The most impressive full moon fills up the windscreen, and in the rearview mirror, the setting sun paints its last light onto the purple canvas of the evening sky. There’s a fiery dance of colour behind us, and a mystical homing beacon hanging almost perfectly between the sandstone slopes. We have, of course, entered the Cederberg.
Capetonians are spoiled for choice in the accessibility of beautiful natural land, even just an hour outside of the city. But if you’re willing to drive three or four hours, the vast expanse of the Cederberg is always the direction I would point you first.
According to the Cederberg Conservancy, the entire Cederberg area encompasses 182 000 hectares. As familiar as one may feel in those vast mountains, there’s always somewhere unexplored and untouched. True to the size of the area, there’s almost always a new accommodation to try out, from camping to glamping to small cabins and cottages or luxury chalets. The numerous options add to the appeal of the mountainous expanse that lies 300km north of Cape Town.
On this occasion, we had been invited by Kromrivier, Cederberg Park, to spend a weekend in one of their Glamping Tents and enjoy the spoils of Kromrivier.
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Kromrivier is home to a rich archaeological history, stretching thousands of years back from the fine line rock painting of the San hunter-gatherers to the later finger painting tradition of the Khoe herders, who are believed to have arrived some two thousand years ago. Painted onto the curves and caves of shale and sandstone is a story of the complex social, spiritual and religious life of the people who roamed the remote mountains for thousands of years.
In the 18th century, colonial expansion from the Cape brought Trekboer farmers into the Cederberg, planting the seed of agriculture, which, despite the area’s harsh conditions, has persevered into the modern day. The wide range of Kromrivier wines is among the greatest modern-day spoils of the area’s agricultural heritage.
Kromrivier farm is the oldest tourist destination in the Cederberg and one of the most popular too. Understandably so. Accommodation is offered in the form of 10 luxury chalets, 10 luxury camping tents or 18 luxury campsites.
Despite arriving after dark, reception was still open and the incredibly friendly staff sorted us out with our room key and all the information we would need for the weekend. The team at Kromrivier was kind enough to set up four single beds for my friends and me in one of the luxury camping tents.
We arrived via moonlit road, and we were greeted by the warmly lit tent and a display of Kromrivier’s seven wines: a pinot noir, chardonnay brut, pinot noir brut rose, rose, blanc de noir, chardonnay, shiraz, and red blend.
The two-bedroom luxury self-catering tents have a living area, a well-equipped kitchen, one bathroom, and an indoor wood-burning stove (which proved a saviour on the chilly, rainy Saturday evening spent indoors). Most importantly, there’s an awesome outside braai area, where we spent a cold but dry Friday night huddled around the big steel drum, sharing stories and breathing in the beautiful Cederberg air and a powerful August moon.
Outside of the extensive range of accommodation, Kromvrivier’s appeal lies largely in how much one can do and experience in the area. The numerous hiking trails include the Apollo trail, Murraysberg, Winterbach, Disa Pool, Donkerkloofkop, Rens se Kop, The Pup, Truitjieskraal, and Breekkrans, with opportunities for bird watching, fishing, mountain biking, trail running, swimming, rock climbing, and horseback riding.
We didn’t make it quite as far as horseback, but we did run the route to the Kromrivier Caves before bundubashing our way along a fynbos-clad contour path and heading back towards reception to take an ice bath in a stream. There is a homoeopathic quality to walking or running the red sandstone ridges, to smelling the fynbos that crunches underfoot, and to being baptised in icy mountain water.
Then there’s the healing element to being treated to a locally sourced, expertly prepared lunch, washed down with craft beer. Kromrivier is home to the award-winning Nieuw Brew Craft Brewery, and I chased a delicious Karoo-lamb burger with the Jan Pampoen Pumpkin Ale and Sand Fish Weiss.
The restaurant lies adjacent to reception, light and open and housed in a minimalist, modern building. The raw materials, natural textures and clean facade create this awesome, monolithic contrast to the warm textures of the land on which it lies and the mountains that fill the horizon line.
The concrete and glass add to the alien feel of the purple and red shrubland and sedimentary surrounds, and I was struck by how well the modern architecture works in an ancient landscape. The luxury chalets follow the same design language.
The Western Cape is still shaking off winter, so we spent a lot of time inside once the wind and rain had picked up on Saturday afternoon. Luckily, inside a luxury camping tent at Kromvrivier is far from the worst place to be, and with the stove burning log after log of Namibian hardwood, we could still enjoy a cosy take on the calm and privacy characteristic of the Cederberg.
Kromrivier is also the sort of place you return to, and whether it is to enjoy the more simple qualities of the campsite along the Krom River, to take my partner to one of the chalets or to just book out a glamping tent again with friends, I am certain I will be back. Next time, in the summer sun.
There’s something special that happens when one turns off the N7 and onto the Algeria/Cederberg pass. I savour each journey down that gravel road, the Valley of the Red Gods below and the abundance of Cederberg Park’s range of destinations in the distance.
