Wilderness: Trails, Water and Views

Wilderness offers several practical starting points for planning a trip: hiking trails with stated walking times, canoe routes in the wider area, and named boardwalks and a viewpoint. If you’re looking for a hotel, you can first consider which outings you’d like to shape your stay. The walking times make it easier to compare different hikes; for the canoe trips, the route and destination offer different points of reference.

Hiking Trails by Timeframe

The Bosduif Loop is a hiking trail with a walking time of one hour. A 40-minute walk is listed for Woodville Big Tree. Three other hiking trails are named Brown Hooded Kingfisher, Half Collared Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher. The Brown Hooded Kingfisher trail takes two to three hours; Half Collared Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher are each listed as taking three to four hours.

The time ranges therefore run from 40 minutes to three to four hours. At two to three hours, Brown Hooded Kingfisher falls between the shorter time listed for Woodville Big Tree and the longer times for the other two Kingfisher trails. Half Collared Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher have the same stated walking time. This lets you compare the trails by the time available in your day’s plans.

Canoe Trips in the Wider Area

An early-morning canoe trip goes around the northern part of Swartvlei. Another route follows the Serpentine River to Island Lake. At this stop, visitors can have lunch on the water or at the jetty; braai facilities are also available there.

The trips differ in their routes and named points of reference: the first focuses on a circuit around the northern part of Swartvlei. The second goes to Island Lake and combines the canoe route with the option of having lunch at the destination. If you’d like to plan your trip around these outings, check their current availability in advance.

Viewpoint and Boardwalks

Visitor attractions listed in Wilderness include Dolphin's Point as a viewpoint, Boardwalk on 6th Ave and the Wilderness Lagoon Boardwalk. This gives you a choice between a viewpoint and two boardwalks as different types of destinations. Before visiting, check the current access and condition of these attractions.

Wilderness for Your Hotel Search

If you’re looking for a hotel in Wilderness, you can choose your destination based on the outings that matter to you. The hiking trails differ in walking time, while the canoe routes offer an early-morning circuit on Swartvlei or a route via the Serpentine River to Island Lake. The viewpoint and boardwalks offer a different focus again. This can help you decide whether Wilderness suits a stay focused mainly on hiking, experiences on the water or viewpoints.

For practical planning, it’s worth checking the current availability of the canoe trips, as well as access to and the condition of the trails and visitor attractions.

Discover more destinations: Witsand, Jongensfontein, Malgas, Mossel Bay, Still Bay, Herolds Bay, Tergniet, Plathuis

For the broader travel overview: Eden.