Dassie Route

Dogs No Dogs

Features Birding · Cave · River/Creek · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The Dassie route runs along the Hennops River and is set against a beautiful backdrop of wildlife, boulders and a large variety of plant life. The route is very gentle and ideal for both beginners and children.

Runners need to pay an entrance fee to access the trail. There is also a small food trailer next to the pay point.

The Dassie Route starts at the Hadeda Camp at the most northern part of this trail, and takes on a eastern heading. The beginning of the trail is dirt path under a canopy of trees and runs along the river until a gentle ascent takes you onto a hill where a Hospital Cave is at the top. The Hospital Cave originates from the Anglo Boer War.

An equally gentle descent on the hill will lead you back to the river, where you'll cross the Hennops River by means of a hanging bridge. The trail heading turns west from here and you are faced with a rather steep, but short, ascent. Once you reach the first intersection, you'll head northward down the Dassie Escape Connector following the path until you reach the Hennops River where you'll cross the river once more by means of a cable car to reach the starting point at the Hadeda Camp.

The trail is very well maintained and clearly marked; however, you should be vigilant as a large section of the trail is extremely rocky, and you basically descend on fragile rock slide on certain sections of the trail.

This trail has a large variety of plant life, including aloes, cacti and protea. The trail also has lizards, geckos and a variety of bird and butterfly species. Mammals on the trail include Kudu, Eland buck and Klip Dassies.

The trail has numerous points of interest, such as a hospital cave from 1899-1902, a once inhabited cave dating back to 1837 and the remnants of a kraal dating back to the Mzilikazi era from the early 1800's.