B'sorah Trail: A Hiker’s Delight

Well, this trail has officially strutted - confidently -into our "top-tier hikes" list.

No warm-up.

No hesitation.

Just straight in like it owns the place.

How B’sorah Trail Accidentally Saved Our Hiking Schedule

So, my son Salt and I are heading to Magaliesburg for two days of hiking next weekend.

Salt, being efficient and helpful, found two excellent Magaliesburg hikes for THIS weekend.

Why? Because his mother may or may not have been under the impression that we were hiking there THIS weekend.

Details.

Tiny, insignificant details.

So those hikes were postponed.

What did I plan using my death-by-spreadsheets system?

B’sorah Trails, where I had seen splashed over social media...regularly.

“Fine,” I thought. “Let’s knock it off the list. Probably over hyped anyway.”

Reader, I was wrong. Deeply. Embarrassingly wrong.

From start to finish, this trail was nothing short of spectacular.

As we always do when approaching an area, channeling our inner "seasoned" hikers' predictions, we quickly concluded it wasn’t going to be anything impressive - no towering peaks to speak of, just more of the same old scenery.

First Impressions

From the moment I stepped out of the car, I knew this wasn’t going to be average.

A quaint little coffee caravan, genuinely friendly humans, and the happiest ticket lady I’ve encountered on a trail in ages.

Energy matters. And this place had it in abundance.

The 10 km Route

We chose the 10 km route, and wow—there was no “been there, done that” moment.

Not even close.

Bush.

Forest.

Streams.

Rocks.

Constant variety.

We barely saw anyone. Except for one older couple who passed us at a jog.

Yes. A jog.

My entire internal TED Talk titled “I am an exceptional human specimen for my age” died right there on the path.

Thankfully, they vanished quickly - clearly late for their endurance Olympics event - and we were alone again.

Silence returned.

Wilderness opened up.

I once again felt like a fearless explorer discovering uncharted territory… that people occasionally jog through.

Wildlife Sightings

Because of course there was wildlife:

Buck right at the start

Dassies, monkeys and loads of adorable cows casually judging us

Always a win.

The River Gorge

The river gorge did not disappoint.

Normally, the promise of a gorge does not live up to expectations.

This one is genuinely spectacular.

Clear water, dramatic rock formations, and an actual swimming spot (if it’s warm enough).

There’s even a beautiful picnic area, which feels almost unfair considering how nice it already is.

Lookout Points

Can we talk about lookout points? Because usually they’re… questionable.

I sometimes feel like whoever chooses the lookout points on trails doesn’t actually look out… because I (well, actually, Salt) regularly finds better ones five steps away.

Whoever planned these actually looked out.

These viewpoints required a bit of climbing (nothing wild), were optional, and - miracle of miracles - perfectly chosen.

Choose Your Own Adventure Hiking (My Favourite Kind)

This trail is packed with options:

Easier routes

Slightly trickier routes

Walk over a tree bridge or go around

Forest detour or standard path

At one point, Salt had the audacity to ask which route I wanted.

Sir.

You know I am so FOMO-prone when it comes to hiking.

Always take the extra step.

Always.

Thank you B’sorah……..what a day!!

AREA - Hartebeespoort

COST - R 70 pp

DIFFICULTY - Easy to Moderate

I barely huffed and puffed.

Mentally?

Parkour mamma.

Physically?

Calm, controlled, and still upright (ish).

My absolute favourite!!

LENGTH - 10 km

Although, we chose all the harder options, which makes me think it was a little longer.

TIME - 4 hours

(could be less, but why rush perfection?)

ELEVATION - 160 m

Not strenuous at all.

NOTE TO SELF:

Being overtaken by joggers is not a personal attack… even though it feels like one.

MARKERS - Extremely well marked

ABLUTIONS - spotless

PARKING

AMENITIES - Well the quaint coffee shop of course!!