Our base for the weekend was Simonskloof Mountain Retreat nestled in the Koo Valley at the base of the Langeberg Mountains. Arriving there shortly after 12pm on Friday there was barely time to get tents up before Greg and Ed left on the 100kms drive to Nuy where we rendez-voused with Werner at the Nuy Valley Guest House. We then all returned in the one car to Simonskloof arriving back there by 4.30pm – the stage was set for the following day’s hike.
L-R : Maretha Alant, Bill Turner, Cheryl Devine, Greg Devine, Karin van Niekerk, Werner
Frei, Jacolise Joubert, Gillian Forbes, Charles Smith, Clive Louw – Ed Shuttleworth
(Leader/Photographer)
A cool but dry evening ensued as we gathered around our camp fire for a braai – this did not deter the leader from venturing off into the bush in search of old wrecks.
Ford Zephyr of unknown vintage – one of the many
old wrecks decorating the farm.
Saturday morning dawned crisp and clear and the wannabe Geckos assembled for the starting order which was to be 0745. Bill Turner had decided not to accompany the rest of the group on the trail and acted as “dog decoy” as the
group split off and headed up towards the saddle above the farm.The first 45 mins of the trail is a fairly bland stroll until one reaches the Pinnacle or “Nose”. It’s at this point as the descent into Cobra valley begins that the days challenge starts to come into focus.
Over the “Nose” we went and down – a constant trail of cairns kept us on the right path but from time to time a few moments were needed to consider how best to navigate particularly large boulders that choked the kloof.
Finally we reached the bottom of Cobra valley and found ourselves in the Nuy gorge proper. The going was gentler
here but not much quicker as, with the help of the cairns, we navigated over and around the obstacles that littered
the river bed. Boots had to come off only on one occasion as we crossed the river about 5 times before eventually
arriving at the Berg hut for our lunch break.
Looking back up Cobra valley
Looking forward down Nuy River Gorge
We kept up a steady pace throughout the day – it took 4 hours to reach the Berg hut which is situated 6.5
Kms from our starting point. From this point on there was a track all the way to the end and we covered the
afternoon section of 11 Kms in just under 3 hours.
The scenery in the afternoon continued to hold us in awe as we wound our way down the gorge threading
ourselves back and forth across the river.
Karin threading her way through river bed debris
Clive ready for a plunge ?
The Berg Hut under the trees
In total we covered 17.5 Kms in a fraction over 7 hours – the cars were waiting for us at the Nuy Valley Guest House and we were fortunate to stumble upon a “biercache” in one of them ! We were back at Simonskloof by 4.30 pm where we gossiped beside the fire whilst braaing our dinner. Rain overnight dampened the spirits of those planning a Sunday excursion and in the end it was only Charles and Ed who ventured out in search of “Twin Peaks” and the “Space Harley”.
Charles on the “Space Harley”
Overlooking Simonskloof Mountain Retreat
Thanks to Jurgen and Ninon for accommodating us at their very special corner of the Koo valley
and thanks to Greg and Werner for the extra miles.
More pics can be found at :
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cKaurNQveYIxqrBKDn6nUzAcAsIi8oPu?usp=sharing
More route info / stats can be found at : https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/gecko-trailsection-a-nuy-river-gorge-nr-worcester-western-cape-south-africa-25524115
Ed Shuttleworth – meet leade