28 March 2009    to      29 March 2009

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How time flies! Another great weekend has come and gone. This time we re-visited the Sphinx trail in the Free State. The base camp has been moved to the Langesnek section and the entrance is at the Moolmanshoek Private Game Reserve. The great part to the weekend was that we had the whole trail to ourselves. Just Rob, Silvia and me. The base camp has all the facilities and we managed to get ourselves our own room with lounge.

The usual relaxing evening Braai/Barbecue.

That evening we had a really great sunset!

Next morning we hit the road. The trail first takes you about 2km to the farm house after which one walks through a Poplar grove and then a lane of Blue gums.

They have horse ridding here as well and a whole lot of them came running onto the pasture in front of us.

A small dam in the Poplar grove.

After awhile one gets to a sort of plateau from which there is a great view onto the plain below. Here we saw Wildebeest, Bontebok, and what looked like Hartebeest.

They had even put some big sandstone blocks out on the ridge to sit on and watch the animals below.

One could see it had not rained much this summer here too. All the streams had dried out and this little waterfall was just a trickle.

A small tyre ladder.

Eventually one reaches the top of a saddle where we had another break. The view was great from up here. There are also a lot of interesting stones up here.

From here the trail contours around the mountains.

Eventually not too far from the Sphinx overnight hut one climbs down into a small gorge.

The Sphinx overnight hut. The hut is very nice but I would say a bit dark and cramped if you have a big group. Also there is no Donkey for hot water but at least on this hike there was water! Two showers exist here. The place has a great undercover Braai area with plenty of wood and a nice kitchen. The Mens longdrop was falling to pieces though so we all had to use the Ladies instead. The whole hut and Braai area is built out of sandstone blocks. What amazed us is how they got those blocks over here!?

The day had been quite hot but as soon as the sun set behind the mountains the temperatures dropped rapidly. We still decided to sleep outside and the view of the stars was great!

The next day is a lot shorter but very scenic.

Along the way back you walk past the base of two pyramid like mountains.

A small rock overhang where we had a break.

A view of the plain below.

They have a shortcut back to the Langesnek base camp which is much more scenic than the route we took to get to the farmhouse on the day before. It basically comes out right behind the Langesnek base camp. All in all Sphinx was a great hiking trail well worth doing!