Hikes, Holidays & Hot Tubs
Stanford - Gansbaai (Western Cape, South Africa)
Life is stressful. Duh…
The hamster wheel of work, family, crime, corruption, traffic, etc can be overwhelming.
Not surprising then, we are often anxious, resentful, sometimes even angry.
All of this can lead to burn out, which negatively affects our mental and physical well-being. I am prone to anxiety, so whenever I have an opportunity to dodge the grind and get out of town, I grab it!
One of my favourite strategies to centre myself and align my bliss is to spend time in nature, and mountainous nature in particular.
Ironically, I live in a city famous for its mountain. Cape Town is home to the iconic Table Mountain and must be one of the few cities in the world where you have hiking trails and trail runs in and around the city.
I try to hike once a week, usually Sundays (unless I am running a road race or doing a trail run). But there are also many weekend and multi-day hikes just a couple of hours outside of Cape Town.
Wouldn’t it be a sin not to take advantage of them?
And it’s not just the release of happy hormones freed by physical activity I crave. As a runner (choose your poison… running is mine!) there is no endorphin rush when hiking. It’s more like a slow release…
Hiking feeds my soul. When I spend time in nature, away from the (mostly negative) news, social media, and the hustle of modern living, I am at my happiest.
In the bush surrounded by trees, rock and sky, at that time, I feel my body, mind and soul being recharged. It’s a win-win-win!
One of my favourite rejuvenating hiking holiday is the three-day Fynbos Trail outside Stanford in the Overberg region of the Western Cape.
A mere 2-hour drive from Cape Town (Friday rush hour traffic permitting) this hike combines all my favourite things in an irresistible package: hike, holiday and hot tub – preferably with a group of like-minded, crazy, nature-loving free spirits.
The Fynbos Hiking Trail boasts luxury accommodation, making it a perfect reprieve from the grime, noise and angst of the city.
Rogues Gallery
To Protect the Innocent, only Trail Names Were Used
What Makes An Awesome Hike?
It doesn’t matter how beautiful the trail, or how luxurious the accommodation, the most important component on any hike, are the people.
I have done the same hikes with different groups of people and while the pics record the beauty of the trail itself, what I remember most are the people who made me laugh, smile or (happy) cry, the most.
Everyone contributes something on a hike. Whether they lead on the trail or do dishes at camp, everyone contributes.
For me the most valuable contribution is camaraderie. Hiking is a team sport, so be lekker, be a team player.
This time was arguably my favourite experience of this trail, largely due to the group camaraderie.
To say we were a jolly bunch is a euphemism. We laughed from the moment we piled into the bus Friday afternoon, till the last goodbye Sunday evening.
Not since my childhood, have I been more reluctant for a weekend to end.
The Trail
Day 1 : Growing the Future to Fountain Bush House
The trail starts at the Growing the Future Sustainable Agriculture and Life Skills College on the Grootbos Nature Reserve where they are doing amazing work in food production and animal husbandry.
The first day is an easy 6.7 km walk through 2 valleys, a Milkwood forest and a small afromontane forest. All members of the group were regular hikers and (marathon and ultra-marathon) runners, so pretty fit.
We knew we would start in the late afternoon and came prepared for a sunset hike. Since we chose the slackpack option, we only carried daypacks containing our hike essentials, including headlamps and a sense of humour.
I would be lying if I didn’t confess to being slightly apprehensive. A sunset hike with people who had not been on a trail in the dark before was a big ask.
I knew the trail itself to be easy, not at all technical, but walking in the dark presented its own challenges.
After a short briefing by Ian Privett, the hike and facilities manager, followed by a mandatory group pic, we finally set off at 7.05 pm. We had 20 minutes of daylight.
Within a couple of hundred metres, the single-track trail entered a gnarled milkwood forest, one of only 8 such forests in the world.
As the sun set and dusk settled like pink cotton candy over the sky, I half-expected Tolkien’s Ents to welcome us to Fangorn Forest.
We walked briskly, because BasheeRush, as usual, set a fast pace, but also because instinctively we knew there were night creatures about, including the shy Cape leopard.
I may at that moment, have thought a night hike to be a less than wise decision.
Leopard or no, we were not alone in the night. At one point we heard the bark of baboons shattering the near constant ribbit of unseen frogs.
