This trip started as a Wolkberg Traverse, on paper at least. Unfortunately, due to issues with dates, we had to turn it into a short weekend stay in the Wolkberg Hut. I say ‘unfortunately’, but it is always a treat to stay at the hut, regardless of how you get there. In this case, the plan was to drive up Agatha road, and see how far we could get. We were prepared to hike the last section in, so we packed accordingly. However, an added reason to drive all the way up to the hut, was that our Section has received two, almost complete sets of MCSA Journals, dating back over a 100 years. All gifted to us by MCSA Cape Town, for which we have a lot of gratitude. One set was intended to be stored at the Wolkberg Hut, but carrying up over thirty kilos of books from the bottom, or even just the last few kms, was not an appealing idea, so we were hoping to make it all the way by car. And so the adventure began.
The whole crew, Ansophie, Quagga, Nicole, Jason, Marcel and Jinx loaded up in Hoedspruit and then set off towards Tzaneen. We had a gpx for the Agatha road and were promised it was driveable, at least with low range and high clearance. We made it quite far up over the decent forestry roads, until the road was properly blocked by a fallen tree. While it is generally good advice to bring a saw when out missioning, of course this time, we had nothing on us. It was still a long walk, plus the books were in the back, so we decided to find a way around it. There was one other road leading to the top, on the other side of the little valley, so we went for it. It turned out to be a hectic little road, cut to pieces by dongas and overgrown with small trees, but with some great driving by Jason, we made it back to the main road. The last section of this was ravaged by dongas as well, but it was a better drive overall. Not long after, we hit the grasslands at the top, and made our way through towards the hut. While we should minimize driving through the protected grasslands, it felt like we had a good reason to do so, and as of this weekend, there is now a brilliant set of Journals for your reading pleasure at the hut.
That’s all great and everything, but the main goal of this trip was of course to enjoy the Wolkberg. So after a quick but late lunch at the hut, we set off to climb Serala peak. We didn’t really have a plan, but I was keen on showing the rest of the group the beauty that lies on the other side of Serala. We just had to get there first. The hike to the top went pretty smoothly, following a small trail all the way to the top. After enjoying the view and a quick break, we had a decision to make. And quickly, because there was some thunder in the distance!
You can’t really go to the hut without having seen Cleopatra’s falls, so after pushing the group a bit, we went down the other way. I had never climbed Serala from that side, so we had to rely on the lay of the land, and a purple line on the Garmin watch. The ‘trail’ was more like a stream that ended up in a steep gulley down. Perhaps there is a better way, but this was definitely ‘a’ way, although a bit adventurous.
Once down, people got distracted by the stream at the bottom and I had to point out that this was not the main attraction. We backtracked a bit until we were there: the Devil’s Horns with Cleo’s Falls on the side. And what a great timing we had; clouds were coming up through the horns while the sun was setting slowly, Golden Hour. We could see our shadows on the clouds far down below, a very trippy experience. Magical, one might say.
Unfortunately, the sun was now rapidly setting behind Serala, and after enjoying the spot for long enough, we had to say goodbye to this place and head back to the hut. The trail was clear, yet soggy, but it mattered not. After some slipping and sliding down, we made it to the jeep tracks through the grasslands and headed back to the hut, where the hearth was waiting for us, after a mandatory dip in the pool of course. After cooking, and enjoying a desert of the alcoholic persuasion, we stared into the fire, some light reading, and then made for an early night.
Another day, another chance for adventure! After coffee and breakfast of course. We made rough plans for a time to drive home, but that gave us a good few hours for each of us to do what we wanted. Ansophie and Quagga went for a recce to find a mystery dam higher up, while Nicole, Jason, Marcel and Jinx went for a run down the road to Mawetse campsite and a bit beyond. Mostly for the ‘easy’ surface, but also to scout out how the other road up to the hut looks. The ‘easy’ part kinda fell through quickly; due to the morning moisture, the first section of the road was one big shiny slide down, and we had to be careful not to slip. I don’t want to mention any names, but one of us had to resort to a move called ‘the Penguin’ while she made her way down.
After a kilometer or two, we came across the famous culvert that was a big hindrance last year in using this road. With the recent floods, it was no different this time. As you can see on the photo, there is a truck sized gap where the road got washed away. We later asked staff at the campsite, and they did say it would get fixed ‘soon’, but who knows. Right now, there’s no shot in driving up this way.
Continuing onwards, the road got more runnable and we made it down to the campsite quickly. As the goal was a 21km run, we had to do an extra 5ish km on the main road. This road was said to be fixed but there were still some pretty technical sections. Quite fun to run over the rocks, but probably a bit bouncy to drive it by car. Once we hit 10.5k, it was time to turn around and head back the same way, up this time. We made it back to the cabin in good time, but now the difficult choice of what to do first: rest, eat or swim… yes, swimming, always swimming first.
After that, lunch while slowly starting to pack up and clean the hut. And of course, to fill out the bookshelf with the MCSA Journals, there to remain for all visitors to enjoy, especially on those rainy days by the fire. Does it get more perfect than that?
For such a short weekend, it was chock full of adventure. Thanks everyone for coming along!
Written by: Marcel Span
