Five days. 57 kilometres. Magwa Falls to the Grosvenor wreck, with everything but your daypack carried for you.
Slackpacking means you walk and we handle the rest. Your bags go ahead by vehicle. Your bed is made up when you arrive. Supper is already cooking. All you carry is a daypack, water, and whatever you plan to swim in.
- A light pack. A driver moves your luggage between cottages each day, so you arrive with your legs still under you.
- Rustic, not roughing it. Wild Coast cottages and eco-lodges, bedding provided, three proper meals a day made with what’s local and fresh.
- Your pace, from day four. Walk the last stretch over two moderate days, or take a rest day at Mbotyi and do it in one big one.
The route
Day 1 · 3km · Magwa Falls to Louis Eco Lodge. We meet you at Lusikisiki and drive you to Magwa Falls — 144 metres of water dropping into a gorge, the second-highest waterfall in South Africa. There’s time to explore before an evening walk through the villages to Louis Eco Lodge.
Day 2 · 12km · Down to the sea. You drop off the escarpment through scarp forest and grassland, where the only traffic is cattle, and come out at the Manteku estuary. A boat takes you across to the river mouth and a cottage looking over the water. Sundowners happen here.
Day 3 · 12km · Manteku to Mbotyi. North up the coast past remote beaches with no road to them. Time to swim, and most days you’ll have the sand to yourselves. Your third night is at Mbotyi.
Day 4 · 20km · Mbotyi to Luputhana. Quite possibly the finest day’s walking in South Africa. You pass Cathedral Rock and Waterfall Bluff, where the waterfall drops straight into the sea, and finish above the surf at Luputhana.
Day 5 · 10km · Luputhana to Grosvenor. A flat meander through coastal grassland to the site of the Grosvenor wreck, where the trek ends and you spend your last night.
Day 6 · Home. A last breakfast, then your shuttle back to Lusikisiki for your car, or straight to the airport.
Or take the rest day
If you’d rather have a day off than two days of walking, stay a second night at Mbotyi. Spend it on the beach, fishing, or on an easy 5km wander — then walk the whole 30km from Mbotyi to Grosvenor on your final day. Same coast, same finish, one long day instead of two moderate ones. Tell us which you’d like when you book.
What it costs
R6,000 per person, for groups of 10 to 14. Smaller groups are welcome: add R400 per person for every place under ten, so nine walkers pay R6,400 each and eight pay R6,800. A R5,000 deposit secures your dates, whatever the size of your group.
Included: three meals a day, featuring local cooking and fresh seafood when the season allows. A local, English-speaking guide. Cottages and eco-lodges with all bedding. Bag transfers between every stop. Drinking water, tea and coffee throughout.
Not included: hiking snacks, so pack your own. Drinks beyond tea, coffee and water — order ahead and we’ll have them cold and waiting each day. Anything you buy en route if you take our shuttle.
Getting here
Driving yourself. We meet you at Lusikisiki, where your car stays safely at a B&B for the duration of the trek, and drive you from there to Magwa Falls. On departure day we drop you back at Lusikisiki to collect it. It’s tar road the whole way, so any car will do — no high-clearance vehicle needed.
Flying in. We collect you from Durban or East London airport and take you straight to Magwa Falls, and return you to the airport at the end. R10,000 for the vehicle, whichever of the two you choose — so pick the airport with the cheapest flights for your group. Gqeberha adds R4,000.
| Route | Cost (total for the vehicle) | Note |
| Durban or East London airport | R10,000 | Pick whichever has the cheapest flights for your group. |
| Gqeberha | Additional R4,000 | Get in touch and we’ll arrange it. |
Making a trip of it. Our sister brand Kululeka Travel runs a monthly overland journey that strings together a walking safari in the Eastern Cape, this trek, and the Drakensberg, ending in Johannesburg.