Our group of 11 was so lucky with the weather. The forecast showed rain due before and after our trip with reasonable temperatures in between. Well – the day before we arrived the area around Groot Winterhoek Reserve had received 90 mm in 20 minutes! (No typo!) As a result, the rivers and streams were fuller and livelier than usual at this time of year!
Day-1: The gravel road sections to Dasklip Pass and to our accommodation on Berghoff Farm were rather a challenge to our cars – very corrugated. And Dasklip Pass was shrouded in heavy mist. We had all arrived by 12:00, offloaded our gear, had our pre-packed lunches, after which we set off for our first walk at 13:30 in cool, overcast weather. The route was a there-and-back of about 4 km on Berghoff Farm through lush fynbos, not all in flower. The erica inflata (aptly named because it looks like a little bright pink half-inflated balloon – photo) was plentiful. It was the lively streams that required a bit of negotiation, more so than usual. At our destination the waterfall was gushing and several of the party ventured one at a time into the splash pool below it (photo) while others just enjoyed the natural surroundings with a snack.
Back at our accommodation the female members helped with supper preparations – peeling and cutting the many vegetables for our potjie, after which there was free time on the wide verandah to enjoy the view and socialise with snacks. The distant mountains were still under heavy cloud, but the kopje close by had an ethereal glow in the late afternoon.
Day-2: The day dawned beautifully clear with a possible high of 24 degrees. The plan was to do the permit admin quickly at the Cape Nature Offices about 3 km from the farm, while the rest of the party looked at information boards in the parking area, about 100 m away. Nope, indemnity forms had to be filled in by each hiker, so back down the road, scrounging for pens to speed up the signing, back to the office where meanwhile the permit had been filled in with all the Wild Card numbers. Off we went, a little later than planned, along the reasonably boring jeep track for some distance before the turnoff path to De Tronk is reached. (Photo) And then it’s just pure, wonderful Wilderness (photos). On this there-and-back route of about 10 km we would only go as far as Crystal Pool on the Groot Kliphuis River en route to De Tronk. A lengthy section was recovering well from a fire which had possibly been sparked by an electric pole last April! Because of the recent deluge the wide (not high) waterfall was streaming well and the pool was at its fullest, also chilly! (Photo) We spent an hour there with swimming and lunch before starting back. Just as we thought it was going to be rather warm on the return path, clouds started to gather and move in front of the sun, providing very pleasant coolth.
The rest of the afternoon was free for each to follow their own interests, socialise, snack while enjoying the changing light on the distant mountains now clearly visible. It was a treat to also identify Sneeuberg in the Cederberg. It was also very close to full moon which added to our pleasure. (Photo). Each evening Roy was our fire builder and he and Brian were sterling braaiers.
Day-3: This was to be the warmest day at 28 degrees so the shorter, almost level route to Disa Pool en route to Groot Kliphuis would be good. Meanwhile we had signed the next set of indemnity forms at our accommodation, speeding up the admin at the Cape Nature Offices. The path veers off almost immediately past the parking area, again straight into Wilderness. Just before the pool the terrain requires a bit more care to negotiate the big boulders and stream. When we arrived at the pool we found a small party of overnight hikers there so decided to first go to the ‘Petrified Forest’ a few minutes’ walk further along the Groot Kliphuis route. The main ‘log’ really even looks sawed off at the one end (photo). We stayed there for some time so that some of us could explore amongst the huge rocks (photo) while others walked on a short distance and others just chilled. Back at Disa Pool our group was now free to enjoy the long pool and have lunch there (photo). We were light heartedly wondering if it was named because of disas there in season, and truly, Ann, who had sat a little distance away, saw a very late, deep red one! (Photo).
From there, instead of making it a there-and-back route, we diverted to Protea Pool on the Groot Kliphuis River, making it a triangular route totaling about 7 km. Again, while wondering about its name, Jean confirmed that she had seen a very-past-its-prime Giant protea on the bank! Because a section of the route seemed to be new we did not know how long it would take us to get back to the cars and we had made an appointment with the farmer, so the visit at Protea Pool was very short. While the others had a snack on the path, only Trevor and Gael had a quick dip in the relatively unexciting but warmer pool, Gael proclaiming that it should never be said that she ever let a swim opportunity pass her by!
Once back at the cars we drove to the protea packing shed on Berghoff Farm where the co-owner, Margot Huysamer, met with us to talk about the workings on a protea farm. As a treat each of us was given a bunch of various hybrid proteas that they cultivate and market (photos).
The rest of the afternoon provided free time to all, followed by supper (photo) and a quick Easter egg hunt before heading off to bed.
The next, our last morning we woke up to low mist which had fortunately lifted by the time we left for home around 9:00, and it was a pleasant surprise to find that terribly corrugated stretch below Dasklip Pass had been graded to a smooth surface! As we drove home, we could see the heavy weather towards Cape Town – we had had our gap!
