Cederberg Wilderness

After the Blue train, I headed a few hundred miles north of Cape Town into a remote area of rugged mountains near the towns of Clanwilliam and Citrusdel.  A rocky, barren landscape of sandstone and scrub trees and bushes.  But, amazingly considered one of the most biodiverse regions in the entire world!  It is named after what is now a very rare cedar tree, one that I do not think I ever saw.  After a two night stay in a bush lodge that included a few game drives on their reserve,  I drove the gravel loop road through the wilderness itself.  I covered over 140 miles of gravel, and I think at least 7 mountain passes in a journey that took the entire day. This included a lunch stop out in the middle of nowhere near Cederberg winery.  They are the highest elevation South African winery and surely the most remote one I have ever been to.   They dispensed the gate code to visit the Stadsaal cave rock formations and an excellent San rock art site.  To see these fine sites totally by myself was very special.

With this blog, I am done for this South Africa trip.  It was my second visit here, and I cannot imagine that it will be my last.  It is such a varied and beautiful place, just quite a long trip away from home.  Thanks for reading and looking at my photographs. I hope that you have enjoyed them.

This shows how strikingly beautiful the South African wine country is.

A Bontebok antelope on Bushman’s Kloof reserve.

Elands, the largest of the many antelope species found in SA.

A beautiful Gemstock antelope.

Ostrich family with grazing antelope in the background.

Ancient rock art on the reserve.  One of 130 known sites at Bushman’s Kloof.

The only one I saw here was on this sign.  This smaller Cape leopard is pretty endangered.

Driving the road in the Cederberg wilderness.

Pass number 2 or 3 for the day so far.

Sandstone formations at the Stadsaal cave site.

Reminds me of places in Utah.  Very hot here as well.

looking through the main cave formation.

Looking down into the valley from Stadsaal. On the far right is the Cederberg winery.

San bushman rock art in Stadsaal area.  Many thousands of years old.

From pass number 4 or 5 looking to the next one.

I love to shoot abandoned farm houses. This is my first of Cape Dutch architecture.

Note the tiny yellow farmhouse far below the last pass of the day.