Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty is a well-known peak in the Langeberg Mountains behind Riversdale: the peak and the section of the mountain adjacent form the unmistakable profile of a reclining damsel, complete with eyelashes! Unfortunately my Garmin was not charged, so I don’t have the usual details…

Getting there: drive out of Riversdale on the R323 up Garcia’s Pass. Stop shortly after the Old Toll House. We parked on the side of the road which was not ideal.
Permits: R10 per person from the Riversdale Caravan Park, Truter Street

The trail starts very gently as it passes through massive thickets of proteas.

There is plenty of water at the base of the mountain, and you can fill up at any of the 4 streams you must cross.

The final push to reach the summit followed a path that for some reason was not as clear or well maintained as the rest of the trail, and initially, we walked past it. So: when you reach the top saddle, the zig-zags run out, and the last stretch is straight up the slope. Just before the path levels out in the saddle, a small indistinct trail heads up to the left through the fynbos. If the path you are on starts to level, or starts sloping down, you have gone too far (as we did).

At the summit, you are rewarded with views of Riversdale, the Korentepoort Dam, and on a clear day, the ocean in the distance.

The fynbos is spectacular, and we got to see loads of proteas, as well as a number of specimens of Oldenburgia paradoxa, my old friend from the summit of Bloupunt.