Hottentots Holland Overnight Hike

The Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve is situated only 83km from Cape Town and was included as one of the protected areas making up the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage Sites, declared South Africa’s 6th World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2004. The reserve’s mountainous terrain ranges between altitudes of 500m and 1 590m.

How to get there:

Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve is about an hour’s drive from Cape Town. Take the N2 over Sir Lowry’s Pass, turn left on the R321, go through Grabouw and on towards Villiersdorp. Before turning left, don’t forget to stop at the Peregrine Farm Stall (on the right) for a pie.  Drive up in Viljoen’s Pass, watch out for Nuweberg and the reserve entrance signposted on your left.

How to book:

Contact Cape Nature

Use your Wild Card to save on Conservation / Entry fees.

The hike:

On entering the reserve you complete the usual covid forms, temperature checks etc.

Then drive in and leave the car at the allocated place, near the start of the Cape Canopy Tours.

The different huts are sign posted and to get to the Shamrock Hut via the Sphynx rout, it was up, up and up. The terrain is generally very rugged. Slopes tend to be steep and the rocky surface demands a good pair of hiking boots or trail running shoes.  The distance to the hut is about 12 kilometers.

The accommodation:

Landroskop Hut and Shamrock Lodge are situated close together. In bad weather conditions and with a large group of friends, I will recommend the Landroskop Hut.

But if you are a small group and the weather is good – rather go for Shamrock. The view is out of this world. Whatever you do, do not miss the sunrise. The braai area is at the back and separate from the bedrooms. So if there are a noisy group staying at the same time, this is a better bet.

Wood is provided and there is a wood stove in each room.  The braai area at the back have 3 built-in braais and a large table. There is a picnic bench on the front deck overlooking the view.

You need to take your own gas stove, pots, crockery, cutlery, matches, fire lighters, sleeping bags and pillows. There are triple bunks in each room – trust me – you would want to dabs the bottom bunk. You can thank me later.

There are bins, water taps and toilets outside.

For other over night hikes. Click HERE