Hiking Jonkershoek – Tweede Waterval – a wonderful easy ramble, perfect for families

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Which direction will you go?

As we approach the outskirts of Stellenbosch, one of our hiking party reads aloud from a brochure about Jonkershoek Nature Reserve‘s claims to beauty. I scoff, and am heard to mutter that every nature reserve claims ‘beauty’ as their major charm (and most of them are). Cynical me.

I was to eat my words.

Jonkershoek is one of four nature reserves that form part of the greater Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve – a World Heritage Site registered by UNESCO in late 2007. The reserve is gorgeous – ‘beautiful’ is the understatement of the year.

It lies just outside of Stellenbosch, surrounded by the imposing Jonkershoek mountains that in turn form part of the larger Boland mountain range (part of the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve). Jonkershoek also includes the smaller Assegaaibosch Nature Reserve. Continued

Hiking Mossel Bay

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Oyster Catcher Trail

Mossel Bay is a growing town along the renowned Garden Route, which stretches between the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape provinces of South Africa. It is an area of natural beauty, and it boasts an enormous variety of faunal and floral species. The hiking trails in and around Mossel Bay flaunt this beauty and allow visitors to experience it in a very personal, intimate way. Here are some of the best hiking trails and facilities in the area:

The Hunter Gatherer Trail

This is a four-day trail that extends along the untouched beaches and shoreline from Mossel Bay to the Gourits River. It is a guided trail that takes hikers back in time, as they rely on the land and its natural resources to prepare food, get shelter and find their way. Along the way, dolphins (all year long) and whales (July to December) can be spotted from the trail. The hike includes fishing, kayaking and camping. Continued

Hiking In and Around Pretoria

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Take a hike!

Hiking through a destination is, undoubtedly, one of the best ways to experience it in a personal, intimate way. Hiking allows you to slow your pace, feel the vegetation, hear the calls of wild birds and smell the sweet air of nature. Hiking may range from easy walking trails to far more challenging marked trails that require skill and a fair amount of fitness.

Regardless of where you choose to hike in South Africa, it is essential to protect yourself and your family against the harmful rays of the sun. This is applicable even in overcast or cool conditions. Apply a high-factor sunscreen regularly, and wear loose cotton clothing that covers the head, neck, arms and legs. Opt for good quality sunglasses. A broad-brimmed hat is also recommended

Here are some of the finest and most popular hikes in and around the Gauteng city of Pretoria: Continued

Popular Walks and Hikes in Cape Town, South Africa

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Table Mountain Hikes

Cape Town, in the Western Cape of South Africa, is beautiful for so many reasons. Dramatic landscapes, azure waters, history, heritage, culture, arts, crafts and music are all part of one of the world’s most loved cities for locals and tourists alike. Hiking and walking throughout the Cape Town area and its surrounds showcase the splendour of the Mother City, inviting those of different fitness levels and preferences to explore the magnificent views, fauna and flora of the cultural epicentre of South Africa.

Here are 5 of the best hiking trails and scenic walks in and around Cape Town: Continued

Hiking Trails in the Tsitsikamma

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Get ready to hike!

Tsitsikamma is renowned for its natural beauty, being endowed with magnificent forests, deep ravines, towering mountain ranges and the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. In fact, the word “Tsitsikamma” is a San word that means “place of abundant waters”, testifying to the lush abundance of this very special part of the Garden Route.

There are a number of ways to enjoy the natural splendour of the Tsitsikamma including walking trails, cycling routes, horse rides, tubing along the river and more. Hiking through the forests and mountains is one more way to get the most out of your time in Storms River. Of course, the specific trail you choose depends on your fitness levels, the time you have available and the abilities of any children or elderly folk that may be accompanying you.

Here are some of the best known hiking trails in the Tsitsikamma region: Continued

A Morning Hike Up Lions Head

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Hiking up Lions Head

My alarm went off at 06h00, completely unusual for a Saturday morning. But this morning there would be no lie in, I was off to meet friends for a morning hike up Lions Head. We’d been worried about the weather because for the past few days Cape Town had been blustering and windy and quite unpleasant. This morning we were in luck, not a breath of wind and such a gorgeous day – it is days such as these that really make me appreciate living in the Mother City.

I’m not an experienced hiker by any means and am definitely not at my desired fitness level, but I had the spirit and determination to get myself up to the top. We all had plenty of water and Sean was the experienced man who brought along a bag of jelly sweets, which were a welcome sugar relief halfway up. Continued

Scaling Vlakkenberg – a hike in the heart of CT’s suburbs

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Start of the hike

Vlakkenberg peak, within the Table Mountain National Park, is right in the heart of Constantia, linking Price Drive to Constantia Nek. It’s regarded as the seldom visited half of Constantia Nek (access it across the road from the parking at Constantia Nek via a pedestrian gate, partway down the road towards Hout Bay, or conversely from the top of Price Drive). The hike, whilst pretty steep, takes you up Vlakkenberg peak to the summit with views out over False Bay, Hout Bay and Constantia.

‘Ideal weather tomorrow,’ I inform Rob, who organises our hikes, ‘perfect for a walk, as it’s due to rain!’. Whilst this isn’t the standard during summer in Cape Town, when it’s as hot as it has been, days without sun – whilst pretty dire in terms of good photographs – are welcome, and make hiking a pleasure.

