Cederberg Crystal Pools Hike : When hikes are near, friends are few!

Years of nagging finally paid off and my friends agreed to do a Cederberg Hike. As more and more details became clear and the date drew near, the guest list shortened. In the end there were just 4 who were willing to trust my yet-to-be-tested navigation and survival skills!

Maps were photostatted, hiking fraternity consulted, gear begged for and borrowed until we were in a fashion, ready. Since we only had a weekend, and one of the conditions of the hike was that there would be a hut nearby if all hell broke loose with the weather, we opted for a short Crystal Pools hike with 1 overnight.



We camped on the Friday night at Algeria Campsite (very resorty but served its purpose) and headed off at around 9am on Saturday morning in the direction of the waterfall and Middelberg Hut. For some regrettable reason I decided to leave my bulky camera behind.


Not too far below the Middelberg Hut is a lovely deep pool (not marked but just off the track) and we stopped here for a swim and a snack. The water was icy but I never pass up a mountain swim in memory of my dear hiking friend Maria who would swim even if she had to break the ice to do so. From here we made for Crystal Pools via Grootlandsvlakte and the very scenic ravine at Wildehoutdrif - a steep zigzagging climb. The pools themselves have thick vegetation along the west side and you can't actually spot them from the path, until you are literally stepping over some very clear water and explore a little further. The pools are lovely, though quite popular and busy. There were about 3 other hiking groups and when we arrived at 4ish, the good sleeping spots had been taken. Our group tried to get some coffee brewing on my new little camping stove with tablet fuel with absolutely no success (I purchased it online and can't think of its name right now - but its a metal triangle that folds to credit card size with fuel tablets. Well it was absolutely rubbish. I tested it at home in the kitchen, but with the slightest little breeze and even using a tinfoil collar, the darn thing wouldn't light). While the others were fighting with my stove gadget, I went exploring to find us a spot to sleep. It was a fine evening, with a slight chilly breeze but certainly no excuse for sleeping in the hut! Higher up the mountain was a rock shelter of sorts and enough level ground to lay a few sleeping bags.

Early to bed, early to rise. Around early morning coffee we discussed the route back. I offered 2 proposals - a loop around (not up) Sneeukop, Cederberg's highest peak at 1929m, which I was dying to see for a future summit, or back down the ravine and then veering along a southern trail home. My subtle hints on the magnificence and wonders of Sneeukop were of no use and we headed back along the same route. A small detour around Grootlandskop took us past Die Gat and then it was a steep descent towards the Uitkyk Pass road. To my surprise, we passed the leopard cam all the way at the bottom near the houses - would the leopards really come so close to the road and people? We walked for a while near the riverbank and indeed, we saw some nice sized spoor. I measured them and later contacted The Cape Leopard Trust to check my facts. They looked small but the Cederberg leopard is a lot smaller than its plains cousin so I thought we might be in luck. Turned out to be a caracal, which is also exciting, but still I hope to spot a mountain leopard or its spoor one day. We arrived back at Algeria around 12:30 and ate much of what we had carried around the mountains for lunch with our feet in the cool stream.


All in all, an enjoyable 2 day hike. A fairly easy option, short and closer to Cape Town than other Cederberg routes and a particularly good choice in hot weather with plenty of water along the way.

PS. Elizabeth from the Cape Leopard Trust tells me the female (cape mountain) leopard tracks are 6 - 6.5cm, males are 7 - 8cm, so what we saw was most likely caracal. But there are 2 leopards in that Algeria/Uitkyk area, both collared.


For more Cederberg info and bookings contact Cape Nature