Wolkberg March 2018

Hi

Planning on doing wolkberg early March.
I am curious on the best area to visit.

Right now the plan is to drive up to the hut. From there head down into wonderwoud for 2 nights. I suspect the area will be slow going so not really planning on doing much more. Unless there are some lekka pools or falls in wonderwoud.

Also one random question.
How safe is the area to solo hike in terms of people or animal attack.
I have had some run ins with leopards but we were a group. And im no expert on leopard but i suspect a solo hiker would not be as intimidating.

Croco wrote: I have had some run ins with leopards but we were a group. And im no expert on leopard but i suspect a solo hiker would not be as intimidating.

You won't have an issue with leopards even on your own, on foot. If on the very rare chance you are in close contact they will back away with raised hands and standing your ground. I wouldn't worry about them at all. They are more afraid than you are. It goes without saying that to run towards them or advance to one if cornered would have a very different outcome. You can speak to some game rangers to confirm this

Cool thx Adrian T. Leopards are always my biggest fear when bunu bashing. Dont know why. Perhaps i was mauled to death by one in a previous life.


I have attached a KMZ file. There is one area i am concerned with. Not sure if it will be passable.
If anyone can have a look that knows the area it will be greatly appreciated to have a look.

Hi Croco,

I am unable to open your attached KMZ file.

If you read the hike reports listed on the Wolkberg category there is one underlining message, it's tough!! Don't underestimate the Wonderwoud, it gets really tough with a backpack in dense vegetation.
Tracks and campsites are not marked, GPS or really good map skills are essential.

You have an added challenge in that its rainfall season, good to find drinking water but there are some rivers that may pose a problem if swollen by local rain!

As for waterfalls and swimming pools, on your way down from the Serala Forest Station, to Klipkraal there is a Tufa waterfall, not only a cool swimming spot but worth reading up on how the Tufa has evolved and exactly what a privilege it is to see!
Down at Klipkraal there are three awesome pools and waterfalls. Klipkraal is easy to get to and your last "civilized" camp if you heading into Wonderwoud.

Should you require any tracks or maps and can't find them on VE, give me a shout I'm sure I can did up my old info and send onto you.

Regards,

I put a picture.

The plan is to drive to the MCSA hut and hike from there past cleo falls. We will be staying a minimum of 100 meters away from the stream closer towards the cliffs once in wonderwoud.
Find the big falls and try to scramble up the left side.

On the topo map the left looks plausible.I read the reports on how dense wonderwoud is.

And i wonder if its like this everywhere in the forest or only closer to the waters.
I've been in some serious dense stuff before. The kind where 50 meters an hour is making good time. Also the kind where you eventually lie in fetal position crying for 30 minutes before mustering up the strength to continue.

For that reason we will have 3 waypoints on route once the forest. If we don't reach one of them in the allocated time we turn back.

From personal experience i find its much quicker to not use a machete but to instead walk backwards and fall the vegetation flat. You cover ground much quicker this way and save a lot of energy. Falling requires very little effort.

We have opted to rather do a recon mission.
Seeing as we have no idea what the terrain is really like. It will be a scouting mission to get a feel for the terrain and most importantly, scouting the gorge doing down into wonderwoud for plausibility.

Croco, the path down the steep ridge / cliff South of the pools / waterfall is dangerous and loose - it was popular long ago but have deteriorated over recent years. Experience / good judgement is essential. A rope and other gear may be also needed but be warned that should you want to turn back that there may not be suitable anchors to help you escape. Don't know your experience but take care.

Most of the gullies leading South into the forest has been explored but I recall some of them are scrambles / "rock passes" - fading memory does not help to check whether the marked one are one of those.

The line you drew between the MCSA hut and what you called "Friday night" has cliffs but from the bottom you should be able to see which of the gullies are passable (the climbing there is rather sketchy and the moss and lichen will pushes the adventure value of the rock routes up to a level which brings very very few climbers back for a second try).

Thx Deanvdm

I am becoming increasingly concerned about the area south of cleo falls.
I've seen pics of people abseiling down, and other pics of people rock climbing down.

Not keen on either.
Is it possible to walk the area at all without ropes?

Hi Croco.

We were a group of 2 guys and 3 ladies that hiked from the MCSA hut, went down and up that bit after Cleo's pools through a small bit of the Wonder Woud on our way to the Devils Knuckles last year. Was a long day hike, ie everyone had light packs. We were all outdoor people and reasonably fit, it is steep but managed everything without ropes in clear weather and if I did it again with the same type of group and weather I still wouldn't take ropes for that part, but that might just be the youth in me (for today still I'm only 30 years young) and personal preference. If you've got someone who is terribly afraid of heights it would be a challenge.

Btw there is a map with the main hiking trails on Rob Thomas' School for Mountain Leadership web site under navigational data at: sml.co.za/publicdocs.php