I like to think that one or two of them may have been the rare and endangered Leopard frog.
A Sunset Hike
The night air was cool, but not so chilly as to warrant a warm jacket.
The forest smelled fresh and ancient at the same time. Combined with glimpses of the slow-darkening sky between the treetops, the trail took on a mysterious and magical air.
Before long we exited the milkwood forest and the valley. The sun was gone, and we found ourselves on a hill where we were treated to a view of Hermanus, Africa’s riviera, bathed in pink and purple hues.
The group split into two organic groups, with the faster group, led by Basheerah, reaching the accommodation in 1 hour 45 mins. Definitely a new course record!
To my pleasant surprise everyone enjoyed the night hike and were blown away by the night-time beauty of the trail. I was so glad they enjoyed it! Not everyone likes, never mind enjoys, hiking in the dark.
At the luxe Fountain Bush house, our first night’s accommodation, Ian had already dropped our bags, and our dinner.
We were starved. It did not occur to me when I was planning the first day, that we would be starting our hike at dinner time.
I only realised when people started commenting on their growling tummies while we were walking. We should have had something to eat before we started. Next time! (Mental note)
Happily, there were no hangry hikers. Instead, fortified with potato chips and a shot of ginger beer, supper took 20 minutes to organise just as the second group reached the house. Perfect timing!
On the menu: Baked crumbed chicken with salads and crusty curry bread.
The second most important thing on a hike? The food. No ready meals or dehydrated stuff, please. We like real food. My husband – Chucky – can testify to carrying a 4kg (every year it gets heavier) butternut for 4 days on the Amathole trail.
Dessert included fried vermicelli, ice cream, baklava and Shanaaz’s snowballs with cream. Yum!
A perfect conclusion to our night hike.
Day 2 : Fountain Bush House to Cone Bush Cottage (Witkrans)
Chasing Waterfalls
Peaks, Proteas & Pitas
Day 2 is the longest day of the trail … 12 km, if you take the long route, which of course, we did!
Although we started at 8 am and spent 6 hours on the trail, we hiked maybe 3 hours in total.
We took the time to detour at Grootberg peak, which is roughly before the halfway mark for the second day where we spent an hour soaking up the view.
Pictures don’t do the 360 vistas of the valley with its rich cultivated farmlands on one side and Walker Bay on the other side, justice.
One of the highlights of day two are the waterfalls.
In the first couple of kilometres, after leaving Fountain Bush house, the trail descends down wooden steps into a forest.
You hear the water before you see it. And before long you are surprised by the prettiest waterfall.
Here the Fynbos trail meets a day trail eponymously called The Waterfall Trail. Do not follow those markings.
I consider the waterfall a mandatory stop. We spent at least 20 mins taking pics.
The waterfall is not the biggest or the most magnificent you will ever see, but the setting is magical and the forest, unique.
The Witwoetskloof forest contains many endangered tree species and it’s worth taking a minute to enjoy.
The second highlight of day two is the view from the Grootberg peak where on a clear day you can see Dyer Island. Here there be sharks!
The lunch spot on Day 2 is under a canopy of trees, along a small stream and is the third highlight for me. Here we enjoyed tuna pitas and biscuits with rooibos tea (because I forgot to pack the ceylon tea and the sugar). Thank you, Abdullah!
After lunch we walked the final stretch to our overnight accommodation on the Witkrans conservancy, passing through Flower Valley, where proteas are cultivated for the local and international market. So many pincushion proteas! I felt like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music!
Fabulous Fynbos
Cone Bush Cottage
At Cone Bush cottage on Witkrans Farm we had lovely rustic accommodation with every conceivable comfort.
The Fynbos Trail provide comfortable accommodation with beautiful linens and towels, and all the conveniences of home, including wifi.
But the wood-fired hot tub at the end of day 2, which Ian kindly lit for us — is next level.
Curiosity about the hot tub is one of the reasons I suspect hikers are keen to do this trail.
Especially when you are accustomed to hikers’ huts with cold showers, if you have a shower at all.
Despite a 2-hour lunch break, we got to Witkrans before 2pm and broke out the snacks while we relaxed and waited for the hot tub to heat up.
While the ladies gossiped in the warm relaxing water, the guys got a fire going for the braai. Ian joined us for dessert which was Banoe’s scrumptious carrot cake and big side of laughter.
