Table of contents for Go! Hiking Guide in go!

On almost every hike, I reach a point of exhaustion where I feel like my soul is about to leave my body. I no longer pretend to be fit. I stop blaming my discomfort on the hip belt of my backpack, or how tightly my boots are laced. No mental mantra can motivate me. But my self-pity never lasts long. It’s impossible to feel down when you’re in nature, far away from the rat race, listening to the rhythmic crunch of your shoes on the ground. That’s why I enjoy hiking, despite my limited athletic ability. There’s no form of therapy better than walking. This is the first edition of go! Hiking. Come and join us on some of the most scenic trails, in South Africa and our neighbouring countries.…

Location: Between King William’s Town and Hogsback Distance: 100 km Duration: 6 days Terrain: Through indigenous forest and over grassy hills. Lots of steep climbs and river crossings. Eight backpacks and a bunch of hiking poles are standing out there in the hall. In here, Dan Cornick from Amatola Trails is pointing to a map of the Amatola Hiking Trail. “It’s a tough day with lots of hills, so make sure you get an early start,” he says. We’re gathered around a table at Away with the Fairies Backpackers in Hogsback. Dan is giving us an overview of the next six days, and the roughly 100 km we’ll be hiking. Every time he uses the words “tough day” (I count six in total), my eyes get a little bigger and…

Location: Between Storms River and Nature’s Valley Distance: 45 km Duration: 5 days Terrain: The trail hugs the coastline and goes through indigenous forest and fynbos. Expect steep climbs and steep descents, especially before and after river crossings. You can swim in the sea, rivers and rock pools. Lots of shade. DAY 1 4,8 km (± 2 hours) Storms River to Ngubu Huts On the first day you cover an easy distance to get used to the weight of your backpack. After about an hour (3 km), you’ll reach a waterfall, where you can swim and rest. Visitors to the Storms River rest camp in the Garden Route National Park can hike to this waterfall, but beyond it the trail belongs to Otter hikers only. If you’re worried that you…

Location: Cape Point Distance: 34 km Duration: 2 days Terrain: Stony footpaths along high cliffs Cape Point is busy; cars are pouring through the gate. I see fishing rods poking through open windows – it’s a sunny day and apparently the yellowtail are running. That must also explain why there are so many fishing boats in False Bay. I check that the car doors are locked one last time, fold up the map and set off with the rest of my group. Soon we’re knee-deep in fynbos, following a trail that winds along cliff ledges and over a few hills with the sea boiling down below. Judas Peak (319m) is the highest point of today’s hike. From the top I can see across False Bay to the Kogelberg in the…

Location: Makhonjwa Mountains near Barberton  Distance: 26 km Duration: 2 days Terrain: Walk along the Queens and Montrose rivers in the Nelshoogte Nature Reserve. Plenty of shade, but steep uphills and downhills, and river crossings. The Queen Rose is a well-known and established hiking trail in the Lowveld. It’s 26km long and done over two days. The trail is under new management and the paths and accommodation have been fixed up over the past year. Now you have more reason than ever to do it! The trail starts at the Queens River Adventure Camp, a veld school and team-building camp in the Nelshoogte Nature Reserve, and passes through many different biomes, from subtropical forest to grassland. A section cuts through the Montrose plantation, but the trail mostly leads hikers through…

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage route (“camino” in Spanish) to the town of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. According to legend, the remains of St James, an apostle who preached the gospel in Spain and Portugal, were buried in Galicia in Spain. (“Santiago” is James in Spanish.) A bright star guided a shepherd to the burial site. “De Compostela” means “from the field of the stars”. Thus, the town’s name can be translated as “St James of the Field of Stars”. His shrine is in the Santiago de Compostela cathedral, which was later built on the site. Pilgrims have been walking there since the 9th century to honour the apostle. What does the modern pilgrim look like? People walk the route for many different reasons, but mostly to…

I admit to coming late to the pleasures of walking in the wild. As for most Swazi kids, walking was a chore to me, something endured when the bus didn’t arrive. It took a trip to the Western Cape to open my eyes: a scramble up Skeleton Gorge from Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden and a day on the coastal trails in the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park, drenched in Atlantic rain. I loved it! Back home, my new boots were soon put to use, and the exploration began. These are four of my favourite hiking destinations in the hills of eSwatini. Sibebe Rock Even from a distance, the 350 m-high Sibebe Rock looks daunting. You can approach the monolith from the north or the west. The…

Walkies! One word that will rouse even the laziest lap dog. For my Schnauzer Bart and my bearded collie Ben, that word leads to chaos and excitement. The dogs often mistake the sound of car keys jangling for their leashes, and they come running with expectant looks on their faces. Once dogs have become part of your family (we all know how quickly that happens), it breaks your heart to leave them with a house sitter or in a kennel when you go hiking over weekends. Luckily there are some trails where your four-legged friends are welcome, like the Elangeni Trail near Emgwenya (Waterval-Boven) and the Blue Wildebeest Hiking Trail near eManzana (Badplaas). You might encounter game on both trails, so your dogs need to be on a leash at…

It’s easy to forget how lucky we are in life. We quickly forget the good things when persistent problems threaten to drown out everything else. It’s understandable if you feel despondent about load shedding, potholes and dropped catches, but you can’t let those things consume you. As South Africans, we have many things to be proud of. Not only when Caster, Giniel and our sport teams are victorious, but also the less obvious things that take place every day: a sunrise in the mountains, the weight of sliced biltong in your hand, your mother tongue in your mouth, bakkie rides, sitting on the stoep… And then there is the wonder of an able body. Many of us take it for granted that we can stand up when we swing our…

Location: Southern Namibia. Start point near Hobas; end point at Ai-Ais. Distance: 87 km (70 km if you take the short cuts) Duration: 5 days Terrain: Along the course of the river, over rocks and sand. River crossings when the water level is high. Little shade. When you hike the Fish, there’s no hut or braai facilities waiting at the end of the day. You have to carry everything you’ll need. Many hikers consider getting down into the canyon the toughest part of the hike: Your backpack is heavy and it’s a steep descent – one of the reasons why a hiking pole is your best friend on this trail. Highlights There aren’t any predetermined overnight spots on the trail and you can decide how far you want to walk.…

Location: Between Grabouw and Villiersdorp Distance: 20 km Duration: 2 days Terrain: Forestry roads, dense fields of fynbos and a jeep track. There is water but little shade. It’s a Saturday just before 9am when we arrive at CapeNature’s Nuweberg office. We left Cape Town early this morning to hike the Boland Trail. The trail was previously a three-day hike, but the section from the Landdroskop Hut to the Boesmanskloof Hut is currently closed. We’ll hike for two days, from the Nuweberg office to the Landdroskop and Shamrock Lodge huts (a stone’s throw apart from each other), along the Sphinx Trail, and back along a jeep track tomorrow. By 9.30am we’ve signed the indemnity form and picked up a key to the hut, and we’re off along the 12km trail.…

THE BASICS There are two things to keep in mind when you pack: comfort and convenience. Comfort: Your backpack should sit as comfortably as possible, with the weight distributed correctly and no sharp objects poking you in the back. Convenience: Pack your stuff in a way that ensures the things you’ll need during the day are within easy reach, like your water bottle. Non-essentials like your pyjamas can be packed deep because you’ll only need them in the evening. BEFORE YOU START • Lay out everything that you want to take on the hike. Divide it into two sections: necessary, and nice-to-have. Halve the nice-to-have section before you start packing. • Sort everything according to weight, from light to heavy. • Use all the space you have available: Put your…