Now’s a good time to fill in your hiking diary, so here are six of the best new routes to pencil in for 2012.
Bushbuck Hills
There are a number of easy walking trails from four- to 11-kilometres long and a new overnight hike on the beautiful Bushbuck Hills Eco Farm near Swartruggens, two hours from Johannesburg. The route winds through bushveld and occasional protea groves and offers views of the Pilanesberg, great birding and exceptional sightings of plains game. Various accommodation options are available and there are several streams and dams for cooling off, making it a good option for families as well as hard-core hikers.
Tel 014-544-2757, email [email protected], www.bushbuckhills.com, www.trailinfo.co.za.
Fynbos Trail
This three-day hike through Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy is led by a fundi and is a fascinating introduction to the unique fynbos and forests of the region. The views and overnight accommodation are superb, but this is more than just a great hike – there’s a feel-good factor of interacting with and giving back to the local community. Food comes from the sustainable agriculture and life skills project Growing the Future and each hiker plants an indigenous tree as part of the Stinkhoutsbos Future Trees forest restoration project. Slackpacking and self-guided options are available.
Tel 028-384-8048, email [email protected], www.walkerbaytrails.co.za.
Ukhozi Trail
The Ukhozi or Eagle Trail, named after the resident pair of crowned eagles, is a short circular route through Giba Gorge, Hillcrest. The trail passes through forest, riverine and cliff habitats and work is almost complete on an extension to McIntosh Falls. Bird and plant diversity is fantastic and, if you’re interested in archaeology, you can continue to a sandstone shelter where excavations revealed evidence dating back 100 000 years to the Stone Age.
Cell 079-391-1866, email [email protected], www.ggep.org.
Riebeek Valley hiking trails
Finding hikes in the Cape Winelands is a challenge, so the two trails in Kasteelberg, near Riebeek Kasteel, are a real boon. Only an hour from Cape Town, the Carl Peter Thunberg and Pieter Cruythoff trails are both short, but steep outings that offer spectacular views of Table Mountain and Riebeek Valley. Permits must be obtained from Riebeek Valley Tourism.
Tel 022-448-1545, email tourism@riebeekvalley. info, www.riebeekvalley.info.
Lindani trails
Lindani Game and Lodges, on the Palala River, launched four well-marked, interlinked trails that allow hikers to enjoy the spectacular Waterberg scenery. Game sightings, sandstone cliffs, deep kloofs, wetlands and perennial streams are just some of the highlights.
Tel 014-755-4959, email [email protected], www.lindani.co.za.
Gabriel Trail
This four-night slackpacking trail from Driehoek to Wupperthal is the latest offering from the Cederberg Heritage Route. It traverses one of the most botanically diverse sections of the Cape Floral Region and includes visits to a waterfall and the Moravian village of Wupperthal. It also connects to the northern Cederberg, where four routes are open.
Tel 027-482-2444, email [email protected], www.cedheroute.co.za.
