The Pondo Trail

The Pondo Trail

The Pondo Trail

Blog post with #NANANtravel
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We recently did the Pondo trail, one of the most scenic and beautiful trails in South Africa, the planning started almost a year before when our friend asked if we would join them on a trail, he knows us very well so he knew it had to be a fully serviced trail, what do I mean by that? Well, firstly, we needed someone to help carry our bags, definitely not sleeping in tents. Secondly, we wanted food cooked for us and obviously, drinks, so, yes! The Pondo trail is just like that, you carry a small bag with whatever you might need during the day, basically a water bottle, a long sleeve sweatshirt or jacket just in case, preferably a rain jacket, snacks, and sunblock, that is what I had in mine. 

The way the trail works, you start from Mtentu, just outside Port Edward, this can be, by road, a couple of hours on a bumpy road, or by boat, if the sea conditions are good, now, to get there you fly to Durban, we spent the night before there and then met everyone at the airport to start the 3-hours drive to the Estuary hotel in Port Edward, where we spent the night, next morning we go on a 2-hours drive to the starting point of the trail, some people were very lucky, actually, just Jan, because one of the guys doing the trail didn’t want to do all the driving so he went on a Helicopter and since they charge for a minimum of 2 people Jan got to go with him. We all met at the edge of the Mtentu river mouth and the adventure started with us going across the river. No, we didn’t swim, and although a few of the guys did, we went on a Kayak. 

Day 1. (15km)

We start the trail and it’s all very exciting and fun, within 45 minutes of starting we find a waterfall and we jump in the water, then we keep going, we stop for lunch at a very nice natural pool, now, the first dat we walk across a nature reserve so although we didn’t see any, we could have seen some wildlife, wait, we did se Zebras. 

Day 2. (18km)

Now, we are out of the nature reserve, and I have to admit, it was the less exciting day of the 5, the landscape was pretty much the same all day, lots of grasslands and not much diverse scenery, it got quite windy at one point, but it ended majestically!

As we were reaching the end of the day we saw far away in the distance, these massive waves crashing against the coastline making giant splashes, I immediately thought, ah! It would be so cool if we could walk right next to them, well, guess what? We walked right next to them, the splashes were huge and very often and that rocky coastline was about 1km long, at the end of all this splashing and fun was our campsite, right next to the river mouth which they had organized a bonfire and plenty of G&T waiting for us, (wine for me please)

Day 3. (17km)

 

This is supposed to be the most exciting day, we are going to see the waterfall Bluff, one of the few waterfalls that go straight into the ocean. According to our guide, there are only 12 waterfalls like this in the world, and 3 of them are on this trail but only this one is accessible. OK, only this one has easy access. Lots of uphill and downhill, we even went to see a cave, and then we came up to the waterfall, very impressive. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side so we didn’t walk down to it and got totally wet, I should have done it! So, yes, it was the best day.

Day 4. (10km) 

On our last day walking, we did walk a lot, a total of 10 km. Day 3 is the longest and the best day, today. It wasn’t as long but it took us across 7 headlands and 6 beaches, each one more beautiful than the other. When we reached the top of the last hill, the view of the estuary where we ended the trail was just amazing. We arrived there at midday and spent a fabulous afternoon by the river, drinks, friends, and fun, all around a fantastic bonfire.

Day 5.

We head back to where it all started, Durban. Word of advice, if you can take a helicopter back, DO IT! It was a long drive and of course, we were all super tired. In my opinion, it was a bit too much, about 7- hours drive back, but when you think about the trail and how beautiful everything was, it was all worth it.

In summary, The Pondo Trail is a Must-Do, especially if you love nature and like the outdoors. However, you have to like walking. A total bonus are the beaches, rivers natural pools, and waterfalls. The best time to do it is between April and May, but you need to book this well in advance, almost a year in advance.

Want to join the next Pondo Trail Hike?

Book a FREE 30-minute consultation with German – for the perfect advice on where to stay, what to do, and how to get the best out of your travels.

