The Elephant Walk
On the upper plateau, in the shadow of Outeniqua Mountains – 300 to 500 m above sea-level – lies the Diepwalle State Forest. This forest is 22 km north of Knysna in the heart of the Southern Cape forest region. Although Karoo landscapes in this region it is renowned chiefly for the green belt of indigenous forest stretching from Mossel Bay to the Keurbooms River, between the Indian Ocean and the Outeniqua Mountains.
Long before the first axe blow shattered the primeval silence, the elephants trekked through here year after year in spring to their summer pastures and back again in autumn to their winter home. Today the small handful that have survived the onslaught of progress still use this route.
The Elephant Walk is a circular trail of one long route or three shorter alternative routes. The long route of 18.2 km takes approximately 6-7 hours (rests included) to walk. The shorter route of about 9km (3-4 hours) where you turn off to the forest station beyond the 7km mark allows you to walk at a slow pace. With many rests and time to look around it can be stretched to a pleasant full day walk. This circle lies entirely east of the Uniondale road. Here you can see an area past the old arboretum where indigenous trees were tested for cultivation, as well as the huge Outeniqua yellowwood forest giants.
Timer logs which are chopped in the vicinity, are annually sold by auction at the depots next to the Uniondale road. The second short route starts at the forest station and runs south to the Oudebrand road. It follows a circle of approximately 7km (2-3 hours) over Kom-se-pad and back to the station.
The third route of 6,5km (2-3 hours) starts at the forest station through Draaibos and Kruisbos over Klaas-se-pad and Veldbroeksdraai and back to the station. Where it turns away from Klaas-se-pad, the last part follows the same route as the Outeniqua Hiking Trail. Most of the routes follow old forest paths of forest workers through the forest.