Planning your own trip to South Africa? Read more about my Garden Route itinerary here.

It’s the end of Day 6 on my Garden Route itinerary and boy has it been a good one. After spending the afternoon bungee jumping and then hiking along the ocean to a waterfall for 3+ hours, the endorphins are flowing and I feel pretty good. My time on the Garden Route is wrapping up — tomorrow I’ll return my rental car and then continue on via Baz Bus to explore South Africa for a few more weeks before departing the continent.

But tonight I get to enjoy Tsitsikamma National Park and its nearby village called Storms River. I finish the waterfall hike just before sunset and head to the main parking lot near the Tsitsikamma bridge. These two critters are practically posing:

Time for a kiss… can you handle the cuteness?

FYI, there is a daily fee to enter Tsitsikamma National Park (I think it’s around $10 per vehicle). The main visitor’s area inside the park is rather small — there is a restaurant, scenic beach and bridge, and kayak company (where I’ll return in the morning for a little adventure). There’s also many cute cabins and a campground right along the ocean. The nearby village is a 15 minute drive inland and I decide to stay there because of their many accommodation and restaurant options, though in all honesty I wish I were camping right here with this view.

Since the sun is about to set, long shadows cover the path to the bridge; I’ve done my best to expose the foreground at the expense of blowing out the background. Just know that there are endless cliffs off to the right below.

This the main beach at Tsitsikamma — you wouldn’t predict it now, but when I return in the morning it will look downright tropical in bright sunlight.

A well maintained path leads to the Tsitsikamma bridge, an iconic image featured on brochures and websites promoting this national park. It takes maybe 10 minutes to walk there from the parking lot.

And here is the main bridge:

This is the mouth of the Storms River, as viewed from the bridge. From here the river winds inland for quite a bit among narrow canyon walls, territory I will explore tomorrow via kayak. Just visiting here tonight has me super excited for that excursion.

See that splash of red in the distance? Those are the kayaks. And notice the dark line above the water level — that’s because the height of the river changes with the ocean tides (further inland it turns into exclusively fresh water).

There are a handful of love locks on this bridge, as though some travelers wanted to start a trend and it never caught on. Or perhaps in the months since my visit it’s exploded into a plethora of padlocks proclaiming passion for the people on said padlocks (intense alliteration brought to you by the letter P).

Okay, we’ve seen the bridge — now on to the main event. I spy a sunset happening in the distance, if I can just move a little closer to the water…

BOOM.

The drama of that sunset rivals the best ones I’ve witnessed in Africa.

Next I drive to Storms River village and find the guest house I’ve booked for the night. I paid around $25 (in the off-season) by contacting the owner last minute to see if there was any space available for a quiet solo female traveler who does not need breakfast included. This room at Andelomi Forest Lodge is simple and clean — again, I’m grateful to have my own room after so many hostels! Speaking of hostels, Tsitsikamma Backpackers is located right in town, too. Everything here in Storms River is within a 10 minute walk.

This is Marilyn’s ’60s Diner in Storms River — I don’t stay here for dinner, but can’t resist snapping a photo of the decor as I walk by. They’ve really committed to the diner theme.

I end up at Cafe Bacchus — it’s located on a garden patio inside the Tsitsikamma Village Inn.

And because this is the last night I can officially invoke my Garden Route motto No Dessert Refused, I order a brownie with ice cream.

I return to my accommodation for a good night’s sleep. I’ll be up early in the morning for the kayak trip followed by two-hour drive to return my rental car in Port Elizabeth by noon. Busy day ahead.