A continuous long-distance footpath runs from St Dogmaels to Amroth, taking in 186 miles of clifftop, sandy beach, and meadow. There are no mountains as such but the complete length of the Pembrokeshire Coast path involves a very respectable 35000ft of ascent and descent. That’s 5 and a half Mount Washingtons. Lovers of altitude can look down on rock climbers starting up the cliffs hundreds of feet below.

The striking sandstone and limestone cliffs attract rock climbers from all over the world, and they also provide nest sites for peregrine falcons, guillemots, and other birds. Skomer Island provides what might be the best day walk in the region and seabirds are certainly the main attraction. In the summer months birdwatchers, hikers, scientists and sightseers can hop on a boat at Martin’s Haven and spend the day on Skomer, amongst 13000 puffins, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars, and more. The circuit of the island is only about 5 miles but hikers do sometimes have to wait for puffins to waddle across the path with peaks full of sand eels.

Spring sees the coastal fields and woodlands fill up with bluebells, foxgloves, and other flowers. They contrast beautifully with the dark red sandstone cliffs and the blue sea, which is as clear as anywhere around Britain. Boat trippers and clifftop walkers often find grey seals resting on the rocks, and lucky visitors might also see porpoises, any one of three dolphin species, and even orca, minke and fin whales.

Pembrokeshire is largely rural these days, but it was once a major trading center. Pembroke Castle has been standing for 1000 years. The baby who would become Henry VII was born there in the 15th Century. The cathedral in the tiny ‘city’ of St Davids has a history going back even further, and was built in a natural dip so the spires couldn’t be seen by Viking raiders out to sea. The Coast Path is dotted with early Celtic chapels, the remains of iron and broze age settlements, ruined castles, World War II defences, and many more signs of long and varied human occupation.
There are also natural landmarks. The Green Bridge of Wales is a huge limestone arch carved out by the sea. It stands 100ft tall and reaches almost that far out from the cliffs, and there are tall, leaning sea stacks and craggy islands, blowholes, and caves to explore all along the coast.

The steep rocky terrain is broken up by sandy coves and beaches, and by many of these stand typical Welsh villages complete with more or less anything a tired walker could want- bed and breakfast accommodation, cafes, and some very old and venerable pubs. It’s not wilderness, but the Pembrokeshire coast is a wonderful place to walk. Whether you choose the the full 168 miles of the Coastal Path or a quiet amble around Skomer Island, there is something new to see around every corner.

Jess Spate lives in Wales and works for Appalachian Outdoors. She walks and climbs in Pembrokeshire and has recently returned from a day on Skomer.

Directions to get there: From Cape Town CBD, take the N3 south. At the T turn right. Follow the road to the second traffic light and turn left onto Ou Kaapse Weg. Drive over the hill and into the Sun Valley area. Turn right into Kommetjie Road. Turn left into Slangkop Road. At the stop turn left into the main road that follows the shoreline all the way through Misty Cliffs and Scarborough. Soon you will reach a fork in the road, keep right and drive along Plateau drive. You will now begin to see the start of the Table Mountain National park on your right. Its just over an hours’ drive from Cape Town CBD.

Duration of hike: 4 hours

Best time of year to go: All year round. This is a very windy location, so make sure to check the weather that you choose a day where the wind is not blowing its average gale force speed.

What costs did you incur to do this hike: R60 per person and more.

By recommendation of Mike Lundy’s book this is called the Two Oceans Circuit and followed his route.

Start:
We drove into the park and went to park by the furtherst carpark right at the Cape Point lighthouse.

Follow the stone steps in the opposite direction of the lighthouse.

Soon this easy walk will bring you some magnificent views… here you can see how far we have walked from the carpark.

Having reached the Vasco da Gama peak, one can see the false bay coastline, with Simons Town and Fishhoek in the far distances.

As you pass the Vasco da Gama peak on its left, the path swings sharply left and you head towards the Atlantic ocean again. This lookout point is only for you to view, your path is to the right of this sign.

Aim towards the 2 cairns, and follow the path down between the 2 rock bolders seen in the right of the pic below.

In the back ground you will see a road. This is the main lookout point which we aimed for towards the end of the hike.

Continue following the path down towards the lookout huts. Here you start to see Platboom beach in the far distance below.

In the picture below you will see the lookout huts are painted green

Soon the path will run into a black tarred road. Keep going down, untill you get to cross the main road of the park. Follow the gravel single track downwards, and cross over a jeep track again. Continue over the jeep track and once you reach the next tarred road, turn left onto the tar road. This is the main road leading to the Cape of Good Hope point.

About 200m down you will notice a gravel area for a carpark. This is your spot to find the single path again and walk along the coast line back towards Cape Point.

As by recommendation of Mike Lundy’s book, he says you should avoid the tar road a few meters away and continue to enjoy the walk along the waters’ edge rather. Once you do this, the beauty of the area allows you to almost forget that a road even exists so close by.

