What can I say, I have been looking for this book for years, without even knowing it. When Struik Nature published Hiking Beyond Cape Town I literally did a skip and dance for joy. Whenever we go away for a weekend I want to go hiking in the surrounding mountains, but not being a local, I have no idea where to find the hikes or where to find details about the hikes available… and along this book called: Hiking Beyond Cape Town and it is exactly what I need.
Hiking Beyond Cape Town
Regions include:
- Northern Suburbs and the Tygerberg Nature Reserve.
- Helderberg and around Steenbras Dam.
- Overberg – from Pringle Bay to Betty’s Bay, Kleinmond and Hermanus.
- Winelands – Stellenbosch, Jonkershoek and Paarl
- And Further Afield – Greyton, West Coast National Park and Saldanah.
Each hike includes detailed directions on how to get there, general information about the area, including what sort of plants and animals to expect, as well as a detailed description of the trail. There is a map of the trail with important features outlined and specific details of the hike are included, like the best time to hike the trail, if one needs a permit and where to get one, the route highlights, where to park, the degree of difficulty and so on. Also, each route has a number of full colour photographs of the trail, so one can get a good idea of what you are heading into.
There are forty hikes to choose from, several below 5km, several around 10km and several that are further. There is literally something for every ability and every comfort level… I personally could think of nothing better than adding a hike to the weekend away menu. The hike descriptions are detailed, providing an interesting read and background to the hike, not just about the plants and animals that you may see, but also the history of the area. The historical background is an interesting addition, why some locations have such interesting names, why some places stand out as local landmarks… this book is just as good for armchair traveling as taking with you, when you get out and about.
For those of you in Cape Town on a given weekend and are looking for a hike, beyond the crowds of Lion’s Head or Platteklip, then take a look at the companion book, Hiking Cape Town by Evelyn John Holtzhausen, that I reviewed recently.
Amazon Affiliate Links for Books Mentioned in This Post.
These books were given to us for review purposes by Struik Nature. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.