very hot, especially in summer so sunscreen and hat are essential
• Check the tides before your hike, so you don’t end up running through the waves at high tide
• Bring a costume & towel, when the tide is right there are lovely rock pools to swim in
• Wear good shoes. You may choose to take them off on the beach but you definitely need them for walking in the forest and on the rocks.
• Stop and take in the views, especially from the top of the cliffs.