A beautiful cactus plant pot/sculpture from the Shire Eco Lodge: see below. When I first saw it (at night time) I was convinced it was dead worms!

The Rumours

Anybody who visits Hogback or its surrounds, up in the Amatole mountains of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, is likely to believe anything you tell them about the place. It just as a certain 'it has to be true' quality about it - Or, 'I wouldn't be that surprised if it were true'. Which is to say nothing of the magic supposed to have originated here...

I guess plenty of places, whether they be man-made or bestowed upon us by the natural world, can catch onto a certain air of mystique or myth. If the fragrance is strong enough(see: marketable) then it gets packaged and bottled; thrown out to sea with the hopes of enticing pilgrims to visit their shores. Hogsback is no exception.

The most infamous tall tale is that the forest was inspiration for JRR Tolkien's Lord of The Rings trilogy. And in principle, they could be right. The place is equally parts eery and enchanting.

When I first walked through, on an early morning, what I saw had such an undefinable yet treacherous beauty to it - that I felt a fearful awe never again experienced to this date (I'm only 23, so hell).

I was able to capture a lot of the atmosphere of the place, but in terms of its overwhelming nature...well, I wasn't quite able to get that. Not only is there a lot of vegetation there, densely packed, it is also much larger and far more foreign looking than a lot of other South African forrest that I know of. So much so, but perhaps this is just confirmation bias, but often on my hike I half expected a giant spider from LOTR to pop out!

So pretty it hurts

When it comes to this fear that I experienced, I am sure many of you can relate. Sometimes, somethings are just so beautiful that they scare you. And, the fact that a beautiful thing scares you makes it ever more beautiful because implicit in that fear is an understanding of its unparalleled greatness, something to behold and not taken for granted - lest you pay the price.

But, I digress.

Tolkien was had no chance of visiting hogback

Some rather cursory digging will tell you that yes, JRR was born in the Free State of South Africa(still a while away from the Eastern Cape), but that he left S.A at the age of three - never to return again. But don't tell that to the cafes, nor the wonderful 'Hobbit' themed Shire Eco Lodge : placed flush against one of the many forests - scenic hikes are just a few steps away, and, stargazing requires only turning your head in the upwards direction whenever the sun goes to sleep.

(from airbnb listing)

Another yarn that I have heard, and likewise wish-to-be-true-but-almost-know-it-isn't, was that Hogback was once connected to India during prehistoric times, and, despite their separation 'it still has a spiritual connection'. Now, if we count 200 million years as not a significant amount of time: then yes, South Africa and India were part of the same supercontinent Gondwana. But, I'd rather like to make the case that the Amathole mountains are magical for an entirely different reason - for what they are in and of themselves.

The Edge

Hogsback is high

No, the mountains themselves are not intoxicated (although you often can readily access magic mushrooms off vendors on the side of the road, that purportedly grow there naturally). The village of Hogback lies at about 1200 m and the highest point(Gaikas Kop) is 1963 m. Not only does this make the air thiner and taste more like cloud, sky and 'enlightenment' than normal, it also makes the area - and by extension hiking - incredibly dangerous. Pictured above is what is known to tourists and locals as The Edge. It's like a South African grand canyon, but with vegetation. It's a lovely place to dangle your legs and take in the vistas, but it is not at all a nice place to fall down. In fact, when I first visited somebody had fallen down there - to their death. Likewise, the hogback hiking trail is surrounded by cliffs and large drops. Because there is so much vegetation and thoroughfare it is often impossible to know what lays ten steps ahead. Often, if you're not careful, you can even lose sight of the trail. To attend to this the forrest has two diametrical signs to direct you along the way

1. A blue boer( wild pig) that means 'this is the footpath, keep following'
2. A red boer that means 'No! Don't take another step mister! Seriously, walk in the complete opposite direction'

The Weather

Given the aforementioned height, hogback is likely to experience conditions unusual in most parts of South Africa, namely snow. More often, however, it is prone to rain and mist: beautiful additions to the mythical palate of Amatole. But, also a deadly combination with it's height. For example, driving up to the amathole mountains during poor conditions/light is not recommended. Unless, of course, you think dying-by-driving-car-off-cliff is far cooler than simply dying-by-falling-off-cliff.

Looks a bit like silent hill eh?

Yet, I've been fortunate to experience almost all of the Hogback weather conditions, and I can unequivocally say that it is one of those places that is just beautiful throughout! The official website describes it as a "beautiful place of mist wreathed forests and fantasy".

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Unless otherwise stated, all photographs were taken by ©2017 Charles Harry Mackenzie. All rights reserved.

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