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Friday 5th January 2024
My friend, Ralph Pina, whom I have known since schooldays, suggested a hike in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve, when I paid them a visit in Rooi Els, located along the coastal R44 from Gordon’s Bay, east of Cape Town. The road is subject to a number of stop and go’s in places, owing to damage suffered as a result of it being washed away during heavy winter rainfalls. The plan in terms of a walk was to do the Oudebosch to Harold Porter Botanical Gardens Trail however after another local resident pulled out, a change of plan was required, given that a vehicle was parked at one end only.
The trail starts at the Cape Nature offices located a couple of kilometres into the park. A permit is required for the walk but Ralph had a wild card registered for two. For the first part, the 7.2km Oudebosch to Harold Porter Trail shares the route with the 22.9 Kogelberg circular route which Ralph and I had done before a number of years ago. The trail heads away from the Palmiet River past the ecologically-designed cabins that serve an up-market clientelle. The construction of a new eco- office complex and improvements to the jeep track into the reserve suggest a significant investment since my last visit. The parking area appeared full, suggesting that all the cabins were fully booked.
The path heads up the valley towards a nek that is naturally forested with indigenous trees, predominantly yellowwood, offering shelter from humidity and heat. The landscape is unspoilt and rich in fynbos. After emerging from the forest, where we doused our headgear in cold water from a stream, the path climbs as it crosses the stream before splitting into the two trails referred to. We reached the highest point on the shorter trail, where a wooden deck provides an opportunity of catching a first glimpse of the coastline in the distance. The path then drops down the slope until one reaches the top of a huge, steep gorge and waterfall, with vistas of Harold Porter and the Betty’s Bay coastline. At this juncture, owing to logistics, we had decided to return back along the same route to the Kogelberg offices.
Kogelberg Nature Reserve, east of Cape Town, is a nature reserve of 3,000 ha comprising the Kogelberg Mountain Range. With about 1600 plant species, it contains a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in the world.
The nature reserve forms the “core conservation area” within the 1,000-square-kilometre Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. As such, the nature reserve is surrounded by buffer zones of natural vegetation and environmentally friendly recreational areas, as well as transitional zones of environmentally aware farms and towns.
Read the full blog and view photo album and videos here.
Read the full blog and view photo album and videos here.
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