The weekend of the 20th and 21st of November was a weekend we looked forward to. We had organised a Cederberg road trip. The stories we had heard from other students who had been there made us curious, so we planned to go out to the great wilderness of the Cederberg.
We made reservations at the Gekko Backpackers, a decent backpacker outside the Cederberg Nature Reserve area, rented a car, a white Mazda, big enough for three students, borrowed the tent from our Landlord and set out for the Cederberg on Saturday morning.
The drive to the Gekko Backpackers took about 2,5 hours, but time flew by with fun, laughter, sweets and sing-along-songs. I sat in the back of the car, above a pile of blankets and cushions enjoying the ride and the beautiful landscape.
Arriving at the Gekko Backpackers we found out that we were going to be the only ones staying at the accommodation, we didn’t mind. We put up the tent on the deserted camp site and went off to explore the premises. We decided to visit the Hot Springs, to relax and enjoy the warm water after a long sit in the car.
When we got to the hot springs, we found out that they were in fact only a heated swimming pool. We felt a little bit cheated as we had expected a real hot spring with rocks and plants, though we went for a swim anyway and then spent a few hours lying in the water and enjoying the warm sun.
Back at Gekko’s we freshened up and started to prepare our supper in the big kitchen of the accommodation. We had brought pasta with tuna and broccoli. After supper we decided to play some cards before heading to bed. We played a few games, discussed our plans for the following day and went back to the tent for a good night’s sleep.
The next day we got up early for our breakfast and drove off to see the Cederberg. The drive to Algeria, the place we were heading to, took about 2 hours with rainy weather and over an incredibly bumpy dirt road, but nothing our Mazda couldn’t handle.
At Algeria we had to get a permit for entering the park, so went we went to the visitors centre. The man behind the desk told us, that we could only visit the Rock paintings and the Caves. The other 2 hikes weren’t accessible due to the rainy weather. Since we drove all the way we decided to go and see the Rock paintings and the Caves, though we would have rather done one of the hikes.
The Rock paintings were remarkable to see, though not too spectacular. The Caves on the other hand, were truly amazing. The biggest rock formations I had ever seen and you could climb on them or walk under them, it was fun! After amusing ourselves we drove back to the backpackers.
It was time to go home. We didn’t want to drive in the dark, so we headed back to Cape Town as soon as we had packed our things and paid our cheap bill (R45 each for 1 night camping!)
Later, after yet another long, but comfortable drive we were home in Cape Town. We unpacked our things and sat down to discuss our adventures about our wonderful weekend in the Cederberg with the other students.
Find out more about the Cape West Coast Attractions.
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