We access Vlakkenberg via Price Drive in Constantia, having already left one of our cars back at Constantia Nek. It’s hard to believe that you can escape into wilderness so close to residential areas. But in the cul de sac is the typical National Parks sign announcing the reserve. Continued

The Otter Trail

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The Otter Trail

The Otter Trail is undoubtedly one of the best known and most popular hiking trails in South Africa, and ranks highly when compared to the trails of the world. This trail is 42.5 kilometres (or a little over 25 miles) long and stretches from Storms River to Nature’s Valley, which are both trailheads. Being along the Garden Route means that this route is accessible, showcasing some of the most beautiful features of South Africa’s landscape. It is named after the Cape Clawless Otter that can be found in this region.

The trail takes five days to complete and is split into very clear stages to make it manageable and safe: Continued

Newlands Forest Walk To The Base Of Newlands Ravine

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Stunning Newlands Forest

A relatively easy short burst of uphill on the right of the river – destination: simply awesome wooden treehouse. Followed by a quick downhill – an essential part of which is straying off the path enough to introduce an element of excitement to an otherwise routine, but beautiful, walk. The route takes roughly 2 hours.

It’s a late Saturday afternoon, chosen by the leader of this particular walk because why would you want to walk during the heat of the day during summer?

Five o’ clock sounds civilised enough that for once I sign us up, having dismissed former emails of hikes that sounded impossible given the time of day and duration. But will our seven year old manage without whinging his way both there and back? Continued

The Wild Coast Trail – escape like never before

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Incredible Wild Coast

Remember the advert – ‘take a walk on the Wild side’? Perhaps it was before your time but the Wild Coast, despite having alluded to its wildness as far back as my childhood, remains more or less as nature intended it – little urban development, a tropical coastline with conspicuous rocky headlands and great swathes of green hillside hewn into by rapidly running rivers that combine into a landscape that is the paradise of walkers.

It translates into 300 odd kilometres of coastline along which hikers run into little other than the odd Nguni cattle, beaches, waterfalls, mangrove swamps and remarkable estuaries, indigenous forest and the odd cultivated field – worked over in the old-fashioned way -, thatched rondavels and the people who live in them.

The Hole in the Wall, Morgan’s and Coffee Bay, Port St Johns and Cintsa are the little towns that pepper this wildness and serve as watering holes for those after a good tramp along this coastline. Continued

Three Must-Do Hikes in Limpopo

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The Waterberg

Limpopo province is filled with hiking opportunites through some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. So many hikes are there that the choice is difficult. Not only are there hikes through private nature reserves and farmland, and over mountainous terrain such as the Soutpansberg range and the Blouberg, but there are also hikes through the Kruger National Park.

The Waterberg and the Wolkberg Wilderness Area too are easily accessible and provide ample opportunity for strapping on your boots and heaving the backpack onto your shoulders.

In short, there is a hike to meet everyone’s needs. But here are three of the greats: Continued

Three Awesome Hikes To Do When In The Cape

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Good shoes are essential

It’s that out-of-door time of year when everyone dusts off their hiking boots. The rain has practically stopped for the season, apart from the odd welcome shower, and the heat of summer is upon us. People are rummaging for route maps, and heading for the hills

Because the intensity of the heat can make for rather uncomfortable midday walking, hiking in the Western Cape is definitely at its best now in October and November. And then again in the autumn months.

Here are three of the top hikes for those who enjoy multiple days spent out in the middle of nowhere: Continued

Walking Table Mountain

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Table Mountain

Table Mountain looms graciously over the Mother City of Cape Town. Indeed, it is one of the most loved sights in the world, particularly amongst locals. This mountain has been recognised for its natural beauty and its iconic status by being recognised as one of the world’s Seven Wonders. The best way to experience the aesthetic beauty of Table Mountain is to walk through the fynbos, long grasses and Western Cape scrub.

There are a number of walking and hiking trails that squiggle up, down and across Table Mountain. These are of various lengths and for a number of different fitness abilities. From these, all of the gorgeous Western Cape vegetation can be enjoyed in quiet serenity, the smell of fynbos hanging languorously in the air while birds soar in the heights above. At the top of the mountain, Lion’s Head, Devil’s Peak, Signal Hill, Robben Island and the magnificent blue of the oceans lie below in their natural majesty. Continued

The Darwin Trail – Retrace Darwin’s Visit To The Cape

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Charles Darwin

I know little about Charles Darwin other than that his theory of evolution got me into serious hot water in the school playground where, at age eleven, I spoke out in support of the principle of evolution without much understanding of what it was all about.

Needless to say, I earned myself something of a reputation. And speaking out about something I felt was inherently true, in the face of several religious hypotheses, gave the young me a real sense of accomplishment. In a way I owe Darwin a thank you for a lesson in confidence.

His book On the Origin of Species, although accepted by the scientific community as early as the 1870s, still causes conflict between science and personal beliefs – be they religious or not – today. Now, given the chance, I am not sure that I would be quite so outspoken – there is an inherent absence of the spiritual within the scope of natural selection. Continued

Hike to Muizenberg Cave

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Views Over Muizenberg

Circular walk beginning at Bailey’s Kloof, via Mimetes Valley to the cave and then via Nellie’s and Junction Pool along the Silvermine plateau and down again via Peck’s Valley. Touted as a moderate walk (tiring but not strenuous), the ascent and descent are pretty steep. Great for children over six years. Take hats and bright torches (preferably head lamps).

Mike Lundy’s Best Walks in the Cape Peninsular has this wonderful walk begin at the Muizenberg station – the idea is that you catch the train to Muizenberg, and for visitors to the city without access to transport, this is a real win; there aren’t that many hikes you can do in Cape Town where public transport drops you off virtually on the hike’s doorstep. Continued