Trails: Karoo Hartland, Eastern Cape

Bushman
Trail Type: Mountain bike
Closest Town: Cradock
Description: Other 2-day loops on the Amatola Hiking Trail include the Evelyn, Dontsa and Zingcuka Loops. There are a number of entry and exit points on the main Amatola Trail. To arrange own transport.
Enquiries: Commando Drift Nature Reserve
Tel: + 27 (0)48 881-3925
Fax: + 27 (0)48 881-3119
e-mail: bird@eci.co.za

Bushman (was Aardvark)
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Cradock
Description: 3km/2 hours; easy; circular; in Commando Drift Nature Reserve; 4-bed overnight cabins/R36.00 per cabin per night; 4-bed chales 4 persons min/12 persons max; entrance fee at gate
Enquiries: Commando Drift Nature Reserve
Tel: + 27 (0)48 881-3925
Fax: + 27 (0)48 881-3119

Endurance
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Cradock
Location: From Tarkastad turn right after 30 km onto a smaller gravel road sign posted Commando Drift. From Cradock turn off the tarred R61 after about 10 km and follow the gravel road on the right to the sign posted approach road.
Description: Around the dam, fed by four rivers, lies the Commando Drift Nature Reserve, gradually recovering from a previous history of overgrazing. The dam is the focal point: bird life, large and small game, and dolerite and sandstone cliffs. A bird hide on the banks of the Tarka River is situated some 3 km from the accommodation area. It also accessible by vehicle. Amenities: the dam provides swimming, boating (canoes for hire) and angling. A self-catering chalet sleeps 6, three cabins sleep 4 persons each and there is a caravan park. The entrance to the reserve is just off the gravel road between Tarkastad and Cradock. This road may be in poor condition and should be negotiated with care.
Comments: 28km/2 day; difficult; circular; in a nature reserve; an overnight hut sleeps 12 people at the 16,8 km mark; 4 persons min/12 persons max; entrance fee at gate. The hike skirts the Commando Drift Dam. Hikers to bring their own sleeping bags, food and eating utensils.
Enquiries: Commando Drift Nature Reserve
Tel: + 27 (0)48 881-3925 or (045) 838-3984
Fax: + 27 (0)48 881-3119

Endurance
Trail Type: Mountain bike
Closest Town: Cradock
Description: 35km; circular mountain bike trail in Commando Drift Nature Reserve; 4-bed overnight cabins, 4-bed chalets; 4 persons min/12 persons max; entrance fee at gate
Enquiries: Commando Drift Nature Reserve
Tel: + 27 (0)48 881-3925
Fax: + 27 (0)48 881-3119

Mountain Zebra
Trail Type: Mountain bike
Closest Town: Cradock
Location: Take the Cradock / Middelburg Road (N10). Cradock is about 250 km from Port Elizabeth. Turn west onto the Graaff-Reinet Road (R61). From Cradock the turn-off to the Park is well sign-posted after about 6 km. It is 27 km to the park gates.
Description: Nature trails; biking from 15 minutes to 5 hours. route maps for hikers; prior arrangement necessary. Amenities: Eighteen, four-bed, well-equipped chalets at the tourist rest camp, 20 caravan and camping facilities; launderette, conference hall, restaurant, shop, petrol, swimming pool. Doornhoek guest cottage (historic, renovated farmhouse) sleeps 6. Meals are available from the restaurant; a shop supplies basic commodities.
Comments: Situated in the Mountain Zebra National Park, mountains, birds, plants and animals in lovely surroundings. Offers viewing of Cape mountain zebra as well as springbok, eland, blesbok, black wildebeest, red hartebeest and many other Cape Midland animals. Largely devoid of trees except along the riverbanks and high up in the valleys on the northern slopes of the Bankberg, where bird life is abundant. About 37 km of good gravel roads traverse the Eastern Midlands Nama Karoo vegetation. The rare booted eagle is one of the 255 species of birds recorded in the Park.
Enquiries: SA National Parks Board
Tel: + 27 (0)12 428 9111 or (048) 881-2427
Fax: + 27 (0)12 343-0905 or (048) 881-3943
Cell: + 27 (0)82 233 9111
e-mail: reservations@sanparks.org
Web: http://www.sanparks.org

