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Vredefort
Meteorite Trail
Parys, North
West Free State
It has only been in the last
few years that the significance of the rugged outcrops of rock that
surround the small Free State town of Vredefort has been relized. In
fact since the age of satellite imagery came about the vastness of
an impact that happened 2,0023 million years ago becomes apparent. A
meteorite estimated to 10-15 km in diameter crashed into the earth,
the largest impact yet discovered on our plannet.
Discover this amazing area by doing one of
several options on this trail, from a four day backpacking trail to
one of four basecamp trails offered by the Vredefort Meteorite Trail
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This network of
trails has been carefully designed to cater for the
needs of most hikers. For the extremely fit it is
possible to do two or three legs in one day. For those
that want short walks from a base camp these are also
available at each of the overnight camps
Each camp has 16 beds and lighting
of some sort or other (either paraffin or electricity)
and basic ablutions. Deelfontien is a new purpose build
thatched roof camp, Mooihoek is an old rambling
farmhouse, Baskop is situated on a farm in a rural
environment next to the Vaal River and Twane is a tent
camp high up in the mountains
. It is possible to drive to
and park at each of these overnight huts.
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The routes are designed so
that they can be walked in either direction and the
choice of route is up to the hiking group concerned.
Each leg of the trail is about 8˝km
long but don't let this fool you as there are some
steep climbs, especially on leaving Baskop and the
Vaal River. |
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The trail to
and from Baskop is interesting in that it crosses
through lovely indigenous vegetation rather than
farmland. The stretches along the river are through
dense indigenous riverine forest. |
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On the
higher points of the trail around Twane the
vegetation is different and more varied and this
section of the trail network should not be missed. |
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The meteor
impact site as seen by Google Earth
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Click on the
map for larger image
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Conclusion
An amazing
experience. Guides are available if one would like
to learn more about the geology of this amazing area
and although most hikers prefer to do the trails
selfguided, consideration should be taken to learn
more about this unique area of our amazing country.
Which ever way you decide to
conquer the Dome, it is certainly an experience that
will give you something to talk about around camp
fires for years to come. |
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'In a
Nutshell'
| Distance from nearest
town |
About 18km from
Viljoenskroon and 140km from Johannesburg |
| Access road status |
14km of provincial
gravel road can be tricky especially after rain
and care needs to be taken. The access farm
roads are all passible with care |
| Trail type |
Overnight backpack
trail. Day
trails from basecamps also available.
Although as yet no mountain bike trails are laid
out there are plenty of local roads to explore
in the area |
| Difficulty |
Moderate |
| Marking |
When evaluated the
trail was well marked |
| GPS Co-ordinates |
Baskop
S26 55.292 E27 14.445
Deelfontein -
S26 55.900 E27
16.594
Mooihoek -
S26 57.415 E27
15.909 |
| Cell phone reception |
Base camps - No |
| Facilities |
Standard ablutions
including beds and mattresses, no electricity |
The Vredefort
Meteorite Hiking Trail is bookable through
Jacana Marketing
and Reservations
Telephone
0861Jacana (0861 522262)
Direct phone:
Port Elizabeth 041 378 1439
Pretoria: 012 803 9109
Direct fax: PE 041 378 2548
Pretoria: 012 803 4144
PE
e-mail
bookings@jacanacollection.co.za
Pretoria e-mail:
rosa@jacanacollection.co.za
Footprint Hiking Club
Other pages on this
website can be viewed by clicking on the hyperlink below
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