The View from Up Here
Wednesday was a beautiful day. Sunny but cool with no sign of the rain clouds that had been with us for a couple of days. It was a perfect day for climbing!
After my usual morning walks and enjoying a cup of Roiibos tea with rusks on the lappa lawn in the sunshine, I grabbed by gear and set out on another adventure. Today it would be the Waterfall.
The Cederberg is a protected conservation area. To hike on the established trails here you purchase a pass at the Conservation Authority office. Today’s pass would cost me 60 Rand (approximately $6). After a lengthy chat with the staff in the office, I set out to climb the mountain.
The path up the mountain is well laid out. It is somewhat rocky with shale but is generally an easy climb. There are a few bits which require scrambling over boulders but all in all nothing too strenuous. The Conservation office had said that the climb to the Waterfall would take about an hour and a half but I am sure with all of my stops to investigate interesting plants, rocks and crevices, it took me a little longer than that. The path eventually came to a beautiful little waterfall, set deep in a crevice in the mountainside. A skirt around the rock face and a quick climb over an old boulder slide, revealed a beautiful grotto about mid-way down the Waterfall. Lush vegetation clung to the mountainside. Ferns and grasses, flowers and trees grew from tenuous footholds between rocks, nourished by the droplets of spray from the nearby water source. A beautiful tranquil pool of water collected to pause on its descent over the mountain and after the long, hot climb a quick dip was all too appealing. When I say a quick dip, I mean exactly that. As refreshing as it was, the water was ice cold. Still, I emerged feeling refreshed and invigorated and ready for more.
I had only planned on hiking the Waterfall but the mountain path still beckoned. Refreshed after my bracing swim, I couldn’t resist pushing onward to the summit.
The path meandered back and forth across the face of the mountain, ensuring that the incline was challenging but manageable. Scurrying over rocks, shimmying along rock faces and exploring caves and canyons filled the rest of my afternoon until I finally emerged on top of the mountain. There to my surprise, lay miles of fairly flat, grassy terrain. There is a system of trails here that traverse through the top of the mountains here and there are huts stationed along the way. Once up there, I was struck by how awesome it would have been to spend the night but it was a passing thought as I thought about how cold it gets at night here. Much as I love the outdoors, I love my creature comforts too. I think I will leave the true “roughing it” to those more dedicated that me.
Much as I would have loved to meander further, the sun was getting low in the sky and I knew that I would need to be careful to leave enough time for a safe descent in daylight. While hiking alone is amazing in many ways, it does mean that you have to be extra vigilant. I had left word at the camp and at the Conservation office of my route and plans but the reality is nobody is coming looking for you for a very long time if at all and a misstep or fall could be disastrous. Best to turn back in good time.
The descent, as always, proved faster than the accent but was just as spectacular. The lengthening shadows and amazing late afternoon sun created a new and fascinating landscape. The reds and browns and blacks of the rocks stood as blazing backdrops to the vibrant yellows, whites and oranges of the newly appearing winter flowers and the blackened stumps of trees left behind after a fire here several years ago.
Still, I was grateful to reach the little knoll of trees at the bottom of the valley known as the Algeria Campsite. A beautiful little camp nestled at the base of the mountain trail, it would be an amazing place to camp or even a beautiful spot just for a picnic. The river which I had watched surge over the rock face high on the mountain, had tamed to a gentle, meandering waterflow by the time it reached here and I paused by its peaceful banks to rest after the long trek. I could not daly too long there as I still had to navigate the mountain pass to get back to Gecko Creek. While the road is quite good and perfectly safe, it is not a road that you want to make a mistake on. Sheer drops would send you plummeting off the mountain face to certain death and I prefer always to traverse the pass in daylight. Reluctantly I tore myself away from this pastoral setting, weary but content after a day in the wilderness.
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Morag