At last... The Hottest Tub!
Day 3: Cone Bush Cottage to Growing the Future
Spring Showers and Hi Jinx
On Day 3 we woke at dawn to a downpour. The fynbos was drenched and brilliant in the rain. It was beautiful.
A spring shower, a fitting blessing on our last of three magnificent days.
After a breakfast of traditional Cape Malay koe’sisters and Bow Wow’s (*cough* ahem *cough) eggs, we set out, reluctantly, at 9am.
As part of his delay tactics, Pun King threw a tantrum when we wouldn’t let him row kayaks on the dam.
I, in the meantime, kept my eyes peeled for leopard scratches on the trees. According to Ian, the Cape leopard, like all cats, liked scratching poles. Alas, my eyes were not sharp enough, or I was laughing too much from Basheerah & Banoe’s antics in trees.
Day 3 of The Fynbos Trail meanders gently through more fynbos, before the terrain changes slowly, becoming woodier before winding upward into the Grootboom nature reserve. Here we passed through another phantasmagorical milkwood forest.
Once out of the forest we reach a jeep track and turn right. At this point we have a magnificent view of Walker Bay.
At this point there are two options to trail’s end. The jeep track carries on for several kilometres before finishing at the farm.
We chose the shorter route over Protea Peak before descending to Growing the Future farm where we left our car.
The views from the peak were magnificent and well worth the short climb.
Hike Options
The Fynbos Hiking Trail has several options including slackpacking, catered or self-catered and un/guided. This time we chose the self-catered unguided slack-packing option.
Three Day Hike Menu
Friday night:
Chicken and salad
Dessert: Vermicelli, baklava, ice cream and birthday snowballs from Shanaaz!
Saturday:
Breakfast: continental
Lunch: tuna pitas
Supper: Braai
Dessert: Banoe’s carrot cake
Sunday:
Breakfast: Koesisisters
Lunch: Karima’s chicken curry with roti & Banoe’s chocolate almond squares
Recommended Gear
A day pack with hiking essentials since it was a slack pack.
Hiking essentials include: first aid kit, rain gear, a warm top, whistle, water and snacks.
On day 2 we carried lunch things so we could have lunch on the trail.
Everyone carried their own personal medications and snacks, but the communal food is usually divvied up between the group.
- Backpack 24 – 30 litre
- Trekking pole
- Boots or trail shoes
- Hiking pants x 2
- Hiking shirts/t shirts x 3
- Hiking socks x 2
- liner socks x 2
- Warm jacket
- rain jacket /poncho
- Gloves
- Whistle
- Snacks
- Water (1 – 2 litres) There are places to fill up and drink from the streams/waterfalls as well
- First Aid kit
- Charged cell phone
- Stove heads
- Gas cannisters
- Lighter /matches
- Cutlery & crockery
- Pan
- Pot
Last Word
This was the 6th time I’ve done this trail and it remains one of my favourites for several reasons:
- It’s a relatively short drive to a magical world
- The excellent amenities make it feel like a holiday
- There are several options to choose eg slackpacking or guided
- The fynbos and forests are spectacular
- The team is wonderfully accommodating
Will I be back? Probably…I’m going for my permanent number!
There is nothing like the company of beautiful people and beautiful surroundings to rejuvenate the soul.
‘A Walk In Nature Walks The Soul Back Home.’
Mary Davis
Memories Made!
DISCLAIMER: All pics remain the property and copyright of the original photographer.
My sincere thanks to Chris, Hillary, Bapoo, Saeed, Karima, Zaitoon, Basheerah, Shanaaz, Abdullah & Dara for an exceptional experience.
I had the pleasure of being on this hike.Could not have said it any better than this blog.I can add however that Gabeba is a great leader.Decisive when needed but easy and fun to be with.Looking forward to many more.
Hi Shanaaz
In Sha Allah!
PS: It helps that you fit in so well with the madness 😀
Hello
Thoroughly enjoyed the read , thanks.
Please advise how I should go about making a booking for this hike .
Hi Ridwaan
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. The trail is only open in spring and autumn. Please reach out to Michelle or email her by clicking on the following link:
http://www.fynbostrail.co.za/contact.php
Regards
Gabiba