Find Freedom In The Great Karoo

Remember Sylvester – the lion that escaped twice from the Karoo National Park? On the four-day Heuningland Slackpacking Trail near Beaufort West, you can retrace Sylvester’s steps and catch a whiff of freedom yourself.

- Erns Grundling

The silence sings in my ears. Ssssh. I’m on a plateau in the Nuweveld Mountains on day three of the Heuning land Slackpacking Trail. So far, I’ve walked more than 60 km. That’s a lot of time on your feet! My calf muscles are sore and I have aches and pains all over. I haven’t had cellphone reception for ages and I’m not even sure what day of the week it is. Is it Monday?

I hear a distant droning noise: Probably an aeroplane tracking north over Sutherland, full of people on their way to boardrooms in Joburg where time is measured in money.

Not here. I have one task for the day: to hike 18 km to a farm called Kareebos. Along the way, I ponder the words of American author and illustrator Maira Kalman: “Go out and walk. That is the glory of life.”

Three days ago, a yellow Kellogg’s box with a red arrow on it pointed me to the farm Rietfontein, where I met my fellow hikers, among others an IT expert, a pharmacy assistant, a farmer, an entrepreneur, a retired scientist, a former elevator technician and a digital marketer. Rietfontein is 72 km from Beaufort West, bordering the Karoo National Park. Douwe Vlok grew up here and he and his wife Liezl manage the four-day Heuningland Slackpacking Trail.

“Welcome to the foyer of Heaven,” said Liezl that first afternoon.