Meet the hikers
MIA LOUW
You sometimes forget how far north the Drakensberg stretches, all the way beyond Kaapsehoop in Mpumalanga. My husband Hancu and I often explore this area on day hikes, and we’ve also done the Kaapsehoop Trail (60km, 4 days). Like the Fanie Botha (p88), it’s run by Safcol (South African Forestry Company SOC Limited).
There’s another Safcol hike on my radar: the Magoebaskloof Trail (62 km, 5 days). You see the impressive Debengeni Falls along the way, as well as the tallest planted tree in Africa – a 81,5 m-tall Sydney blue gum in the Woodbush Forest Reserve.
Hiking is a good reminder that you don’t need much to enjoy life. You do need hiking gear, of course, but when I’m on top of a remote mountain peak, I forget about all the humdrum, day-to-day stuff. Hiking changes your perception of time: You go to bed earlier, wake earlier and notice that small things take more time and effort, like stoking a donkey boiler for hot water. Life has a different rhythm on a hike. It helps me relax.
MIA’S FAVOURITES
Local trail: The High Five Trail in the Skurweberg near Machadodorp (previously called the Num-Num Trail). It’s a 30 km, four-day hike and it offers the biggest variety of biomes and views I’ve ever encountered. Each camp has a
