Plett: Witsand at Robberg

Date: 11 August 2011

Location: Robberg Nature Reserve, Plettenberg Bay

Walkers: Helen and Vanessa

**** Route plotted here ****

Previous walk at Robberg here.

No holiday in Plett is complete without a meander around wild and beautiful Robberg peninsula. Last visit we walked all the way to the Point but this time around Vanessa and I opted for the shorter Witsand route.We started at the same place, on the east side. Below us was the full stretch of Robberg beach which we had walked a couple of days previously.



We walked down the wooden steps and then followed the clearly signposted path to the right.



The path took us along the side of the slope, with fantastic views of the bay. We kept our eyes peeled for whales but didn't spot any.





At the Gap we got a glimpse of Gap Beach on the west side of the peninsula.



We continued on our path, up the slope and along...



... stopping to look at flowers and interesting rocks...






... and occasionally looking back to see how far we'd come.



The scenery here always reminds me of Cape Point and False Bay. It is spectacular. I particularly loved the lines of waves coming in.



For a while the path went through thick bush.



From the view points we looked down on a dassie sunning himself on a ridge below us, and further along, far below us, lots and lots of seals. They were playing in the waves and gathering on the rocks.



On we walked...



... until the path dipped down to Witsand.



This dune cuts right through the peninsula. Our route had us turning right and following the sandy path all the way down.



The rocky outcrop called the Island was clearly visible at the other side of the beach.




As we reached the bottom we could see the rocky western side of Robberg.



Cormorants on the beach. We also saw groups of osytercatchers and gulls.



We walked across to the Island but decided not to explore further there this visit.




Instead we headed back towards the Gap. Some other holidaymakers were swimming in the sea - brave things. The water was cold!



The path took us across the rocks, past an old midden in a cave, and then onto a brand new wooden walkway.



We passed Gap Beach again.



And then we followed the path up and round, staying on the west side of the peninsula. There was a last view back to the Island, and then a walk along a straight path back to the parking area.


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Plett: Robberg

Date: 15 June 2009

Location: Robberg Nature Reserve, Plettenberg Bay

Walkers: Helen, Michele, Richard and Claudia

**** Route plotted here ****

We elected to do the Point Nature Trail, the circular route around the whole Robberg peninsula. This set off on the northern side, with a view out over Plett.



We walked down the rocky slope, and then along the side of the headland.



There was plenty of conglomerate around, and an info board explaining what this is and other items of geological interest in the area. We found many fascinating rock formations throughout the whole walk.





At the Gap the peninsula narrowed and our path converged with the one on the other side. We kept going straight, following the signboards to Point.



There was a great view of the first section of the headland behind us.



The path climbed steadily until we got on top of the hill. Up here it was quite bushy and we kept a look out for blue duiker, but were not lucky enough to see one.




There was, however, plenty of lovely flora to admire.




The view out was lovely, even though it was still a bit cloudy. The sky looked moody. Robberg reminded me a lot of Cape Point. Doesn't this look like False Bay?



We then crossed Witsand, a sandy section.



The last leg on this northern side took us along the edge of the cliff for quite a way. It was bleak and open and wild - I loved it! The only detraction was the smell of seal. There is a large colony of Cape fur seals living around Robberg (rob = seal) and they were frolicking in the waves and sunning themselves on the rocks below. Fun to see, but very smelly!





At last we came to the Point, the rocky end of the peninsula.



We made our way down the slope. It was sad to see that the old fisherman's shack at the bottom lay in ruins. It had been fine when I last visited Robberg a few years ago. I presume it fell victim to severe weather as there were bits of debris spread far and wide.



We took a break here at the Point and had a bite to eat.



Seals were playing in the waves, a lone whale swam past (quite far out, so no pictures were possible) and there were many sea gulls and cormorants about. The rocks were white with their guano.




We then continued on, now walking along the southern side of Robberg. The route took us below the cliff, clambering over the rocks. It was high-concentration walking, but the scenery was dramatic and spectacular.





The rocks were covered in bright orange and other lichens and had weathered in extraordinary ways.




We saw a family of dassies.



There were several caves.




Further on the vegetation became more lush, and tucked away, we found the Fountain cottage. This adorable little get-away is available for rent from CapeNature.




We got a great view of the Island, another headland, accessible via the wide sandy beach.



We made our way towards it, and up onto the circular board-walk.





From the Island we got a great view back to the section of Robberg we'd just walked.



It was an easy stroll around the Island.



There was some gorgeous cliff scenery on the far side.



It was then down onto the beach once more, and back across to Robberg. We were heading towards the Gap.




We had to climb again, and hop over rocks, to get across the slope. We passed a large old strandloper cave on the way.




Before long Gap Beach was on our left, and we made our way to the convergence of the paths we'd passed much earlier in the day.



From here we peeked across to the northern side again. The view now in the sunny mid-afternoon was much nicer than it had been in the cloudy morning earlier.



Back on our path we had another short but steep climb to get up the hill.



The views from the top were worth the effort!



We could see down to Gap Beach and the Island.



And from here it was an easy stroll along the top to the car park.


(Photos by Michele, Helen and Richard)
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