Tag Archives: adventure

Cape Trip day 12: Simonsberg

When I booked my Cape trip, I had considered flying home on the Monday. When I saw the price of tickets for that day, I opted to stay an additional day and have a go at one of the easiest peaks on the 1km prominence list – Simonsberg. I first noticed Simonsberg as I came […]

Cape Trip days 9 to 11: Hex Mountains

I have found comparisons between mountains in the Cape and the Drakensberg to be unfair. The appeal of both is very different – the Drakensberg is always going to win on scale and altitude, while the Cape has better quality rock for climbing, as well as the peaks being more separate and thus generally more […]

Cape Trip day 7: Sneeukop (Skurweberge)

The Skurweberg is a small mountain range north of Ceres and south of the Koue-Bokkeveld – or, more specifically, in the middle of nowhere. At 2070m, Sneeukop is the highest summit in the range. With the Leeurivier (Lions River) separating the Skurweberge from the Koue-Bokkeveld at an altitude below 1000m, the range is effectively separate […]

Cape Trip days 5 and 6: Tulbagh and Saronsberg

When I decided to attempt to climb all 24 mountains with at least 1000m topographic prominence in South Africa, the main objective was to come up with a way of ensuring I get to visit some obscure mountains that are rarely climbed. Some won’t be particularly interesting, but some will be real gems – this […]

Cape Trip day 4: Tafelberg (Cederberg)

Sunday had been the reserve day for Sneeuberg, but with the summit completed on Saturday, my first bonus peak of the trip would be Tafelberg. At 1969m, it is generally listed as the second highest summit of the Cederberg – a statistic that my data is in consensus with. And with approximately 950m topographic prominence, […]

Cape Trip Day 3: Sneeuberg (Cederberg)

Driving into Clanwilliam, I first saw the legendary Krakadouw Peak that looms over the town. A writeup on the Cederberg had stated that it was one of the most worthwhile hikes in the region – and seeing it, I can believe that. I stopped in the town to buy a few items of food before […]

Cape Trip day 1: Sebrakop

The story of how an obscure mountain in the Piketberge named Sebrakop came to be a major hiking goal for me is a bit of a strange one. My tendency to over-analyse mountains is notable – but, in my defense, there are hundreds of thousands of mountains on the planet, and I likely won’t stand […]

Cape Trip day 8 – Cape Town Skyline Traverse

After 7 days, the final Saturday of my trip to the Western Cape had arrived. The plan for the day was simple – Cape Town has one of the most famous mountain skylines, with three distinct peaks. So naturally one has to start on the outer ridge of one peak, hike across all three and […]

Cape Trip Days 3 to 5 – Hex Traverse

When I was little, we used to have a box of tapes and accompanying books with the full text, I guess it would be called an audiobook today, although I don’t think the term was used at the time. The stories ranged from full fiction, such as Grogre the Ogre, to South African heroic history […]

Cape Trip day 1 – Du Toit’s Peak

Du Toit’s Peak – SA’s most prominent mountain. What a spectacular and epic hike this was!