Visiting Robberg Nature Reserve in South Africa - at Plettenberg Bay

Robberg Nature Reserve is a stunningly beautiful natural area located on a prominent headland in South Africa, just outside the town of Plettenberg Bay. We went hiking here, and it's probably one of the most beautiful hikes we've done.

Robberg Nature Reserve in South Africa

Visiting Robberg Nature Reserve is a great way to spend a few hours hiking with beautiful views and the chance to see seals.

Robberg Nature Reserve is located on a coastal headland just south of Plettenberg Bay, which in turn is about 95 kilometres east of George.

Visiting Robberg Nature Reserve

The easiest way to get to Robberg Nature Reserve is by car and parking inside the gates. The car park has toilets, a small coffee shop and a map of the area. Here you can choose between three different long hikes, and we chose the middle one:

• The Gap, 2.1 kilometres
• White sand, 5.5 kilometres
• The Point, 9.2 kilometres

In retrospect, we were glad we chose the middle one, and not the longest. The hike goes in partly steep terrain, and sometimes through deep sand, so 5.5 kilometres offered enough challenge for us, during 2.5 hours. But wow, it was beautiful!

Whales, seals and birds in Robberg nature reserve

In addition to experiencing a beautiful hike in the Robberg Nature Reserve, you can see a lot of fascinating animals, such as whales, seals and different types of birds.

Whales (southern right whales) can be observed during the breeding and calving months, which is between June and November. We were here in February and saw no whales, but we did see seals! Now, we didn't have our system camera with us, so you'll have to make do with mobile phone photos, but you can at least see that we saw many seals. It was really fascinating to look down at them, and not least to hear the sound from them.

We also saw and heard a number of different birds, and a frog was captured on camera ...

Hiking in Robberg Nature Reserve

The walk started with a lovely view of the long sandy beach of Plettenberg Bay. From the viewpoint we talked to an employee who told us that they watch for sharks from up there, and send out a warning signal if sharks are observed nearby. We weren't too keen on swimming when we heard this, but felt that hiking was an excellent activity...

In the beginning, the hike went around high, steep and incredibly beautiful rock formations.

A little later in the hike, when we crossed the headland to the other side, we were met with sandy beaches instead. Even here the nature was absolutely beautiful. We met the occasional hiker at regular intervals, but often we saw no other people and were alone in nature. An almost dizzying feeling to experience these incredible landscapes, and experience that it is only you and nature.

The last bit we were really tired, and quite hungry, but very, very happy with our hike in the Robberg nature reserve!

More things to see and do in Plettenberg Bay

So, what else is there to do in Plettenberg Bay? We didn't find this town particularly exciting, but there are some things to see such as art galleries and the market. Market on Main.

However, many of the experiences here involve beaches and various adventure activities, such as swimming with seals. We mostly had breaks when we hiked, but otherwise we had rain when we visited Plettenberg Bay, so our beach photos may not be the most inspiring...

However, the beaches are very beautiful, and Keurboom Beach is said to offer extra nice views with a large hollow rock. If you want to swim, however, you have to watch out for great white sharks. Large signs inform you to avoid evenings, nights and certain months of the year, when the sharks are apparently at their most active...

Where to eat in Plettenberg Bay?

There are many different restaurants to choose from in Plettenberg Bay. We saw many people gathering at the pizzeria. Cornuti Stella e Luna, and decided to do the same. The atmosphere here was very good and the staff very nice, so we realised that we had to wait quite a long time for the pizzas. They were good anyway!

Where to stay in Plettenberg Bay?

There are many places to stay in Plettenberg Bay, from hotels to guesthouses and bed & breakfasts. We usually book via Booking.com and this time we had booked Dolphin Circle Bed & Breakfast. It looked nice when we arrived, but it turned out that I (Helena) had booked the right day ... but the wrong month! And now they had no free time ...

Well, at the last second, we booked a studio apartment in Whale Rock Guest Housethat is, accommodation at one end of a large private home.

Here we had no breakfast, but we had everything else we needed and close by to visit the Robberg nature reserve.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

In the neighbourhood of Robberg Nature Reserve and Plettenberg Bay, you can discover Tsitsikamma National Park in the east or the city Knysna in the west. It is also exciting to go up to Oudtshoorn, where you can visit ostrich farms and see the Cango Caves.

Have you visited the Robberg Nature Reserve in South Africa?

Have you visited Robberg Nature Reserve in South Africa? Do you like this kind of nature experience?