Cedarberg Scout Camp

Towards the beginning of the holidays, I spent five days in the Cederberg Mountains with 1st Claremont Scouts. We were fortunate enough to have warm, sunny weather for most of the time. This was great for hiking, but we would have liked it to snow, as many of the Scouts had not seen snow before. It did rain on our last day, but it wasn’t cold enough to form snow.

On the first day, we got into the swing of things with a half day hike around the area and learnt about some of its history. The next two days we did longer hikes, including visiting the Wolfberg Cracks, which is a famous ge

ological feature of the Cederberg. It’s a short, easy walk to the bottom of the Cracks, but then a really steep climb through the narrow gullies and some clambering over and under boulders. It was hard work but we were rewarded with some great views. We also saw some of the very rare Clanwilliam Cedar trees.

On the last day, in the cold and the rain, some of the Scouts participated in a Polar Bear Challenge, swimming in the river near our cabins. The water was 6°C, so I decided not to do it! I can’t decide if the Scouts who did the challenge were brave or insane!

I had an excellent time away, but it was still really good to come back home and sleep in my own bed again.

Words and Images: Alex