Looking for a family-friendly hiking holiday? FIONA McINTOSH can recommend this safe and accessible trail that delivers exquisite flowers, magical forests and refreshing pools.
Take this three-day ramble through the Walker Bay Conservancy and you’ll discover the unique plants and wildlife of the Cape Floral Kingdom World Heritage Site, a tiny hotspot at the tip of Africa that boasts more than 9000 flowering species, 70% of which are found nowhere else in the world.
Ever-changing landscapes, incredible views, a well-designed route and a sense of wilderness all add to the Fynbos Trail’s allure. And, best of all, it’s one of the most affordable slackpacking trails in South Africa.
From the trailhead at the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve’s Growing the Futures Project, the path ascends a fynbos- covered slope studded with brightly coloured seasonal flowers. Butterflies flutter around you, long-tailed sugarbirds perch atop pincushion bushes, and gorgeous little sunbirds flit around the numerous ericas, probing their flowers for nectar. The floral display is so fabulous and in-your-face that you can’t fail to be blown away by the fynbos, even if you know nothing about it!
After a kilometre or so, you plunge into the Steynsbos milkwood forest, one of only eight of these special forests in the world – and they’re all found on limestone in the Stanford–Gansbaai area.
With its gnarled old trees, their meandering limbs covered in mosses and lichens, the milkwood forest is bewitching and a complete contrast to the leggy fynbos. Listen and look out for the olive woodpecker, Cape batis and rameron pigeon as you duck and dive under the branches.
Leaving the shelter of the forest’s low canopy, the trail follows a rugged ridgeline to the summit of Pinnacle Peak. From there, views reach all the way to the coast, the deep wooded valleys, rocky crags, fynbos-covered slopes, golden dunes and a turquoise ocean, creating a magnificent multi-hued mosaic.
As you drop down into ancient, petrified limestone dunes, there’s a subtle change in the vegetation. Now silver-edged pincushions, proteas and other species associated with Agulhas limestone fynbos differ just slightly from the vegetation you saw earlier on the sandstone formations. An area of great interest to palaeontologists, these limestone rocks contain some of the oldest fossilised vertebrate tracks in the world.
It’s only seven kilometres from the start to Fountain Bush Cottage, the first overnight stop, so there’s no rush. You’ve got plenty of time to smell the flowers, listen to the birds and reconnect with nature.
The peaceful retreat at the edge of a dam is in an idyllic spot surrounded by mountains. It’s rustic, but the rooms are comfortable and artfully decorated. There’s a big deck where you can eat alfresco, watch ducks cruising by, listen to the chattering of birds in the Cape willow trees and sit out under the star-studded night sky.
At 11km, the second day is the longest. A steep descent takes you into Witvoetskloof, a patch of Afromontane forest that survived historical logging in the area. A waterfall set among towering rooiels and hard-pear trees is a highlight of the trail, so enjoy the Lord of the Rings setting and perhaps indulge in an invigorating shower or a swim in the pool.
One of the big selling points of this trail is that there are route options, and once out of Witvoetskloof you can take either a high road or a low road.
The high road leads you to the summit of the 405m Grootberg and a view across the Walker Bay Conservancy to the Lomond vineyards and all the way to Pearly Beach and Hermanus. The descent on a scenic path lined with purple powder-puff flowers and other seasonal blooms leads into the Stinkhoutbos forest, where you’ll find a shady lunch spot near a small dam.
From there you meander through Flower Valley Farm, where showy sugarbushes, delicate ericas and cream-flowered berzelias are harvested for the cut-flower market. Again there’s a choice of trail options: the ‘normal’ route, which follows flower-pickers’ tracks through dense, mature fynbos, or a slightly longer, more open path via the Lily Pond dam, which I’d recommend on a hot day. The Lily Pond is vast, deep and covered with pretty waterlilies – perfect for cooling off in.
A spacious hikers’ hut, complete with a big boma and hot tub, makes for a comfortable night at Witkrans. If you take the ‘normal’ route to it and feel like a dip, there’s a dam you can swim in a few hundred metres along the path that you’ll take the following day.
The 9km hike on the third day starts with a steady climb out of the Baviaansfontein Valley that winds up through patches of thicket and indigenous forest as it contours around Witkransberg. A section of zigzags gets the heart pumping, but if you’re taking strain, there are plenty of shady dells and lots of pretty little flowers, including rare endemics, to distract you. Walking quietly, you might even spy a bushbuck.
Once the path emerges from the trees it’s an easy walk back to the cars, but if the weather is fine it’s worth taking the optional detour up the 514m-high Swartkransberg, the highest point on the trail. It’s a steady climb among magnificent pincushions, the views getting better and better as you gain height. The 360° vistas from the summit are fabulous and a great reward for the effort.
The final stretch back to the car park is fascinating. A fire that swept through in 2023 destroyed the old, dense fynbos bushes and now the plants are resprouting. All sorts of dazzling bulbous plants and little orchids have sprung up and are colouring the veld.
There’s always something flowering in fynbos, so this is a wonderful journey year round. But given that the recent fire has made it even more spectacular, there’s no better time to hike this trail.
FACT FILE
Difficulty
The three-day, two-night trail is on well- marked, well-maintained paths that are for the exclusive use of Fynbos Trail hikers. Although undulating with a couple of optional summits to climb, the 26.5km route is only moderately challenging and is ideal for families and groups of different fitness levels.
Logistics
There are three packages, all of which include luggage transfers: a self-guided and self- catered option; a self-guided, catered option; and a guided and fully catered option.
I’d thoroughly recommend the last, which also includes other spoils such as a wine-tasting and a visit to the Grootbos Florilegium.
The way that the experienced guides interpret nature is enthralling, so it’s a wonderful opportunity for hikers of all ages to learn more about the flowers, animals and history of the area.
If you choose to hike unguided, it’s worth downloading a flower ID app or taking along a guidebook to the flora of the region. Floral guides are on sale at both the overnight cottages.
Contact 082 464 5115, info@fynbostrail.co.za or visit fynbostrail.co.za.