Untouched Adventures — Local services in Kou-Kamma Local Municipality

I did this with my parents and sister in 2017 and at that stage it was definitely 5 stars, we kayaked over the ocean, our 2 guides were absolutely incredible, the lilo was extremely enjoyable and every second our guides made sure that we were safe, informed and happy.

Fast forward to 2020. I feel like I need to say this just so that people are aware of things that may go wrong to always be prepared for anything.

Total opposite experience from 2017

This time with my husband

We arrived and the weather and ocean tides seemed really well, we saw one group go in the oceans side but we were told that we will be entering further along, this was quite tricky getting into the kayak from this point. We went along the river everything went really well here. When we arrived at the lilo part it became a complete mess. Firstly we had three guides, they were very disorganized and all over the place, no instructions were given at any point about what to do where. Secondly We got out, got our lilos and we were going into foamy brown water, and when I say foam, I mean a lot of it. Thirdly as we turned back we went to the area where everybody can cliff jump... Here the guides didn't inform anybody that the life jackets should be taken off and I clearly remember in 2017 how they informed us of how dangerous it is to dive with it on. My husband went to do the cliff jumping he asked about the jacket and they told him to keep it on. He did as he was told and jumped, he slipped through his jacket and struggled to come up, he's a strong swimmer and managed to get up but not before swallowing a lot of water and coughing profusely. Nobody asked if his okay. Fourth we turned back the tide pulling out was very strong at this point and we were getting ready to trade the lilos for the kayaks again, a guide gave us a lilo and told us to get into it a bit further where the lilos are tied together on a few rocks so that they can help a few other guests in, we were sitting in the lilo when a small wave pushed the kayak to the one side and the tide pushing it to the other causing the kayak to flip and pushing us under the water, as I tried to push myself up with one foot i got tangled in the ropes and my foot got stuck between 2 rocks my jacket was pushing up causing me to slip through and my arms to move inward and up so I could not use my hands to untangle myself. My husband realized i was not coming up and dove down to untangle me and push me up. The one guide the rushed over and looked petrified making sure i was okay. I wasn't, I was in a state of shockand I jsust really wanted to get out of the water.

Its a beautiful canyon and the scenery is incredible.

But othet than that this specific experience...

I recommend going as early as possible. The drive from the entrance of the park was not very far but finding parking close to the kayak and lilo “seating” area was not easy. Nevertheless it was about a 5-10 minute walk from where we parked and the place was obviously filled with tourists. We made our booking on arrival and got a time to meet our tour guide to the designated area. There was a beautiful beach area where many people were swimming or snorkeling while waiting. When the time came to meet our tour guide it took about 30 minutes for him to explain everything and for us to put our helmets and water booties on till we started hiking. The hike from the beach area to the spot where we would kayak was about 20 minutes. This included crossing two suspension bridges over the ocean. The kayaks seated two people so I recommend going in an even number of people. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. We kayaked over ocean water which was an average of 20 meters deep which was home to different species of sea life such as rays, jellyfish and sand sharks. We then moved along to enter a cave with fruit bats high above us. We could barley see them but we could definitely hear them. After exiting the cave and moved on further and flowed in fresh shallower waters where the lilos were waiting. There were more guides from different groups which came before us waiting to help us out out of our kayaks and move on the the small area of land. We then took a water break and hopped onto our lilos where we were no laying flat on our bellies and using our arms as ores. The water flowed naturally so it didn’t take much elbow grease from us. Once the water was calmer we played a game to see who could stand up on their lilo the logest without falling. We continued till we got to the rapids and then turned around to go back to two rocks which we could climb and jump off. The one was 4 meters high and the other was 6 meters high. After everyone got a turn we left to switch back to our kayaks. We then took a slow ride back to the area where we first hopped on the kayaks and put them on stands above the water. We left and hiked back to the beach where would end the trip. It was an incredible (3 hour) experience and I definitely recommend to anyone visiting the area and...

The guides were very friendly and always checked to make sure we were safe but ensured that we enjoyed it as well.

Our trip started at 10am. We received an email to check in online as well as sign an indemnity form. Upon reading the indemnity form, we were a bit scared about everything that we read but we proceded anyway. We wanted to check-in and grab our gear earlier than 10am, but the the ladies at the counter said we weren't allowed to get our gear before 10am.

Once you check in and get your gear, you have 30 minutes before the briefing meeting starts. So everyone has enough time to put their gear on and make their way to the meeting area. Our briefing started at 10:30. The briefing lasted about 10 minutes and then we started.

On the day that we went out, the ocean was a bit rough and choppy so we couldn't go out on the ocean and we had to walk to the suspension bridge where we got our kayaks. We went out on the kayaks and had the most amazing views. We received dry bags so that we could take our phones with for photos and videos but a GoPro will work much better. After the kayaks, we went on the lilos and then we had the chance to cliff jump before we came back.

On the trip back we did see a snake in the water though. Other than that, the entire trip was absolutely wonderful and I would recommend this to anyone. We didn't feel unsafe at any stage in our trip.

There are lockers to put your stuff in while you are on the trip. We brought dry clothes along to change afterwards which was the BEST idea because the hike back to car in wet clothes would have been terrible. The change rooms are also very close by and clean.

The only issues we experienced is that the rest rooms are a bit far away and not enough to cater for all the day visitors. There is also not enough parking, so everyone parks along the sides of the road which forces the two way road to become a one way. We luckily got there very early, but anything later than 9am and you would not be able to get a...