After rock hopping and beach walking for about an hour, you will reach the Cape of Good Hope carpark. This is where everyone comes to take pictures of themselves at the ‘most south western part of the Africa continent’. According to our friend Mike, this should be noted in the Department of Most Useless Information. Haha, nice one! I even got myself a shot of me standing there.

We passed the carpark on its left and followed the steep steps up. This was where we decided to stop for a break and some snacks. In the picture below you will notice the fisherman in the red circle. What an amazing spot to stop for a break.

We continued to follow the steps and the path all the way to the top and over the hill.

Soon we were spoilt with a stunning wooden boardwalk for a comfy walk all the way back to the main carpark.

The boardwalk passes the top of Dias Beach, which is known to be a very dangerous beach and not recommended for anyone to swim in.

The carpark was packed with busses and tourists. It was absolutely buzzing with activity. We got ourselves something cold to drink from the local shop, and were then entertained by how the baboons stole anyone’s food away from them. Luckily for us, we just flicked the shocker – which made a huge noise – and scarred them off to find another innocent target. Sadly the local authorities are doing absolutely nothing about these baboons. I believe they can keep them at bay without harming them, but Im not sure why they are not doing anything about it.

On our way out of the park, I was absolutely amazed to see how well this park is managed. And due its popularity, there must have been at least 50 cars waiting to enter the park too.

How safe is it:
From a crime perspective, we felt very safe during the entire walk. Only the baboons were a bit of a scare though.

Fresh Water:
None along the way.

Difficulty:
Easy walking trail, but far and exposed to the elements at all times. Not recommended for the unfit or inexperienced hikers.

Pets:
None allowed.

How will I rate this hike?
Mike is spot on. This must be another one of the best kept secrets of Cape Point. Driving into this area is nothing in comparison to getting out and walking the park. What a beautiful place we live in.

More pics of this hike here

Travel with this adventurous couple on over 60 hikes in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, the Andes, the Himalayas, and more. If you’re interested in finding some great hikes  and viewing inspirational photos check out their photo diary at www.gang-gang.net/nomad

With a population of just over 500,000 people and a total area is 68,401 square kilometres (26,410 sq mi) -Tasmania is slightly larger than West Virginia (with it’s population of around 1.8 m) It is a beautiful, unspoilt place and has large tracts of World Heritage Wilderness areas, forests, mountains and large rivers. When I say wilderness, I mean wilderness and that is where we like to escape to as often as possible from our hometown on the mainland of Australia, Geelong.

Enough of an introduction, now down to our favourite hiking track in Tasmania – The Overland Track. This track was first officially walked in 1931 and stretches from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair over 65km (40 miles). While this is very short compared to “thru hikes” we read about in the U.S. it is considered THE iconic bushwalk in Australia.

Cradle Mountain is at the start of the Overland Track – it is magnificent in all sorts of conditions and weather.

Why is it so great?

• a huge range of different environments ranging from sheer dolerite mountains, temperate rainforest, wild rivers and alpine plains
• an incredible variety of weather and track conditions. It can snow in the middle of summer, rain for a week or be spectacular blue skies
• there are many side trips to lakes, waterfalls and mountains – many people visit all of them
• the environment is pristine and very well managed by the Parks Service
• there are excellent, basic facilities spread evenly over the Track. This includes huts, platformed campsites and basic toilets

Frank with his wife, best mate and hiking partner Sue, half way along the Overland Track in September 2009. This is at the turnoff to Mt Ossa, the highest mountain in Tasmania.

The walk is usually done over five nights. I have done it about seven times and taken between four and seven nights depending on the group and weather. This might seem a slow pace to your readers and yes, it is, but it is deliberate. We enjoy a late start in the mornings and as many side trips as we can. We also enjoy getting into the huts early in the afternoon and relaxing, especially enjoying the fantastic views and wonderful people we meet from all over the world.

Yep, around 7000 people “do” the Overland Track each year and many of them are overseas visitor and first time multi day hikers. The funny thing is that even with this number of people, you still feel isolated and have heaps of space.
 
We hiked the Overland Track a couple of years ago for my 50th birthday with a group of friends. I got this cigar and a can or two of bourbon & coke as a present!

After walking the Track a few times and observing how many of these people carried too much (or the wrong) gear, had inappropriate equipment, got blisters, had boots that fell apart, took the wrong food etcetera (the list goes on) we wrote a guide book on How to Hike the Overland Track. We drew on our experience of planning transport, food, gear, equipment and a whole lot of other tips and tricks. We sell it via Our Hiking Blog and the feedback from people who have used it as a guide has been great.

If you are ever planning to head “down under” and want to get out for a backpacking trip, drop by the blog and get it contact, we would love to hear from you.

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Thanks to Frank and Sue from the Australian hiking blog, ourhikingblog.com.au for this guest post on hiking in Tasmania.  This hiking blog also offers great outdoor tips that will make your next trip better.  Be sure to check out their blog and add it to your list of must reads.

This video runs for over seven minutes and contains great pictures of one thru-hikers hike on the AT.