Tsitsikamma National Park forms the centrepiece of the scenic Garden Route (Garden Route) of the South African coast. The name Tsitsikamma translates as "a place where there is a lot of water", which is true as the park includes 80 kilometres of rocky coastline with seascapes and 5 kilometres of coastal ocean.
About 30% of the park is dense green forests with river gorges leading to the sea, with spectacular waterfalls and deep ravines. The water in the rivers is a characteristic dark brown colour, reminiscent of the colour of Coca-Cola, due to the high tannin content extracted from the surrounding vegetation.
The river valleys are coloured in all sorts of rainbow colours, thanks to the exuberant blooming of local endemics. There is a wide variety of forest and marine birds and animals such as the African black sandpiper, cormorant, Dominican gull, emerald cuckoo, olive woodpecker, leopard, African weasel, ostrich, sea otter, harbour seal, dolphins, killer whales and southern right whale.
In 1964, Tsitsikamma National Park became South Africa's first marine national park. Its main objective is to protect the inhabitants of two ecosystems: the inhabitants of rocky shores, offshore reefs, deep-sea fish and the inhabitants of coastal forests and river valleys. It is home to one of the world's largest laboratories for basic research on endangered fish species.
There are many hiking trails of varying lengths through the park, the most famous of which is the Otter Trail. The coastal reefs attract diving and surfing enthusiasts with their beauty. Next to the park is Bloukrans Bridge, which has the highest point in the world for Bungee jumping (216 metres). There are also two recreation centres in the park - Storms River at the mouth of the river and Natures Valley in the valley. Souvenir shops and restaurants can be visited here.
