By: Fatimah Hunter
Location:
Golden Gate National Park is situated in Clarens in the Free State. It is near the Lesotho border on the foothills of the Maluti Mountains.The Golden Gate National Park is named after the golden sandstone cliffs which seem to glow in the sun.
The Eco Ravine Hiking Trail with kids
The scenery at the Golden Gate National Park is breathtaking. It is also a hikers paradise. We hiked the Echo Ravine trail as we had kids with us on this hike. The Echo Ravine trail is a moderate trail that is only 2.3km long.
This trail took us into Echo Ravine which is a vast chamber eroded and hallowed out by the effects of wind and weather on sand stone and is now a natural echo chamber which echo all sounds. The kids loved this! We took over an hour to get to the Echo Ravine and had a little picnic listening to the sound of water dripping.
My Advice
I would advise you not to take unnecessary things with on this trail if you are doing it with toddlers as they do get tired and need to be carried. Water and comfortable shoes is a must.
The Dam and Play Area
Once we completed the hike we walked down to the dam and play area. We then drove up the mountains to the different view points. The views where incredible! Golden Gate is not a place you would come to for large game viewing although you can expect encounters with wildebeest, zebras and antelope. The open air museum at the Basotho cultural village within the park is worth a stop.
The area is prone to sudden change of weather so always carry a jacket and take snacks and drinks with. It is a lovely drive up the mountains and you wouldn’t want to rush because of hungry kids.
Golden Gate National Park was not on my list of places to visit but I fell in love with the scenery and will definitely be going back. I should have done more research on the rock formations and shapes in the mountains before we visited the park as my kids where extremely fascinated and had many questions.
Have you been to the Golden Gate National Park? How was your experience? And would you recommend others to visit? Please comment below on this blog post.
This article was written by Fatimah Hunter and is based on her experience of the Golden Gate National Park.
A little bit about the author:
| “My name is Fatimah Hunter , I am a teacher who resides in Johannesburg. I love memes, travelling and crafting.”
Instagram: fatimah_hunter
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