Day 326 / 91

Date: 4 March 2023
Sleeping location: “Wonder View” parking 24.8682S 30.8964E, South Africa
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 64 / 20204 / 5367
Estimated climb (m today/total/total Part 2): 1400 / 176700 / 58700
Sightseeing triathlon: 10km hike, 64km bike ride, 30 second swim

Day in three words: Canyon dig it?

After packing up I cycled to the resort’s restaurant and left Maggie there, then walked to the “upper viewpoint” of the resort to start the hike proper - on the way I saw three bouncy little deer bouncing around, plus some baboons. The views into the canyon were amazing, steep forested slopes and red cliffs dropping hundreds of metres to the river and clouds bumping around the peaks. The were a few rocky outcrops at the top and I spent a bit of time scrambling up and down them to get different views and pictures, then headed off down the Leopard Trail. The narrow path wound down the mountainside through small trees, and I went along somewhere between trail running and hiking, agile like the leopard. This was interrupted when I hit the back of a big group of non leopards, and I had to sneak past them one by one for ages until I was free again. Whenever we popped out between trees the views over the canyon were consistently spectacular. 

Near the bottom I changed on to the Guinea Fowl Trail and slowed down so I could cluck and peck at the ground a little more. The path ran along a small river for a bit and I had a delightful dip in one perfect pool, where the water was surprisingly brisk and incredibly refreshing. The path then wound up through more trees and purple flowering bushes, giving nice but unspectacular views and a peaceful vibe. The “lower viewpoint” was perfectly good, but compared to the “upper viewpoint” it was rubbish. Finally a trail with a weird name went through more quiet woodland, then up delightful babbling brook with lots of mini waterfalls and refreshing pools, back to the restaurant. I had a coffee and some waffles and reflected positively on my life choices.

Back on Maggie I rode a short distance along the edge of the escarpment that dropped down into the canyon before turning off to the Three Rondavels viewpoint. This was a 6km round trip involving more than 100m of climb, but definitely worth the detour, and the entry fee. There were three categories: South Africans paid 30R, internationals 70R, and the mysterious “SADC” paid 40R. I chose to interpret this as  Serious African Distance Cyclist*, said at the gate “I’m SADC” and was asked for 40R without further questioning. At the viewpoint proper I wandered around with a slack jaw most of the time - it was an absolutely incredible spectacle. There were near 270 degree views off the escarpment down into the canyon and back up the ridges and peaks on the other side, some of them rising over 1000m back up from the river. 

Further along the road was a second viewpoint, free for both SADCs and non SADCs, which was not as good but still incredibly beautiful. Standards had been raised. After this the road cut inland through grassy hills and pine forest which sort of reminded me of the Dales or the Highlands. It undulated but the climbs were tolerable and the descents were dead straight and extremely quick. For a late-ish lunch I had a burger and a beer at a place called the Chubby Pig in a beautiful riverside setting. I filled up water here for wild camping, which was wise as this was the last building of any kind that I passed.

  

After lunch I had a long but gradual 400m climb on a quiet and beautiful road, through a landscape of rock pillars and smaller gorges, then pine forest. There was nobody about, but at a small monument commemorating Louis Trichardt’s trek through this area were four guys, two of them seemingly dressed in period costume. They said hi and called me over, I guess to try and charge me for a photo with them, but I feigned misunderstanding and carried on. The whole thing was kind of surreal, in part because the guys were all black and the Voortrekkers most definitely weren’t.

 

Once finally at the top I had a big booming descent with a huge cloud shrouded mountain in the distance. I was actually cold whilst cycling to the point of putting a jacket on, for the first time since Rwanda.** I decided to aim for a place called Wonder View and look for a camp spot near the parking area. This required an occasionally steep 300m climb to end the day, up through more empty pine forest and some boggy grassland (on which I saw some more bouncy deer, neatly bookending the day), which took a while and again it was getting dark by the time I neared it. Cars by Gary Numan came on again and I made up some more lyrics to lift my spirits***. The parking area was smaller than expected but did have a perfect little patch of grass, and I gambled that absolutely nobody would be coming up here until morning, briefly checked out the darkening view - not wonderous at this point - pitched my tent and snuggled up to make dinner - weird sausage, pasta, chakalaka (a spicy tomato-based stew) and the rest of the previous night’s wine (which I had decanted into a plastic bottle). A really beautiful day in both senses of the word.

*It could also have been Super Amazing Davey, Cycling 

**By the end of the day I’d come up another 600m, for a total of 1200m since leaving the Lowveld at the bottom of Abel Erasmus, and it definitely felt autumnal up here.

*** Please be no cars, in the wild camping place, it's getting quite dark, and I could do with a space, with no cars