My last visit to the central Cederberg section was in December 2016. I was visiting to drop some Scouts off for their bi-annual Cederberg Adventure. Little did I realise that a few days later this adventure would result in the closure of the Central Cederberg Wilderness area for over two years due to devastating fires that raged for 6 days and ravaged 16,000 hectares of nature.
During the subsequent two years numerous calls to Cape Nature to enquire about the reopening resulted in increasing frustration so it was with some joy that I finally learnt in 2019 that the areas in question were reopening again. Planning started immediately and towards the end of 2019 we were finally able to offer and look forward to a Cederberg meet scheduled for the following Autumn. And then along came Covid – 19 !
Thus, it was with some relief approaching a state of complete incredulity that finally 13 members were able to finally assemble at Algeria campsite on a warm sunny afternoon in late October that unexpectedly happened to coincide with the recently rescheduled school holidays !
Our group of 13 bandits assembled in the aptly
named “Robbers cave”
L-R : Greg and Cheryl Devine, Johan Huisamen, Elmarie Smuts (guest ), Werner Frei,
Sanet van Meersbergen, Jacolise Joubert, Christoffel Smallberger*, Mimi Kay-Shuttleworth
Sonja Wend*, Maretha Alant, Leonie van Rooyen*, Ed Kay-Shuttleworth ( Meet Leader ).
(*Stellenbosch section members)
Our itinerary was arranged to land us up some way from our starting base, so some logistical manoeuvring was required in the late afternoon to ensure we had wheels in the right place. Once that was done we were able to settle back and appreciate late into the night the exuberant sounds of the neighbouring holiday makers who obviously had no intention of roaming beyond the confines of the campsite and to dwell on the next day’s rigorous undertaking that would see us climb straight up the valley walls for about 800 metres to the plateau on top.
Helsekloof waterfall –
ready for a shower ?
Some but not all of the
original group at waterfall
with the Bowen four
Cathedral rocks aka “The Organ Pipes”
Crystal Pools camp – Day 1
After a somewhat fitful nights rest the morning dawned and our group was on its way soon after 7.00am. A long day was promised and weighed down with 4 days of supplies we were prepared for a tough start. Ninety minutes into our climb brought us around a corner and face to face with the Helsekloof waterfall. I often feel waterfalls can be overhyped but if I was impressed then I think it would be fair to say that everyone in our group was refreshed by the encounter. Reinvigorated it was onwards and upwards to Middleberg hut where we paused for a breather and a water-refill before continuing onto the Cathedral rocks ( or “Organ Pipes” ) where we paused for some lunch. Here we parted company with the Bowens who returned to Algeria camp having opted to undertake day hikes instead of “roughing” it with us. By now the allure of Crystal Pools was at the forefront of our minds and most of us were starting to dream of a languishing in a bubbling pool of refreshing mountain water as the sun set over the surrounding mountains. One small thing however lay in our path in the form of “Groot Hartseer”. Like unsuspecting chickens to the slaughter Heart Break hill did just that – whilst that lived up to the description on its label, I’m afraid that Crystal Pools came up somewhat short. Nevertheless, it was still a pretty magical setting with towering rock walls littered now and then by the odd Cedar tree ( Widdringtonia cedarbergensis ) hanging perilously onto seemingly nothing more than thin air.
Day two started with the previous days little brother, Klein Hartseer. Fortunately, having survived the previous days torture none of the group were now going to succumb to the lesser evil. We stopped after a while to search for Asjas cave which we think we found and then paused briefly at Sneeukop hut whilst we gathered our wits and pondered what route to take to attain the summit of Sneeukop, the Cerderberg’s third highest summit at 1930 metres. At this point the party split and only six valiant explorers persevered upwards for the optional 350 metres to reach the peak and the 360-degree views stretching across Tafelberg to Sneeuberg in the South- East. Re-united with the others in our group at Sleepad hut later that afternoon we all enjoyed our campsite perched on the edge of a valley descending gently towards the setting sun in front of us.
Sneeukop summit @ 1930 metres – the next days
challenge Tafelberg can be seen on the distant horizon
Night 2 in the Wilderness – Living on the edge
Camp 2 – in the vicinity of Sleepad hut – we
awoke in the morning to this nice cloud inversion below.
Day three dawned with a spectacular cloud inversion at our feet in the valley below. We made short time to our camp for night three pausing briefly in “Robbers cave” and to fill up with water that seemed to be becoming sparser on this side of the mountains. Camp was established on a plateau below Spout cave from where we set off soon after lunch to climb to the summit of Tafelberg. After passing the enormous Pillar Box we scrambled up the gully strewn with boulders and reached the “step-over” being the first of the two final obstacles preventing us from reaching the top. Normally this obstacle is assisted by a fixed rope but sadly the rope had seen better days and was of no assistance. Twenty minutes of discussion and deliberation saw four of us over the first obstacle and up the second obstacle which is a cliff wall that one must climb with the use of fixed chains. At least an hour was spent on top exploring the “chicken-heads”, hunting for UFO’s and gazing down on the little specs some 300 metres below that were our homes away from home. Heading back to our “homes” after our summit exploration we passed Spout cave which we considered ourselves lucky not to be sharing with the other 18 users !
Skyline approaching Tafelberg with the Spout
and Consolation Peak
The Boulder gully on way to summit of Tafelberg
The second Tafelberg obstacle – the chains
The Pillar Box
Conclusive proof, left on Tafelberg
summit, that aliens have visited
Group consolidating on Consolation summit
The last day of our Wilderness adventure saw us make a hasty ascent of Consolation Peak as it was there on our doorstep – for most this was a Consolidation experience rather than a Consolation ! We dropped in at Welbedacht Cave on the way down where we were unexpectedly reunited with the Bowen party of four and with whom we spent the best part of an hour swapping stories before continuing down to our waiting cars at the bottom of the Kloof.
Whether it was the cold(ish) Coke in our hand or the past four days of Wilderness living we all felt much refreshed and revitalised from all the trials and tribulations that the year 2020 has thrown at us. So, the only question now that remains – is when, will be, the next Cederberg adventure !
PS – thanks to Sonja Wend and Sanet van Meersbergen for some of their photos which I have used in this report.
Ed Kay-Shuttleworth – meet leader