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The Uitsoek Hiking Trail is located 80 km from Nelspruit, near the Sudwala Caves, in Mpumalanga.
Follow the N4 towards Nelspruit. Continue on the N4 until you get the Sabie turn-off (R539). Turn left at the R539 and follow the road until it becomes a dirt road. After about 10 km, turn right at the Uitsoek Hut sign. Keep on this road until you reach the Uitsoek Forest Plantation.
The trail starts at the Uitsoek Hut.
There are two huts on this route
- Uitsoek Hut. This hut has 36 bunk beds, two ladies' toilets and one toilet for the men, electricity and hot water. Firewood and braai facilities are available.
- Lisabon Hut. The hut has only 12 bunk beds, no electricity, no showers, and only one toilet. Hikers must provide their own utensils and gas stoves. Firewood is available.
Parking
Shaded parking is available at the Uitsoek Hut.
Please note: To avoid heat exhaustion, especially on hot days, hikers must drink water regularly. Owing to the low night-time temperatures at Lisabon Hut, hikers are advised to pack warm clothes.
- Birds. More than 100 bird species have been recorded here. Birds that occur here include the black sparrowhawk and the longcrested and crowned eagles.
- Mammals. You may catch a glimpse of the oribi, an antelope that is rarely seen. Walk along the streams and you might see a Cape clawless otter diving into the cool, clear water. Other animals include the grey rhebuck, mountain reedbuck, red duiker, common duiker, bushbuck, klipspringer, serval, striped mongoose, baboon and vervet monkey.
- Reptiles. Several snake species, such as the puff adder, mountain adder, spitting cobra and python, occur in this region.
- Flora. This area has a variety of trees, such as the yellowwood, lemonwood and Cape chestnut.
In 1872, gold was re-discovered in the area south of Sabie, on the farms Spitzkop 195 JT and Hendriksdal 216 JT and, in 1873, Jan Muller and his son discovered gold at Mac Mac. It is also during this year that 'Wheelbarrow' Patterson set up his sluice boxes and started panning gold from the Pilgrim's Creek. From those early days until now, it is estimated that about 185 metric tons of gold was found in 'them thar hills'.
Through the centuries this area was inhabited by a variety of people, including the Mswati, the Basuto, Shangaan and Mbayi. In 1721, the Dutch East India Company was established as a trading station at Delagoa Bay and natives came from the interior bearing gold dust in ostrich feather quills. Not only did those searching for gold have to deal with difficulties such as low payability and refractory ore, but the annual reports of the Transvaal Gold Mining Estates Limited (TGME) also tell of ongoing battles against transport difficulties, pests, floods, mud rushes, fires, wars, epidemics and cyclones. Back then, ox-wagon railheads were slow and costly. The rinderpest, East Coast fever, malaria, horse-sickness and cattle disease slowed down development in this area and greatly added to the difficulties in maintaining gold production in the district.
There is currently a revival of mining activity in the area and two gold mines are located in the hills surrounding the Uitsoek Hiking Trail – the Uitsoek Gold Mine and the Rocky Ridge Gold Mine (which is located on the Kantoorbos Reef). The Uitsoek Gold Mine is situated on vertical quartz that crops out on both sides of the deep gorge of the Blyfstaanspruit.
State geologists, who examined the area in 1960, believed that there was a good chance of finding more mineralised veins in the area.
The gold-bearing quartz and iron oxide veins that constitute the ore body were mined from a short adit and some cross-cuts. The mine kept a small battery fully supplied with ore between 1934 and 1941. It is estimated that the mine produced up to 200 kg of gold during its lifetime.
During 1936 and 1937 the Rocky Ridge Gold Mine produced a small amount of gold. The gold-bearing ore consisted of quartz and iron-oxides and in some places it contained large masses of spongy altered rock.
The sedimentary rocks that now form the scarps and crags along the Transvaal Drakensberg Escarpment were originally transported into a large inland sea by streams and rivers that flowed from the east. Mud and sandy beach-like layers collected in the basin, together with a small amount of lava, which spewed from volcanic vents around the edge of the sea. These early sediments form the Wolkberg Group. This phase of sediment deposition was followed by a few years of very little activity in the basin. During this time, algae and chemical sediments of the Malmani Dolomite Subgroup were precipitated. Again very large quantities of mud and sand began to stream into the basin to form the irregular layers of shale and quartzites, which are known as the Pretoria Group.