Rooikat
Trail Type: Day walk
Closest Town: Cradock [Back to Top]
Description: 2km; easy; circular; Commando Drift Nature Reserve; 4-bed overnight cabins; 4-bed chalets; persons min/12 persons max; entrance fee at gate
Enquiries: Commando Drift Nature Reserve
Tel: + 27 (0)48 881-3925
Fax: + 27 (0)48 881-3119

Camdeboo Safaris
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: Hiking Trail (awaiting details)
Tel: + 27 (0)49 891-0523

Compassberg
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: Hiking trail (awaiting details)
Tel: + 27 (0)49 842-2418

Doornberg
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: Bird life; small mammals; perennial stream; view points.
Tel: + 27 (0)49 841-1401

Driekoppe
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: 20km/2 days; return; in nature reserve; camp site at base; own tent; overnight hut; 10 persons max;
Enquiries: Karoo Nature Reserve
Tel: + 27 (0)49 892-3453

Eerstefontein
Trail Type: Day walk
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Location: In the Karoo Nature Reserve. Graaff-Reinet lies at the junction of the R57 and R63.
Description: Dry hike, so carry 2 litres of water per hiker. Avoid sunburn and be prepared for changes in the weather. Do not walk over the R513 - use the tunnel. Do not walk alone.
Enquiries: Karoo Nature Reserve
Tel: + 27 (0)49 892-3453

Excelsior
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet [Back to Top]
Description: TRAIL CLOSED
Enquiries: Jacana
Tel: 0861 522262
Fax: + 27 (0)12 734 0159
e-mail: bookings@jacanacollection.co.za

Graaff-Reinet - Gordonville
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: Hiking trail (awaiting details)
Enquiries: Nature Conservation
Tel: + 27 (0)49 892-3453 or 841-1354

Groenvlei
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: Hiking trail (awaiting details)
Tel: + 27 (0)49 845-0302/5

Nardou
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: TRAIL CLOSED (19km/2day or various day walks; moderate; circular; overnight accommodation available)
Tel: + 27 (0)49 891-0844

Tandjiesberg
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: 14km/2 day; easy; circular; own tent; 32 persons max
Enquiries: Bobby Benyon
Tel: + 27 (0)49 891-0844
Fax: + 27 (0)49 346-2499

Toorberg
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: 45km/3 day; difficult; circular; own tent or huts; 20 persons max;
Tel: + 27 (0)49 845-9021

Trails of the Camdeboo
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet [Back to Top]
Location: 15 km west of Graaff-Reinet
Description: The following trails are offered: Type 1: Hiker supplies everything and sleeps either in designated areas in the veld or in sheds. Type 2: Hiking from farmhouse to farmhouse with dinner, bed, breakfast and a packed lunch supplied. Hikers bring own Thermos flasks and water bottles. Type 3a: Farm holidays where hikers are given full accommodation and return to base every night. Type 3b: Farm holidays where hikers are accommodated in self-contained cottages and fend for themselves.
Comments: A number of farms are located on either side of two seasonal rivers along the Camdeboo Valley in Nama Karoo. Bird and wildlife, such as rock rabbits, silver-backed jackals, duiker, klipspringer, springbuck, rheebuck and kudu, abound.
Tel: + 27 (0)49 845-1007

Weltevreden
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Graaff-Reinet
Description: Hiking trail (awaiting details)
Tel: + 27 (0)49 841-1400

Kompasberg
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Middelburg Cape
Location: Near Nieu-Bethesda.
Description: Situated in the Mountain Zebra National Park, mountains, birds, plants and animals in lovely surroundings. Offers viewing of Cape mountain zebra as well as springbok, eland, blesbok, black wildebeest, red hartebeest and many other Cape Midland animals. The rare booted eagle is one of the 255 species of birds recorded in the Park.
Enquiries: The Valley
Tel: + 27 (0)49 842-2188
Fax: + 27 (0)49 842-2188

