With the threat of some possible inclement weather 5 brave or maybe naive souls set out from Cape Town in order to walk the Horingberg circuit and clear up 2 critical areas where the path was blocked by dense vegetation. We did this with kind permission from Cape Nature.
The weekend started off slowly despite the early start from Cape Town and maybe could rather be titled, “Breakfast at Tredici’s” as part of the team ended up there for breakfast. The other part of the team had to forego the famous roosterkoek at Buffeljagsriver because of the impossibly long queues and rather settle for some coffee and pies.
We eventually got going on the steep and unrelenting incline up to the Helderfontein huts enjoying the amazing vistas along the way.
We ascended via the Saagkuilkloof route and it is always a pleasure to take the well-constructed path through the steep sided valley. They really knew how to build trails in the old days.
We reached the huts in the misty late afternoon and were pleasantly surprised as the one hut has had its roof fixed. There were mixed reactions to the picnic tables that have recently been set up at the huts. It somehow doesn’t feel right but then again it did make for a nice dinner spot. There has been an attempt to fix up the dry toilet near the hut but you have to do a bit of a balancing act to “get into position”.
With the onset of day 2 came the first serious path clearing upwards towards Grootberg. Having recently burnt in the last year or two it was easy to clear the burnt proteas from the path. From Grootberg there is a beautiful view across Boosmansbos to Horingberg. Then a sweeping slope downwards curving towards the left and then up a hill and down a narrow ridgeline – hiking deluxe. Most of the path is still on trail although there are still sections that need clearing.
But the day was not at an end. Dropping down into the saddle before Horingberg we walked into the dense protea overgrowth we had come to clear. Here the loppers became a weapon of mass destruction. One can walk and snip at the same time. Eventually we broke our way through only to face more proteas heading up the opposite slope. Fortunately, these were easily negotiated and we wearily made our way up the slope to the little stream running off Horingberg where we set up camp
The next morning we woke up to light misty rain which made navigation difficult as we worked our way up the steep grassy slope towards Horingberg peak. But we found the path and started our steep descent of Horingberg down multiple switchbacks. We spent much of the morning clearing plants off the path in the low cloud cover, but eventually the clouds lifted and we were treated to some amazing views.
We spent the afternoon along a beautifully constructed old trail, cutting out a path through some thick fynbos. This was made bearable as we were passing through massed fields of pink Erica’s coupled with some dramatic lighting through passing rain clouds.
Again, the day was not over as we had to negotiate our way down a steep and narrow overgrown section. With darkness rapidly approaching we took a steep detour down, bashing our way through thick fynbos, often way above head height, and wearily ended up in a delightful patch of forest with a gurgling coffee coloured stream. Bliss.
In the morning we finished clearing the last 150 metres of path and wearily made our way up the hill back to the cars at the Cape Nature offices. For once my hands looked like my shins look like after a weekend of walking through fynbos.
But the weekend was not over. We convinced ourselves to drive up the beautiful and newly tarred Tradouw pass and ended up at Diesel & Crème in Barrydale for milkshake and burgers. Truly the cherry on top of an epic and deeply satisfying long weekend. The Horingberg circuit is now open and would appreciate some foot traffic in order to keep it open. But please take your GPS along as you are going to lose the path in places. The original trail is on Garmin Africa and on the Mapy.cz App. And if you feel the need to express some pent-up energy, take along a pair of loppers and carrying on snipping.
Pictures: Andre Peshier, Andres Teagle, Andrew Young
