Plowman’s Kop

Hiking to the tallest waterfall in the world yesterday proved mildly disappointing so we were admittedly approaching the Gudu Falls hike today with tempered expectations.

I think that added to the mind-blowing beauty of the hike today. Secret to happiness: low expectations? Perhaps.

That the hike was also strenuous made it feel like I was really earning something, and that something was a huge payout: sweeping panoramic vistas, verdant rolling hills, craggy rock walls, giant trees swaying in the wind, wildflowers, lichen... And an absolutely stunning waterfall!

This was one of those hikes where there were ten or twelve vistas that would have merited doing the hike. We climbed chain ladders, wood ladders, roots of trees. We clambored over massive boulders. There were some high plateaus with rippling green grasses that ended in a precipitous vertigo-inspiring drop of thousands of feet, and views across valleys and gorges that made my heart swell. The hike down was adventurous and mostly followed a pretty creek that affords various lovely places to take a swim in cool water.

I do not remember doing a better hike in the last several years. This was an A+ in every way.

It was also the hardest 10km (6miles) I have done in along time. I love a good challenge.

I'll let the pics and video describe the rest- I feel like superlatives fall short on describing just how much I enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells.

If you find yourself in the area, and are comfortable doing a very physical climb with sections of vertical rock and chain ladders: Do This Hike. Gudu Falls by way of the Mudslide and The Crack. Do it counterclockwise.Read more