Bergheim Hiking Trail
26 - 29th May 2006
By Bertha Lazarus
The participants:
Piet and Beate (leader) de Villiers, Joy Dean, Tonie, Sebastiaan and Bertha Lazarus.
 We arrived at Bergheim, a holiday resort situated at the foot of the Magaliesberg near Rustenburg, on the Friday evening. We unpacked, settled into the comfortable accommodation, and then had an enjoyable braai. After our supper, we all discussed the next day’s agenda i.e the time of departure, what trail we were going to hike, and the amount of food and water to take with. After Beate and Tonie had a look at the maps available, it was decided that we would hike to the Amphitheatre, overlooking Olifantsnek dam, but straight up to the top of the Berg first, as opposed to hiking on the side of the mountain to the lookout point.
 On the Saturday morning after breakfast, we were ready quite early, and started our hike from the resort. From where we were it looked like a little koppie that we were going to, but to our surprise, we were climbing over a small koppie to get to the base of the actual mountain. After some easy walking we decided to climb up with Fernkloof on our right hand side.
We went into the base of the Kloof and then started up the mountain on a faint trail, which we eventually lost, as we were climbing over solid rock patches. We kept to the left side, as the deep gorge of the Kloof on our right, was un-climbable.
The climbing became quite strenuous, and after a few stops for Tonie to take pictures (which he did, although some might have thought that he was getting poegaai), we reached the top. At a shady spot next to a stream with the water cascading down the mountain, we had a long break, before setting off to the lookout point. We reached the lookout point, with a beacon not far from it, and had a good view over the dam and the surrounding escarpment. The view from this horseshoe part (amphitheatre) of the mountain was magnificent, but the winter wind had picked up, and was blowing quite chilly, and we quickly started back.
Following another route back, we headed to our previous spot, where we were sheltered from the wind. After a nice lunch break at this spot, one that would be suitable for swimming during summer, we headed back down the mountain. But this time, we followed a trail down that was much easier to manoeuvre than the mornings climb up, and we made good time, with the promise of a cool drink and a shower helping to inspire us. Tired but feeling good after the refreshing showers/baths that we had, we braaied, with Joy’s patats in the coals being the dessert of the evening.
 On the Sunday morning we decided to try and hike to Mhlabatini Kloof. The previous part that we hiked on, on a previous outing to Bergheim, were overgrown/closed, so we decided to try and bundu bash through the trees and bushes, and over the huge rocks. Trying all routes, we did make progress, but decided to turn back, after the going seemed to be getting tougher.
We then went to the shaded stream at the bottom of Fernkloof for tea. On getting there, we found a church group, of a few black ladies in the nude washing themselves in the stream, and one gentleman in his green uniform, with lit candles in the sand, and the candle wax spilling onto the sand of the stream.
 We all saw them, but somehow Tonie missed out. After an enjoyable break, we started back to the camp, only to find the black ladies now digging out en masse the beautiful ferns next to the stream. Joy confronted them with the illegality of it, and they just left, saying that there was nothing wrong in doing so. Following the path back, what do we discover?
They had thrown the ferns away, with the bags just lying in the veld. Being the type of hikers that our club consists of, we of cause reported the incident to the management/supervisor of the Kloof, who promised to take steps to prevent this happening again.
Conclusion:
The hiking at Bergheim makes for a good outing with some excellent hiking, but it should be remembered that the trail is unmarked. The route being on game trails and other paths. To prevent getting lost, a fair amount of orienteering is necessary, and certain markers must be chosen when hiking there. For example, Fernkloof’s gorge and stream are prominent beacons, and must always be kept in mind.
In summer, the climb to the top can be strenuous, and an early start with enough drinking water (minimum 2 litres) is recommended.
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