101 Trail Guide | 2010

Mac Mac Summit Route

Mac Mac Forest Retreat lies smack bang in the middle of the Komatiland Forest Conservancy, halfway between Sabie and Graskop in the Mpumalanga escarpment area.
The Mac Mac Summit Route is a network of tracks rather than a single trail; a web of woodland veins winding through 770 km2 of delicate biosphere. Which track you choose depends on you, your guide (compulsory) and the time you have available. The options vary from one to five days, and the trail can be adjusted according to individual requirements and weather conditions.
The trail starts at the Komatiland forest plantations, just off the old Lydenburg Road, and heads north past the Lone Creek Falls and Blyde Falls, across the Hartebeesvlakte towards Mauchsberg. After savouring the view from the top of Mauchsberg, the track descends via Christmas Pools, through Burger’s Pass and into the Blyde River Canyon.
The variation in altitude and rainfall within this small area results in diverse vegetation – from indigenous forest to sour bushveld in the valleys below, from lush ferns to rocky canyon floors laced with lichen.
As you ascend, the trail becomes rockier and the slope steeper. The forest opens up to reveal glimpses of the majestic Blyde Falls below. Then, at almost 1 912 m above sea level, just below the Mount Anderson peaks, the forest spits you out onto the Hartebeesvlakte, the beginning of the Blyde River catchment area.
Mauchsberg peak, at 2 115 m above sea level, is the centrepiece of the journey. It is a full five-day itinerary, but the track is in relatively good condition – owned and maintained by forestry companies and used predominantly for logging.

What you need to know

Accommodation:
Overnight facilities are interspersed throughout the forest along the length of the trail. For a list of options see the website below.

What else?
Activities include quad biking, gold panning at Forest Falls, archery and canoeing. It’s dotted with places of historical interest, such as the Jock of the Bushveld Memorial and Motlolo Volcano.

Contact:
Sonya and Sharon
013 764 2376,
013 764 1018, 
macmacquad@mweb.co.za;
www.macmac.co.za,
www.macmac4x4.blogspot.com.

Nearest towns: Sabie, Graskop (15 km)

Best time to go: All year round

Trail distances: From 1-5 days, averaging 100 km a day.

How long will I be driving? Usually 6-7 hours per day

GPS: S25.10839 E30.71331

Full Review | Geoff Levey (Feb 2008)

Entry to the Mac Mac Summit Route requires just two things: a high-clearance vehicle, and imagination. So leave your cynicism behind and travel with Geoff Levey on a magic 4x4 ride through Mpumalanga’s never-never land.

A tour through the Mac Mac Forest Retreat feels like being lost in a child’s imagination − it’s vivid, lush and alive with possibilities. You half expect to see fairies popping out from beneath thick forest ferns – and no, I don’t believe in fairies.

As a down-to-earth, worldly-wise, grown man, I’m not given to flights of fancy. And yet, here in the middle of the Komatiland Forest Conservancy the only description that does justice to the surroundings includes words I’m uncomfortable with, such as “fairytale”.

Mac Mac Forest Retreat, the base from which all the trails are operated, is halfway between Sabie and Graskop in the Mpumalanga escarpment area. The Mac Mac Summit Route is more a network of tracks than a single trail; a web of woodland veins that twine through a 770 km2 concession of delicate biosphere.

Which track you venture onto is up to you, your guide (which is compulsory by the way) and the time you have available. The options vary from one to five days for the trail which can be started from various points and altered according to individual requirements and weather conditions.

Into the belly of the beast
Over coffee and rusks one morning, we planned to enter through the Komatiland forest plantations, just off the old Lydenburg Road, head north past the Lone Creek Falls and the Blyde Falls and cross the Hartebeesvlakte towards Mauchsberg.

After savouring the view from the top of Mauchsberg, we would descend via Christmas Pools, through Burgers Pass and into the Blyde River Canyon.
It is a full two-day itinerary, but the trail is in a relatively good condition, owned and maintained by forestry companies and used predominantly for logging.

During our visit in December the journey was a little more challenging than normal. Heavy rainfall in the previous weeks had converted the tracks into river-like causeways: scarred, uneven and slippery in places. Low range and great caution was essential.

Within minutes we were awed to silence, entombed by the forest and humbled beneath jumbo pine trees. We pushed forward in single file, weaving between the forest titans more like a trail of ants, than a 4x4 party.

Our path wound slowly heavenward up Mauchsberg, tip-toeing through the inner sanctum of the forest, tracing an almost invisible vein up the mountain.

It paused here and there to dip its toes in the fresh mountain streams and valleys, before continuing its ascent into a world of lush green undergrowth, grand cliffs and misty chasms.

The variation in altitude and rainfall within this small area creates amazingly intricate and diverse vegetation: from indigenous forests, to sour bushveld in the valleys below, from lush ferns to rocky canyon floors, laced with vivid flashes of lichen.

We stopped intermittently on our journey skyward to gorge on the scenery below.
Just after lunch, we passed In De Diepte Hideaway, the old forestry managers’ home that was our planned layover for the night.

As we continued our ascent, the landscape began to change: the trail became rockier, the slope steeper; even the air smelt cleaner.

The forest slowly shed its layers, opening up here and there to reveal glimpses of the majestic Blyde River falls below. 

Then without notice, at almost 1 912 m above sea level, just below the Mount Anderson peaks, the forest spits you out. We had arrived at Hartebeesvlakte.

The beginning of the Blyde River catchment area, it comprises hectares of completely unexpected, entirely out of place, utterly unspoiled grassland plains, dotted here and there by grazing herds of eland, blesbuck, oribi and rhebuck.

As evening encroached, we turned around and headed back down towards In De Diepte. Managed by Mac Mac Forest Retreat, self-catering In De Diepte comes complete with tin roof and red-painted patio. It promised to be the perfect evening retreat. 

A silent salute
After the coffee-and-rusks ritual the next morning, it was time to depart. We planned to wind our way slowly up the mountain edge towards Mauchsberg peaks, before descending into the belly of the Blyde River Canyon.

Soon we were back within the embracing forest, tracing its contours in awed silence (okay, maybe it was just due to sleep deprivation).

Our first brief stop was at Christmas Pools, on the Blyde River. It’s a great stop for a morning wake-up dip and a booster coffee.

Relaxing as it is, don’t dally too long − save time for Mauchsberg, at 2 115 m above sea level the centrepiece of the journey, and the next stop.

The forest engulfed us in anticipation; closing around us, then retreating. Hesitating and then encouraging, gently beckoning us on, the journey akin to a conversation between young and awkward lovers.

When you break out of the darkness, you understand why. Mauchsberg is Mac Mac’s parting gift, the soul of the forest exposed in all its wonder and humility. Stopping is compulsory and unavoidable.

From high-flung cliffs to forested kloofs, sandy riverbeds to the fertile lowveld below, the scene before you is intensely evocative.

The Blyde River Canyon descent was the final goodnight kiss. Departure from this place is a somewhat silent retreat.

The trail should come with a warning: a man walks in, but a child walks out. How can you not be changed by a place such as this?

You don’t go to Mac Mac for the trail, you go for the environment and the experience. From mountain peaks, through sub-tropical forests to canyon floors, Mac Mac has it all.

It’s a journey of the senses, a mystical place of history, of romance and fairytales.

Drive Out says: Mac Mac is one of the most beautiful trails in the country, and it’s accessible to everyone with an off-roader.