Cederberg Hiking December 2011
Day One
Leaving Cape Town via the N7 our first stop should have been on the Piekeniers Pass. Despite reading about the ongoing road works I was hoping to pull into the layby and brew a cup of coffee. No joy. The layby is blocked with piles of gravel but we still manage to get glimpses of the farm fields below. The hot summer has faded the once green wheat fields into a tapestry of warm shades of beige and blonde. The beautiful blue Piketberg forms a distant backdrop. Once over the pass looking towards Citrusdal, the Olifants River valley lies ahead. The mountains in the distance are a lovely reminder that we are approaching one of our favourite wilderness areas, the Cederberg. We take a short stop in Citrusdal for last minute purchases. Being a Saturday the town is abuzz with workers from the surrounding farms. We opt for Thomas Bain’s original route along the eastern bank of the Olifants River, which by a wonderful stroke of luck is a dirt road….yippeeeeeeeee.
Twenty seven kilometres later the terrain changes as we enter the Cederberg, a wild, rugged mountainous region. Thank goodness that both state and private landowners have come together to conserve this large area. The highest mountains live up to their names with Sneeukop (2070 metres) in the Skurweberg in the southern area frequently receiving a dusting of snow in winter, as do Sneeuberg (2027 metres) near Citrusdal and the other Sneeukop (1930 metres) near Wupperthal.
The Cederberg is named after the endangered Clanwilliam Cedar (Widdringtonia cedarbergensis), which has been decimated in the past but is protected now with annual tree planting ceremonies. Cederberg is now the generally accepted spelling for the area, which combines the English (Cedarberg) and Afrikaans (Sederberg) variants.
Our route lies over a series of passes. The first is Nieuwoudts Pass which gives us lovely views of the valley with Algeria in the middle distance and our next pass, Uitkyk Pass, beyond.
Signs of changes since our last visit all too long ago are the paved roads past Algeria. I remember getting stuck in the winter quagmire just before Uitkyk. Hmm that was fun! I am sad to see the Algeria office block has burnt down. A short photographic stop on Uitkyk Pass, the route of the old pass, visibly winding its tortuous way up. It was along this route that we found an old Leopard trap whilst hiking with the Durbanville gang. Sanddrif, a mere 45kms on, is where the cool shaded campsite and flowing river will give us a well deserved opportunity to cool off after the day's travel.
Day Two
An early start with everyone up and ready to go, no complaints! Note to self: invite this crowd along again. The cool early morning is welcome but we know it will be a short lived pleasure before the sun and the climb gets us delicately glowing, as my ouma would say. The long climb up to the cracks, with frequent stops to admire the Red Sandstone cliffs of the Valley of the Red Gods and the ever expanding views of the Sanddrif Valley is soon over to everyones relief. A nesting Rock Martin give Dick and Ermien plenty of opportunity to take photos and a little further on a Rock Jumper shows Stella the way.
An altitude gain of 440m over a distance of about 3kms was a good workout.
Nesting Rock Martin
So after a bit of debating about whether we should climb up onto the ledge or go under the impossible looking boulder, Ermien and I opt for the chockstone route while the rest follow Helen who has already climbed up on the ledge and is hauling up backpacks.
A wriggle under a chockstone, a short ledge to traverse and we are in the fabled cracks. To explain the experience will never do the cracks justice.
All the dickybirds line up on the bridge with our photographer Dick having set the camera and making a mad dash to get into position of nonchalance. Much oohing and aahing and even more photos before we started up the funnel towards the postbox.
I had a knot in my stomach and a rope in my backpack as the last time we were here I could not fit through the postbox and Charles hauled me over the top leaving a trail of skin along the way. Well despite my concerns I FITTED and wriggled through, a first for me. The only explanation is that someone must have excavated under the rock.We stop for a tea break and to admire the Skurweberge in the distance. Wolfberg Arch lies a further 4kms away with a gain of about 120m in elevation. So most of the terrain is fairly flat but the day is steadily getting hotter.
A pair of Klipspringers en route both studiously ignore us as we stage whisper and take numerous photos. 
Glimpses of the Arch in the distance can be seen along the route as it gets steadily bigger and bigger. This monumental arch has been carved out over the centuries by wind water and heat.
The return trip is a fantasy of rock castles, dragons and other imaginary interpretations of the rock shapes. Our descent via the 1st Crack is a much easier route. The cool shaded camp beckons down below and the inviting river waits to cool us off.
A lamb knuckle potjie and copious amounts of wine round off a wonderful day.Dick has us literally rolling on the ground with his hilarious demonstration of a Dutch air force drinking game.Day Three
After breaking camp we take a short drive to the Stadsaal Caves and marvel at the San rock art of elephant. Elephant in the Cederberg? Yes believe it or not in the 1660’s elephant were plentiful in this area.
Another short drive (the heat at this stage is far too much to even contemplate a walk) takes us to
the Stadsaal Caves, a labyrinth of sandstone tunnels, caves and overhangs.
The historic graffiti with some prominent historic figures leaving their mark on the rocks, is easily found. A little higher up the names of prominent National Party leaders can be seen, their names well on their way to being obliterated by stone throwing objectors. At what point does graffiti become of historic importance? My advice: don’t be tempted to add your name to the list, the Caves are a National Monument and are protected by law. We drive out passing the historic Maatjiesrivier where the office of the Leopard Trust is located. The Leopard Trust was set up to protect the Cederberg leopard and has made large gains since its establishment.
Cederberg Oasis provided a wonderful refueling stop with fresh toasted sandwiches and a dunk in the pool being most welcome. We can see a noticeable difference between the vegetation on the one side of the road compared to the other. On the left we have the Rooi Cederberg Karoo type of vegetation and on the right Cederberg fynbos.
The drive through Grootrivier Pass, Blinkberg Pass past Houdenbek and Op de Berg down the Gydo Pass and into Ceres is a reminder that we promised to visit the Tankwa Karoo soon. Any takers on a trip? The next in a series of beautiful passes is the Michells Pass built by our old friend Andrew Bain in 1846 heading in the direction of Wolsely. This pass follows the Hex river as it winds its way through the Hex River Mountains.
The next pass to bag is Bains Kloof Pass. The route that was to become Bains Kloof Pass was discovered by Andrew Geddes Bain in 1846, while he was supervising the building of Michell’s Pass. On completion of Michell’s Pass, Bain tackled the Bains Kloof Pass which was completed in September 1853. The 18km Pass runs from Wellington over the magnificent Limietberg and high above the Witte Rivier. Today’s road retains much of the original road as its foundation.
A last stop on Baines Pass gives us the opportunity to admire the view towards Wellington and in the distance Paarl Rock and then it’s the last leg home.
A wonderful trip with many highlights and beautiful memories to last a life time has come to an end.
