Fill up on wetland and coastal scenes with this leisurely multi-day trail, says MAGRIET KRUGER.
The Whale Trail in De Hoop Nature Reserve has long been South Africa’s premier slackpacking experience. Now hikers can enjoy the same scenery on the more luxurious De Hoop Vlei to Whales Trail. Accommodation is in stylish rooms with en-suite bathrooms, meals are objectively delicious whether you’ve walked up an appetite or not, and the trail is led by a knowledgeable guide.
DAY ONE: A BLUE JEWEL
With nature guide Eduan Oktober – or Eddie as he introduced himself – in the lead, we started the trail from De Hoop’s main gate, our feet crunching over gravel. It was a gentle introduction to the reserve, with easy downhill walking that gave me enough time to admire the plant life. No matter when you walk in fynbos, there always seems to be something in bloom. Spring might be the best time to see rare bulbs, but winter is when the reserve’s proteas flower.
Half an hour into the hike, De Hoop Vlei was revealed: a blue jewel among the green vegetation. From our vantage point on the hill, it was easy to pick out the Opstal, the main hub for accommodation and activities for the De Hoop Collection, as well as the Melkkamer, a gracious stone manor.
A 6km walk from the gate brought us to Tierhoek, where we clinked bubbly glasses on finishing stage one before our transfer to De Mond Villa, another of the De Hoop Collection properties. Situated on the vlei, the villa offers expansive views and we arrived in time to watch the sunset paint colours on the water. We found those same colours – the golds and blues of vlei and sun, the pinks and greens of fynbos – inside, picked out on the Ardmore headboards and Cape jacquard towels. That evening chef Philip Lottering treated us to a tender lamb potjie and individual apple pies. Heaven.
DAY TWO: FROM VLEI TO DUNES
In the morning the vlei was glassy, reflecting the cotton-batting clouds in the sky. We set off on our 7.5km hike under the watchful eyes of eland browsing placidly on fynbos near the villa. Wandering along the edge of the vlei, we stopped at times to listen to the call of a blue crane or rub dune buchu between our fingers to release its citrusy scent. “The early inhabitants, the Strandlopers, would make a paste from this and rub it all over themselves prior to hunting. That way they smelled like nature and not humans,” explained Eddie.
After turning inland, we walked first over limestone flats and then through renosterveld, beloved of eland and ostrich. It was mid-morning when we reached the Opstal, perfect timing to take a quick boat ride across the vlei to the Melkkamer, where a splendid brunch awaited.
In the late afternoon we headed into the dunes we had seen from De Mond Villa. Many years ago, at least over 130 years, Eddie told us, shifting sand dunes blocked the mouth of the Sout (Salt) River to create De Hoop Vlei. A brief slog took us to the crest of the first dune and I found myself in a landscape unlike any I’ve visited before. Dunes sculpted by the wind stretched around us and the setting sun cast intriguing shadows. It was perfectly quiet; no sounds of birds or insects, just the faint roar of the ocean.
For the next hour and a half Eddie led us on a tour of the dunefields that reignited my sense of wonder. We scaled tall dunes, ran down the other side and marvelled at the strange shapes the wind had revealed. As the sun dipped into the water, we left the dunes behind and followed eland paths through the fynbos back to the villa.
DAY THREE: BIRD’S EYE VIEW
Hikers on the De Hoop Vlei to Whales Trail also get a taste of the Whale Trail when they walk that route’s final stage (7km), but in reverse. As we made our way from Koppie Alleen to Wyoming, Eddie pointed out that the boulders along the shore were ancestors of the dunes we had walked among the previous day. A mix of sandstone and limestone, the rock has been carved into fantastical shapes by the wind and the waves. A 45-minute walk from Koppie Alleen brought us to Hippo Pools, large rock pools that are inviting in fine weather.
On the beach we found hikers who had done the Whale Trail and were drinking in De Hoop’s beauty before heading home. Even though it was outside the season for whales (May to November), they had been lucky enough to see one. De Hoop is considered the ultimate place for whale watching and day 3’s route along the top of the dunes positions you perfectly to scan the sea below. Although we saw no whales, we did spot a seal hunting near the shore.
It was to be a day of sightings. An hour-long drive took us to Potberg on the far side of the reserve to visit the vulture deck. De Hoop is home to one of the few Cape vulture colonies in South Africa where the birds are still actively breeding and naturally feeding. The species is considered vulnerable, so each of the around 320 vultures nesting at Potberg is important. The climb up to the deck is steep but short, and from the lookout point you have a clear view of the cliffs.
We watched as vultures returned from a day spent scavenging – as far afield as Swellendam and Cape Infanta – and Eddie talked about these unfairly maligned birds. At one stage farmers had poisoned them, thinking they were responsible for stock losses. But thanks to CapeNature’s education programme they had come to realise that Cape vultures eat only animals that are already dead and in fact help to prevent outbreaks of disease. Today the Potberg population is growing.
DAY FOUR: FULL CIRCLE
The last leg of the trail led from the Opstal back to Tierhoek. We walked through big stands of proteas before turning back towards the vlei. Eddie showed us a stone wall at the water’s edge where he had seen a caracal on one of the hikes. “We were downwind so we could follow it for about 100m before it turned around and saw us.”
The path led us across big slabs of limestone and I could almost imagine myself walking along the paving of an ancient Roman road. On an outcrop across the vlei from the Opstal, we stopped to enjoy the view before tackling the last kilometre of the 7km route back to Tierhoek. We had come full circle from the first day, but weren’t ready to leave without seeing the Origins exhibition at the Opstal.
The “Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour” exhibition draws on decades of research to tell the story of the area’s earliest hunter-gatherers and why it was here that humankind took a conceptual leap and developed art and tools. The videos and displays are beautifully put together and, having explored the environment, we found them all the more meaningful. That very morning we’d walked past a broken ostrich shell, while here on display were intact shells – carefully decorated receptacles for transporting water.
I’d come on this trail to connect with nature, but found as well a connection with the people who had come before.
GOOD TO KNOW
The four-day, three-night De Hoop Vlei to Whales Trail covers roughly 38km. The package includes three nights’ accommodation at either De Mond Villa or the Melkkamer, all meals and local house wines, spirits, beers and soft drinks. South Africans pay R14 200 per person and international visitors R15 350; minimum four people. De Hoop Collection is a member of Cape Country Routes. Visit dehoopcollection.com and capecountryroutes.com for more information. For trail bookings, call 021 422 4522 or contact res@dehoopcollection.co.za.