TAKE A HIKE
A mountain full of flowers
D o you remember learning about a trapezium at school? It’s like a rectangle crossed with a triangle: the top and bottom sides are parallel; the left and right sides aren’t.
That’s what the elevation profile of the Oudebosch-Harold Porter hike looks like – a slope on either side, with a level bit at the top in the middle.
Most people start in Kogelberg Nature Reserve, a spectacular patch of mountain wilderness between Betty’s Bay and Kleinmond on the Overberg coast. The trail goes left off the jeep track that runs behind the CapeNature reception office and skirts the Oudebosch
Eco Cabins. Now you’re on a gentle slope and already there’s a king protea to greet you.
The trail connects the 180 km² Kogelberg with the 2 km² Harold Porter National Botanical Garden, which is like a mini Kirstenbosch. Between the two protected areas, there are as many as 1 800 plant species, of which 150 are found nowhere else. It’s springtime, and within half an hour I have already seen white everlastings, tree pelargonium, conebush, yellow pincushion, china flowers…
The trail crosses the Oudebos River for the first time. I finish off the tap water in my bottle and refill it with crisp mountain water.
The top of the trapezium is getting closer. Look carefully – there’s an indigenous forest just below the nek in the mountains. It’s called Oudebos and it’s full of cool shade…
But you’re not there yet.
From the stream, the rocky path gradually winds up the opposite side of the mountain, past fields of rooistompies. The sun bakes down, but push through because it’s only about half an hour to the forest.
When you get there, the floor becomes soft underfoot and shafts of sunlight pierce the canopy overhead. The Oudebos River forms three shallow pools here – catch your breath, take off your shoes and soak your feet. The trail climbs through the forest. Sometimes you enter a clearing and just as you think you’re on the plateau, the path heads back into the trees, with painted yellow footprints keeping you on track. Take a break and see how far you’ve come. (Yup, those teeny houses below are the eco cabins you passed earlier.)
The trail does one more turn through the forest before delivering you to a sign that indicates Harold Porter to the left. I follow the sign, walking through a field of shoulder-high yellow conebush and white redlegs (pictured, above). Occasionally, a fountain bush waves its fine purple flowers in the breeze.
Beyond the yellow sea, on the horizon,
I see the real deal – the blue Atlantic Ocean.
I’m now on top of the trapezium!
Keep your eyes peeled at this point for a very pleasant detour: An unmarked trail turns to the right, which takes you to a deep pool in a tributary of the Oudebos River. (If you see a Sanbi sign, you’ve gone too far.) I’ve visited
this pool three times and we were always the only ones there, even on sunny days (pictured, right).
Back on the main route,
the trail climbs to a scattering of rock formations on the nek, before descending to the top of the Leopard’s Kloof waterfall (pictured, top). Stand on the rocks and crane your neck to see the dark gorge below. You can climb to the pool at the base of the waterfall, but only via a different route that goes up from Harold Porter. Go in summer between December and February and you have a good chance of seeing red disas ( Disa uniflora) blooming against the rocks.
From the lip of the waterfall, the trail enters an exposed section on top of the mountain. You’ll see the botanical garden below, and Betty’s Bay stretched out along the coast. Hop along the boardwalks and rocks, then watch your step on the steep path that zigzags down to the lawns. Before long you’ll be on the other side of the trapezium. Nicely done!
Distance: The hike is 6 km one-way, between Kogelberg Nature Reserve and Harold Porter National Botanical Garden in Betty’s Bay. It can be walked in either direction, but we recommend starting in Kogelberg because the section in Harold Porter is very steep and best tackled going downhill.
Where? Kogelberg Nature Reserve is between Betty’s Bay and Kleinmond, off the R43. If you’re hiking one-way, leave a second vehicle at Harold Porter.
Opening times: Harold Porter is open weekdays from 8 am to 4.30 pm, and until 5 pm on weekends. Kogelberg is open daily from 7.30 am to 7 pm in summer; until 6 pm in winter. Cost: Kogelberg conservation fee R50 per adult; R30 per child; free with a Wild card. Harold Porter R35 per person; free with Sanbi membership. ( You only pay on the side you enter.) What else? Call beforehand to make sure the trail is open – it’s sometimes closed after heavy rains.
Contact: Harold Porter 028 272 9311; sanbi.org
Kogelberg 087 288 0499; capenature.co.za