The original inhabitants of the Cape – the Khoekhoen and San tribes - called Table Mountain Hoerikwaggo – "sea mountain" or "mountain in the sea"
Hoerikwaggo™ Trail
Discover Silvermine
Location in SA
Walk in the footsteps of your ancestors and discover the beauty of an ancient mountain chain...
Hoerikwaggo is the original Khoisan word for mountain in the sea, the Khoisan’s name for Table Mountain.
The Hoerikwaggo Trail
The Hoerikwaggo Trail is a spectacular four-night, five-day 97km trail from Cape Town to Cape Point, rivaling the legendary Inca Trail in Machu Picchu. Hikers can book three, day two-day, or one-night hikes as sections of the overall trail. The full +- 97km trail, which can be linked with four overnight stops, will be ready by August 2010.
History
Hoerikwaggo is the indigenous Khoekhoen word for Table Mountain, meaning “mountains in the sea”. The dramatic mountains indeed rise out of the sea on three sides, and on the fourth side the mountains tower majestically over the growing urban sprawl of metropolitan Cape Town.
The Cape Peninsula is rich in the first peoples’ history of the past 100 000 years when the nomadic Khoekhoen and San hunted and gathered on these mountains and beaches, then herded in a subsistence lifestyle that touched the earth lightly. The mountains oversaw the arrival of the Nguni people 3 000 years ago, and then the Europeans 300 years ago. Today Table Mountain protects the resulting mixture of cosmopolitan citizens in a custodian role known as “Umlindiwengizimu” – the watcher of the south – placed by Qamata – our creator – looking after all of Africa.
The Trail
The proposed four-night, five-day Hoerikwaggo Trail will allow access to hiking from Cape Point to Table Mountain, through the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP). The construction of this trail by hundreds of previously unemployed path-builders, and the change of land ownership from private to public, allows you to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors who traversed these “mountains in the sea”.
Three of the four overnight, self-catering tented camps are:
- Orange Kloof above Hout Bay, adjacent to Constantia Nek.
- Silvermine below Noordhoek Peak, off Ou Kappse Weg
- Slangkop Point, next to the Kommetjie Lighthouse
- Smitswinkel, 300m from the Cape of Good Hope entrance gate.
Tented Camps
The beautiful, rustic but luxurious camps, cater for both local and international visitors, and are built from timber felled and milled in the TMNP. Following the principle of touching the earth lightly, only previously damaged sites were selected, and the design ensures minimum environmental impact. Hot water, open fires, and fully equipped kitchens.
What you need
Food and overnight gear will be ferried from your departure point to your tented camp. You need good walking boots, daypack with lunch, snacks and two litres of water and weatherproof gear for sun, wind and rain.
The Smitswinkel section
Enjoy walking in the Cape of Good Hope section of the TMNP. The camp is set in the shadows of a weathered Flowering Gum plantation. Guests overnight at the Smitswinkel Tented Camp which is situated about 300m outside, from the entrance gate to the CoGH along Plateau Road. Min 2 Max 12 persons.
Day 1: Easy - 15km – Cape Point to Smitswinkel: The hike starts at Cape Point Lighthouse within the Cape of Good Hope section of the TMNP. Walk along the False Bay Coast to the old Smitswinkel Bay Forest station and this walk is approximately 15km long. Enjoy the vast tracts of fragrant fynbos where buck and other mammals roam such as the Chacma baboons, reptiles and birds.
Day 2: Easy – Smitswinkel to Redhill: Hikers must be shuttled from the Smitswinkel tented camp to the starting point along Redhill Road i.e. Klein Plaas Dam signboard. Redhill to Kommetjie: The hike meanders between the summit of Redhill, past Ocean View and down over Slangkop to Kommetjie. Along the way are breathtaking views of Table Mountain and Cape Point.
Meeting Point: You must arrange your trail guide by contacting 021 465 8752 / 021 462 7861 or 021 483 2960. The Guide will advise you where the best point would be to meet.
The site guide will meet you on arrival at the tented camp.
The Slangkop section
Starts from the Big Tree along Red Hill road, close to Signal School above Simons Town and traverses the Peninsula from east to west, ending at the Kommetjie Lighthouse 12 km away. Guests overnight in the Slangkop tented camp, 100m from the sea at Kommetjie.
Day 1: Easy - 12km - Redhill to Kommetjie: The hike meanders between the summit of Red Hill, past Ocean View and down over Slangkop to Kommetjie. Along the way are breathtaking views of Table Mountain and Cape Point.
Day 2: Tough - 21km - Kommetjie to Silvermine: This is the longest day of the whole Hoerikwaggo Trail. From Slangkop tented camp along Noordhoek and Long Beach beach. Look out for Oyster Catchers, Cape Clawless otters and, sometimes, whales and dolphins. Climb the tough Chapman’s Peak then Noordhoek Peak with magnificent views of the sea and the mountain range.
Meeting Points: Hikers meet the Trail Guide (to be arranged by the client on tel: 021 462 7861/021 465 8752 or 021 483 2960) at the big tree along Red Hill Road and the trail ends at the end of day two at the Silvermine dam car park. Hikers will meet the camp site guide at the camp on arrival at the camp when sleeping over at any of the tented camps.
