Description

This trek is a wonderful wilderness experience. Dramatic rock formations and remote locations make for a walking paradise. This wild haven just three hours north of Cape Town is a protected reserve with some of the best rock art sites in the province. The scenery is unique and the trek is a must to add to your list of African treks.

Highlights

• Explore the magnificent mountain trails of the Cedarberg
• Hike up to Wolkberg Crack and the Maltese Cross.
• Visit rock art sites
• Meander through scenic mountain passes and small west coast towns

Sample Intinerary

Day 1
Arrive at Cape Town international airport. You will be met by your guide and once loaded into the vehicle depart from Cape Town for a long but scenic drive into the southern reaches of the Cedarberg Wilderness Area, taking a less travelled route through dramatic mountain passes and past rural farming towns. The afternoon is spent acclimatizing to the silent remoteness of the Cedarberg with a short walk into the mountains to discover the first of many San rock art sites before returning to your lodge for dinner.

Day 2
A short drive further up the valley brings us to the dusty farm of Krom Rivier and the start of our trail into the wilderness. Our objective is the dramatic Maltese Cross, a natural formation of rock that is prominently displayed as an icon of the Cedarberg. Your journey takes you through pristine mountain fynbos and past inviting mountain pools with the towering presence of soaring peaks your constant companion. After time for photos, we meander across the plateau, gradually descending to meet the vehicle for a short transfer to your accommodation for the night.

Day 3
An early breakfast provides fuel for the stiff ascent up to the haunting Wolfberg Cracks, sheer rock corridors that are the key to access the upper plateau from the valley. A choice here of the standard route up, or the more exciting Adventure Crack leads us to a remote trail winding through fantastic rock formations until the dramatic Wolfberg Arch rears up out of the horizon as you approach. Time for photos is followed by a descent down Gabriel’s pass to eventually arrive at the farm of Driehoek and your next night’s accommodation.

Day 4
A well earned rest day, we depart after a leisurely breakfast for the town of Clanwilliam, home to Rooibos Tea, a distinctive and popular herbal tea. A visit to the Rooibos Tea Factory and lunch for your own account at one of the restaurants in the town is followed by a short trip to a night of comfort and hospitality at a lodge nestled in the valley below the brooding summit of Krakadou.

Day 5
A challenging day of steep climbs, bushy trails and strange names. From the comfort of your guest house, we journey up the pass between the brooding Krakadou Peaks, the trail taking on a very indistinct feeling near the top of the pass before you are rewarded with views out into truly remote wilderness landscape and your gradual descent into the settlement of Heuningvlei. While those who tire of the walking can opt to finish the day in the vehicle, further rambling through scenic countryside on the slopes of the peaks eventually brings you to the isolated missionary station of Wupperthal and your overnight stop.

Day 6
A short transfer back to Heuningvlei and we pick up the donkey trail over the nek and into Rocklands – a garden of boulders popular with climbers from all over the world. The deafening silence and sheer vastness of this place has to be seen to be believed… We spend the night in the heart of San country, nestled in a valley in restored farm labourer cottages.

Day 7
We take a leisurely breakfast before picking up the famous Sevilla Rock Art trail, taking time to marvel at some of the finest examples of Bushman paintings in the world, a legacy of a bygone age. By lunch we are back on the road for a short journey to a luxury game farm – a welcome reward for a long journey through the wilderness.

Day 8
A morning of leisure before the long drive back to Cape Town after lunch. Take a game drive, visit some more sites of San rock art or just relax around the pool and soak up the atmosphere. After lunch transfer back to Cape Town for your flight home.