Life Trove: Cedarberg

Amazingly, my fist experience of the Cedarberg and what an introduction! The Wolfberg Cracks and Arch is undoubtedly, one of the best hikes I have ever done. Russell was the perfect guide and companion.

Highlights included:

A refreshing swim in the river at the Sandrif Campsite where we spent the first night.
Exploring the nearby bushman's paintings and a cave and getting my first taste of the amazing sculptured rocks of The Cedarberg.
Jo's delicious Coronation Chicken for dinner.
Driving to the start of the hike after a bit of trouble unlocking the gate with the combination code we had been given. The short drive took us through some stunning rock formations.
A relatively steep walk up the slope of the mountain but blessed with lots of cloud cover that didn't make the climb too hot.
Getting up to base of the cracks where we had a well earned rest. I was beyond delighted when a Cape Rockjumper came to say hello, a bird I have always wanted to see. Very inquisitive and tame, it allowed me to take some great photos with my iphone.
Ascending up through the narrow crack which is the more adventurous way up. It was extremely narrow in places with some boulder scrambling and quite challenging with our backbacks, but I loved every minute of it.
Emerging out of the cracks onto the plateau of the mountain which provided another wonder-world of sculptured rocks and a surprising array of lovely plants and flowers.
A five kilometer walk to The Wolfberg Arch which was longer than we expected but provided more great scenery, especially of the soaring Wolfberg Rocks close to the arch.
Sitting at the base of The Wolfberg Arch and looking out onto the spectacular view. Here we met two very friendly hikers who arrived shortly after us.
Friendly buntings who came to say hi.
Going off to find a geocache near the arch that took us to some particularly beautiful sculptured rocks.
A beautiful sunset that lit up the sky in flaming orange.
A camp dinner of dahl and vegetables that went down very well.
Sleeping under the spectacular stars without a tent. A little bit cold, but I had a good night.
Leaving early the next morning for our hike down as I had to meet Shirley Robinson in the early evening.
Seeing a lovely rabbit close up and some grysbok on the horizon.
Hiking down the wide cracks, much easier and more spacious than the narrow cracks we ascended through.
Another refreshing swim at the campsite before driving back.