Lindenau Hiking Trail

About Lindenau Hiking Trail

Start: base camp, Lindenau farm, 20 km from nGodwana
Finish: base camp
Duration: 2 days, 20 km
Fitness: the hike is difficult, you need to be fit, particularly in hot weather
Our tip: there are hippos in the river, which is very exciting, but exercise caution

Set in the heart of the Elandsvalley between Nelspruit and nGodwana on a farm called Lindenau, this is a rework of a hike formerly known as the Elandsvallei trail. The hike now follows a completely new route on the 1 800 hectare farm.

Base camp is a converted school house known as 'Old Plaas Skooltjie'. Whilst one used to be able to spend the second night in a particularly fetching thatched stone house, complete with paraffin lanterns and cast iron pots, the hike is now a base camp hike, with a return to the school house at night.

The farm has a more upmarket lodge, should you need an alternative form of accommodation.

The area, kept lush by an abundant water supply from the Elandsrivier and a number of mountain streams, is beautiful, whilst there is a record number of birds and a fair presence of game and wild life.

But don't let that give you a false sense of security. You need to carry enough water with you, particularly on the first day of the hike when, after the 3 km mark, there is no source of water

The two days are 12 and 8 km trails.

Highlights include 'sugar loaf' mountain, incredible kloofs and gorges, and over 300 species of bird. Day two passes old gold mine sites and the ruins of a South African War camp. Keep your eyes peeled for the Cape clawless otter, and do a bit of fishing in the river.