It sounds so strange, hiking on a cheese farm through bamboo forests. But this is all true and the special family-owned farm and business we recently visited.
We dusted our hiking boots, got in the car, and began our excursion to the farm where cheese is made and many things are farmed. But we did not come this far for the cheese. Instead, we hiked their treacherous 10-kilometre hike along the Skeerpoortrivier.
The sun was already out and blasting its heat. We felt the heat radiating from even the ground we were hiking on, but we knew this hike would be worth it.
And best of all, at the end of the hike, we looked forward to some live music, good breakfasts, and obviously an Ice Cold Beer On Tap!
We live for these small things in life. In a brief philosophical moment, I thought that our obsession with hiking relies on modern economy and civil society. Imagine our modern conception of hiking even a 100 years ago, or maybe 500 years ago. I think they will conclude that we are lunatics, walking to nowhere and for no reason beyond enjoying the walk itself.
In any case, please join me on this virtual journey and hike through the beautiful scenery in the North West, South Africa. The scenery changed three times; we started in the bamboo forest, then we were on an open plain, and then we finished in an old forest with trees that must be at least 200 years old. But first, let me show you that it is indeed a real cheese farm. Without further ado!
A Couple of Cheese Wheels
As you enter the farm, you are greeted with the cheese wheels that you can see through the windows. Next to the cheese wheels, someone was making fresh cheese (see the photograph below). You also get the smell of cheese making, that is, milk! It took me back to the days we spent with my one friend on their farm whose parents were milk farmers. Good memories, but I digress.
Getting our "Passports" and Meeting an Alpaca Friend
You stand underneath some of these old trees that must be a couple of hundred years old. The farm offers many routes, some going far beyond 50 km that you can either hike or ride your mountain bicycle with. You also need to buy a permit, because as per their website you walk through almost 30 different farms of local farmers. I guess they want to make sure that you are one of the hikers that may go there!
After getting our permits, we saw some farm animals. The alpaca's caught our eyes and we wanted to get a closer look! What wonderful animals. But I felt sorry for them in the extreme heat. Luckily there was some shade provided by the trees. But we could not spend too much time with him/her! The sun was getting hotter and hotter by the minute.
Bamboo Forest: The First Part of the 10km Hike
And so we began. The first part of the hike consisted of various bamboo forests and tunnels. They felt otherworldly as bamboo is not a typical South African plant, but I may be mistaken! But it served as a beautifully calm and cold start to our long journey.
Many of these tunnels can be found on the first part of the hike. Some of them lead to bridges that cross the river, leading to other and different hikes.
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The way they make these tunnels is ingenious. I saw one of the branches sticking out and quickly realised what they had done. As they pull the branches over the path to create the arch, new growth begins at the nodes, growing upward. With this, they achieve these thick tunnels that cool down the area. Ingenious!
Here is a small video of the tunnels:
The Flat Plains: The Second Part of the 10km Hike
Just when we got used to the shade and the cool temperatures underneath the bamboo tunnels, we reached the flat grassy plains, which were exposed to the sun. Nonetheless, the views were spectacular and we could appreciate nature a bit more. The mountains lured us toward them, but they were still many kilometres away from us.
We happened to stumble upon a rather peculiar sight. Whilst walking on the grass plains, we found groves and groves of trees. I am not sure what trees they are but I am sure they are not fruit or nut trees. I may be wrong, but it was really strange. And they kept on for many hundreds of meters. It felt like they would not end!
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But we were constantly reminded of our way. The trail route is beautifully marked and we never felt like we did not know where to go. I commend them on this as I have hiked some routes that never tell you that you are on the right route.
As I said, the grassy plains gave use some chance to appreciate nature. Even though I know most of these plants and flowers are classified as weeds and that they are most likely alien species to the environment, they still offered us beauty on our hike.
I found out this one is called Mexican (prickly) poppy, and that the seeds are actually dangerous to consume. Scary stuff, because the seeds look very similar to mustard seeds.
I am not sure what this plant is, but it looks like lavender flowers!
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| I am also not sure what these are. | But we found a giant dandelion! |
We also found evidence of what they are farming close by, corn! They used some of the corn husks to cover the road, maybe it helps with flooding? I am not sure. Or someone just dumped the remains on the hiking route.
The Old Forrest Filled with Fruits: The Third Part of the 10km Hike
On our way to the old forest, we began seeing so many mulberry trees. We took the opportunity to eat some of the berries, but @urban.scout and I came to the conclusion that these mulberries were too mild for our taste. It almost tastes like watered-down versions of berries! But it was a nice snack nonetheless.
I constantly looked up at the sky as we hiked. The tree tops or canopy are always so beautiful from below. It also reminds one of how small you are in compared to these giant trees.
It is amazing that we still have some of these big trees left. It is sad to see just how much of the land we use for farming and housing. Soon, such enclaves will also cease to exist as greed and hubris will consume us and nature. For the time being, we fully enjoy and inhale these spaces.
From time to time, we were reminded of the river running beside us. Even with the extreme heat, there was plenty of water. Most likely the reason why they farm so extensively here!
