On 10 July this poor group was meant to do the Limietberg Trail, but the ascent path was a stream. We postponed to 7 August, and once again the route had to be postponed for the same reason. It’s times like these that leaders tend to tear out their hair trying to find interesting and new alternatives as replacement. Last time it was the Hidden Waterfall in Banhoek, this time it was the Hawequas range.
The route starts at the Hawequas Scout Adventure Centre outside Wellington, on the lower slopes of Huguenot Kop. On this chilly morning our group of 13 ascended about 250m via the South Route, which curves around Mt Inglis to the Adirondack Shelter overlooking Wellington Valley and beyond. The Spruit river below was in full spate and it was indeed pleasant to follow the path some distance above it, hearing its lively sound. Leucospermum lineare (photo) and leucodendron rubrum (neither found in the Peninsula) were a treat to see.
After tea at the shelter (photos) we continued along the contour path, crossing the Dasbos River before ascending about 300m to the memorial plaque at the rock line of Huguenot Kop. This plaque commemorates the young student who fell to his death saving his dog in 1959. The ledge at the rock line was our lunch spot. (Photo) (The top of the white cross in the photo pinpoints almost exactly the shelf where we sat. It’s Trevor soaking up the small area of sun below the ledge, enjoying the peace.) From there we descended via the same ascent path. When it split into the North Route, we followed the latter with gentle gradients back to the cars. And, true to style, en route veteran Ivor tackled a pine (photo).
New for most of the party, it was a satisfying route, with paths through plentiful fynbos and changing views, taking 5 hours with breaks. Height gain: about 500m, distance: about 11km
PS: As we approached our parked cars after the hike we had a little surprise encounter with an unexpected little creature. This large crab was not charmed with the booted giants that were bearing down on him so he put up his claws to fend off the danger! (Photo).