Pondo Trail Video Journal

What Our Clients Say

Vania Cotera
Vania Cotera
2023-08-30
Excellent service from start to finish. At first, they provided a range of travel plans for us to pick the one that accommodated best to our needs (All options were top notch!). Then he coordinated all the logistics (internal flights and transports, bookings with the hotels,…). During our trip, Mr. German was very attentive, reaching out periodically just to make sure everything was executed as planned. While at Cape Town, he even had the courtesy to meet us in person. Not to leave aside the fact that in all the hotels, he had personalized letter and details that made us feel very special. Overall, I would rate them 5 stars and I would recommended it to anybody that wishes to have a wonderful trip at the African continent. Looking forward to our next trip with NananTravel! 🙂
Andrew El Zein
Andrew El Zein
2023-08-25
German from Nanan Travel helped us organize our amazing trip to Africa and we could't have asked for a better person to do so! He arranged and coordinated the trip perfectly by providing us great insights, advice, and suggests on where to go, what to see, and what are must-do activities/things to do in those locations, then executing the plan to perfection. Communication and planning with German was great as he took the time to get on a few calls with us to discuss budgets, options, and provide advice, along with the great WhatsApp & email communication to make sure we were always informed/up to date. German perfectly planned and arranged our entire trip including locations, routes, hotels, car rental, restaurant recommendations, transportation and tours/activities. What we also really appreciated from German is that even when we were there, we felt accompanied by him throughout the trip. He checked in with us to make sure we were happy and all was going well, in addition to always being available should we have any questions, issues, or even if we just needed a quick insight/piece of advice 🙂 We will definitely work with Nanan Travel again for future trips and highly recommend them! Thank you German for everything! For those interested in what German planned for us: We started in Cape Town (South Africa), where we stayed for 10 days and German was kind enough to provide some recommendations of places to go, things to do, and some great dining spots. We then rented a car (which he organized) to drive the Garden Route from Cape Town to Hermanus, then Hermanus to Plettenberg. German suggested these locations and to drive, which I have to say was the right option as the landscapes were incredible and the roads were great. We stayed in Hermanus for 2 days, where German arranged our accommodation (Harbour House Hotel) and excursions that were whale watching and shark cage diving. Moving on from a great few days in Hermanus, we continued our trip and drove to Plettenberg Bay. German booked us at a great hotel (The Plettenburg), from which you can see whales playing in the bay while you enjoy your breakfast...it was amazing! Plettenberg has so much to offer and so many activities to do, of which we decided to visit sanctuaries for elephants, wolves, monkeys, and birds. For the next leg of our adventure, German arranged for us to visit Victoria Falls with activities both in Zambia and Zimbabwe. We landed in Zambia and stayed at the AVANI Victoria Falls, which would be our base for the next few days while we participated in all the excursions German arranged for us. These included a guided tour of Victoria Falls and Flying-fox/zip-lining over the Zambezi River on the Zimbabwe side. On the Zambian side we did an early morning adventure to the Victoria Falls' Devil's Pool and a microlight flight over the Victoria Falls. They were all incredible experiences! For the final part of our journey, German arranged for us to visit Botswana's Chobe National Park to go on safari. He booked us at the Cresta Mowana where everything was included, even the activities. For the activities, we did a sunset cruise on the Chobe River, x2 morning safaris, and x1 evening safari which were all amazing! As I said, earlier we can't thank German enough for arranging this incredible trip! We would recommend him to anyone looking for help to arrange an amazing trip and will definitely be working with him for our next ones 🙂
Sandra Ldm
Sandra Ldm
2023-08-23
Nanan Travel (German) nos ayudó a organizar este viaje soñado por África. Empezamos en Cape Town-Sudáfrica, donde alquilamos un carro para hacer la ruta de los jardines. (Los paisajes eran increíbles y las carreteras super bien mantenidas.) Nos quedamos unos días en Hermanus, dónde pudimos ver muchas ballenas y hacer algunas actividades de aventura en el mar. Continuamos nuestra ruta manejando hasta Plettenberg bay en donde pudimos visitar santuarios de elefantes, lobos, monos, ave y ver más ballenas saltando desde nuestro hotel, una experiencia inolvidable! En cada lugar German ya tenía todas las coordinaciones listas e inclusive detalles sorpresas que no nos esperábamos. 🙂 Nuestra aventura nos llevo hasta las Cataratas Victoria, situadas en la frontera de Zambia y Zimbabue y finalizamos nuestro viaje en Botsuana para ir al safari del Parque Nacional Chobe. Todo el viaje desde rutas, hoteles, alquiler del auto, recomendaciones de restaurantes, taxis/transportes y tours han sido perfectamente planeados y coordinados por German. Nos hemos sentido acompañados por él durante todo el viaje y sobre todo cuando teníamos alguna consulta o inconveniente, nos respondía rápido. Definitivamente volveremos a contratar a Nanan Travel para futuros viajes y recomendamos sus servicios A1! Gracias German por todo!
Karen Gibbs
Karen Gibbs
2023-07-07
We were a group of 8 friends, and we’d like to thank German for all his help in organizing our wonderful safari to Tanzania. The hotels were beautiful, food delicious and all our drivers so friendly and extremely knowledgeable, and the places we visited absolutely beautiful! But the highlight of our trip was the visit to the gorillas in Rwanda (recommended by German). This was the most amazing experience. Thank you German from all of us for such an Incredible experience!
Gonzalo Eguren
Gonzalo Eguren
2023-06-23
Great experience in Tanzania and Rwanda, highly recomended!!! 👍👍👍. Thanks German for everything.
xavier gordillo
xavier gordillo
2023-05-20
Espectaculares vistas y paisajes de Sudáfrica. Un fantástico descanso en la naturaleza. Muy recomendable el servicio de Nanan Travel.
Vanessa Mazzucchelli
Vanessa Mazzucchelli
2023-05-20
Espectacular el safari!!! Gracias Nanan Travel .. super recomendable.
Rodrigo Rivera
Rodrigo Rivera
2023-05-10
Gracias German por todo el soporte antes, durante y despues de todo el viaje. Fuiste clave para tener una luna de miel SOÑADA. Empezando por la tremenda ruta Nyota en Africa y terminando con Malvidas. Excelente eleccion. Tu soporte y compañia durante todo el viaje nos dio la tranquilidad de poder disfrutarlo como se debe. Gracias!!
Manuela Duharte Clever
Manuela Duharte Clever
2023-05-03
todo excelente. la atencion y la cercania de German con nosotros hizo todo mas facil. la seleccion de la ruta Nyota en Africa y los hoteles fue muy buena eleccion. terminar con Maldivas para descansar, mejor todavia. Gracias German!!

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