12 May 2007    to      13 May 2007

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Finally a hike again. We had done Kranskloof a couple of years ago. At that time the weather had not been very good, so we did not remember it as a great hike, but decided to try it again. This time we really enjoyed it. There was only six of us this time. Silvia and myself were the first to arrive followed by Rob, Markus and Petro and Kerneels who arrived later in the evening. The base camp had a nice view over a small dam and consists of four huts, braai areas and a kitchen. Its a very nice cozy little camp.

As it was getting towards winter we all sat around the fire that evening....well....summer or winter...we always do that!

Ready to roll.....with John Wayne Mustard leading.

The first stretch takes one over grassland, with small patches of Wattles and Blue gum in-between.

To cross or not to cross.....that is the question......

Eventually one starts heading down towards a valley.

A large mushroom shaped rock which makes a good stopping point.

Around the next bend the trail descends into the valley proper.

Once inside the valley the trail follows a small stream that still had water in it despite the drought.

At the end of the valley one climbs a cliff and then its less then a km to the overnight hut.

The Kranskloof camp is secluded amongst a patch of trees and consists of three huts, Kitchen, Donkey and very nice braai area. Its a very nice camp. There was plenty of wood available and we really enjoyed our stay here!

Ein Einblick in die Natur der zukünftigen Mitglieder des Vorstands der Hannover Rückversicherung. Wie man sieht, ist das Rückversicherungswesen der Welt in guten Händen!

Another relaxing evening around the camp fire.

Next morning we were all up nice and early. A short climb up the first cliff.

The trail then follows the cliff face.

The area is full of Aloes. Shortly after this there is another long climb to the top of the surrounding cliffs. That’s when the fun began. Old traditions die hard and Rob promptly....took awhile...to get us lost again. Half way through the climb there is a T-junction. Rob and most of the others wanted to go left as we were supposed to head up the valley. However after about 200m the trail disappeared. The correct way is to turn right at the T-junction as my instinct and distant memory told me. Ahh...we have to have one of these in all our hikes otherwise it would just not be such a fulfilling hike!

No...Rob is not lost again....this is the actual path.

It runs along a narrow cliff for awhile. Eventually we got to a very nice waterfall where we had a break.

The last stretch of the trail is through very long stretches of grassland. The second day is tougher than the first as one has to climb back up all the distance that one went down the previous day, but we all enjoyed the trail thoroughly! It was very well marked and maintained and the camps are great!