EXTRAS These extras are all included in your Amatola Trail Package
Permit Fees
6 Day – 5 Night Full Amatola Trail
The cost of the basic hike is R276 per hiker per day, which for the 6-day/ 5-night trail comes to R1660 plus an additional R140 p/person for Hiker’s Assist – totals R1800 per person. This includes your hiking permit and 5 nights in the hiker’s huts along the way.
Scholars – There is a nice discount for registered students and scholars. The cost of the basic hike for Scholars is R110 per person per day which for the 6-day/ 5-night trail comes to R660 plus an additional R140 p/person for Hiker’s Assist – totals R800 per person. Scholars must supply a copy of their photo student card before payment.
2 Day – 1 Night Zingcuka Loop
The cost of the basic hike is R250 per hiker per day, which for the 2-day/ 1-night trail comes to R500 plus an additional R100 p/person for Hiker’s Assist – totals R600 per person.
Scholars – There is also a discount for registered students and scholars. The cost of the basic hike for Scholars is R150 per person per day which for the 2-day/ 1-night trail comes to R300 plus an additional R100 p/person for Hiker’s Assist – totals R400 per person. Scholars must supply a copy of their photo student card before payment.
The minimum amount of hikers is at least 3, with the maximum amount of hikers during COVID-19 being 13,
Hikers Assist
We give a Pre-Hike briefing going over all the points to look out for on the trail and giving advice on anything you may need to know. If once on the trail you are unsure of anything or run into difficulties, please feel free to call us and we will see what we can do to help. This service is included when booking through Amatola Trails
Pre & Post Hike Accommodation
We have 3 options of where to spend the night before and after the trail.
Striders Luxury Self Catering is tailor made for hiking groups who want to have a touch of extra comfort before and after the trail. The views of the Amatola Mountains from Striders Cottage are incredible and it is next door to Away with the Fairies.
The Striders Property sleeps 14 people in total, comprising of 1 large thatched cottage that has 3 Self-Catering Apartments (sleeping a total of 10 people) and close-by 2 thatched Self-Catering rondavels all allowing you to have stunning a self-catering space in a peaceful location. This provides a perfect place to prepare / recover.
Room configuration within Striders Cottage:
- X2 Self-Catering Rondavels – double bed
- X2 Self-Catering Family Apartment – double and bunk
- X1 Self-Catering Double Apartment – double
Camping at Away with the Fairies and Striders Cottage: Our campsites at Away with the Fairies and Striders, are mostly located in and around the stretch of forest between the Fairies and Striders properties. You can find a space on the grass or in our own stunning forest. Unfortunately, we do not provide any camping equipment. Choose a camping spot at R100 per person per night
Please let me know how many singles / couples within your group – so i can book your accommodation as best as needed but please note the price is per person sharing so 2 single hikers will be required to share a twin room.
Shuttle to the start of the trail
It is not recommended to leave your vehicle at Maden Dam for 6 days for security reasons. We offer a Shuttle service from Hogsback to the start of the trail for R300 per person min 4 pax – (discounted in the package). We depart between 06.00 and 08.00 on the morning of your hike. Departure time will be confirmed when you arrive in Hogsback for your pre-hike briefing.
The 2 Day Zingcuka Loop starts at the end point of the 6 Day Amatola Trail right here in Hogsback, 4 km along a dirt road from Away with the Fairies. A shuttle to the start is available and costs R50 per person, leaving at 6am in Amatola Trails vehicles (Free if you book a package).
Safe Parking
If you book a package through Amatola Trails then we offer Free Safe Parking at Acorn House as standard, allowing you to leave all your cars safely until you return. We charge R100 per vehicle if you haven’t booked through Amatola Trails.
Extra Extras Customize your package with these extras
Airport Shuttle
We run a shuttle services to/from Hogsback to/from East London and the airport. This costs R1500 for 1 to 5 people or R2400 for groups of 6 to 15 people each way.
Slack Packing/Goodie Drops
Due to the nature of the trail and accessibility to the huts we can’t offer a full Slack Packing Package. We can however offer a drop-off of your pre-packed (by you) goods to Dontsa Hut (after day 2) for R1500 (1 and 1/2 to 2 hours’ drive each way on shocking roads) and to Zingcuka Hut (after day 5) for R500 (you will have to walk the 300m to the road to meet us and carry your goodies to the hut).
We can also deliver anything sold at Away with the Fairies including pizza and beers
Frozen and Non-Refrigerated goods only please!!
Extractions
We offer an extraction service for – non-emergency – situations. Due to the nature of the trail it is extremely difficult / impossible to get to many parts of the trail in a vehicle. Some over-night huts are not accessible in bad weather. We can however get to all the Forestry Stations in any weather. We charge R1500 for the first 4 hours and then R500 per hour over that. (Almost all extractions are possible within 4 hours). If you need an extraction from Zingcuka then we charge R500, but remember, finishing in Zingcuka means you haven’t officially completed the Amatola Trail.
For Life Threatening emergencies we contact Emergency Medical Services (EMS). This is free for life threatening situations and very very expensive if it is abused.
Prices Valid until 1st January 2021
Payments
When making a booking we require The Hike Leaders name, address and contact number, the number of hikers and the preferred date to commence the trail. Once that has been done, in order to secure your booking, we require either a non-refundable 25% deposit or payment in full.
All Students must send through a photo copy of their student ID in order to get the Student Price.