The St Blaize Trail is a popular hiking trail located in the Garden Route area in Mossel Bay. The trail hugs along the rugged coastline meaning you’ll have some spectacular views during the whole trail.
We got up early and made our way to the start of the trail. I would suggest you start this trail as early as possible, as there is no shade along this trail.
The trail itself wasn’t that tough; however, the heat did make the last few kilometres exhausting.
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Basic information about the trail
Distance: 13.5 km (one-way)
Difficulty: Moderate
Entrance Fee: FREE
Starting Point: Mossel Bay or Dana Bay
Booking required: No
Pet friendly: Yes
Well marked: Yes
The start of the trail
So you have two options when it comes to this trail. You can either start in Mossel Bay, or you can start in Dana Bay.
We started our hike early in the morning in Mossel Bay. We parked our car at the start of the trail (GPS Coordinates) and then made our way to the trail, which is at the Cape St Blaize Lighthouse. There is a massive sign that will indicate the start of the trail. From here you’ll have your biggest climb to the top of the St Blaize Lighthouse.
The rest of the trail
Once you’ve reached the base of the lighthouse, it is pretty much flat the rest of the way with only a few mild climbs. The route then continues all along the coast. There are many stopping points along the way for your snack break.
The trail mostly consists of a rocky pathway, with the occasional sand trail.
A section of the hike passes through the Pinnacle Point Golf Estate and you’ll have to sign in right before you enter this area. From here you’ll also pass a bridge, which will be an indication of the halfway mark.
You’ll also see a beautiful beach you can stop at along the trail. That is if you want to follow the wooden walkway leading down to the beach.
The trail is clearly marked from start to finish. Starting at Mossel Bay’s side you’ll see birds painted along the trail, where the trail leading through the golf estate is marked with a sign stating St Blaize trail.
You can also follow the trail on your Google Maps, as it is set out on this app as well.
The end of the trail
The terrain of the hike wasn’t challenging at all; it was the distance in the heat that made the last few kilometres feel longer than it was. And I think the heat was a big contributor. But once we got to the end of the hike, we were so happy that we took the last bit of energy we had and walked down to the beach area. Here we decided to take a quick dip in the ocean at Dana Bay.
The hike took us just under 5 hours to complete, and this included a lot of breaks.
From here you have two options: you can either hike the 13.5 km back to Mossel Bay or arrange for transport to fetch you in Dana Bay and drop you at your car in Mossel Bay. We were lucky enough to have my parents on holiday, and they didn’t want to do the hike. So they just picked us up in Dana Bay.
My overall thoughts
This trail is high on my top favourite list of hiking trails in South Africa. The views are stunning and the trail was not that draining physically. I would just suggest you take enough water with you and don’t start the hike late in the morning.
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