I don’t have the most illustrious history with inflatable boats. The second-hand yacht tender I bought to partner my old Rio-bound Miura always metamorphosed into a floppy pug-like creature by the time I got back from a shore-side victualling spree. Then there was the sailing-cum-motorised inflatable from which I needed to get rescued when a strong wind came up on the Hermanus lagoon — thing tacked like a tall ship with a broken rudder!
Which is why, as I launch our newly acquired inflatable kayak on the Duiwenhoks River, I pray to the god of all man’s follies this time will be different. Like Lewis and Clark wannabes, Annette and I expertly zig-zag our way towards Puntjie’s beaches, about 1km distant.
With the small point here colonised by the lucky few who have exclusive access to the hand-me-down kapstylhuise (archaic A-frame thatched structures built by holidaying farmers many decades ago) there is no other way for members of the public to access the pristine beaches, unless you’re a marathon swimmer and harbour no fears of toothy denizens of the deep that may have slipped into the river during high tide.
Not that our inflatable craft would have deterred a determined bull shark, mind you; or even a belligerent barracuda for that matter. But miraculously we make it to the beach unscathed, except for some light scarring from the scornful gazes of the “lucky few” on their fancy ski boats, launched from their exclusive small craft “harbour” near the mouth.
Compared with a water-rich continent like Europe, with its many navigable rivers that have been conduits of commerce for thousands of years, SA has only a handful. Of the 300 or so functional estuaries along SA’s coastline, the vast majority (70%) close from time to time, meaning only about 90 allow for small craft to navigate out to sea and back. And of these, four (the Breede, Duiwenhoks, Goukou and Gourits) are located within a 170km arc of pristine coastline, prompting me to dub it the Southern Cape of Estuaries.
Only a few of SA’s rivers (the Berg, Breede, Buffalo and Kowie) allow larger vessels to navigate their river courses; albeit mostly for short distances. And the most navigable to some distance inland (about 38km) is the Breede River, which lies just 30km from Puntjie.
En route here, on an Overberg adventure drive of note (see Tripadvisor for details) Annette and I stopped in at Malgas and Port Beaufort, both of which played pivotal roles in stimulating commerce in the Overberg in the early to later 1800s. What began as a rescue mission to get supplies to the drought-stricken Overberg farmers in 1822 soon grew into a thriving “import-export” business for Joseph Barry and family. The grand old woolshed (1848) that stored the Barrys’ premier regional cargo still stands today — it now houses an arts and crafts market as well as a coffee shop — just above Port Beaufort.
The Barry & Nephews trading empire soon straddled a large swathe of Overberg turf, stretching from Port Beaufort to Malgas (about 35km upstream) and ending in Swellendam. What a sight it must have been for the salt-of-the-earth farmers of yore to see the purpose-built 158 tonne steam-assisted sailing ship, the SS Kadie, chugging around a bend in the river.
The Barrys’ trading routes later extended along the coast from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) with the SS Kadie’s longest voyage being to Mauritius — it was carrying a cargo of Australian-bound ostriches. After 240 successful voyages, the SS Kadie foundered on the sandbar at the Breede River’s mouth in 1865 (a small part of its superstructure can still be seen). The event signalled the beginning of the end for Barry & Nephews as their business contracted markedly over the next decade until it finally closed in the late 1870s.
After a long walk on the mostly deserted beach — a friend of mine told me she has often walked there “kaalgat” out of season — we foot it back towards our inflatable kayak, praying that it’s still holding air; particularly as I’ve forgotten to take the pump with us.
En route we watch a ski-boat pilot line up in the narrow channel at the mouth. It waits patiently for the back breakers to ease before finally heading out through the narrow channel at full throttle. They’re off to fish the rich waters just beyond the backline and like many here, they hope to catch cob as well as musselcracker, bronze bream and stumpnose.
A seagull close to our kayak, on the other hand, is content to pick at a dead barbel washed out on the river tide. Heading back downriver, with the breeze on our backs, we finally break our earlier Laurel and Hardy routine and get into some sort of paddling rhythm. Soon our entry-level kayak is making its way past a stately old river home, many more of which can be found as you make your way towards Vermaaklikheid, about 7km upstream.
Unseasonal rainy weather settles in over the next few days, but we are not bothered. Bo-Puntjie, our accommodation — somewhere between a modern-day Shetland Island croft and a whitewashed villa on the heights of Santorini — may not have direct beach access, yet it offers mesmerising views over San Sebastian Bay, Cape Infanta and beyond. Though rustic in set-up, it offers everything we need to self-cater in a cocoon of splendid isolation.
On our last day, the rain lets up for a while and after ungluing ourselves from our reading couches we take a short hike through the Cape macchia scrub. Our path is punctuated by regular outcrops of bright red ericas (I learn later they are erica cruentas) and as we start to climb our first hill a skittish grey rhebok steps out on top of it. After a brief staring contest it bounds away, its white fluffy tail diminishing as it bobs through the restios.
We’re sad to leave our cosy digs the next day, but our spirits are buoyed by the circuitous road trip we’ve planned through what the Hessequa Municipality has labelled “The Explorer’s Garden Route”. Today we’ll pass by the Blombos cave en route to the upmarket seaside enclave of Jongensfontein; then onto nearby Still Bay, from where we’ll partner the languid Goukou River for 15km along the famous “59 bends route” before making for Riversdale and heading westwards for Bot River.
Along with the unique “59 bends route” our favourite part of the return journey is getting close to the source of the Duiwenhoks River — it lies below the serene Sleeping Beauty mountain formation — between the Garcia Nature Reserve and Gysmanshoek Pass.
With our source-to-sea mission complete we amble along the up-hill-down-dale track that twists its scenic way all the way to Suurbraak — the perfect bookend to a perfect holiday.
• Artistic artefacts uncovered at the Blombos cave have proven that “abstract representations and symbolic traditions” occurred in Southern Africa between 70,000 and 100,000 years ago, 30,000 years earlier than in Europe. This archaeologically important cave is understandably off-limits to the public, but interested parties can visit The Blombos Museum of Archaeology in Langenhoven Street, Still Bay — 028 754 2602.
Travel Adviser
Adventure driver route detail
Consult Slingsby’s Overberg and Garden Route maps for best results)
Day 1 — Bot River to Puntjie: via the N2 to the Jongensklip dirt track (13km east of Caledon); Protem and Vlakkloof (Voorschiet turn-off) to the San Souci Farm dirt track; Malgas, the Breede River ferry; Port Beaufort (just outside Witsand), the Swartheuwel dirt track to Vermaaklikheid and then south to Puntjie. Distance: 238km, with 184km (77%) on dirt.
Day 2: Puntjie to Bot River: via Jongensfontein; Still Bay; the “59 bends route” to Riversdale; Korentepoort Dam; the Duiwenhoks Valley mountain dirt track to Suurbraak, Swellendam and the N2 west back to Bot River. Distance: 330km, with 154km (47%) on dirt.
Trip distance total 568km, of which 338km (60%) is on dirt tracks.
Why go there: Puntjie on the Duiwenhoks River, like the other three estuaries on this 170km arc of southern Cape coast, is the ideal place to canoe, fish, walk and picnic on beautiful white sand beaches, revel in nature and just relax in an exquisite estuarine environment. Of the three, it’s definitely the least commercial and if you’re looking for activities such as deep-sea fishing charters then Still Bay, Gouritsmond and Witsand are better bets.
Where we stayed: Bo-Puntjie — R600 per night for two people. Contact Alana: 082 530 4554
Useful contact details: Hessequa Tourism — 028-713 7953 or explorersgardenroute.co.za
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