Cederberg

February 1st, 2009

Ready for a change from city life we headed to the Cederberg on the N7, about 160 kms from Cape Town. We turned onto a gravel road, which is currently undergoing major construction to widen and pave it, and arrived at our camp, Algeria which is part of the National Parks. It was a stunning camp, situated underneath massive trees and provided a welcome shade from the heat. The surroundings are amazing with rust coloured mountains, beautiful field flowers, little creeks and waterfalls and interesting rock formations.

In an effort to offset the effects of Christmas (i.e. increasing waistlines) we went for some amazing hikes. The first day we arrived we walked to a waterfall. It was breathtaking beautiful with icy cold water and moss surroundings, very much worth the uphill and somewhat painful effort. The next day we hiked around a river, again with stunning scenery including lush plant life, beautiful field flowers, tall grass and the occasional lizard sighting.

The Cederberg is also home to a collection of San bushman rock art, the most famous of which depicts elephants. After reading about this we decided we had to check it out. Obtaining a world heritage permit pass we drove up to the Stadstill caves. After punching a ‘secret code’ into a lock, we entered the gate driving along a narrow dirt road. We pulled over into a side road and read the signs talking about the Elephant paintings. They are estimated to be approximately 1,000 years old and painted by a religious leader who most likely depicted the elephant due to it’s connotation of power, whether the man wished to draw some of the elephant’s power for himself or for a group purpose is unknown. One thing for sure is that the place where the paintings are is unbelievably calm and serene.

After admiring the paintings and sitting atop some of the rocks nearby we moved unto the Stadstill caves. We weren’t prepared for the beauty of these rocks. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen and again is stunning. Wandering for ages we admired the magnificence. Again it is a very peaceful location and we were lucky enough to experience this alone as there wasn’t anyone else around for miles.