A Natural Wonder In South Africa’s Western Cape
18 -20 March 2023
The Cederberg Mountains
The Cederberg Mountains in the Western Cape of South Africa offer a stunningly unique landscape.
These mountains are characterised by rugged terrain, unusual rock formations, and gob-smacking views.
But beyond their geological magnificence, the Cederberg possesses a spirit that removes all the stresses and worries of normal, city-living.
The moment my feet touch its hallowed soil, my troubles vanish like mist in the morning sun.
That’s what I craved on Saturday 18 March 2023, after being up since 3.30am to bake breakfast sausage rolls before load-shedding, so we could drive 3 hours on the N7 in pouring rain and mist.
But as soon as we parked the car at Algeria campsite, every minute of sleep-deprivation, felt worth it.
Road-Tripping
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Rock Formations
The Cederberg mountains are home to some of the most unique rock formations in the world. Shaped over millions of years by relentless forces of wind and water, what sets these rock formations apart is their fascinating geological history.
Composed primarily of sandstone formed over 500 million years ago by ancient rivers and oceans, the existing formations were gradually carved by erosive wind and water.
The Cederberg Mountains’ rock formations were created by a combination of natural weathering and tectonic activity. The result is a spectacle of nature that overwhelms the senses.
The elements played a critical role in shaping the unique features and contours of these formations.
Uplift and folding (sounds like a restrictive women’s undergarment!) caused by tectonic activity also contributed significantly to the formation of these distinctive mountains.
But it’s not just the mountains’ geology that makes them so special – the weathering process known as exfoliation also played a crucial role.
Exfoliation occurs when temperature and pressure changes cause the outer layers of rock to peel away, resulting in the creation of unusual shapes like domes, arches, and towers.
Combined with tectonic activity, this process contributed to the formation of the Cederberg Mountains’ imaginative shapes.
I like to look for pictures in clouds. In these mountains, I can’t keep up with the shapes hidden in the rock formations, from dragons to elephants and chameleons, I saw them all.
Hiking The Cederberg
The Cederberg has some of the best trails in South Africa.
Popular hikes include the famous Maltese Cross, Wolfberg Arch, and Wolfberg Cracks, as well as lesser-known trails like Crystal Pools and Machine Gun Ridge. We did the Arch, the Cracks and the Cross in 2014 and 2022, and the exhilarating Sneeuberg Peak in 2018 and 2021. The latter is the highest peak in the Cederberg.
But this time our intrepid hike leader – affectionately known as ‘The Amir’ decided a more isolated, wilderness experience was in order.
The best part about a wilderness hike is the chance to sleep in natural shelters like caves or under the stars, with no amenities – including toilets.
I was desperate for a break from city life and really looked forward to this trip. It was a chance to escape from pollution, people, traffic, and cell reception.
The weather prediction called for scattered showers for three out of the four days, which added an extra element of excitement.
I was salivating at the thought of an adventure in the rain.
The Arch & The Cracks 2022
The Maltese Cross 2018
Sneeuberg Peak 2021
The Plan
Day 1 – Saturday, 18 March Algeria to Crystal Pools (+/-13km)
• +/- 3hr drive from Cape Town to Algeria campsite.
• From Algeria campsite it’s a stiff 3.8km uphill start, with an ascent of about 650m to Middelberg huts.
• The next 5km is fairly moderate, crossing Grootlandsvlakte.
• After about 9km there is a split – the left trail goes to Sleepad hut, but our route is to the right to Crystal Pools
• There is another steep climb of about 130 vertical gain before reaching a plateau that leads you to Crystal Pools
• Overnight under the stars
Day 2 – Sunday, 19 March Crystal Pools to Sleepad Hut (+/-13km)
• An easier day relative to Day 1
• From Crystal Pools the route goes around Sneeukop peak (not to be confused with Sneeuberg, the highest peak in the Cederberg mountains)
• The route passes Crystal Pools hut, Sneeukop hut and a waterfall.
• It follows the Sleepad trail to Sleepad hut. Day
3 – Monday, 20 March Sleepad Hut to Welbedacht cave (Tafelberg detour) (+/- 13km)
• From Sleepad Hut it’s a relatively easy walk to Welbedacht cave
• We will leave the heavy backpacks at Welbedacht for the trip to Tafelberg – the second highest peak in the Cederberg mountains (Sneeuberg Peak is the highest)
• From the cave it’s another 3km of tough uphill hiking to Sprout Cave, just below Tafelberg.
