Peaks of snow and Luna landings
I’ve said this before, and I have no concern in repeating myself. The Cederberg is right up near the top of the global list of hiking destinations. A marvelous combination of scenery and adventure await all those who make the journey into its hallowed grounds.
Timing one’s Cederberg visit is paramount to try and avoid the extremes of Winter and Summer which are renowned for reaching brutal levels. Formulating our proposed visit for the end of October, some 4 months prior in the middle of June, was a bit like donning a blind fold and launching a dart towards a board. At best, one might hope for bearably cool or bearably warm temperatures.
Not surprisingly the Cederberg had a curved ball in store for us this year. Four days prior to our arrival the forecasts changed, overnight, from three days of glorious sunshine to snow showers, torrential rain, high wind and temperatures of – 11, atop the summit of Sneeuberg, our primary objective.
This was later confirmed by the Sanddrif Holiday Resort where we planned to stay, who informed us that if there was no change in the forecast, they would be unable to issue hiking permits. They suggested delaying our trip. This which wasn’t really an option.
Communication was passed down the line to the group members and most participants agreed to risk the possibly flooded rivers on the Sunday, as had been planned. Those booked into the partially flooded campsite across the river found alternative accommodation in one of the resort’s vacant lodges. With four on one side of the river and four on the other side we all settled in for the night hoping for clearer skies in the morning allowing us to at least explore some easy local trails.
Dawn broke on the Monday and whilst the rain seemed to have diminished, the river separating half the group from the others had risen, flooding and damaging the causeway. It was impassable, and remained so, until the early evening. The remainder of the group (5 members) who had delayed their arrival by 24 hours, arrived during the course of the day by way of seldom used back roads, thus avoiding the flooded rivers blocking the main entry points into the Cederberg.
Waving to the others across the water
Photo Credit: Som Khawtong
Crossing was not advisable until early evening
Photo Credit: Som Khawtong
Nothing to be done but wait
Photo Credit: Som Khawtong
Finally, by early Monday evening the causeway that separated the campsite from the others was repaired sufficiently to allow the entire group (13 members) to gather for a braai. The sun had been spotted earlier that afternoon and with a favourable forecast it was decided to tackle Sneeuberg (the King of the Cederberg) with a first light start on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday (Sneeuberg) | L-R: Back row | Werner Frei, Gary and Sandy Cundill, Gilian Forbes, Ed Kay-Shuttleworth (Meet Leader), Pierre Kruse, James Kay-Shuttleworth.
Front Row | Som Khawtong, Mimi Kay-Shuttleworth, Liza Serfontein, Sonja Wend, Jade Derche.
Behind the camera | Dennis Lange (photo credit)
The Maltese Cross with Sneeuberg behind
Photo Credit: Liza Serfontein
Sneeuberg – the assault commences
Photo Credit: Liza Serfontein
Tuesday’s sunrise revealed favourable conditions, and we enjoyed a pleasantly cool climb to the Maltese Cross where we took our first break.
At this juncture we parted way with two of the group and the remainder continued up to the saddle on the Eastern flank of Sneeuberg. Two aspiring junior members of the group decided to wait it out at the saddle, while the remainder struck upwards. We were very fortunate to have, in our midst, two very qualified members with vast experience of the route, one of whom had completed it only 6 days prior.
Their assistance in threading our way through the Sneeuberg boulders brought to my mind the words of JFK, which I paraphrase a little – “Ask not what your meet leader can do for you – ask what you can do for your meet leader”.
Photo Credit: Liza Serfontein
An hour of squeezing through tunnels, edging along ledges and stepping over sheer drops saw us all achieve the final 200 metre climb and assembled on the summit.
Nearly there!
Photo Credit: Liza Serfontein
Sneeuberg Summit
Photo Credit: Dennis Lange
Then, it was the same in reverse back down to the saddle to meet the two left-behinds and savour a well-earned lunch. The group split up on the way down, which was undoubtedly much harder on sore legs and knees than the ascent. Back at the cars it was established that the whole day had taken between 9 and 10 hours depending on whether you were in the fast group or the slightly less fast group.
Due to the missed day our whole program was rolled forward, and we inserted an extra day at Sanddrif Resort. The obvious and iconic hike from Sanddrif is the Wolfberg Arch via the Wolfberg Cracks and should be a must on any first-time visitors list.
Day 2 | Wolfberg Cracks – a slightly diminished group at the start
Photo Credit: Dennis Lange
The Doorway to the Thin Crack
Several in our group were old hands but several had never done it before. We undertook this on the Wednesday estimating it would take approximately 6 hours. However, any time calculation cannot estimate the absolute awe and splendour of this route which demands constant stopping to gawp at the rock formations and take photos around each and every corner. We navigated the starting wall, the ledge, the door, the chamber, the chamber arch, the narrow crack and finally emerged through the wormhole which ejected us onto the plateau on top.
Into the depths
The group in the belly of the Beast
Photo Credit: Liza Serfontein
Slippery slope in the Chasm
Photo Credit: Liza Serfontein
The thin Crack
Exiting the Wormhole
Photo Credit: Liza Serfontein
A pleasant 4 kms hike followed which took us across this plateau to the Wolfberg Arch which we were fortunate to enjoy on our own. The journey back was the outward journey in reverse but instead of descending by the Narrow Crack we descended via the Wide Crack which was somewhat easier.
A Rock Garden
Arch ahead
Wolfberg Arch above
Arch de Triumph?
Photo Credit: Dennis Lange
We reached our cars and drove straight over to Kromrivier Resort, 20 kms away, where we met up with the remainder of the party in time to set up camp, wine, dine and generally prepare for another early start on Thursday.
Thursday’s target was Luna Peak. After parking our cars at Disa Pool carpark we set off on a long traverse down the valley in the direction of the Disa Pools.
By the time we turned to start up the hill the sun was striking our backs in full force. It was a painful climb after the previous day’s excursions, and it was with significant relief when the summit emerged above us.
Arch overhead
Here all thoughts of hardship were quickly extinguished, as we entered the Luna landscape, after which the peak is presumably named. Photo opportunities and careful foot placement resulted in a leisurely exploration of the top before it was time to make tracks.
A Luna pool with Sneeuberg on the horizon
Orchestral Manoeuvres of a Luna kind
A Luna Climb
A Luna Summit
At this point the party split into two groups with one taking the high route along the ridge to Winterbach peak and the others descended the same way as the ascent with a diversion to the Kromrivier Cave. Another fantastic 8-10 hour day of Cederberg proportion will be recorded in our memories.
Day 3 | A Luna summit group
Photo Credit: Liza Serfontein
We all headed for our respective homes on Friday. Looking back on the week, although there was some disruption in the beginning, we actually managed to achieve more than we had originally envisaged and the weather actually paid us a favour as the days following the downpour were cooler than might have been expected for the time of year.
Echoing the lines of another famous American – “We will return”!
Meet Leader ~ Ed Kay-Shuttleworth