Holhoek hiking trail Jul 2010

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• List of birds

After work on the Friday, Nicola and I drove to Pretoria to drop her cats off at her parents and pick Gordon up. Jo’burg traffic was slow as usual but we arrived without mishap at the base camp just after 8.30pm. Gordon added some wood to the glowing embers left by the rest of Highveld Hikers who arrived earlier. We stood around chatting while Gordon and Edwill finished their braai before hitting bed.

We woke to a cool morning with scattered clouds, had breakfast and were on our way shortly after 8am. The trail, built by Tiaan Strydom of Discovery Trails, first wound through some eroded dongas in the valley before starting the climb up a sandstone ridge so typical of the eastern Freestate. Interesting ladder placements and a well-cleared path made for some highly enjoyable walking and we reached the top of the ridge in good time. Along the top the walking was easy and we stopped for a break with a view towards the west. The path climbed in-between some large sandstone boulders, dropped a little on the western side of the ridge before ascending to a saddle where we decided to have an early lunch.

After lunch we walked along the top of the ridge before climbing steeply down a series of ladders to reach a lower plateau that led to Rory’s rock, a prominent feature on the trail. We all scrambled to the summit and took in the magnificent view before descending the last few hundred metres back to the camp. The base camp is 5-star luxury for a hike with a decent kitchen, braai area, ablutions, accommodation, and even a small dam in front where we were able to row a bit on a slalom canoe. The afternoon was spent resting, taking pictures of sparrow weavers and chatting about past and future hikes. Soon after dinner, Gordon suggested we go for a night walk. With a bit of vascillation, all but George and Brian decided to do the second day’s hike right then. It was quite chilly so we all put on warm clothes, packed some water, and were on our way. With only 7km to go for the second day’s hike, a full moon blazing down and windless conditions, it was an ideal time to do a night walk.

We climbed back up the ladders towards Rory’s rock and then soon had some trouble finding our route as the path across open sandstone is virtually impossible to follow at night. But with a bit of searching we were soon on track again and we started enjoying this exciting adventure. We first descended down a ridge to a shallow valley before climbing back up to near the ridge summit. Traversing east and then north we lost the track again over some large sandstone slabs and had to back-track to the last footprint before we found our way again. The path then descended to the “Fairytale Wonderland”, an overhang of more than 500m long, covered by mosses and ferns, barely head height high. During the day this would have been a very interesting section. At night, it took on a surreal quality as our foot falls echoed strangely off the roof and our flashlights shimmered between the overhanging growths. Not having a flashlight at all, it was interesting walking for me and Edwill but with the occasional help from the others, we managed perfectly fine. At last we started descending back towards base camp. Climbing down through two inversion zones, we understood perfectly well why it was so cold at the hut but very pleasant higher up the mountains. We reached the camp at 22:15 and had some tea and biscuits before crawling into bed, tired but very happy with a great day done.

Rising just before 7am, I went to the kitchen to start breakfast. Brian and George were on their way to do the second day on their own as they were the only ones who didn’t do it the previous night. The rest of us had a leisurely breakfast before packing up. Shirley and Eddie had to wait for the other two to return but with a much longer way to drive, Gordon, Edwill, Nicola and I decided to hit the road. Shortly before 9am we were on our way and drove back uneventfully.

Suikerboschfontein hiking trail Jul 2010

On Friday the 2nd I picked Nicola up in Middelburg and we drove another hour or so to Japie's house, arriving just before 5pm. George, Brian, Shirley and Eddie were already there and the fire was going well. There was a definite chill in the air for which the fire helped very little and by 7pm, everybody had found an excuse to head for bed.

All night long we could hear dripping on the roof and we woke to foggy morning. A quick breakfast saw us on our way shortly before 8am, covered in warm layers. The trail is well-laid out and easy to follow. We first descended down a long spur before entering some indigenous forest patches skirting below a cliff face. With the mist lifting, we stopped at the Baboon hotel for a quick scramble and stunning views. Some more contouring brought us into more broken terrain and we had a number of easy up and downs before we reached the first of some ruins. Some studies have been done on these ruins and an interesting pamphlet was available to read back at the hut. Past the ruins we stopped for lunch at around 8km, with only a little over a kilometre left to our overnight camp.

With lunch over we started the slow ascent, first through some forest again, then out onto broken terrain, littered with huge rocks and boulders of all imaginable shapes and sizes, making for a very interesting climb. Rooikrans camp, a cluster of 4 sleeping huts, 2 ablution huts and a communal area, very skilfully hidden among the rocks, greeted us just before 1pm. After a good deal to drink, we spent the rest of the afternoon clambering over the rocks and reminiscing about previous trips. Brian and Eddie got the donkey boilers going so we could all have hot showers and by 3pm, the cooking fire was lit as well. It meant that by 5pm, with the sun dipping behind the horizon, we were all fed and drinking a last cup of tea. None of us stayed up much beyond 6pm and we all headed for the warmth of goose down.

Nicola and I got up around 6am and started packing up. With lots to do back in Middelburg now that our new house's registration went through, we were eager to get back home. At 7am we said goodbye to the others, still mainly in their sleeping bags. Although the night was beautifully clear, there was now a thick patch-work of clouds scattered from horizon to horizon. We climbed through more broken terrain, and then contoured around the tops of two beautiful ravines before descending into the second. A network of ladders and ropes guided us through the forest and crystal streams before the path steeply climbed out through a break in the cliffs. Taking a quick break we could see the other four on the opposite side making their way around the ravines, about 45 minutes behind us. After the 5km mark the trail contoured a bit before going through another ravine. With about 1.5km to go, the path snaked into the upper reaches of a small depression and when we climbed out of this, Japie's house was right in front of us. With hot showers only an hour away at home, we dumped our packs in the car and were on our way.

Suikerboschfontein is well-known as a beautiful and practically designed trail. We will be back to do this one again!