So last weekend we decided to test our gear and get some training in as well. This involved lugging along backpacks filled with everything needed to be self-sufficient: tent, food, firstaid kit and the kitchen sink. Armed with a permit, we started off on a two day circular trail in the Boosmansbos Wilderness Area.
If your’e asking Google to provide you with directions - don’t bother. Navigate to Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve which is adjacent to the Boosmansbos Wildernes Area. The difference is that there is a gravel road leading to Grootvadersbosch but to get to Boosmansbos you need to hike from the Grootvadersbosch entrance, up and around mountain or two before you get to see this bit of wilderness.
Now if you’re not Afrikaans or Dutch speaking, you might wonder about the meaning of “Grootvadersbosch” and “Boosmansbos”. Shortly, “bos” or “bosch” means “woods” or “bush”. A literal translation then would be “Big daddy’s bush” for “Groot vaders bosch” and “Angry man’s bush” for “Boos mans bos”. Why “angry man”? History says that in the 1800’s an old hermit lived here and became really upset when someone entered his domain. So there.
Day 1
Walking uphill (mountains tend to be an uphill/downhill afair most of the time we soon realized) we took a lot of pictures of wild flowers.
Here you can clearly see the remnants of a fire a while ago:
The views were very rewarding and we soon lost track of time.
If you look to your left your guide will point out to you Protea flowers in bloom… the stick is also used to clear the path of big bush spiders (and their webs) that often stradles the path.
You will also notice that the sun is setting and we have some ways to go before we reach the “huts”. The challenge about this hike is that some sections are very overgrown (looks like no one has been on this path for months), it’s steep and rock-strewn. Definitely not something you want to tackle in the dark! So we had to scramble and there was no time to rest tired feet - but we made it just as it was getting really dark, 17km and several hours later.
Day 2
After a good night’s rest and some breakfast the smiles were back! 
It’s difficult to capture the majesty of this view in a photo. The flowers in the front is the Syncarpha Eximia (Strawberry everlasting) and to the rear the mountains surrounding Boosmansbos.
Coming down the mountain and crossing the Duiwenhoks river the path is very overgrown and you can see that this remote part of the wilderness is rarely visited.
I wish we could spend some time in the river pools, but we had to rush to because the reserve gates closes at 6pm and we still had some distance to cover.
It a was fun, challenging and overall satisfying trail - even if it did come at a cost.