* The Hoerikwaggo trail can also be hiked without making use of the overnight facilities available on the trail.*
Vehicles: Hikers may arrange with the booking officer to park their vehicle/s at the Silvermine mountain bike parking area. Hikers must make their own arrangement to collect their vehicles at the end of the trail.
Alternative: If you simply want the experience of spending a night in a tented camp next to the sea, then book the accommodation and use it as a base from where you can enjoy all the Silvermine outdoor activities. A guide is mandatory.
The Silvermine section
This spectacular one-night, two-day hike traverses Long Beach past the coastal wetlands, climbs over Chapman’s and Noordhoek peaks to overnight at the Silvermine tented camp in the upland mountain wetlands near the Silvermine Dam. The next day takes you to Constantia Nek.
Day 1: Tough - 21km: Starts at the Slangkop tented camp near the Slangkop Lighthouse in Kommetjie along Noordhoek and Long Beach beach. Look out for Oyster Catchers, Cape Clawless otters and, sometimes, whales and dolphins. Climb the tough Chapman’s Peak then Noordhoek Peak with magnificent views of the sea and the mountain range.
Day 2: Tough - 15km: Walk down Blackburn ravine and traverse northwards above Hout Bay then climb indigenous fynbos mountain side over Vlakkenberg to Constantia Nek where your two-day getaway comes to an end.
Meeting points: Hikers meet the trail guide (to be arranged by the client by tel: 021 465 8752/021 462 7861 or 021 483 2960) at the Slangkop Lighthouse parking area and the trail ends at Constantia Nek. Hikers will meet the camp site guide at the camp on arrival at the camp when sleeping over at any of the tented camps.
* The Hoerikwaggo trail can also be hiked without making use of the overnight facilities available on the trail.*
Vehicles: Hikers may park their vehicles at Orange Kloof by making prior arrangements with the booking officer. Hikers must make their own arrangements to be dropped off at Slangkop Lighthouse. At the end of the trail hikers will walk to Orange Kloof to collect their vehicles.
Minimum 2; maximum 12 hikers.
Alternative: If you wish to simply experience spending a night on the mountain, book the accommodation and use it as a base from where you can enjoy all the Silvermine outdoor activities. A guide is mandatory.
Other TMNP Hiking Trails
The Orange Kloof section
Forest and mountain experience: Overnight in a tented camp in the ancient Afromontane forest of Orange Kloof. Enjoy the pristine Orange Kloof forest before hiking out the Kloof up Disa Gorge and onto Table Mountain.
Day 1: Tough - 15,5km: Starting at the Silvermine Dam the trail descends Blackburn ravine then winds north through unspoilt fynbos with stunning views of the Cape Peninsula, and traverses Constantiaberg and climbs Vlakkenberg to Constantia Nek. Overnight camp in the Orange Kloof forest.
Day 2: Medium - 9,5km: Ascend the back table via Disa Gorge and walk through the Valley of the Red Gods to the upper cableway station. Hikers are ferried down by cable car and the trail ends at the lower cable station.
Meeting Points: Hikers meet the HKT guides at the entrance gate parking area to the Silvermine dam and the trail ends at the lower Cableway station, Tafelberg Road, Cape Town. Hikers will meet the Camp Site Guide at the camp on arrival at the camp when sleeping over at any of the tented camps.
Vehicles: Hikers may make prior arrangements with the booking officer to park their vehicles at the Platteklip Wash House in Cape Town. No vehicles are allowed to be left at the starting point so hikers must make their own arrangements to be dropped off.
* The Hoerikwaggo trail can also be hiked without making use of the overnight facilities available on the trail.*
Alternative: If you don’t want to hike the trail, book the tented camp as overnight accommodation. A guide is mandatory.
Bookings
Hikers can book one-night, two-night, three-night or the full four night packages available as sections of the overall trail. You are not charged for the hiking of the route on the trail, but are charged for the accommodation facilities – thus, the sleeping over at the tented camps. The trail is for free and openly accessible to anybody who wants to hike it. It is advised however that a trail guide be booked.
- All bookings are for a minimum of 2 and maximum of 12 persons.
- Accommodation price Orangekloof -, Silvermine- and Slangkop Tented Camps – R 200pp per night.
- Accommodation price at Smitswinkel camp – R 250pp per night.
- Bedding can be supplied at an additional cost R75pp per night.
- Portage of luggage can be supplied at an additional cost R100pp per day.
- Guiding Services can be supplied.
- To book the trail or sections of it or for more information, please e-mail: hoerikwaggobookings@sanparks.org
- Telephone the Hoerikwaggo Trails Booking Office on +27 (0) 21 422 2816, between 08:00 and 16:00 weekdays.
- For discounted rates and winter specials please enquire at the above telephone number.
Attention: Tour Operators
Registered Tour Operators should e-mail: sarievr@sanparks.org or contact the SANParks Travel Trade Office, Cape Town on telephone number: +27 (0) 21 422 2816 for special tour operator rates.
Alternatively email: hoerikwaggobookings@sanparks.org
Trail Ethics
Read more about the trail @ www.hoerikwaggotrail.org
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