Knife Edge

WHY DO THIS HIKE?

Truly one of the most breathtaking spots on the mountain, Knife Edge was long a thing of fantasy for me. I’d sit on the summit of Devil’s Peak and gaze down at its terrifying teeth. But when I finally summoned the courage to tackle it, I discovered it was a relatively non-daunting hike.

It is, I’ll admit, unrelentingly steep on the way up. And if you don’t like heights, the sheer drops will make you very uncomfortable. Which, for some of us, is part of what makes it so much fun!

HIKE DESCRIPTION

From Rhodes Memorial car park, take the path leading to the upper gravel road and follow it to reach King’s Blockhouse. Behind the blockhouse, find the path leading up to the Fire Lookout, which includes some easy but exposed scrambles. From here, carry on up Mowbray Ridge, keeping to the trail on the left. This will bring you to Knife Edge. Make your way carefully over the spectacular ridge across to Minor Peak.

From Minor Peak, you can choose to continue across and up Devil’s Peak, but it’s a vague and sometimes tricky path. Otherwise, locate the very overgrown trail behind Minor Peak that zigzags down to the Upper Traverse through dense protea forest. Turn right to follow the Upper Traverse back to Mowbray Ridge and retrace your steps from there.

For a slightly longer and more circular hike, turn left on the Upper Traverse and find the path that leads down again to the Middle Traverse. Turning right here will take you past the Woodstock Cave and back to the King’s Blockhouse.

Straddle the mountain on Minor Peak, with the city on one side and the suburbs on the other.

DISTANCE 8kmDURATION 4–5 hours return EFFORT Fairly strenuous with a few easy scramblesSKILL LEVEL You need to be reasonably fit, with a good head for heights PARKING Rhodes Memorial RETURN ROUTE Either via the Upper Traverse or the Middle Traverse and Woodstock Cavetock CaveNOTE Due to the extreme exposure on Knife Edge, avoid hiking on a windy day