B'sorah Trail: A Hiker’s Delight

B'sorah Trail: A Hiker’s Delight

Goodness gracious, great balls of flaming fire -this trail has officially strutted its way into our top-tier hikes list.

You know a trail is good when it keeps popping up everywhere like an unskippable ad you swear you’ll ignore… until you don’t.

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 week.

Enter my ever-dutiful (and slightly confused) son, who found two excellent Magaliesburg hikes for this weekend.

Why? Because his trusted mother may have - hypothetically - thought we were hiking there this weekend.

Details. Minor ones.

So those hikes are postponed.

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

Oh yes. B’sorah Trail.

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

Narrator: "She was very wrong."

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

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: Coffee, Kindness & Instant Good Vibes

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.

We decided on the 10 km, and wow, were we impressed. There was no "been there, done that" moment.

The trail had it all: bush, forest, streams, and rocks.

We barely saw anyone.

Just one older couple who passed us at a jog. A jog.

My whole “I am an exceptional human specimen for my age” story died right there on the trail.

Thankfully, they disappeared quickly- clearly on their way to win some secret endurance Olympics - and we were alone again.

The silence returned, the wilderness opened up, and I once again felt like a fearless explorer discovering uncharted territory.

Wildlife Sightings

Because of course there was wildlife:

Buck right at the start

Dassies doing dassie things

Monkeys (naturally)

Loads of adorable cows casually judging us

Always a win.

The River Gorge: Finally One That Lives Up to the Promise

The river gorge did not disappoint.

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

The river gorge on B’sorah Trail is genuinely spectacular. Clear water, dramatic rock formations, and an actual swimming spot (if it’s warm enough). There’s even a picnic area, which feels almost rude considering how beautiful it is.

Lookout Points That Actually Make Sense

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… as generally I find better ones

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 not FOMO-prone - except when 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

Honestly, it could have been done in less, but we just had to stop and slow down to take it in so much.

ELEVATION - 160 m

Not strenuous at all.

MARKERS - Extremely well marked

ABLUTIONS - spotless

Loads of safe parking

AMENITIES - Well the quaint coffee shop of course!!