Garden Route Unearthed

Hiring kayaks and SUPs on the Kaaimans River in Wilderness

When you drive along the N2 from Sedgefield to George, you drive past the beautiful village of Wilderness, then round the headland known as Dolphin Point and then through a gorge and over the Kaaimans River. From the road you can see kayaks and canoes sitting on the side of the river, begging to be hired and taken out on the water, so one March morning (in fact, it was my birthday, so a great reason for a treat), Bryan and I decided we would go and check out what it was all about.

We had hoped that we would be able to paddle down the river to the mouth with the ocean, to the hidden waterfall that we had heard about, and then up the river into the Map of Africa gorge. Sadly though, because it was not high tide, we learnt when we arrived, that we would not be able to go up river. If you are hoping to paddle up the river into the gorge, remember to check the local Tide Times first, as you can only paddle up river on the high tide.

We were not too disappointed though, just excited to get going and decided to hire the kayaks for one hour rather than our planned two hours.

The hire costs at Kaaimans Adventures (at the time of writing) are R180 per kayak per hour (R110 per hour for kids under 11 years old), so we handed over our R360 and donned our life jackets.

First off we decided to paddle to the hidden waterfall. It is not far and only takes about 10-15 minutes to reach the waterfall. The route through the gorge is extremely pretty and the rock formations are quite spectacular and despite the fact that the N2 is not really that far away, we were not disturbed by any traffic noise and throughly enjoyed the peace of the river and listening to the water crashing on the rocks, getting louder, the nearer we got to the falls.

The waterfall is the point where the Swart River flows into the Kaaimans River, so depending on the amount of rainfall the area has received in recent days, will determine how powerful the waterfall is. It was in moderate flow when we visited.

We spent a little while soaking in the atmosphere and exploring the little nooks and crannies by the waterfall and then decided to head towards the mouth of the river.

Since it was not high tide, we were not able to kayak all the way to the mouth, but we paddled as far as we could, then beached the kayaks and walked the rest of the way to the mouth and the beach, passing under the spectacular old railway bridge.

The old railway bridge catches your eye from whichever direction you look at it. and as you follow the direction the train tracks take, it is easy to imagine what a truly spectacular journey it must have been. This is the route of the old Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train.

The train line runs for 67 kms from George to Knysna. In 1924 construction began on the line and it was completed and service began in 1928.

Sadly, after 78 years of its running, the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe service was abruptly halted in June 2006 following torrential rains and flooding, which washed away sections of the railway line and caused a landslide above the line at Dolphin Point, resulting in a holiday home hanging dangerously and precariously over the line.

Further damage occurred in February 2007 as more inclement wet weather hit the Garden Route, pushing the cost of repairs into the millions. Since the route was a branch line and not a profit making route for Transnet, repairs were not considered a priority, so the railway line was left to deteriorate past the point of possible repair. The end result being the closure of this iconic and extremely popular, scenic steam train route.

The coastal scenery and the indigenous forest views as you drive from George to Knysna are breath-taking and to have been able to enjoy them, whilst sitting and listening to the whistle and chug-chug of the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train would have been absolutely fabulous. I am disappointed that we never had the opportunity to ride this route.

Anyway, back to our kayaking trip. We arrived at the beach and had a stroll along it for a little way. The weather was a little overcast, but still the view was stunning.

After checking out the mouth, we clambered back into our kayaks and as our one hour hire was almost up, we paddled back up the Kaaimans River to Kaaimans Adventures (who we hired the kayaks from).

Kaaimans Adventures have a beautiful spot on the river with picnic tables, a coffee stall, plus a restaurant with pizza oven and a menu of a variety of different meals to enjoy, oh and they are licensed, so you can buy a very refreshing and well deserved cool beer, after your adventure in the kayaks.

They also rent our SUPs and have a few different activities to enjoy. For those looking for a bit more of an adrenaline buzz, why not try Kloofing or Abseiling! Whatever you decide, you are sure to have a wonderful and fun experience.

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