Exploring further away, this time to the Free State, it was a weekend for MHC at St Fort’s Farm, situated       6 km outside of the town of Clarens in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains.
The drive to our destination was scenic as most of us opted for the winding route through the Golden Gate National Park with its sandstone mountains.
We arrived at St Fort farm around noon and had a warm welcome from Liesel and Peter. Blue skies and warm weather for the weekend ahead, perfect hiking weather.

View of the sandstone Mountain and Mushroom Rock to the right with the poplar trees

Our hiking group was accommodated in the Melkstal and Ou Skool huis, which included an outdoor area with a fire pit and uninterrupted view of the sandstone mountains, Mushroom rock for which St Fort Farm is well known, amongst other attractions. 
Copses of  tall black poplar trees wwre dotted around this area (not indigenous).

Ou Melk Stal

The first task of the day was to get the potjie going. Dave got the fire going and Sharon got the pots bubbling away.
The rest of the “rustig” afternoon was spent unpacking, catching up as more hikers arrived, meeting our guide for the weekend Zane Du Plooy, and tending to the potjie, while enjoying the view.
With the sun setting, one could admire the changing colours and the orange glow on the face of the mountain. Dinner was served, a hearty beef and vegetable potjie with garlic bread, together with lots of banter and good conversation. Thank you to the cooks and Hettie for providing the garlic loaves.  It was a clear night, with an opportunity to view the different constellations. Orion’s belt is an easy one to spot. That concluded our first night at base camp.

Day 2

Our start to the day was an early one, ensuring bags were packed and ready to be loaded onto the bakkie, as we enjoyed the benefits of slackpacking for the weekend. The hike was going to be around 9 km to the cave. It started off on a bit of an incline for about 4km. 
Our knowledgeable guide Zane ensured we stopped often along the way to either look at plants, rocks and gave us some history of the area regarding the Boer and British armies and of how the Boers used the ravines to remain hidden from the British, as well as a few tales of the surrounding mountains and how they came to be named.
The walk was at a good pace with some rock scrambling in places. Once we reached the plateau we were rewarded with spectacular views. Our stops along this route included a waterfall named Batwing falls.  Onwards we went up through grassland and then on to another overhang to see some rock art, some of which was clear and what looked a scene depicting a figure pointing to a comet.
Our last stop was to fill up our water bottles, some opted to dip their hot feet in the icy water.  As we walked the last few kilometres to the cave,  the day had warmed up and some of us were looking forward to getting off our feet.

San Art

Admiring the layers of sandstone millions of years old. Hoping to spot a fossil?

A time to sit and enjoy

The Cave

Arriving at the cave in the afternoon, we set up so we could relax and enjoy the views. With the sun setting we enjoyed a magnificent sunset and then the festivities began, with a Christmas themed braai evening along with a hot spicy gluhwein, Christmas cake and custard made by Hettie. The tealights in the darkness of the cave added to the festive atmosphere.
Sitting around the fire pit enjoying the warmth and watching the mesmerising flickering flames of the fire, it was a memorable evening.
As we settled down for the night, you could hear the cry of the jackals. It was an experience to spend a night in the cave. The evening turned out to be warm and we fell asleep under a clear starry sky.

Day 3

The next morning with the fire pit still smouldering, the early risers got up to get the kettle going. Looking forward to another day of perfect weather, we packed up and with Zane leading the way, we set off on the last part of the two-day hike, about a 5km hike back to basecamp.
For this part of the hike, we were on a contour path, passing by Fynbos such as  Widdrington Sonia Passerina and Phillepia ,  occurring in the area.
 Before starting our descent into the valley, we heard the baboons creating a bit of commotion below on the rocks. We watched on as they ran across the rocks below us.
Descending into the valley we walked along a twisted and winding path through an ouhout forest (“old wood” so named because of the ‘old’ appearance of the twisted trunks of the full-grown trees)  with stops along the way to enjoy the view before us.

Mushroom Rock

The old building, above right, built out of red clay brick estimated to be 150 years old built by a Scottish farmer who was sent to the concentration camp in Bethlehem during the Boer war and returned after the war.
Thank you, Hettie for organising a memorable weekend away, your organisation skills are top notch. Thank you to Zane our knowledgeable guide, Liesel & Peter for hosting us. To those that helped with the cooking (Sharon for your home-made tree tomato chutney that was added to the potjie) and fellow hikers for the good company.

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