BOULDER & WISER
Claire Keeton and Marianne Schwankhart do some exploring in the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve
O N February 11 1990, the winelands town of Paarl sprang onto the world map. That day, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison in Paarl after 27 years in apartheid jails.
Today, a 3m-tall bronze statue of Mandela, with his fist raised, stands at the prison gates.
Until that moment, Paarl had been identified with another political culture, symbolised by the Afrikaanse Taalmonument (Afrikaans Language Monument) on the side of Paarl Mountain.
The curving columns of the Taalmonument, inaugurated in 1975, were designed “to depict the cultural and political flowering of Afrikaans”.
The mountain and the monument tower over Paarl, the third-oldest European settlement in South Africa, and are visible from a distance.
Paarl was named after its mountain’s three pale, rounded granite outcrops: parel is the Dutch word for pearl.
Granite is not as common as sandstone in South Africa but granite boulders are also found nearby in Cape Town — at Llandudno Beach, at the penguin colony at Boulders Beach and on the slopes of Lion’s Head (below the path to the chain ladders).
At Paarl Mountain, Marianne and I planned to climb up steep rock to the top of one dome. More conservative hikers can walk up a gentle slope to the summit of another outcrop, Bretagne Rock (Britannia Rock), following a chain for safety.
Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve, run by the Drakenstein municipality, is a popular outdoor attraction: hikers, mountain bikers, trail runners and climbers abound on the trails and rocks.
The circular Klipkers Nature Trail, which takes about two hours, was set up in the reserve by school students.
On the bright Sunday morning when we visited, families were settling into their picnic spots and fires were being lit for braais. The more remote picnic spots among the fynbos, with spring flowers and proteas, were still empty and appeared worth the effort to reach them.
Marianne, three climbing friends — Mark Seuring, Natanya Mulholland and Perry Hyde — and I met early and loaded up our packs in the parking lot. From here, a wooden walkway leads down to the outcrops and between them to trails below.
We chose to do a spectacular long climb, Sands of Time on the Gordon Rock, and divided into two parties: Marianne climbing first with Natanya, with the rest of us on their heels.
If you have never climbed — but are of average fitness and unafraid of heights — you could ascend Sands of Time (graded 18) with an experienced guide. Roped climbs typically start at about grade 12 and become very difficult from 24.
The route is high and exposed yet not technically demanding, bar a tricky part on the second section. The climb is divided into four pitches (typically a pitch equals the length of a 50m rope) and the rope is clipped into bolts in the rock to catch you if you fall.
With the two best climbers, Marianne and Mark, leading the ascent, we climbed up smoothly, standing on tiny pebbles for balance near the top.
From the summit, you get views of the town and vineyards below, and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the distance.
We scrambled down a steep path from there to the base and walked over to the main boulder, Bretagne Rock, where we had a picnic.
Mark and Marianne then walked around the corner to try a hard route (26), while the rest of us talked about doing a three-pitch route arcing up to the left on the rock.
I was recovering from elbow surgery and the others seldom climb so we were unsure of how we would do on this 20, named Little Dutch Boy. With a surge of confidence, however, Natanya took up the lead and made it to the first stance (a secure resting point).
I had fun following her and Perry came up after me. The sands of time ran out for us and we abseiled to the ground to join Marianne and Mark walking out.
Travellers with more time could explore the reserve in the coolness of late afternoon or meet for sundowners among the rocks.
Take the time to visit this reserve if you’re in the Boland — and need a diversion from wine tasting.