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Anyone driving from Johannesburg to Durban along the N3 and passing Swinburne, cannot but notice
the huge rock mountain towards ones right. This is Rensburgkop, and the site of the Bald Ibis
trail. It's a trail best suited for the warmer months of the year, as the area gets snow in
winter.
The base camp is a old rustic barn. The trail starts with a steep climb up towards Rensburgkop and
then more or less contours around it to the back and south. About halfway to the back one comes
across San cave. Parts of the trail run through indigenous forest before crossing a stretch of
grassland in the back with great views of the tall cliffs of the back of Rensburgkop. A longish
uphill climb through Protea bush follows before one ends up at the overnight cave. Facilities are
very basic here. Water is supplied from a waterfall dropping into a large plastic tank.
The next day the trail runs back more or less the way one had come the previous day, but lower
down giving one quite a different view.
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We've done this trail numerous times at different times of the year and enjoyed it every time. If
one catches the right time, about a month after the first rains, the grassy areas are covered in
flowers. There is one part of indigenous forest however that sometimes contains stinging nettles.
The overnight cave has no wood for a braai / barbecue, so you have to collect some in the Wattles
forest before the final ascent to the cave. The morning of the second day often has a lot of fog
which however burns off after a few km.
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