Magaliesberg overnight hikes

23 Mar 2015 14:52 #63143 by Wezleyb
Hi everyone.

I am looking for a 2 day hike, 1 x night in tents in the Magalies / Rustenburg area.

There are a couple of sites with hiking routes online but I would prefer getting advice from some of the people on this forum.

We have camped at Mt. Sanctuary before and did a day hike while we were there which was great, but I don't think we went on further beyond at the back of the park. (maybe something we should explore)

Can anyone advise on the best and adventurous hikes where tents are allowed on this area please :-) I was told about how amazing some of them are but can unfortunately not remember any of the names of where these were..

Thank you in advance

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23 Mar 2015 15:10 #63144 by Josh of the Bushveld
Castle Gorge is a great option. Spent 2 nights in a tent on top there a few years ago, was magical.
As far as I know, the only places where you can tent overnight belong either to Jo'burg Hiking Club or MCSA. Easiest way to gain entry is to become a member.

There are some hutted overnight trails in the area, I have done some in the past. Let me know if you'd like more info on those.

Please also let me know if you organise a trip up to Castle Gorge or anywhere else, I'd be keen to join (check the Upcoming Hikes thread).
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23 Mar 2015 15:52 #63145 by Wezleyb
Thank you very much joshilewis!

Sounds like a plan then :-) Will passes do the trick? I really hope so..

Where would we gain access to the park/hike? Looking at going in 2 weeks, it should still be nice and wet around the area.

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23 Mar 2015 20:59 - 23 Mar 2015 21:03 #63149 by intrepid
Upper Tonquani and Cederberg, next to Mountain Sanctuary Park are real classics in my opinion. A permit must be obtained from the MCSA before the time for non-members (unless members are present and the one member-one guest arrangement covers all non-members in the group) - this is also the case for Castle Gorge.

There are several places open to the public in addition to Mountain Sanctuary Park. You can camp at designated sites at these places though not necessarily out in the wild. These places include: Bergheim (providing access to Fernkloof), Kranskloof (Bartlets farm), and Kumbagana (I'm not sure that the latter offer tented camping). Kranskloof is the upper section of what is otherwise known as Grootkloof - you can camp there too but this also needs an MCSA permit for non-members. Kumbagana provides access to the upper section of Hamerkopkloof (the lower half is owned by the Hamerkop Mountain Trust - the Joburg Section of the MCSA has a legal servitude to access the kloof but does not issue permits, though each member may take a guest along).

Kgaswane Mountain Reserve offers two very scenic overnight trails - which are hutted, not tented.

Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Last edit: 23 Mar 2015 21:03 by intrepid.
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24 Mar 2015 08:16 #63154 by Josh of the Bushveld
My mention of the hutted trails refers to the Kgaswane trails. I have done one of them twice. Really enjoyed it both times. Its well paced for a day hike, the facilities are pretty good, and there's a good amount of wildlife to be seen, including sable.

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07 Apr 2015 18:41 #63322 by Wezleyb
Hey Joshilewis, just a quick question. You mentioned "sleeping on top". Is it possible to actually take your tents (after getting a permit) and actually camp in the bush when doing castle george?

Can you please specify where you spent the night?

Thanks

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09 Dec 2018 00:58 #74338 by Presley
Good day, I trust everyone is doing well. Wow after hours and hours of searching for a website/forum I finally foh d one at 12:55am. Hahaha. 

I would like to do an overnight 2-3days hiking in the magaliesburv. Anyone who can send me a route or give advice on where to start and end. Please feel free to suggest no go zones to and If theirs anyone doing the overnight hiking  soon kindly hala at me would be nice to to venture together. 

Regards 
Presley 

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10 Dec 2018 09:26 #74341 by vivo101
Hey Presley...Welcome to the forum

The Megaliesberg is difficult for overnight hikes due to the shear amount of private properties you have to cross, some of these also include MCSA properties. There are no marked routes and you have to climb various fences along the way, which the landowners are not to keen on. However after this disclaimer.....If you still wish to proceed I would advise doing it in fall/winter, summer is boiling hot, the megalies is also bone-dry at the moment. We attempted a traverse of the megalies a couple of weeks back and bailed about 25km in 38C plus heat and no water, although the recent rain might have changed this. A good place to start is near Kommando nek in harties (Near the new road construction), from here you just follow the ridge line and trig beacons as far as you wish. These can be followed all the way to Olifantsnek dam near Rustenberg, approximately 70km. MCSA has a collection of topographic maps of the region on their website, I would however atleast pay the entrance fees to all the MCSA properties you wish to cross. Properties like Rustig offer overnight "hikes"...more like gentle early morning strolls...which are easier options. Note that the Megaliesberg is some very tough hiking, the rock formations and gorges are tough to travel through. 

I hope you find this somewhat helpfull.

"To those who are enthralled by mountains, their wonder is beyond all dispute. To those who are not, their allure is a kind of madness." - Mountain

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11 Dec 2018 04:11 - 11 Dec 2018 04:22 #74349 by intrepid
Welcome to VE Presley.

I have merged your post with an older thread which may give some ideas, please have a look through the older posts.

The Magaliesberg Traverse does present a land access issue, as vivo101 has mentioned. There is a separate thread for it on this forum. Note that some farmers will not take kindly to you accessing their land without permission.

Consider the more established areas and routes below:

Kgaswane Mountain Reserve has two, hutted overnight trails, both of which are scenic, and there is game to be seen. The Baviaanskrans Route is the one that takes you close to the waterfall which is otherwise out of bounds.
www.tourismnorthwest.co.za/kgaswane-mountain-reserve/

As mentioned, Rustig also offers an overnight hike on their privately owned land:
www.rustig.co.za/13km-overnight-hiking-trail/

You can access Fernkloof through Bergheim resort. Generally this is a day hike and you camp at the resort but you can ask them about overnight hiking in the area - though, you very quickly cross over into other private property from there.

The MCSA owns, and has access to, some of the best spots for hiking, kloofing, and definitely for rock climbing. They do offer permits for accessing some of these for non-members.
The links and maps that vivo mentioned are here:
mcsajohannesburg.org/climbing-and-hiking-venues/nw/
mcsajohannesburg.org/maps/
Of the various MCSA venues, the Cederberg-Tonquani-Boulderkloof areas as well as Castle Gorge are definitely very worthwhile for overnight camping, but these are not the only options. Again, please respect the permit system and consider the land access issue, especially when accessing these venues. The MCSA puts in a considerable effort to maintain this access for hikers and climbers which includes a lot of negotiation with other private land owners.

Please also have a look through the Magaliesberg day hiking thread for further ideas.

In addition to the land access issue, please also be aware that there are security problems that hikers and climbers face there. Some updates are posted in this forum from time to time but please inquire at the venue where you intend to go about the current situation.

Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Last edit: 11 Dec 2018 04:22 by intrepid.

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11 Dec 2018 11:41 #74356 by Presley
Hi there, Thank you very much for your input and effort on your feedback. It was so helpful. 

Regards 
Presley 

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