Cederburg
After seven weeks of exchange, the exchange group and the post matrics headed for the Cederburg. It was the last outing of the exchange program, therefore everybody did their best to make the most of it. This trip was meant for the post matrics but we were lucky enough to join. In grade ten the bishops boys go out to the Cederbirg for sixteen days doing many activities. They call the trip Epic and our trip was a mini version of it.
The first day we drove for a couple of hours until we got near to our camping spot. We had another 25 kilometers to go but instead of taking the car we took the mountain bike. It was a beautiful area to cycle around but the road and the heat made it quite tough. After a two hour trip we arrived at our accommodation for the week. It was a peaceful camping spot with a river next to it. After setting up camp we played a game of football and then headed for Mallgat. Mallgat was a section of the river with large rocks and cliffs around it. We all jumped from the rocks and relaxed in the pool after a warm day. That evening we cooked by ourselves and went stargazing which was amazing since there was no light pollution.
On Tuesday the group was split into two. I enjoyed this because it gave you the opportunity to get to know people that you usually didn’t talk to. In the morning we went to a farm school with kids ranging between six and twelve years old. We played games with them, football, rugby and we sang. It was a good experience and I think the kids enjoyed spending their time with us. After returning to the camp we had the majority of the afternoon to ourselves. We all relaxed and talked about the school. At four o’clock we were picked up by The Cape Leopard Trust. It is an organization, founded nine years ago, that studies the animals and tries to keep them safe. The man who started the project took us for a walk and told us about his work. One of us asked how many he had seen since he had started. He had only seen seven in the wild in nine years excluding the collared leopards. He took us to an activated trap and showed us how it worked and he told us about the life of the animal. After three hours we returned to camp where dinner was waiting for us.
Wednesday the groups swapped and group A did what group B did and the other way around. After an early morning and a small hike up a rock formation we went abseiling. One by one we all descended the fifty meter rock face. It was a great experience and the view only made it better. After that we headed straight for the cave paintings once painted by bushmen. We were informed that they were very old but the exact date was hard to predict. It was impressive to see how detailed and realistic they could paint when they only had the very basics. We walked to several paintings, all very impressive. We finished early so we had the rest of the afternoon to prepare for our “solo”. The solo is an opportunity to sleep out in the wild by yourself and “survive”. We all got dropped of in small groups. Each group was split up and spread out, usually one hundred meters apart. I was placed next to the river with an amazing view of the Cederburg. I started my cooking immediately only to discover that my gas-cooker didn’t work. I went to my “neighbor” and we cooked together. We got quite a shock when we threw the gas cooker over and put the bush on fire. Something you shouldn’t do in a dry area like the Cederburg. We knew we had a big day ahead of us so we tried to get some rest.
After a terrible night rest we were picked up and brought back to camp where we prepared for the day hike ahead of us. We left at 8:30 and headed for the mountain. We walked up to the vertical face at the top where we waited for the rest of the group and topped our water. To get to the absolute top we had to crawl through tunnels, squeeze through slits in the rocks and walk through the gorges. When the entire group made it up we headed for the arch. It took us about ninety minutes to get there. We climbed the arch and rested there. After that climb we did another one before we headed back. The way back was a lot quicker and when I returned to camp I just collapsed to the floor and rested. When the rest had arrived we went to Mallgat again to refresh. When we came back diner was almost ready. That evening we all sat at the campfire and reflected back on the week.
Friday we went back to Cape Town and we were all happy to return to our soft beds and warm showers. The trip took us back to “basics” and really made us appreciate mother nature.
