When we cancelled the Cederberg field trip in February because of extreme heat, I was convinced that it would snow over the weekend of the rescheduled trip - what a pessimist!
The weather report said we'd have fine days but it was hard to believe as we set off on Friday afternoon and drove the first 150 km's in torrential rain. When we stopped at Kardoesie on top of the Piekenier's pass we were greeted with a cloudburst that kept us huddled in coats, shivering inside the farmstall.
Onward when the rain stopped, to Clanwilliam and an hour at the Living Landscape Project that our archaeology guide, John Parkington, began some years ago and where our students spent a weekend in 2003, 2006 and 2008.
This time though, we were not staying here. Instead we headed higher up into the mountains, over the Pakhuis pass, to Traveller's Rest, a large farm owned by the Strauss family, offering accommodation and food, with hikes to the many San rock art sites that are found here. We arrived, got the bed selection organized and headed over to the Khoisan Kitchen for our first meal, a huge three course dinner made by our generous host, Haffie Strauss.
After supper, John Parkington gave us a slide show of what we could expect to see on our hike in the morning, after which it was off to our cottages.
Saturday was a perfect day, sunny and warm - how could I have doubted those forecasters! After breakfast, we walked the Sevilla trail with John. I'm not going to describe it here - it would take too long - just take a look at the photos in the link below. After lunch, we walked to Salmanslaagte, another rock art site alongside a babbling river with cliffs on either side. Six of our party went on horseback - Traveller's Rest offers horse trails too. Back to the Khoisan Kitchen in the setting sun for another wonderful meal and pleasant end to the day.
Sunday morning John walked all but 9 of us to the Hollow Rock Shelter, set on top of a ridge with quite a demanding ascent. From the top we waved at the riders down below on their trail. We didn't meet up with them this time.
John explained how the Hollow Rock Shelter had been found and excavated. It was not a site for paintings, but a very interesting collection of stone tools. See this U-tube video if you want to find out more about the tools man used 70,000 odd years ago.
We had a slight panic on return when the horse riders were not back by 11:45 and we were due for lunch at noon. Tim waited for them while Sipho took the first bunch to Bushmanskloof a Relais & Châteaux lodge that adjoins Traveller's Rest and has an extensive collection of rock art.
I guess the photos really say it all, so this is enough from me for now. Thanks to all who made this such a great excursion, especially the Bings!
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