A tree from Hogsback Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Hidden at a special rock at a stunning sunset viewing spot. This cache has a view over the town of Stellenbosch and is hidden behind a split rock close to the pine plantations spanning the Stellenbosch Mountain.
This pine plantation spans the lower expanses of the Stellenbosch Mountain. It has paths and dirt roads that stretch right across from the Coetzenburg sports fields to Paradyskloof. I’ve spent many happy hours and days exploring the various single tracks between the trees and dirt-roads. During winter a wide variety of mushrooms grow between the trees and lots of bubbly brooks emerge. Park at S33°57'33.18" E18°52'26.91" and find your way up the mountain. There are plenty of trails and paths that form a network amongst the trees. Just keep on turning towards the cache on the various paths that criss-cross the slope. A stroll with two doggy friends took me 40 minutes to complete from parking to cache. The slope does get quite steep, but you never have to scramble. The cache is hidden at a spot where a tree and a rock have joined. Recently I saw many such examples in the Hogsback forest in the Eastern Cape - hence the name. When you arrive at the cache site turn around, go back through the tree line, and enjoy the view. The sunset is beautiful to the right across the town; to the left on a clear day you should be able to see the ocean. Canines are welcome, but the first bit of trail close to the parking lot has some eager canines behind the fence that tend to be a bit noisy when you arrive. As you walk on the tracks watch out for mountain-bikers zipping past! A few logs have mentioned their thirst, so bring some WATER with YOU, especially in the hot months! Congrats on FTF goes to Hesamati. OWNER UPDATE 2026: Since I placed this cache 16 yrs ago the landscape has changed a lot! The grove of gumtrees have been cut down - a few fires and floods have come and gone, and the cache and tree survived it all, all tucked away in its spot. I did a bit of maintenance today - new container, new log book and a nice little item to trade for the next intrepid cacher. Right now the area is really overgrown with proteas and if you're not lucky to find the right path it could be hard to find the cache. I've upgraded the difficulty rating due to the potential bundu bashing and add a few clues.
It's still a beautiful spot with a beautiful view so well worth the hike.
Because the proteas are so dense I've added a few milestones:
Check the images:
Nr 1 This is the key boulder to mark from the UPPER contour trail. Walk up to the boulder and pass just to the right of it. The boulder is easy to spot as it has a huge section right in front of it that split off and lies on the ground.
Nr 2 is another boulder on the way to the cache - keep going up!
Nr 3 is a nice big comfy boulder to the right of the cache spot where you can rest and enjoy the view.
PS: I still see some muggle-trash around from years before - please bring a refuse bag and take some trash back down!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ba gur zbhagnva fvqr va gur tnc orgjrra gur gjb obhyqref.
Treasures
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