Whale Trail emergency & health guide: hospitals, rescue and reserve rules

Emergency numbers

Mobile signal on the Whale Trail is sporadic: you get it mainly on the high parts of Potberg, on the hard dunes and along the coast, where earlier hikers sometimes mark signal spots with piled stones. Keep the group leader's phone on, write down the after-hours numbers given at the briefing, tell someone at home your plans and carry a first aid kit. Rescue from the remote coast can take hours.

Rules to know

• Booking: the Whale Trail is open only to groups of 6 or 12 with a CapeNature booking, which is also your entry permit. Dates open one year ahead, one week at a time, online (booking.capenature.co.za) or on 087 087 8250, and most sell out. Children under 8 are not allowed.
• Fees (tariff 1 Sep 2025 – 31 Aug 2026): R2,940 per person from January to May and R4,180 from June to December, including five hut nights and the shuttle from Koppie Alleen. Optional porterage costs R560 per box; up to 7 boxes for 6 people or 14 for 12, cool boxes included, max 30 kg each.
• Arrival: check in at Potberg from 14:00 the day before you walk; the gate is locked at 16:00. The safety briefing is compulsory for every hiker, and staff give the tide times there. Leave each hut by the time given at the briefing, with your boxes stacked in the kitchen.
• Sea: never turn your back on the sea. Freak waves and rip currents occur on this coast; keep off wave-washed rocks and swim only in sheltered rock pools.
• Water and heat: there is only one water point on the trail, about 10.5 km into day 1, and little shade. Carry at least 2 litres a day, start early and protect yourself from the sun. At Noetsie drink only from the tap marked drinking water.
• Injuries: CapeNature removes any injured hiker from the trail, however minor the injury. You may not ride with the cleaning team from hut to hut.
• Missile tests: the Denel Overberg Test Range uses the eastern part of the reserve at short notice, and CapeNature may evacuate groups from the trail during tests.
• Baboons: close hut doors and windows whenever you leave, keep food inside and never feed baboons or other wildlife.
• Protected area: the coast is part of the De Hoop Marine Protected Area. Do not pick plants or take shells, stones or live animals, make fires only in the hut braai places and carry out your litter.
• Pets are not allowed on the trail. Drones must follow South African Civil Aviation rules; ask the reserve office before flying, as the reserve borders the missile test range.

Nearest hospital for each stage

Hospitals

Pharmacies, cash and supplies

• Pharmacies:
• ATMs:
• Shops:
• Shuttle and parking:

There is no pharmacy or shop at Potberg, on the trail or at Koppie Alleen; the Potberg office has only a curio shop. Buy medicines, blister plasters, antihistamines, sunscreen and insect repellent in Bredasdorp or Swellendam before you arrive. Do not count on charging your phone in the huts: carry a power bank.

Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.