The beauty and history of the area and its proximity to the world's first 'Big Seven Reserve' - the Greater Addo Elephant National Park - has seen a boom in tourism here. Apart from the all-time favourites to be seen - lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino - a proposed 120 000ha marine protected area has added Southern Right Whales and Great White Sharks to the list.
Activities in the valley include horse-riding among the elephants, canoeing, game viewing, abseiling, fishing, hiking, micro-light flights and 4x4 trails.
The valley is one of the few places in South Africa where wars between all the main ethnic groups were fought - Khoi against Xhosa, Khoi and Xhosa against Boer and Brit and ultimately Boer against Brit.