We are planning a 5 day hike in the central Cederberg in November 2019. We are basically copying this route Central Cederberg Circuit - Hiking South Africa
Algeria - Crystal Pools - Welbedacht Cave - Sanddrif - Sneeuberg hut - Algeria
I am a little concerned about water. Does anybody have any recent experience? Will there be water close to our overnight stops? (Welbedacht and Sneeuberg) As far as I can see on my Slingsby map there are streams running by the stops, but that doesn’t guarantee water availability.
Was hoping someone has done it recently, or plan to do it in the near future.
Great route! As always, one doesn’t really know the water situation is until you’re there, but it should be fine. The little stream that flows by Sneeuberg hut is pretty consistent. At Welbedacht you might need walk down the valley a bit before you find water.
As far as I know Wolfberg Arch is still closed though.
Hey thanks Arno. Yes, Cape Nature said that the arch is still closed, but it may be open by October. As far as my calculations go, we will be able to get to Sanddrif via the jeep track.
Holding thumbs for good rains during the winter! Can’t wait!
if it rains well in winter you should have enough water to end-Nov. last year the Cederberg had a lot of late rain (Aug / Sep). if your overnight spot is out of water you can always drop down a valley until you find water - the lower streams are pretty much perennial.
Just returned from a trip to the Cederberg over the Easter weekend. There was no water running down Welbedacht kloof except right at the bottom of the kloof. None outside the cave either - but about 100m upstream of the small spring that runs past the cave there was a small exposed part of the (currently underground) spring that normally runs past the cave. We were told that there was no water at the Spout cave and that it was very busy, so we headed north to Sneeukop, and found lots of water on the way to Sleepad and Sneeukop huts - many springs crossing the jeep track, and also water at Sleepad hut. No water at Grootlandsvlakte or coming down Uilsgat kloof.
However, this was in April, before the first significant winter rains. In November, I am quite confident that water would be much more readily available. A good reminder for me after this trip
was that even when the kloofs are dry, water can be quite readily found on the shale band - but always a good idea to carry enough drinking water to get you down the mountain if need be.
My brother and I would like to do the same route around Sept/Oct. That said, can you let me know the estimated cost of your hiking trip for this route?
I would love to, but at this stage Cape Nature is still testing my patience. If you sleep under the stars as they call it, it should only be R60 per night per person. We are however trying to book a cottage for the night before and after, as well as a camp site at Sanddrif for night 3.
I paid in full for our hike today, but I am honestly not sure if the quote I got was correct. The best would be to contact Cape Nature ditectly. Maybe someone else who has recently done the hike can also comment, but I am not sure of the costs. Some nights we are charged R200 per person per night, and other nights it’s less… I kind of gave up.