Between rocks and a wondrous place

Beautiful Cederberg is a Western Cape wilderness

- Jim Freeman

I don't think you're going to see many stars this time round either, said Cederberg Ridge general manager Leisha Parsons with a smile, looking at the clouds that hung low and heavy over the surrounding mountains.

As long as you don't run out of red wine and firewood, I joshed back. No chance, she scoffed.

No such deprivations occurred at the beginning of June when a group of motoring journalists landed on her hearth for a stargazing experience billed as "Under Cederberg Skies," hosted by University of Cape Town cosmology head Peter Dunsby.

The professor's telescope was ignored, however, as the heavens heralded the arrival of one of the wettest Western Cape winters in recent history.

Nonetheless, a most convivial evening was enjoyed around the fireplace while floodwaters cut the nearby town of Clanwilliam, 250km north of Cape Town, off from the rest of the world for a few days.

I'd like to come back and do this place properly sometime, I said as we left the next morning. We'll make that happen, Leisha promised.

I've loved the Cederberg since I arrived in the province in the late Eighties but, somehow, in recent years I've managed only a handful of visits.

There's something wonderfully gnarly about the landscape and it's not for nothing a 67 000ha chunk of the Cederberg has been designated a wilderness area that is administered by CapeNature (www.capenature.co.za).

On a wet and misty winter's day - the red colouring of the sandstone formations notwithstanding - it reminds me strongly of the bleak Scottish Highlands. Even the vegetation is similar: gorse, heather and mountain fynbos are virtually indistinguishable.

Among the major differences are you won't find leopards in Scotland and you don't want to hike the Cederberg at the height of summer when temperatures can climb to a hellish 40°C.