Transkaroo
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Middelburg Cape
Location: On The farm Rietport near Middelburg.
Description: The Transkaroo Trail is a well laid out trail with a surprising variety of scenery and vegetation. The trail is well marked and the facilities are excellent. Winter can be extremely cold while summers can be very hot and there is little shade along the way. The trail is certainly worth doing especially as an add-on to a trip to the Cape. Total trail distance is 42km over 3 days but a shorter route is possible
Tel: + 27 (0)49 843 1506
Fax: + 27 (0)49 843 1506
e-mail: ranor@cybertrade.co.za
Web: http://www.footprint.co.za

Ganora
Trail Type: Mountain bike
Closest Town: Nieu Bethesda
Description: 32km/2 day; day 15km, day 2 17km; difficult; circular; own tent; 6 persons max. Unmarked wilderness trail.
Comments: 8 Kilometres from Nieu Bethesda on the road to Middleburg. The turn-off is well signposted. Beyond scenic, this is a mountainous Karoo. Duweltjie(thorn) country. Watch out for snakebites on the descent. Availabilty of water depends on circumstances.
Enquiries: JP and Hester Steynberg
Tel: + 27 (0)49 841-1302
Fax: + 27 (0)49 841-1302
Cell: + 27 (0)82 698 0029
e-mail: ganora@xsinet.co.za

Bosberg
Trail Type: Hiking trail
Closest Town: Somerset East
Location: Travel east out of the town to the Information Centre near the Golf Course.
Description: 15 km/2 day; difficult; circular; hut or camp site; 10 persons max. Bosberg Hiking Trail: two days, 15 km. Starts and ends at Bestershoek Resort at the foot of the Bosberg. Game Camp Trails: two circular routes through the Game Camp; 4 km/3 hours and 7 km/4,5 hours. Starts and ends at Bestershoek Resort. Bestershoek Trail: short, easy trail 1,5 km from Bestershoek Resort to Bestershoek Dam. Amenities: An overnight hut on the mountaintop that sleeps ten. A caravan park, game camp (mountain zebra, mountain reedbuck, bushbuck and kudu); information hut and parking. There are self-catering chalets, a municipal camp and picnic site in the Bestershoek Valley.
Comments: The Bosberg Local Nature Reserve lies just north of Somerset East. The trail is moderately strenuous as it lies on the slopes of the Bosberg Range. Mountain zebra, bushbuck, baboon, monkeys and dassies can be seen. More than 80 bird species and 25 reptile species have been recorded. The Mountain Grassveld and Afromontane Forest, added to the spectacular views, make this a worthwhile hike. A highlight of the trail is the flat-topped mountain from which one can look over Somerset East, Bestershoek Valley and a sea of flat-topped koppies. Paths are slippery in the rainy season.
Enquiries: Municipality of Somerset East
Tel: + 27 (0)42 243 1548 or 243-1333 (a/h)

Lynx
Trail Type: Day walk
Closest Town: Somerset East [Back to Top]
Location: Take the R63 between Cookhouse and Somerset East and turn off 17 km east of the town.
Description: 10 km/2 to 3 hours; average. The hike takes you through indigenous forest or along steep mountain tracks on the farm Glen Avon. There is a spectacular waterfall, which plunges 80 m into a riverine-forested valley where sneezewood and cabbage trees grow. The waterfall and the kloof have been declared the Glen Avon Falls Natural Heritage Site (No 71). Bird watchers could identify 235 species of birds, ranging from small sunbirds to birds of prey and an occasional sighting of the rare Cape Vulture. Large game includes kudu, bushbuck, duiker and mountain reedbuck. A two bed roomed, 4-bed, fully furnished, self-catering guest lodge. Meals are available on request. Glen Avon Falls is open throughout the year for farm activities, trout fishing, swimming, canoeing, bird watching, controlled bushbuck hunting in season and hiking. Day outings with a 4x4 can be arranged at an extra charge.
Enquiries: Avon Heights Mountain Guest Lodge
Tel: + 27 (0)42 243-3555
Fax: + 27 (0)42 243-2540
e-mail: avonhts@eastcape.net
Web: http://www.eastcape.net/glenavon