Goukamma Nature Reserve

Second part of the trail is very pretty, but windy as you’re mostly walking on the ridge line. Beautiful seaside and fynbos views, the “ferry” is a challenge 😂

This place is located in the middle of an natural Reserve. The roads to get there is really bad and stony, be prepared. In total you have to drive from the highway around 1h to get to the entrance. There you need to pay around 50 R per person, which is fine. Then there is anpther 15minutes drive to reach the dunes. This place is really nice! Especially with good weather conditions. Usually windy and big waves. There is also a restaurant and some lonly beaches around.

Friendly Buffels Bay entrance gate Sanparks process and personnel. Beautiful day and encouraging to see the beach has recovered substantially since the prior years' storm surges. Best to walk the beach portion at low tide. Be prepared for a good upper body workout if you use the boat crossing. Lots of birds including oyster catchers, white fronted bee-eaters and olive woodpeckers. Port Jackson is starting to encroach in several dune areas.

Our first time to Goukamma Nature Reserve. We booked Blacktail chalet - 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. The signs getting to our accommodation must be improved - we kept missing the little slip road to the right. We missed the gate closing time and struggled to get hold of the emergency contact people. After calling several times we did manage to get hold of Thulani who came to our rescue. We loved our stay. We did the Buffels Bay trail - 5km - we started our hike at the restaurant area, walked along the beach. The trail signs were also not well marked - Cape Nature staff should die these hikes and make improvements. That said, The staff are extremely helpful and friendly. We loved the outdoors here and would definitely want to come back for a longer stay to enjoy the hikes. There's some restaurants outside the reserve. Beautiful sunsets. Prolific bird life. Beautiful views from our chalet. The hot tub was fun and we could see the moon and the stars. Note. Only eco logs are allowed here. They didn't have any at the campsite so we had to drive 38km to the Knysna Spar to get them. I recommend you call the Spar to check if they have stock - otherwise buy at your nearest store to avoid frustration. We still did have such a fabulous time here and want to come back soon

Lovely location but maps need updating to show closed trails. Also route marking not great. Limited parking so go early. Saw Knysna Lourie, hoopoo, whale (distant) and a pofadder!

Wonderful hiking and walking reserve. Fairly well maintained. Little boat to cross the Goukamma River to start one's hike needs a little maintenance and life-jackets need to be replaced.

Awesome place to spend the day,fish,swim or even canoeing,not alot of shade though,be warned you will burn badly if you didn't bring your own form of shade, Lovely place for the family.

This reserve is truly vast, with spectacular views from the top of the massive dunes—both out to sea and inland. The trails are mostly well maintained, but a few of them have been closed, which isn’t marked on the paper maps or information boards. It’s a bit frustrating as it might mean doubling back or ending up on a longer trek than planned. One unique feature was the pulley raft to cross the river—fun, but definitely a bit of a workout! Overall, an amazing spot with incredible scenery, though a little extra signage would go a long way.