Wolkberg Wilderness

Wolkberg means cloud mountain, and the name is the forecast: this wilderness area on the northern escarpment sits high enough that cloud pours over the ridges for much of the year. About 22,000 hectares of quartzite peaks, deep kloofs, grassland and pockets of Afromontane forest are managed as declared wilderness, which means no facilities, no marked paths, no huts and no signage - you take a permit, a map and a compass, and you find your own way. Serala peak is the high point at around 2,200 metres. Rivers run in the kloofs with pools, patches of forest hold Knysna turacos and samango monkeys, and the ridges give long views over the Lowveld. It is used by experienced hikers who want the absence of infrastructure rather than despite it, and people do get lost here.

What you actually see

• The declared wilderness - no paths, huts or signs, by design.
• Serala peak - the high point at around 2,200 metres on the escarpment.
• The cloud - ridges inside mist for much of the year, hence the name.
• The kloof forest - pockets of Afromontane trees with turacos and samango monkeys.

When to go

April to September. Two to three days. Permits are limited and arranged in advance.

Honest expectations

There are no marked trails - map and compass navigation is required and people have become lost and needed rescue. No huts, no water points, no signal on much of the plateau. Mist reduces visibility to nothing regularly. Access roads are rough gravel.

Nearby

Magoebaskloof is north; the Lowveld escarpment falls away east.