• The hike up Tafelberg involves negotiating boulders and some scrambling.
• Backtrack and overnight in Welbedacht cave.
Day 4 – Tuesday, 21 March Welbedacht cave to Sandrif (+/- 18km)
• This is a long but not particularly demanding day.
• From Welbedacht we’ll follow the track to the right for about 10km to Wolfberg Arch, passing Consolation Peak, Corridor Peak and Gabriel’s Pass (last water)
• From the Arch it’s approximately 4km to the Wolfberg Cracks
• The final stretch is downhill from the Cracks to Sandrif
• Shuttle back to Algeria
An Excellent plan! However, the best laid plans of mice and men…
The Cast
Day 1: Cape Town to Algeria Campsite
3.30am wake up call.
Meet the rest of group and take the N7 to Algeria campsite (not the country). It’s a 3-hour drive, approximately 250 km.
It was dark since we left at stupid o’clock, and rainy. Cape Town is experiencing some unseasonable but welcome rainy weather.
The minibus taxis were already on the road driving like demented lunatics, so we were grateful to be leaving for an extended long weekend. Not a minute too soon. My last nerve frayed close to road rage.
We took a quick comfort break at a garage in Piketberg, a small town on our road to nowhere, stopping for coffee (human-juice) and sandwiches.
The rain had calmed to a light drizzle.
At 9.30am we reached Algeria camp site, parked the car, distributed 400 kgs (not kidding) of communal food, along with our personal necessities and enthusiasm, into our bags.
Multi-day hikes are a reminder of how little we really need to survive. Each time I pack my bag, I literally and figuratively weigh how much I really need in life. Nope. Did not need shower gel. I wouldn’t be showering. For four days.
Food. No compromise there. We don’t hike with dehydrated or regular ‘hiking’ food. We hike hard, so we eat hard.
Our Amir, rightly, insists on eating proper, whole food. So whole potatoes, not “SMASH”. The only concession is pasta, and if you so much as utter the words ‘2-minute noodles’ you are off the hike.
What is the point of enjoying the beauty of nature on an empty stomach? Or munching on trial mix when you can have butter chicken (with real chicken) and rice and lamingtons for dessert?
I kid you not, that was on the menu. We left Algeria campsite, after much faffing about, or ‘draai-ing’ (dawdling) — apparently, I dawdle now — at 10.30am-ish or so.
We took advantage of the campsite’s ablution facilities, since it would be a while before we might enjoy a proper throne. We were armed with poopy scoops, nevertheless.
Algeria Campsite to Middelberg Shelter
The trail goes over a footbridge at the campsite and follows a steepish climb of switchbacks towards a waterfall. I felt a bit lethargic. It had been a rough week and didn’t have the energy to detour to the waterfall.
In retrospect I regret that. It’s a gorgeous waterfall.
It was overcast.
The weather was messing with us. Drizzling a bit, then clearing up, so you weren’t quite sure if you had to don rain gear or not. It gets sweaty under the rain gear. It was surprisingly humid, despite the light drizzle and clouds.
By the end of the day, I was shocked to check my hydration bladder had less than ¼ cup of water left. I had consumed nearly 3 litres of water! I don’t even drink that much water on a long hot heart-of-summer hike. I was soaked with perspiration all the time. We all were.
At around lunch time we reached the Middelberg shelter. I can’t call it a hut because well, it looks like a hut but it’s basically just a stone shelter.
Regardless, it had a roof, and all we wanted was a dry spot to have our lunch, which was delicious sausages and onions, or ‘boeries’ as we say in South Africa.
We relaxed a bit. The Amir made a steaming pot of his famous cardamom tea, which was exactly what the doctor ordered! I didn’t have much appetite, which is also unusual.
Hiking makes me ravenous. I’m not much of a snacker, but I do enjoy a good meal. I still felt lethargic. So, I made myself a drink of Herbalife CR7, which I got through my Pacha Mama, Soraya Manie. Call her on 082 446 3637 so she can hook you up with gummiberry juice.
I am not one for supplements, but I have found the CR7 is excellent for rehydration and recovery.
