We wanted to do something special to end 2014. We couldn’t think of any better way to spend the last morning of the year than getting to the top of the Brandwag Buttress, the icon of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, even if the weather did not play along as nicely as we had hoped.
The walk to the top of the immense Brandwag (Afrikaans for “sentinel”) formation is the most popular of Golden Gate’s trails. You can walk the Brandwag route in less than an hour, but to us that would be missing the point; you have to take time to appreciate the scenery along the way and the grand views from the top. There are two routes to choose from; one starting at Glen Reenen Rest Camp and the other at the Golden Gate Hotel and Chalets, and combining the two; going up one way and down the other, really is the way to go.
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Ongelooflike bosse! Die een so mooi soos die ander.
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Dankie nogmaals!
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Die Brandwag is a great landmark, like a ship’s bow. But what I really like about this post is the way you showed us the scenery towards the summit – full with anticipation and beauty on its own!
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Thanks very much Maurice! I was hoping to give our friends here an idea of what to expect when undertaking this great walk.
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BRILLIANT, Dries ! What a buttress of a natural monument ! – and what energy to get up there !
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Thanks very much M-R! Luckily the trail to the top of the Brandwag isn’t very demanding at all. Slow and steady’s the way to do it.
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Not for this old broad: I’d be going back from the halfway mark ! 😀
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Love the foreboding clouds. If I ever get to South Africa again I will be planning my I itinerary with your blog, you show some amazing places.
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Now that’s a very kind endorsement, thank you Maamej!
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Beautiful images… When the weather doesn’t cooperate, it’s an extra challenge to create quality images, a challenge you met and exceeded in this post. I also like how your gallery pops up the caption when the image is “moused over”. I need to learn if my theme can do that. It creates a much nicer gallery than my theme generates. I always enjoy your posts and challenge entries.
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Thank you very much for the encouraging words Johnbo!
As far as the gallery goes, I use the “Tiled Mosaic” type
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Breathtaking! You are so fortunate to have so many beautiful places to explore (and return to) within reach. Thanks, as always, for taking us along! 😊
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We know how blessed we are to live in this beautiful country Lori, and we’re so thankful for the opportunity to share our experiences here with kind and interesting people like you!
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Spektakulêêêrrr… 😉 My tong sou sleep as ek daai paadtjies moet loop! 😀
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Nee wat, niks jaag mens mos nie! Stadig maar seker is die beste manier om die Brandwag te beklouter.
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What a spectacular view…. and it reminds me to my visit to Yemen….
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Spectacular is a very apt description, thanks Nina! Are the mountains in Yemen this green though?
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Depends on which period of the year…. when I went there, it was winter, so it’s a bit dry and not so much rain, means not so green, but if you come (which I don’t recommend at the moment) in during rainy season, it’s very green.
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I would never have guessed! When I hear “Yemen” I think desert. Thanks for enlightening us!
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Some part of Yemen is flat with a bit of sand stone mountain are very arid and desert like, however, the mountainous bit, they are green however, the people prefer to grow Qat compare to more useful agricultural stuff.
See my post on Yemen that has pictures of the landscape: https://ninstravelog.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/the-yemen/
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Heading there immediately, thanks Nina!
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Nature is well preserve there. Thank you for the tour!
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Thanks for coming along Amy! 😀
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Beautiful scenery there!
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Golden Gate certainly is a beautiful place
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The more I’m introduced to SA, the more it reminds me of the American Southwest!
Lovely, lovely pictures (and not just because of what I said above). 😛
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Thanks V! I’m sure the American Southwest is as dear to your heart as Golden Gate is to us 😀
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😀
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stunning photos!
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Thanks Sayuri!
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That little foot bridge over the river gives me the shakes.
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This little bridge is a temporary arrangement, Rosemarie, following the old one washing away in a flood. I much prefer walking over any bridge to jumping from one slippery rock to the next with my cameras in hand, as we had to do at the end of the mushroom rocks trail (which we’ll tell you about next week)
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Dis absoluut pragtig Dries.Ek en Manlief was 39 jaar gelede daar op ons wittebrood en ek het woes geklou aan ‘n ketting teen daai berg op!
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Die ketting is nog deel van die roete vanaf Glen Reenen af, Dina, en nog steeds n plek waar mens eerder net jou oe op die einde moet hou en nie agtertoe moet kyk nie!
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Ek onthou nog hoe bang ek was.Ek het iewers nog ‘n vaal foto’tjie waar ek angsbevange vasklou.Maar as mens bo is,was dit die moeite werd.
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Mens is so naby die top wanneer jy by die ketting kom, dat omdraai nie n keuse is nie.
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Pragtig groen
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Golden Gate is vir my op sy mooiste in die somer, met die lang groen gras
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Ek stem
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This is amazing, and I can’t decide which is my favorite shot. ❤
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Glad you liked it that much, thanks Izzy!
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