Rim of Africa Conservation Mega-trail

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Photo by flickr user michael clarke stuff

The Rim of Africa Mountain Passage is a grand idea painted large on the grand canvas of the Cape Fold Mountains. At its heart is the dream of creating biodiversity conservation corridors and tourism linkages from the northern Cederberg in South Africa’s Western Cape province, to the Outeniqua mountains of the Southern Cape. I was privileged to be one of the mega trailists who walked the inaugural first 120km stage from Pakhuis Pass to the Koue Bokkeveld mountains.

We left our camp below Pakhuis Pass on a grey, misty day and our steps would be dogged by cold fronts and rain, except for the balmy days of our passage through the central Cederberg wilderness area from the Crystal Pools area to just north of Middelberg Pass. For me, those middle days were the highlights, especially when we skirted what would become known to the group as “the rim” between Bakleikraal and Breekkrans Valley. On that particular day one could literally see forever to the west, mountain ridge upon valley, as we raced a rapidly-closing cold front to our next campsite at Slangboshoek.

The trail was often tough – especially for those with less than optimal gear – always spectacular and uplifting, seldom a slog. We gazed out on vistas that few local hikers will ever see and listened to the utter silence of the rock and the metallic click of our walking poles as we picked our way south.

Two days and about 40km short of our objective, a cold front that had been dogging our steps for days finally chased us down the mountain. It was an epic – a walk of no ordinary proportion, as the organisers had aptly described it.

Ralph Pina's Rim of Africa Google Map.

Written by  Ralph Pina.

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