The CR7 did the trick. When we hit the trails after lunch, I felt much better. I am so glad; I didn’t know how badly I would need it.
Note: I am not being paid to promote CR7. I don’t use any other Herbalife products, except this one. It’s excellent.
Middelberg Shelter to Sleepad Shelter
After lunch we crossed an incredible open span of a plateau known as the Grootlandsvlakte (Great Land Flats) for approximately 5km. I was enthralled by the variety of fynbos and the young cedar saplings and trees.
A couple of days later, our shuttle driver, Dawie, who owns a farm nearby, would enlighten me about the incredible efforts by local farmers and Cape Nature to reintroduce cedar trees to the region.
In the late 19th century almost all the cedar trees had been cut down for wood or destroyed by fires.
They use modern drone technology to drop tagged cedar seeds throughout the area so they can monitor their germination and what percentage survive. They are also getting the local community involved in harvesting the natural herbs and plants in the area, which are used in traditional and homeopathic remedies.
Poachers have been infiltrating the Cederberg area to steal reptiles and plants. Like seriously? Just stop raping the planet already. But that is a post for an angry day. Today is not an angry day.
We took a bit of a break to pose with dragons and catch our breath before crossing half the planet to get to Sleepad Shelter.
Sleepad is an Afrikaans word which translated verbatim means ‘drag path/road’. Did it ever stand up to its name.
The path on Grootlandsvlakte forks and we took the right prong.
It looked innocuous until we were confronted with a bit of a climb. The trail is well-marked with cairns, but it was a tough slog. We walked for roughly 1.5 – 2 hours up hill.
However, it was nearing dusk and the climb, though hard, especially at the end of the day, gifted us with the most amazing views.
Words, even pictures do it no justice. The Sleepad Shelter, at some points seemed as real as Brigadoon.
There were moment, I wondered if there was a shelter.
But when I finally crested the last climb, there it was. Relieved, I ululated, albeit a bit pathetically. I was so tired, I could barely hear myself, but I did scare a group of klipspringer, a small antelope, who went darting off into the sunset.
No irony intended. Entering the paradise that is Sleepad shelter:
I had never been so happy to see a stone shelter.
Our humble abode was divided into two rooms and a bonus loo with a septic tank.
The first rule of septic tanks is, never look inside the septic tank.
No.
Just don’t.
The floor of the shelter was covered in hay, which makes for a surprisingly comfortable bed, and I had one of the best sleeps of my life. Exhaustion will do that to you, especially when followed by a hot meal of butter chicken and rice.
The views were totally worth that climb.
Day 2: Sleepad Shelter to Welbedacht caves
Day 2 brought some overcast skies, but no rain. We woke to watch a beautiful sunrise, despite the mist. There is something extra-ordinary about watching the light steal over the horizon, to see the day arrive quietly, without fanfare.
After breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage, we set off to find the Crystal Pools and circumnavigate Sneeukop (Snow head) peak.
There was no snow.
It was a flattish walk along the contour before we went down a gorge to find Crystal Pools. The gorge follows a pretty stream to the pools. Along the way we discovered two shelters. One was obviously abandoned and had not been used since Van Hunks won his smoking contest with the Devil.
The other looked pretty habitable, which is all you need on a wilderness hike.
Most of us opted out of the slog down to Crystal Pools. It was chilly and we had no intention of going down if we were not swimming anyway.
But The Crocodile Wrangler and Broken Boots were brave enough to take on the water. The rest of us went back up the gorge to the contour and continued to do the contour path around Sneeukop Peak.
The latter is not to be confused with Sneeuberg Peak which is the highest peak in the Cederberg and one of the most exhilarating climbs with magnificent views.
Crystal Pools to Sneeukop
We took a break at another rudimentary shelter on our sojourn around Sneeukop Peak.
The waterfall was a bit of a disappointment, with only a trickle of water to indicate what may be majestic after some good rains.
We got back to Sleepad hut at lunchtime. Crocodile Wrangler and Broken Boots had had their lunch and were napping.
Lunch was delicious chicken wraps prepared by Mama Wasi before we set off for the caves.
Sleepad Shelter to Welbedacht Cave
We had to change the plan slightly because of the weather on Day 1, opting to spend the night at Sleepad, rather than Crystal Pools.
So, on Day 2 we would spend the night at the Welbedacht ‘cave’.
