Day Trip to Wilderness South Africa

Yesterday we took a day trip to the town of Wilderness, South Africa. Wilderness is a beautiful little seaside town about 45 minutes west of Knysna. We went kayaking to a hidden waterfall, visited the “Map of Africa” viewpoint, had lunch at a seaside restaurant, and walked along the expansive Wilderness beach. It was a full day of exploring this beautiful country!

Kayaking the Kaaimans River

Our first activity of the day was kayaking along the Kaaimans river. The entire process to get started was fast and easy. We had to pay, complete a quick waiver, grab a life jacket and we were ready to go. The whole process took about 5 minutes. Something I often love about other countries is how things like this seem easy. It wasn’t busy, there wasn’t someone who had to fit us to the perfect life jacket and go over all the safety rules, and there was almost no waiting around. It felt relaxed and carefree – just like being in nature should feel.

A unique feature about kayaking along this river is the hidden waterfall that is only accessible by kayak. We paddled through beautiful cliffs where a narrow passage led us straight to the waterfall. There were a few other people on their way out as we were approaching the waterfall, but then we had the entire area to ourselves.

Braxton climbed out of the kayak to explore the rocks. The rest of us just sat back and soaked up the beautiful surroundings.

After enjoying the waterfall, we kayaked to the rivers beach area where we got out and stretched our legs for a bit. You could see the ocean on the other side of this train bridge.

The kids loved the kayaking and said it was their favorite part of the day. Alexis thought the sign on the bathrooms was hilarious!

Map of Africa Viewpoint

After drying off, we got back in the car and ventured on to the “Map of Africa” viewpoint. This is an area where the Kaaimans river has carved out a piece of land that literally looks like a map of Africa. If the tide were higher, we could have kayaked around this entire area. It was very cool to see!

On the opposite side of the road was an expansive view of Wilderness Beach. A local woman told us you could see 18km of beach on a clear day. It was gorgeous!!

Lunch and a Walk on the Beach

We had a delicious lunch at a seaside restaurant that our friend’s family recommended. We sat outside with beautiful views of the ocean. The food was good and the atmosphere and outdoor temperature could not have been better. No mosquitos flying around, no ants crawling on us, and no sweating! After lunch we went walking along the expansive Wilderness beach and enjoyed just taking in the stunning views and ocean sounds.

One Week in South Africa – Still Can’t Quite Believe It

It’s hard to believe we are already one week into our time here. As we were planning the last few months of our trip we really considered skipping Africa altogether. It was a long flight to get here (even longer with our delays), and we had heard mixed reviews about the safety. I have to remind myself sometimes we are really here – in Africa! Then something happens like seeing a monkey roaming free outside our condo and nature reminds me all on its own. This is a truly stunning part of the world and I’m so glad we are getting to explore it!