There was a woman chief who dominated the area around the Maluti mountains in the 19th century. We don’t read of her in history books, she is not celebrated by praise singers but chiefs still talk of her. She was a warrior chief who allowed no incursions into her territory to go unchallenged, yet, the chiefs tell us, hers was a time of peace and prosperity for her people.
The Malutis are worth defending - they have the slouch of ancient mountains, the curves of hills long trampled upon, rivers still run filled with secrets and life, large eland stop and gaze at hikers with the curiosity of antelope unaware of human treachery. The mountains have high cliff faces with dolerite ledges or possibly Stormberg lava, according to geologist Michael O Brien, and “all the sandstone is of the Clarens Formation, iron-stained and weathered”.
What it gives the mountains is a riveting record of the time Godwanaland split, long before dinosaurs or sabre-toothed tigers crossed this land and millions of years before humankind was born, a time of intense volcanic activity and the creation of new mountains.
Visually, it has created a spectacular mountain display of early Jackson Pollock-like faces with deep palettes of black from never-ending water courses, brilliant vermillion and crimson splodges on gold sandstone canvasses.
‘Iron-stained and weathered’
Wikipedia tells us in the dry way that scientists record fact that “iron oxides and carbonates play a large part in many sedimentary rocks and are especially important as colouring agents. The red sands and limestones, for example, which are so abundant, contain small amounts of iron oxide (hematite), which in a finely divided state gives a red hue to all rocks in which it is present. Limonite and goethite, on the other hand, make rocks yellow or brown; manganese oxides; asphalt and other carbonaceous substances cause the black colour of many types of sediment. Bluish tints result sometimes from the presence of phosphates or of fluorite, while green is most frequently seen in rocks that contain glauconite or chlorite.” And so God’s artistry is described.
Atop the mountains on one of the punishing hiking trails that wend through the Golden Gate reserve the views are magnificent, it feels as though you can see across the Free State, across golden valleys with blue-grey grasses, shafts of light disrupting low mists, gentle hills and yet more mountains, some conical, others squat and lost, speckled across the landscape.
Driving through intense mists wrapping the mountains on our first day we come across a vulture restaurant, signposted for the humans and scattered with carcasses for the vultures. The mountains are splodged with the white of bird droppings.
The next day while hiking along a path we encountered what looked like fish bones, until my fellow hiker looked closer and realised that what to me looked like butterflies attached to the fish carcass were actually part of the markings of a puffadder, eaten by some creature with no fear of large reptiles.
We took the 27km Ribbok trail, a two-day trail that a Parks Board official at the Golden Gate reserve camp described as “easy the first day, but challenging the second”. Understatement is clearly her fort�. It underscores a desperate need for South Africa’s hiking trails to be graded to protect the novice, those challenged with vertigo (me) and to ensure the safety of local and foreign hikers who love spending time in the bush and our mountains.
‘Punishing and dangerous trails’
The first day, a demanding 13km hike, saw us within the first hour ascending steep rock faces with little to grip feet and less to hold onto other than an unreliable chain - it is a trail that really needs to upgrade safety. There were very narrow ledges, which at one stage saw me so frightened I lay down. My unfortunate companion had to take both our rucksacks, walk ahead, then return and lead me, my hand holding his belt.
White markings were not always clear and twice we got perilously lost. The markings were also clearly intended for dry-weather hikers - we hiked in November. There had been mist the day before and a soft intermittent drizzle when we hiked, which made some very sheer rock faces we had to walk across dangerously slippery with nothing between us and a 6 000m fall.
Some of the trail should be redesigned to go behind the Brandwag mountain; the first part of the trail was disappointingly filled with the sound of traffic from the busy road below and a generator from the very ugly apartheid era mock-Swiss hotel in the park. Even the visitors’ book had comments from guests bewailing the noise from the traffic - park officials should use visitor comments as a guide to improvement, instead of requesting then ignoring them.
Tourist revenue is important to job creation and the gross domestic product of this country, but the management of the Golden Gate Park is an example of how we fritter away this potential.
It’s a shame that the Parks Board does not respect this heritage as it should.
Halfway on the Ribbok trail, after an arduous hike, one comes to flat land and a wilderness training school run by the Parks Board. Officials take their lunch break atop a Zimbabwe-type flat rock, around them the ground is covered with litter for about 1km, Chicken Licken packs, strewn soft drink cans, wild rose bushes hacked and left in heaps that the hiker has to navigate.
Further on behind the administration buildings of the park en route to the disgracefully decrepit hiking hut for our overnight stay, we passed acres of litter strewn veld in front of the homes for park rangers and firemen. One park ranger was busy stoking a huge fire of burning tyres.
The hut had a shower that was filthy, filled with the detritus of endless hikers. There was neither toilet paper nor soap in the toilets, which were equally dirty. There was neither hot water nor electricity; we battled to stoke a donkey in the rain, hacking off grasses and twigs, to get sufficient hot water for brief showers. There should be a roof over the braai area for rain but there is not - the logs provided were wet. There is an ancient stove in the crude kitchen with a chimney that hasn’t been cleaned in years. When we lit a fire, it smoked us out of the kitchen. Thankfully, my companion had lugged a small gas stove that we cooked on.
The accommodation meant to house 18 people is three rooms in a structure that would be condemned in the meanest location, with three-tier bunk beds in each. Heaven forbid that 18 people descend on that hovel at once. It displays shocking testament to contempt for tourists in one of South Africa’s most beautiful places.
The second day of the trail took us over incredibly steep terrain, no novice hiker, nor an intermediate hiker could safely navigate this. My companion, who is one of South Africa’s best-known hikers and who has hiked around the world, including summiting Everest, got to the end and said it was “one of the most punishing and dangerous trails” he’d ever completed. Dangerous because of the non-existent maintenance of the trail, which completely disappeared in perilous areas.
However, for those who go to Golden Gate and have no intention of hiking and intend driving around it’s an exceptionally pretty reserve.
The geological formations are breathtaking. There is abundant antelopes and birdlife, and when we visited, beautiful flowers (most of which you would have to hike to see). The chalets are very well equipped. But because of the disappointing upkeep of the trails and the presence of litter, this is not a reserve worth visiting for longer than a day or two, which is a great shame in one of the most scenically beautiful parts of the country. It’s also a quick three-hour drive from Joburg, so is great for a weekend away.
To book go to www.sanparks.co.za
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