Groot River lagoon
Calm water.
Ossewa — CC BY-SA 4.0 · michael clarke stuff — CC BY-SA 2.0 · michael clarke stuff — CC BY-SA 2.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Amada44 — CC BY-SA 3.0
Nature's Valley is a small holiday village on the Garden Route, about 18 km in a straight line east of Plettenberg Bay, set between the Salt River, the foothills of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, the Indian Ocean and the Groot River lagoon. It is surrounded by the De Vasselot Nature Reserve, part of the Garden Route National Park. Stone Age people lived along this coast from about a million years ago, sheltering in caves and under overhangs and gathering food on the shore. For a long time, deep river gorges made travel along the coast almost impossible, until passes such as the Groot River Pass were built through the forest. A long sandy beach curves below forested hills, and the Groot River lagoon winds through reeds and sandbanks to the sea, its calm water ideal for paddling and swimming. Trails through indigenous forest lead to viewpoints over the bay, and the village is the end point of the famous Otter Trail along the Tsitsikamma coast. Visiting is free. The village is small with few shops, so bring what you need, and swim in the lagoon rather than the sea, where currents are strong.
Calm water.
Below the hills.
To viewpoints.
Garden Route, Western Cape, South Africa
In the lagoon; sea currents are strong.
Few, so bring supplies.