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Can anyone comment on the viability (access / ownership issues) of doing a day summit round-trip to Nooitgedacht Towers by parking at Mountain Sanctuary Park ? The first leg as far as Red Gulley is doable (MCSA member) but thereafter I am unsure of access issues, and rather hesitant to be on the pointy end of a shotgun ! Not to worry about distance and navigation ... building up for the Mweni Marathon in May !

Speaking more broadly, can anyone suggest a reliable source as to what parts of the Magaliesberg (especially summit areas) are freely accessible (or at least accessible to the paying public as guests). Heard somewhere that the summit is considered "common grazing" to landowners and their guests - but still need to substantiate this (and then figure out what a "guest" is - e.g. would a paying visitor at Mountain Sanctuary Park be a "guest" ?

Thanks !

Curious myself as this sounds like a great hike! If I remember correctly, the Magalieberg section of the MCSA did a day hike up to the highest point in the North West, not too far from the towers (which fall in Gauteng), but I don't think they did it from Upper Tonquani approach. Then again, I remember hearing something about some confrontation between a farmer and hikers trying to get to the towers, but I think that was approaching from Breedt's Nek.

I would take this up with the Joburg section of the MCSA since they control permits for Tonquani. I think Roy Kendall is the land access guru, but I'm sure Uschi will point you to the right direction quite quickly.

Not sure about the common access rights to the summit, especially the closer you get to Hartbeespoort and Pretoria. In practice those sound like tricky areas. I think access from Bergheim kind-of works this way...my impression anyway.