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Storms River Adventures Company

The Tsitsikamma Mountains, at the eastern end of South Africa’s lush, too-beautiful-to-be-true Garden Route, comprise one of this country’s major outdoor adventure hubs; and the Tsitsikamma National Park one of its most abundant marine wildernesses. If you want to see either up close; learn about SA’s last remaining pristine coastal forest ecology; and literally swing from mighty, indigenous tree to mighty, indigenous tree, then paying the Storms River Adventures Company a call is a must.

The company’s signature tour is a tree-top canopy safari, which sees small groups exploring the Tsitsikamma forest without ever touching the ground. As guides from the local community explain the terrain you’re crossing through, you traverse – with the help of strong cables and gravity – among ancient yellowwood trees, often ziplining along as high as 20 meters above the forest floor.

A somewhat more serene option is the innovative woodcutter’s journey, a tractor-trailer ride over the old Storms River Pass, an elephant migratory route which became a national road, linking Knysna and Port Elizabeth, but which has since been “returned” to the surrounding Plaatbos Forest.

Storms Rivers Adventures was created in 1998, and emphasizes community involvement in its eco-tourism activities, by training and employing local guides, and using tourism proceeds to contribute to school feeding schemes and AIDS orphan projects. While the tiny village of Storms River boasts only about 40 houses, the nearby township, Storms River West, is home to upwards of 3000 people, most of whom are touched by the area’s endemic unemployment. Because of the company’s efforts on the community’s behalf, it has gained Fair Trade certification.

Apart from the main tours listed, the company can also arrange diving outings in the Tsitsikamma National Park, and can help you locate all varieties of accommodation in the region, from backpackers to elegant B&Bs.