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In 1986 my husband and I did the Otter Trail near Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, one of the great hiking trails in South Africa. Even then one needed to book a year ahead to be able to do it. It is in the Tsitsikama National Park and only a limited number of hikers (a maximum of 12 per day) are allowed to go on the trail. It starts at Storms River Mouth and follows the coast until it ends five days later at Nature’s Valley.

You have to carry everything, including all the food, on your back. I was obviously very motivated.

The weather, particularly in the mornings, wasn’t perfect. By afternoon the sun had usually come out.

We slept in wooden huts with nothing but 3 bunkbeds in each. And we had the most wonderful beaches all to ourselves in the afternoon.

The trail is named after the African clawless otter. We actually did see one. We were lying on the beach one late afternoon when we saw a little round head bobbing in the waves. He was weary and before he got close enough for my camera he turned round and disappeared back into the sea.

So I had to make do with a picture from a magazine.

The Ragtag Daily Prompt: Otter