From Gqeberha, you take the R75 and after you pass Kariega, the vervet monkeys start popping up alongside the road, and you start to relax.
Exactly 11.8km past the Uitenhage North sign, turn left onto the gravel Cockscomb road and then, 22km later, left at the Kleinrivier Mountain Escapes sign.
There will be six farm gates to open and close over the next 5km.
Jude, my youngest, did the honours with Zen precision.
We paid our respects to curious sheep, gambolling lambs and a watchful sheepdog, and then rolled through the last gate into the wild.
One of the many excellent organisational things about the Two Gorges Hike is the honesty bar and basic groceries cupboard at Stone Mountain Lodge, so you don’t have to weigh yourself down too much for the tough hike up.
You note down what you use, and settle the bill on check out.
There are solar-powered lights, the tap water is from a nearby spring, crystal clean for drinking, and the lodge is fully equipped for self-catering so no need to load your backpack with unnecessary stoves, crockery and cutlery.
The beds have duvets and pillows and there are baskets full of blankets, so you only need to carry sheets and pillow slips, which manager Juan Marx supplies you with.
We had time constraints so could only do one night at the lodge but the ideal would be to do at least two.
A number of trails have been cut on top of the mountain so you would have plenty to do.
The Herald
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