The Trail · 3 nights / 3 days · ~55 km

A three-day walking trail through the Rooiberg

You do not walk on the arrival day, and you leave straight after the final walk on Day 4. In between are three walking days of roughly 15 to 20 km: a mountain crossing, a high-ridge traverse and a return skirting open grass plains. Each day moves from one safari lodge to the next while your luggage and provisions travel ahead, kept cool and dry.

The walking is graded moderate to challenging, over mountain ascents, rocky kloofs and donga terrain. A good level of hiking fitness is required.

Open bushveld and layered mountains of the Rooiberg, Limpopo, under a wide sky.

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Arrival & Briefing

    No walking

    Arrive and register at Rotavi Lodge, the valley basecamp. Park in the shaded, secure on-site parking; your vehicles stay here for the whole trail. Your two armed trail guides run a full safety and route briefing, then the afternoon is yours at the pool, with the evening around the fire.

  2. Day 2

    The Mountain Crossing

    ~15 km

    Rotavi Lodge Oukraal

    Set off early for the rewarding climb over Groenkop. The trail is tough but the payoff is huge: 360° views that reach 100 km. You’ll wind past deep kloofs, towering fig trees, and striking rock formations, all leading to Oukraal, a quiet bush lodge where your luggage and dinner supplies are already waiting.

    Day 2 elevation profile: 14.82 km, climbing from about 1,166 m over Groenkop to roughly 1,516 m, then descending to Oukraal.
    Elevation profile · 14.8 km · over Groenkop to ~1,516 m
  3. Day 3

    The High Ridge Traverse

    ~20 km

    Oukraal ViervanAcht

    Climb the high ridges through the deeply-ravined Elandsberg L-Kloof to the lookout point with stunning views over the Marakele range. Drop into the Welgedacht Donga, cut into the rock by thousands of years of rainstorms, and reach ViervanAcht, the mountain lodge. The view, the pool and the fire are waiting.

    Day 3 elevation profile: 19.65 km, undulating up to about 1,414 m along the high ridge to ViervanAcht.
    Elevation profile · 19.7 km · up to ~1,414 m on the high ridge
  4. Day 4

    The Plains, Donga & Departure

    ~18 km

    ViervanAcht Rotavi Lodge

    Cross the open grass plains where game is frequently seen grazing, follow the upper reaches of the Sand River, and circle the base of Groenkop back to Rotavi Lodge, where the trail concludes. Shower, share a final meal, collect your vehicles and depart.

    Day 4 elevation profile: 18.61 km, descending from about 1,341 m across the open plains back to Rotavi Lodge.
    Elevation profile · 18.6 km · descending across the plains

The route

The Rooiberg Wander is a circuitous trail that begins and ends at Rotavi Lodge: over iconic Groenkop to Oukraal, up the high ridges of the Elandsberg L-Kloof to ViervanAcht passing the lookout over the Marakele range, and back skirting the open Welgedacht plains along the Sand River to Rotavi Lodge. The map below is illustrative.

Route map of The Rooiberg Wander A circuitous walking route that begins and ends at Rotavi Lodge. Day 2 climbs from Rotavi Lodge over Groenkop to Oukraal; Day 3 traverses from Oukraal to ViervanAcht via the Welgedacht lookout; Day 4 returns across the plains from ViervanAcht to Rotavi Lodge. Illustrative and not drawn to scale. Rotavi Lodge Start & end Oukraal Night 2 ViervanAcht Night 3
  • Day 2 · Rotavi Lodge → Oukraal
  • Day 3 · Oukraal → ViervanAcht
  • Day 4 · ViervanAcht → Rotavi Lodge

Day 2

Groenkop summit · Exit of Groenkop climb · Scenic dam

Day 3

Entrance to L-Kloof · Kareedam · Welgedacht lookout · Scenic donga · Vista picnic

Day 4

Scenic riverbed walk · Scenic viewpoint · Welgedacht plains · Daskop & Daskop dam

Illustrative route, not to scale or GPS-accurate.

Wildlife & birding

What you’ll see on foot

You walk through a Big 5 reserve that holds more than 66 mammal species and over 168 recorded birds, from lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo to wide-ranging plains game. Tracking is always on foot, with two armed guides.

Big game on foot

The marquee animals you track on foot, always with two armed guides.

  • Lion
  • Leopard
  • Elephant
  • African buffalo
  • Cheetah
  • Giraffe
  • Hippo

Plains game & antelope

Open plains and mountain slopes hold a wide spread of grazers and browsers.

  • Burchell’s zebra
  • Blue wildebeest
  • Eland
  • Kudu
  • Nyala
  • Bushbuck
  • Waterbuck
  • Impala
  • Red hartebeest
  • Blesbok
  • Gemsbok
  • Mountain reedbuck
  • Klipspringer
  • Steenbok
  • Common duiker
  • Warthog

Predators & smaller carnivores

A full predator guild, from the cats to the night-time hunters.

  • Brown hyaena
  • Spotted hyena
  • Caracal
  • Serval
  • African wild cat
  • Aardwolf
  • Black-backed jackal
  • Side-striped jackal
  • Honey badger (ratel)
  • Genets & mongooses

Special & nocturnal

Patience and good guiding turn up the bushveld’s quieter residents.

  • Aardvark
  • Pangolin
  • Porcupine
  • Lesser bush baby
  • Rock dassie
  • Chacma baboon
  • Vervet monkey
  • Bushpig

Birding highlights

More than 168 bird species have been recorded on the reserve. A few of the showy, sought-after ones:

  • Lilac-breasted Roller
  • African Fish Eagle
  • Secretary Bird
  • Southern Ground Hornbill
  • Verreaux’s (Giant) Eagle-Owl
  • Pearl-spotted Owlet
  • Giant & Pygmy Kingfisher
  • Crimson-breasted Shrike
  • Grey Go-away-bird
  • Amethyst & Marico Sunbird
  • Cape Glossy & Violet-backed Starling
  • European, Little & White-fronted Bee-eater

Full bird, mammal and tree species lists are available on request. Sightings are wild and never guaranteed.