Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Go back to Lucifer.
Go back to South Africa.

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Du Toits Kloof Mountains.

The following morning greeted us with socked in conditions and a light drizzle. We enjoyed a slow breakfast, packed up camp and made our way back down to the car in time for an in-town lunch.

Later that day, we drove to a trailhead in the Du Toits Kloof Mountains. The goal for the afternoon was to hike up to an alpine hut which would serve as the staging point for our next objective the following morning. Once again, Ross got some permits for us to access and park on private land. The hike, though mostly along a dirt mountain road, was scenic and largely painless. The views reminded us of the Dolomites and were nowhere close to any notion we might’ve had of South Africa. Our reward was a pretty and well maintained little hut (a generous donation to the Mountain Club of South Africa) with a stellar 360 degree alpine panorama and a killer swimming hole nearby. The only downside was a crowd of 6 hikers with whom we’d have to share the first night – nice, friendly folks though. Ross’s plan for the following morning smelled of an epic. Though the objective was clearly visible from the hut, the approach looked absolutely horrendous (bushwhack) and the descent seemed complex to say the least.

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Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Diamond hunting.

Up pre-dawn the following morning. Racked up and ready to go a half hour later…only to find socked in conditions outside. We dilly dallied outside the hut for an hour: go blindly or go back to sleep? In the end, we did not go. The thought of adding low visibility (for the approach, climb and especially descent) and rain potential to what was already shaping up to be a very hard day was too much to contemplate. Instead, we enjoyed a second breakfast and did a scenic, 6 hour hike up Winterberg Peak. Though the clouds mostly cleared by 11am, I can’t say that we had too many regrets. We were back at the hut in the early afternoon in time to enjoy the beautiful, black colored (vegetation and root tannins) swimming hole below the hut.

Photos

Cape Town

Amazing how much you can fit into a Corolla…including Shirley (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

A baboon (one of many) we saw on the drive. This one is posing against the backdrop of Paarl Rocks (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Packing up at a trailhead in the Du Toits Kloof Mountains. Looks a little like the Italian Dolomites, no?

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Preparing the precious cargo for the ~2 hour hike to the hut (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

The approach hike to the Agtertafelberg Hut starts out with a nice, juicy elevation loss of a few hundred meters (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Our planned objective is somewhere in this photo. The green ground cover is not grass…a significant bushwhack was in the making (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Final portion of the (scenic) hike to the Agtertafelberg Hut (owned by MCSA).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Shirley crossing a cool little suspension bridge right before the hut (right side of photo; Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Shirley ready for a nice fat pour of Pinotage. Photo by Ross (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

The bridge (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Shirley and Ross at the Agtertafelberg Hut. Cooking dinner and generally prepping for the following day’s fun (epic).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Shirley enjoying the ambiance of the hut with a mug of fine South African Pinotage (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Late the following morning, a intermittent break in the clouds. Summits would not clear till about 11am (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

The beautiful Agtertafelberg Hut in the Du Toits Kloof Mountains (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

The Elands River flowing just below the hut with its inviting swimming pools (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

The multi-scale beauty of the Du Toits Kloof Mountains (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Shirley enjoying the second breakfast after we decided not to go for our objective (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Filling up the hut’s water jugs in the morning (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Did I mention that Ross’s knowledge of local flora is extensive to say the least? He’s also an avid orchid “hunter”. Here’s one beauty Ross had found near the Agtertafelberg Hut (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Views from early on in our hike up Winterberg (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Pretty stunning – another flavor of protea (Dec. 2017)?

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Subtle beauty (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Mostly a gentle uphill hike (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Views abounded – both large and small (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Erosive forces at work on the area sandstone (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Du Toits Kloof Mountains (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Another species of orchid (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Shirley checking out a protea (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

A beautiful protea (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

A lunch break during our hike up to Winterberg’s summit.  Photo by Ross (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

More proteas (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

More views from the hike up Winterberg (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Pretty, pretty (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Union break (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Blood diamonds (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

More stunning proteas (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Views from the summit of Winterberg (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Shirley on the summit of Winterberg Peak (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Views were well worth the 3ish hour hike (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Almost back at the hut. Photo by Ross (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Dolomites (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

The hut and the swimming holes below (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Heading down to the water hole for a refreshing dip. Ross is five steps ahead (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Ross enjoying the natural pool. The color of the water is due to plant root tannins (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Shirley’s turn (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Our companion at the swimming hole (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Relaxing in the hut (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Careful with those baboons (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

In the afternoon, a smoke cloud suddenly appeared over the peaks (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Hiking out the next morning (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

What comes down must go back up…the uphill stretch right before the car (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Scoping out the climbing areas on the menu for after Christmas.  This is looking up at the Yellowwood Amphitheater.  Some wildfires have been burning (Dec. 2017).

Du Toits Kloof Mountains

Checking out the wildfires in progress (Dec. 2017).

Go to Cape Peninsula.
Go back to South Africa.