Two mountain visionaries and trailblazers, Galeo Saintz and Ivan Groenhof, together with a team of guides and advisors, developed the trail.
"The Cape mountains and the Rim of Africa are playing a vital role in making the Cape a desired hiking and walking destination. It is the longest mountain traverse of its kind in Africa, where hikers encounter spectacular and diverse landscapes rich in biodiversity and we are on a mission to put the region and its trails on the world map," says Saintz.
This ambitious trail and conservation project, links existing trails right across the Cape mountains, through multiple CapeNature reserves and across 180 private properties stretching from the Cederberg to the Outeniqua mountains.
Starting in the Cederberg east of Clanwilliam and following the crests and valleys of the Cape Fold Mountain range for 650km until the hike's end in the Outeniqua mountains outside George, this is one truly epic hiking experience.
Each spring is Rim of Africa trail season - this is the best time to be in the mountains. Good water, amazing flowers in the fynbos, cool days and views that stretch forever. The trail season is marked by the annual Thru-Hike - the option for committed adventure hikers to take off 56 days and walk the route from end to end in one go. Not everyone can do that and most people who hike the route break it up into nine week-long sections.
"This hike is an epic, long-distance experience of a lifetime, traversing some of the wildest parts of the Cape over eight weeks. Since the route was created, only a handful of hikers have completed the full Thru-Hike - most people choose to hike a few sections at a time," says Saintz.
The original ridgeline route, aptly called the Skyline, is reserved for seasoned and experienced hikers, who are looking to complete one of the world's toughest and more technical hiking routes. According to Saintz, it is arguably one of the world's more extreme hiking experiences. "This is no walk in the park, but an opportunity to get deep into the rugged mountain wilderness the Cape has to offer.
"The average week's traverse covers anywhere between 60km to 100km, depending on the difficulty of the terrain and the terrain is a challenge - we often hike off path and weather can be extreme. We run the trail from September to November to avoid the wet and cold of winter and the searing heat of summer in the mountains," he concludes.
