Unspoilt nature and excellent amenities beckon along lush river banks

The Touws River, which runs through the Wilderness area of the Garden Route, offers visitors the opportunity to paddle, birdwatch, relax and hike to their hearts’ content, says Brian Berkman.

The distance can be covered partly on the river by paddling and completed on foot, although this means missing out on some of the most densely forested sections. South African National Parks (SANParks), the local authority that manages the rest camp on the riverbank, offers two-person canoes for hire for this very purpose, and there is a well-marked and easily accessible area for leaving the paddles while you continue on foot.

On this writer's previous visits, the river was fuller and it was possible to paddle a distance beyond the canoe stop.

ACCOMMODATION

If you are staying at the recently and beautifully renovated Fairy Knowe Hotel, you can hire paddles there too, but you need a permit for both the hike and the vessel.

In March 2021, this historic hotel was sold after being in the Dumbleton family for more than 100 years. The improvements are impressive, the bathrooms especially so, having

been upgraded travertine-tiled to contemporary, amenities. With new landscaping and further expansion of the restaurant/tearoom deck, this property looks set to be the elegant Wilderness river stop it once was.

LEVEL THE TRAIL REQUIRES A MODERATE OF FITNESS, BUT MOST OF THE PATH IS SHADED BY TREES

If you are staying at the Ebb and Flow in one of the forest cabins or in a tent or motorhome on a campsite, you can obtain a permit to enter the hiking trail at the northern camp's entrance. Visitors with their own kayaks need to purchase a permit in advance, which is available from the Ebb and Flow's reception.

Paddling on the Touws River is one of the best reasons to stay at the Ebb and Flow, which is also considerably cheaper than the Fairy Knowe or the