
This week we’re at the World Travel Market in Cape Town, checking out what everyone else is offering in the ethical travel sphere. Being a specialist travel company, trade shows don’t really get us terribly excited as most of what’s on offer isn’t ethical or is too mass market. But there are some jems out there that we’ll share with you as we come across them!
Here’s one: we’ve sent Finnish clients on this journey already as a bespoke trip but now we’re considering turning it into a ready-made journey.
The Chokka Trail is named after a particular type of squid (calamari) that is commonly found on the south Cape coast in South Africa. It’s a liesurely hike from one hotel to another along a stunning stretch of unspoilt coastline. Starting at the Fair Trade in Tourism accredited Cape St. Francis Resort and ending at the also FTT accredited Oyster Bay Lodge.By road this is a 30km drive but along the coast line it’s less than 12km.
What can you expect? Well, three picturesque fishing villages, a rugged coastline, sand dunes as far as the eye can see, a tidal river, protected fynbos, wetlands and a visit to South Africa’s only privately owned working harbor. There’s also a visit to the SANCCOB sea bird rehabilitation centre, wine and chokka tasting, miles of untouched white sand dunes and a canoe trail through the St. Francis canals.
You can do the Chokka Trail day by day or as a full four-day trip. It’s fully guided and portered (slackpacking) all the way along the trail and you can start at either end year round (however we recommend South Africa’s spring time (that’s August to November). The trail starts about an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth and flights to PE are just over an hour from Cape Town and Johannesburg. Fully inclusive (B&B and guiding) rates start at US$400 for the four days per person sharing – what a bargain! Contact us for more information.