The fun of hiking in Harties
There’s more to Hartbeespoort than its famous dam, writes Davison Mudzingwa
I have been to “Harties” several times. I live a little over 30 minutes from Hartbeespoort, which means “gateway of the hartbees” (a large antelope species), and I thought I knew it well.
But, as I set out for a glamping experience over New Year, the thought of hosting 60 glampers was both intimidating and exciting. It would be a busy three days of exploring. I was in search of the unfamiliar from a familiar territory.
We left Johannesburg just before the sun came up. It was a morning of two skies: red, scattered clouds in the east, and dark skies in the west.
As we went along, I tried calling on my indigenous knowledge to predict the weather in Harties.
“The sky will clear and the sun will shine,” I said to Eddy, my Glamping Adventures travel companion.
A steady drizzle accompanied us as we passed through Broederstroom, and we set up camp in the rain at Eagle Waters Wildlife Resort next to the Hartbeespoort Dam.
But as the sun rose, the rain faded. By midday, it was humid and hot. I knew the following day would be a sweltering one and our planned hike on the Phaladingwe Trail would be challenging.
I was right. The last day of 2019 started with clear skies. We set out just after sunrise, the group a mix of children, adults and elderly people.
“This is a 7km trail,” I said at the starting point.
“Don’t focus on the pain, set your eyes on the beauty of the landscapes, flora and fauna.”
Phaladingwe is a circular trail, the start and end point being a national monument known as Preller House. Declared a historical site in 1973, Preller House was home to Gustav Preller, a journalist and historian who played an important role in promoting the Afrikaans language and culture. Before his death in 1943, Preller was part of the planning of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. His remains were buried in this nature reserve of Pelindaba.
Phaladingwe means “prettier than others”. This is a trail that lays bare its beauty as one begins the hike through grassland. The terrain was full of colour, texture and character because of the rainy season. We shuffled into a line following the narrow trail. Animated discussions shot through the air. Like any huge group hike, this one slowly formed into small teams according to people’s capabilities and familiarity with one another. From the grassland, we weaved through a rocky stretch with a beautiful tree canopy. Any shade is welcome under such an unforgiving sun.
I alternated positions from the front to the back, ensuring everyone was fine and capturing moments with my camera. It was a largely joyous group that kept a blistering pace.
Approximately 2km into the trail we reached the main attraction: the Crocodile River. The route then winds along its banks. On the right, the river flows quietly below the colossal quartzite rock gorge. A gallery and restaurant are perched across the river.
The route snakes through a corridor of reeds. “This is a reed dance,” shouted one of the hikers. “Yes, you are right,” I answered as we negotiated our way into this natural, living basket. It was a great stretch that saw us bending, at times almost crawling, to wade through the reed thicket.
Emerging from the reed passage felt almost like a catharsis. But three more hills would test our endurance with steep terrain and rolling downhill slopes.
“Did we have to do this though?,” asked one glamper.
“Adventure seekers are like marathon runners,” I answered. “We all choose pain – fulfilling pain. We don’t have to but there is immeasurable satisfaction after the adventure.”
I have learnt over the years that tough trails are the most memorable – therein lies the beauty of adventure.
The last stretch of the trail induces mixed feelings: sad that we give our backs to the amazing Crocodile River, but also thrilled that the road leads to the end. The Nuclear Energy Corporation of SA emerges on the right side. This is SA’s only nuclear research reactor.
Far ahead, the Magaliesberg mountain range looms from a distance. It lurks over the dam. This dam has become the poster attraction of this area, but it was wonderful to discover something else about a place I thought I knew.