Although ‘cave’ is a euphemism. Its more an overhang than a cave. Nevertheless, it looked like a fun place to hang out, regardless.
When we got there, we met a group of four young men on a bachelor’s weekend. The inflatable whale represented the bride, which the soon-to-be-groom had been made to carry up the mountain for who-knows-how-many-days.
They looked like they were having fun. But soon left us to spend the night in another cave, despite our dinner invitation.
We felt bad to have crashed their party, but they were so polite and generous to give up the cave to us, because we were a bigger group, even though they got there first.
The sun had come out during the day, and I remember looking at the sky, musing if the rain predicted for the next day would happen.
We prepared our dinner of fish, rice and dahl while some people got massages. *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*.
The sun went down and soon we got ready for bed.
We were far from any water. The last water we saw was at least 2kms back, so we had to be sparing with what we had in the bottles and hydration bladders we carried. It had been a long day. Nobody felt like shlepping back 2kms to get water.
I was tired, but it took me a while to fall asleep. The wind had picked up, blowing everything, everywhere.
I awoke about 3am. The stars had disappeared behind a heavy blanket of cloud.
I awoke again at 4am, realising I had left my boots and pants out in the elements. In the dark I couldn’t see them. It was pointless faffing around in the bush, so I went back to sleep.
Day 3: Welbedacht Caves to Algeria Campsite
When we woke at 5.30am it was raining, and the wind howled like a demented Tokoloshe.
It was hard to get out of my sleeping bag. The wind gusted, throwing our stuff about and making us chase it in the driving rain. Fun… almost!
We were cold. It was wet. I was not looking forward to hiking in this weather. And our current shelter was rudimentary, at best.
After morning prayers, we dressed while trying not to get our dry gear, wet.
Warm clothes and rain gear.
Doc started breakfast and The Amir set out to get water. He returned looking like a drowned meerkat.
The good news was we had water for coffee. The bad news was there was no way we would be able to climb Tafelberg in these conditions.
We had two options:
1. Go 3kms down the gorge to Welbedacht and call it a day
2. Go 18 kms to Sandrift, passing the Arch and the Wolfberg Cracks and spend the night in the open
The rain seemed relentless. The wind was unkind. Even I did not relish the idea of spending a day trekking in these conditions and spending the night in the open, even with tents.
The group was unanimous in calling it a hike. We would be going home a day earlier. We opted to take the gorge down to Welbedacht where we would try to contact our shuttle driver to get us back to the car at Algeria.
It was slippery going down and there were a few spills.
Fortunately, nothing serious.
I amused myself with finding signs in the rocks.
By mid-morning the rain cleared, and the sun started to peak out. We debated whether to amend our plans and finish the hike anyway. But once we decided to call it, there was not much motivation left to continue.
Despite this, the mood was cheerful. It was a good call, in retrospect. I don’t think Broken Boots’ boots would have lasted another day anyway.
At Welbedacht, we had no cell reception.
Chucky and The Amir hitched a ride with a friendly family from Paarl to the Driehoek Guest Farm where there would be cell reception to contact our shuttle.
While the rest of us chilled on the side of road.
It was mountain time, meaning, there was no time.
It was all a waiting game. So, we did what hikers usually do on a break… we brought out the snacks. And napped.
A little while later our scouts were back, receiving another ride from the good Samaritans from Paarl. (We love Paarl!)
While we waited fo Dawie and the shuttle to arrive, we did what all civilised people do in the bush, we made tea.
Driehoek to Algeria Campsite
I was both happy and sad to be back at Algeria Campsite.
Happy to have a hot shower.
Sad the hike was over. Sadder even still, that it was over a day earlier.
But in nature things are unpredictable. We are subservient to her whims.
To my companions on this adventure, I thank you for your company and making the challenging conditions a lot more bearable with your presence.
Till we meet again, Cederberg. I will be back.
PS: Can we have a moment of silence for Papa Hassan’s pot who did not back it home safely. After many years of dedicated service and abuse by the likes of us, we thank you, Pot. We will miss you.
You really are having a great hike. Not feeling too great
I Thoroughly Enjoy reading and following You adventures
Regards
Piers
Hi Piers!
Thank you for taking the time to read and to comment.
I really appreciate it. I am happy to share these experiences with you.
xoxo