Here is also a short video of the old forest and the river:
The First 5km Done
Soon, we got to the 5km marker. It is a circle route, meaning that you go back the same way. But from time to time the way back, tracked onto another path, giving us different scenes. But at this stage, we were so tired! Even though there was not much elevation, the heat and high humidity quickly exhausted us. But the views and scenery surely made up for it! The sounds of the birds were beautiful and we truly enjoyed it.
I did not see many birds, even though we heard them loud and clear, we did manage to see some monkeys! Here is a short video of them:
Finishing off with a Cold Beer
After the 10km hike, we were so thirsty. Luckily, the cheese farm has a restaurant that brews their own beer as well! Or at least the lager. It was so nicely received by our tired bodies. The beer tasted like honey. It quenched all the thirsts that we had.
Below is just a screenshot from my Garmin account. I failed to start recording our walk at the beginning. I forgot actually, therefore, the 8.9km and not 10km as the route says. But it took us a healthy two and a half hours to complete. So I think that beer was well deserved.
Postscriptum, or Tired Bodies
After the hike and the beer, we were tired and completely spent. But we saw some beautiful things, we were given the opportunity to be outside and to just enjoy nature.
I really hope that you enjoyed this virtual journey with me, and that you will find inspiration to do similar things! Nature waits for us to explore her beauty.
For now, happy travelling and keep safe!
All of the writings are my own, unless stated otherwise or hyperlinked. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300 or iPhone. I am also not getting paid to write or say anything, all of the above are my own opinions.
Nice hike except the heat, more for winter me thinks..., many of these areas were all wild open spaces, a couple of farms in the region when we ventured there when young.
Losing so much space it is upsetting to see old forests disappear, bamboo growing I know here at the coast, cannot recall ever seeing it up that way.
Excellent outing and coverage!
!BEER
So true. I hope in my naivety that when these farms "die" or that when we stop using them, that the forests will return. Probably not in our lifetime, but they will.
Yes, for sure, the heat was bad. But my girlfriend and I did another hike last week or so in the Magalies berge in North West and the heat there was even worse. We only managed half of the hike because our water ran out and the heat just got worse and worse. Hiking here is not a summer sport haha.
We had loads of fun in the Maglies not too far to travel for a picnic along a stream after hiking in. Lovely koppies in the region.
Indeed! My family always went there for vacation, so my earliest memories were made in the Magalies mountains mid 90s. Going back there now was kind of a shocker. It is similar to how you always imagine a tree being bigger when you are younger and it comes as a shock when you are older that it was never that big to begin with.
We had a shock going past Donaldson Dam when visiting Westrand twenty odd years ago, what was open veld is now wall to wall shacks. Nothing in that province attracts me back, will live with great memories thanks.
Oh I can imagine. I always look at old family videos and photographs and the places does not look the same anymore. I grew up in Vanderbjil park Gauteng, but apparently it is unrecognisable. Townships surround the town and no infrastructure repair.
Not many places left untouched by human abuse, only one or two towns perhaps.
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Cheese, bamboo, alpaca! It's like you travelled with world in one hike
Indeed! It was such a wonderful experience and one that I would love to have again.
I love your photos and the stories that come with it. Definitely, an ice-cold beer is the perfect way to end that fun-filled hike 😁
Thank you so much! Indeed, the beer just made the hike even more special!
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Thank you so much @livinguktaiwan for the mention! I really appreciate the trouble and effort.
I got energy from your beautiful words, next to the warmth of sunlight and a lovely walk, and took a deep breath. The pictures are really beautiful.
Thank you so much! Indeed, it was such a nice breath of fresh air after a long week’s work. I am glad that you took the virtual journey with me.
What a day!! This is quite a new place for me! I’ve never been in Southafrica and I believe it’s a very exotic and nice place to visit. I love your pictures!
10 km for hiking is a lot in a warm weather! Great that you found the restaurant in the cheese farm! The cheese look super tasty, btw!!
Thank you so much! Indeed, we saw so much in such a short amount of time. Yes, South Africa is so diverse in terms of people and landscapes! Even with all of the politics and crime, it is still a wonderful place to live in.
What?! You went to a Cheese Farm and didn't invite me? Shock and horror! Ok, I'll overlook the oversight if you can courier me one or two of those little wheels of cheese 😉 What an amazing place to visit. Looks like you two had an amazing experience
Indeed! Thanks so much. Oh yes, I will need to do that! Cannot eat all of the cheese by myself! We can exchange for some goat milk and cheese! Like in the old days.
I agree that our modern conception of hiking is a product of our time. In the past, people walked for practical reasons, not for pleasure. But today, we have the luxury of being able to hike for fun and exercise. And what better way to enjoy the outdoors than by hiking through a beautiful bamboo forest?
Indeed! It was wonderful and the cold spots of the bamboo tunnels contrasted so well with the hot spots walking in the sun.
So interesting how quickly things changed right? From walking as necessity to luxury. But I will take that over needing to walk as necessity any day! Nature is so beautiful and we can experience it way better today than any other time in history, even though we have destroyed most of it. So in fact, hiking comes with this strange caveat: we need to have luxury to hike in nature which we destroy to create the conditions so that we can hike. Sorry for that convolution!
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