Text by Henko Roukema and Pictures by Lani van Niekerk

The Cederberg is the perfect place to host a project like this. The environment is breathtaking, the camping facilities are great, and there is plenty of fun activities to do every day. Even tough the terrain is tough, the Cederberg region offers some of the most beautiful rock formations in the country.

On our hike, we quickly realised that the strenuous climb is rather exhausting, but once you reach the cracks the fun starts and you are overwhelmed with the beauty of your surroundings. Helping each other through the narrow clefts and scrambling up chimneys proved to be a good team-building exercise.

One of the highlights proved to be going to the observatory. We had a great time sitting in the crisp night air with the stars above us as we learnt their names. The minimal light pollution allowed us to see very clearly with the aid of telescopes – we could even see four of Jupiter’s moons!

It was great to see which activities sparked interest in the kids. The rock climbing at Truitjieskraal was a big hit with the boys. I was very impressed with their agility and climbing skills – even though none of them have climbed before. Some of the girls decided to face their fears and give the climb a go, and they did very well!

The trip to the Cederberg was a great opportunity for the kids to really experience what the area has to offer, as well as to learn how one should treat it. Spending time in nature is so invigorating and I could see that some of them really took the experience to heart. For us, the facilitators, it was a big privilege to take a group of people to a place that is dear to us and have them share in the magic of the Cederberg.

Henko organized together with other Pangaea members a weekend trip to the wilderness for children, who could otherwise not afford it. Pangaea Project supported the project financially.