On 18.July is Madiba day and Neils birthday too. It is a middle of the winter here in Cape Town. Despite the cold weather and possible rain on the weekend, I have booked Galpin hut in Fernkloof Nature reserve (Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa).
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| Galpin hut, Fernkloof Nature reserve |
Saturday 17th July. Unfortunately Neils aunt passed away due to Covid complications and the funeral was held that morning. Since we booked the hut already, me and the kids (15, 13 and 2 years old) went ahead with one car and Neil would then join us at the hut later that day.
It was not easy and took us 3,5h to hike up to the hut via the longer (red) route. We took the suggestion to take this route from Peter who we booked the hut with. He said it would be a more appropriate route for our 2 years old, since the incline is more gradual, compared to Adder Ladder route. And it definitely is. This route to the hut is about 7km in total. The Adder ladder route is about - 5km. We took the Addef Ladder route down.
The view from the hut is fabulous, especially at night! We went in the middle of winter and were worried that it will be cold, but that definitely was not the case- the hut is well insulated. The windows are bolted closed and can be unbolted with special screws from inside. There were pillows, extra sleeping bags, candles and some magazines in the hut. Also a resident mouse or two that we had to evict🐭.
The huts ceiling is quite low so taller people must watch their heads. I am about 164cm and didn't even notice low ceiling until Tristan bumped his head😅. The rain water tank was full of water, but in summer it might be a different story.
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| Galpin hut, inside |
The hike down took us 2h via Adder Ladder. And we were off to have lunch and enjoy the afternoon in Hermanus before heading back to Cape Town via costal route.
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| Galpin hut, view |