From the offices of the Komatiland Forest, Uitsoek Plantation, the hiking trails criss-cross quartzites of the Klapperkop Quartzite member and the rocks of an intrusive diabase sheet. One trail then winds downhill to the Beestekraalspruit, which is cut into the upper shales of the Timeball Hill Formation. The climb from the valley towards the Makobolwane Ridge is mostly across the Timeball Hill shale beds. The steep rise in the topography is noticeable by the quartzitic rocks of the Boshoek Formation, which is overlain by the volcanic rocks of the Ongeluk Andesite. The Dwaalheuwel Quartzite, another quarzitic unit, overlies the volcanic rocks and is in turn capped by an intrusive diabase sheet at the north-western corner of the trail. The same sequence of sedimentary strata is traversed in reverse order on the way back to the forestry station. All the rocks along the Uitsoek Hiking Trail belong to the Pretoria Group.
This area could prove to be the 'missing link' in the archaeological record of southern Africa and is now being investigated by the Transvaal branch of the Archaeological Society. Hikers can also play a part in the investigation by leaving each site as they found it. Even picking up stones and rocks should be avoided. According to the law, only a qualified archaeologist with a specific permit from the National Monument Council may carry out archaeological digging or remove material from a site.
It is known that many years ago, Iron Age man moved into the Uitsoek area to raise their families, grow crops and farm animals. The differences in the animal kraals of the three trails indicate that these people kept both large and small livestock. During 1846, the Swazi king Sobhuza I gave up the lowveld and escarpment areas between the Crocodile and Olifants rivers to the Dutch South African nation.
The Volksraad relocated to Lydenburg in 1948, and the Uitkyk valleys and Elandshoogte and Ngodwane plateaus were divided into farms. The settlers found the supplies they needed for construction and wagon timber in the evergreen forest in the higher-lying kloofs.
The north-western part of the Houtbosloop valley was the most accessible and was named the 'Kantoor' (the government at Lydenburg). As a public timber resource, it became known as Kantoorbos. Kantoorbos was the first state forest in the Transvaal.
In the late 1870s, the farm Beestekraal was used for breeding and training zebras as disease-resistant draught animals for farm work and to pull coaches. Owing to the fact that there was a severe shortage of horses and mules, zebras were needed everywhere. At Beestekraal, remnants of the box-like structures in which the zebras were kept can still be seen. The local people in this area still tell stories about the 'kwaggas'.
Houtbosloop two-night trail
The trail starts at the Uitsoek Hut where you can park your car. The trail is very difficult. Hikers walk through an indigenous forest, lowveld and sour bushveld. The first day's route is demanding and includes a climb from the foothills to the plateau. Although the start is relatively steep, the trail later descends into a gorge with clivias – the perfect place to enjoy lunch. To get to the plateau edge from the gorge is a stiff climb. The second day's hike is downhill or level. The trail also takes hikers past the Bakkrans Waterfall. Click here to Book Now!
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How to get there:
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Take the N4 to Mpumalanga and turn off onto the R539. Drive past the Sudwala Caves. The tar road becomes a gravel road. Drive for about 10 km on the gravel road and then turn right into the Uitsoek Plantation (a tar road starts again). After reaching the pond on the left-hand side, turn left onto a gravel road. Follow the signs to the hut of the hiking route.
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Parking:
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Park at Uitsoek Hut.
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Distances:
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- Uitsoek Hut to Lisabon Hut – 15 km.
- Lisabon Hut to Uitsoek Hut – 14.5 km.
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Hut facilities:
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Uitsoek Hut has 36 bunk beds, two ladies' toilets and one toilet for the men, electricity and hot water. Firewood and braai facilities are available. Lisabon Hut has only 12 bunk beds. There is no electricity or showers and only one toilet. Hikers must provide their own utensils and gas stoves. Firewood is available.
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Difficulty:
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Very difficult
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Beestekraalspruit day trail
The Beestekraalspruit is a circular trail of 11 km and takes about five hours to complete. The trail takes you to the edge of Beestekraalspruit and into the spruit itself. The trail then gradually descends into Beestekraalspruitkloof with its indigenous forest. Click here to Book Now!
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How to get there:
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Take the N4 to Mpumalanga and turn off on the R539. Drive past the Sudwala Caves. The tar road becomes a gravel road. Drive for about 10 km on the gravel road and then turn right into the Uitsoek Plantation (a tar road starts again). After reaching the pond on the left-hand side, turn left onto a gravel road. Follow the signs to the hut of the hiking route.
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Bakkrans Day Trail
Alternating between pine plantations above the Houtbosloop and indigenous scrub forests in the kloof, this circular trail of 11 km takes you to the Bakkrans Waterfall. Click here to Book Now!
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How to get there:
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Take the N4 to Mpumalanga and turn off on the R539. Drive past the Sudwala Caves (the tar road that you have been driving on will become a gravel road). Drive for about 10 km on the gravel road and then turn right to the Uitsoek Plantation (a tar road will start again). When you see the pond on your left-hand side, turn left onto the gravel road. Follow the signs to the hut.
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Rates
R105.00 per person per night