Roman Baths Hike

About Roman Baths Hike

Start: Kamberg office, Kamberg Nature Reserve, near Nottingham Road
Finish: Kamberg office
Duration: 4 km (8 km return), but make a day of it
Fitness: easy
Our tip: Kamberg is best known for it rock art centre and shelter, but book ahead if you want to see any of it

Roman Baths is a wonderful pool for swimming in the Kamberg Reserve, an unfrequented nature reserve in the reaches of Mooi River, on the Midlands Meander. To reach the reserve entails a drive along an uneven dirt road via the villages of Rosetta and Nottingham Road.

It does not take long to reach the rock pools, making the hike an ideal day outing for families (with older children; little ones will struggle) who want to get in a bit of hiking followed by plenty of sunshine and water play.

The walk from the old trout hatchery to the Roman Bath is easy (there is a map you can pick up at Kamberg office that will guide you) but it is the views and the flowers (if they are in season) along the way that are the stars of this hike.

Up ahead of you stretches Giant's Castle on the skyline, with the Kamberg cliff face, in which there are fine examples of rock art, to your east. If you have booked ahead a rock art custodian will give you a guided tour, but the site is usually locked to protect the art from vandalism.

En route look out for the perfectly undamaged toilet bowl (if it is still there) - all that remains of an old homestead that once stood in the reserve!

The Roman Baths are the ruins of old Roman Baths, just left of a series of giant tree ferns where the route splits 3.9 km after heading up the valley from the Kamberg Chalets (passing the trout dams to your left). From the dams there is a jeep track (pay no heed to the No Entry sign as this is aimed at vehicles).

If you are after a more vigorous hike, then the trail to Gladstone's Nose, an easily recognisable ridge to the east of the reserve, is a good option.