Day 19 & 20 - Sandstone Heritage Trust to Golden Gate

Date: 2025/04/25 & 26
Departure From: Sandstone Heritage Trust (Ficksburg)
Departure Time: 10h00

Destination Name: Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Arrival Time: 11h04
Total Travel time: 1:04 hours

Weather:
Mostly clear blue sky with scattered clouds and low lying mist
Departure Temperature: 6C
Peak Temperature: 18C

Odometer Reading (km):
Start: 243 611
End: 243 771
Total Distance: 160
Includes 94km drive & 66 km day drives

Passes:

Kommandonek Pass [Tar]
Generaalsnek Pass [Tar]
Surrender Hill Pass [Tar]

Trip Summary:

By 06h15, I was wide awake after a warm cozy sleep. It was 6C and a clear blue sky with mist hanging around the mountain base. The setting was beautiful.

At about 07h00, someone came through to unlock the ablutions. Hendrik popped in to say hello and check if all was OK. He said reception informed him that I was only supposed to arrive on 25th April and that was why the ablutions were locked. I checked my records and I could not believe I had made this stupid mistake.

I waited until 08h00 before packing to allow the rooftop tent to dry out.

Morning mist over the Sandtone Heritage Trust Camping Grounds

I sorted out the camp payments at Reception before heading off to view the displays of battle tanks, steam tractors and road implements. Each of the many Warehouses spread over the farm included a particular category of items such as agricultural machinery, tractors, tanks, steam & diesel locomotives, ox wagons, bull dozers, graders, trucks, farm implements, narrow & wide gauge railway wagons.

By 10h00 it had warmed up to 15C. I had walked through all the warehouses and looked at the contents. What an unbelievable collection of all brands of machinery. The Trust's collection includes the steam locomotive and carriages that the British Royal family used when touring South Africa in 1947.

Old Train Carriage

Warehouse of Tractors

Warehouse of Trains

I departed from the Standstone Heritage Trust being very thankful that people are prepared to invest effort and resources to preserve history. Visit their WEB site for more photographs, information and interesting facts.

I headed along the R711 for Clarens and stopped at The Artist's Cafe on the village square for breakfast.

While driving along the R712 to the Golden Gate National Park (GGNP) I could not get enough of the beautiful mountain scenary. I wish I had a better eye to catch the perfect picture. The images you capture vary depending of the time of day because the sandstone mountains change colour as the sun moves from East to West.

I am glad I arrived at the GGNP Caravan Park early as I manage to secure the best campsite. It had a wonder view of the mountains, a lapa close by and a bubbling stream flowing by and an electrical point.

The Artist's Cafe in Clarens

What a Fantastic Setting

Stream runs through the campsite

I spent the afternoon in the lapa working on indexing my photos and video. The caravan park started filling up and some visitors decided to go on one of the many hikes in the mountains. The starting point for most of the hikes was at the Lapa so they would pass by and chat before continuing. I made friends with my neighbour, Strydom, from Richards Bay with a huge 2 axle luxury caravan who was camping in the park for 1 month.

At about 16h00 a group of about 40 visitors arrived from Lesotho and setup camp. As with most large groups, they got louder and louder as the evening progressed. At about 17h00 I politely asked them to turn the music off in compliance with the sign in the park and they obliged. One fo the hikers, David, popped over and chatted for a while and confirmed that most of them planned to hike the next day. The noise of people talking, shouting and laughing continued until 02h00 the following morning.

Large Group of noisy Lesotho Campers were my neighbour

I sat with a glass of red wine and watched the activities of fellow campers while the sun disappeared behind the mountain that resulted in a sudden drop in temperature - From cool to cold. At 18h00 four bikers arrived on what looked like vintage Nortons and setup camp in the furthest corner of the caravan park.

I could not get internet connectivity so tonight was going to be a long night with the noise next door, so I sat and read my book while sipping red wine until 21h00 before going to bed. I eventually had good sleep from 02h00 onwards after the crowd eventually quietened down.

Day 02:

I had been looking forward to setting foot on my next hike. I noticed that no-one from the Lesotho group were preparing to hike.

I set-off at about 07h30 on the 3.7km Brandwag Buttress hiking trail that loops up over the mountain and comes out on the R712 near the Brandwag Resort.

The hike took 1:40hr, that includes the 32 minutes of constant stopping to gawk at the stunning views ... and to catch my breath. Some sections are very steep and include steel ropes to assist hikers. The trail is well marked with many sections paved to reduce erosion and to avoid mud. I returned to camp at 09h20 and about 10 people from the Lesotho group were still in camp and had decided to stay in the camp to relax.

The trails are well marked

View from the top of the Brandwag Buttress to the East

View from the top of the Brandwag Buttress to the West

Stream from Langtoon Dam

I could still not connect to the Internet as I had no 4G or LTE connectivity and I needed to process monthly payments, so I headed to Clarens. I stopped at The Platform Restaurant in Church Street from where my mobile phone could connect to 4G. I had breakfast and paid all my monthly bills while also enjoying the ambiance of the place. I returned to the GGNP Caravan Park and completed the Blesbok and Oribi loop game drives (18.4km). I saw Baboons, Zebra, Wildebeest and Steenbuck. The Oribi Loop includes a bird hide to watch vultures feed on animal caucuses that rangers put out.

I returned to camp to find that the lapa had been taken over by the Lesotho group so I setup my table and chair in the shade of my Land Rover to relax. I noticed my mobile phone had 4G connectivity which was a blessing so I setup my laptop and worked on my WEB site.

View from the Vulture Hide

Langtoon Dam

At 16h00 I remembered that the fuel pump whining seemed to have become louder than previously so I decided to change the in-line fuel filter. I always carry a spare filter. It was an easy change and a lot of water came out of the "water bleeding valve". I must have picked up bad diesel at one of the filling stations. Since my last fuel stop in Graaff-Rienet, I had emptied the 2 reserve fuel tanks into the main tank so the main tank contained the last of my fuel and therefore was the last batch of poor quality fuel that hopefully would get me home. I started the vehicle and the whining noise appeared a lot quieter - Problem sorted ... for now.

Accommodation: [Camping] Golden Gate Highlands National Park

The Golden Gate National Park (GGNP) was not in the same pristine condition that I recall from my previous visit during my hiking days when I hiked the 2-day trail in the 1990's. The grass was long and the entrance gate was missing. However the fuel station, administration building and shop were relatively new features. Also, parts of the hiking trail are now paved and trails were well marked making hiking a lot easier.

The ablutions were clean and functional, however there are no laundry facilities.

The two game drive loops are tared making the drive very easy and comfortable.

This is a popular destination as there are a lot of activities in and around the National Park with many interesting destinations to visit in close proximity (like Clarens and Sandstone Heritage Trust).

GGNP Caravan Park Ablutions

R712 Road leading to the Caravan Park with the Brandwag Buttress to the left of the road

The Route:

Places travelled:

Fouriesburg
Clarens

GGNP Caravan Park - Brandwag Buttress Hiking Trail (3.7km)

GGNP Caravan Park - Blesbok (9.8km) and Oribi (8.6km) loop game drives

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse