We parked our rather suburban car (everyone else had 4x4's) in the picnic area and headed back down along the river. There are two trails, the CrocodileMountain (11km) and the Zebra (6.2km). We went with the Zebra. Thought we would start off slowly.
Within five minutes we had to cross a river via the cart pictured below. It was super fun and scary. Zipping over a river with nothing but a chain keeping you from falling off. Luckily there were some happy hikers to help us across. Technically you can pull yourself across, but think that would be scary and quite a rigmarole.
The first part of the hike takes you up the mountain and you get to see some pretty picturesque views. We decided to start hiking at 10, so we got to experience the sun in all of its glory. After reaching the top, on the way down you cross paths with some of the 4x4's who are doing the 4x4 trail.
Best moment by far was when my sibling and I reached two landrovers that had come to a stand still at a pool of water. They could either go around the water or drive through it. The men were super keen to drive through the water, one such gentleman even waded into the water to check the depth. The women not so much. One shouted "I'm not going through there, who do you think is going to clean the Land Rover when we get home?"
We also spotted some mammals, like zebra, gnu and a jackal. The walk back is awesome as it takes you over the veld and you can see for miles. You also get to use that cart bridge contraption again.
Remember to take plenty of water as there are no water stops on the way, hike during the cooler hours of the day and always wear sunscreen.
Next time we plan on doing on the 11km hike as it has a swing bridge and caves!