The Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve near Franschhoek is a special place, not least because it is home to the Western ridgeline of Adolfskop (1581m). Access to the ridge is guarded by the du Toits River, as well as a wide Sugarbush forest, so gaining the ridge demands some resolve. However, once attained, the ridge offers a playground of boulders and scrambles, and mountain vistas in every direction.
If you’re as lucky as we are, you’ll get inspected at close range by Verreaux’s eagles. The rare Silver Pagoda (Mimetes Argenteus) will find you. And you’ll wander over, around or right through various fascinating rock formations.
Once the seemingly lofty summit has been achieved, one is not yet out of the woods. The exit back towards more familiar Mont Rochelle hiking trails, is guarded by an unnamed hill best described as Faux Perdekop, since it is easily misidentified as the real Perdekop, which is 1.5km further to the North.
