Thaba Trails: Where Your Soul Melts Faster Than You Can Say 'Winter Hikes Rule!'

Can anyone please enlighten me as to why group hiking is so much more popular in summer than winter?

Seriously, I’m relatively new to this whole hiking thing, and I just assumed the blazing heat would slow people down. Nope—it's the complete opposite. I can barely keep up with all the hikes happening......when the sun’s trying to fry us alive!

Every weekend, I’m facing the impossible decision of which hike to choose—not because I’m picky, but because I want to do them all.

Meanwhile, in winter, I was on rations, scraping the bottom of the barrel with the occasional hike here and there.

There are so many reasons to prefer winter hiking. First, the obvious one: energy! You actually have it in winter. No roasting alive... no sweat pouring off you.

But summer? Forget it. You’re sweating from the start of the trail......actually from the moment you step out of the car, and by the end, you're not even hiking—you’re limping, maybe even leopard crawling to your car, dehydrated, looking like you just escaped weeks in the Sahara and needing a hospital bed and IV drip... STAT!!

And can we talk about winter dawn hikes? If you’ve never started a hike at sunrise in winter, you haven't lived.

It's literally like stepping into a world that’s all yours for the moment. The air is crisp, the sky starts to blush with the first hints of daylight. It’s like nature’s little reward for your early start—a sunrise that feels like it’s just for you.

I mean, honestly, there’s not a single early morning winter hike that hasn’t been seared into my memory. And considering my memory resembles Swiss cheese, that’s saying something! So you can only imagine the spiritual experience I had out there.

The only people who might have a similar—or dare I say, better—experience are the hardcore campers who roll out of a tent to bask in that kind of beauty. But waking up in a tent at 2 a.m. to pee during winter? Nope, I’ll leave that level of boldness to the pros. You legends you!

And another thing...your water and snacks stay colder in winter. Just saying—who doesn’t love a refreshing cold drink of water that doesn’t feel like a hot yoga class in your mouth?

AND the snakes are hibernating! I mean, what’s not to love?

Seriously, what is wrong with you people??? Have you all lost your minds??

No better time to dive into the delight that is Thaba Trails. Oh my soul—well, actually, my soul packed its bags and checked out about 3 km into the 10 km hike. Why, you ask? Because it was 33°C, the sun was out for blood, and the inclines felt like they were personally designed to test your will to live.

Was it scenic enough to make the suffering worthwhile? Sure, for about two kilometers, if you squint real hard and pretend the rest of it wasn’t just nature's way of slow-roasting you alive.

It’s the kind of hike that’s perfect for people who don't want to travel far—but don’t be fooled, this isn’t some casual stroll through the neighborhood.

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Would it have been less soul-crushing in cooler weather? Maybe.

But this was one of those hikes where you swear it's over five times before it actually is.

Then you sit down at the cafeteria, have a cold drink, and suddenly develop selective amnesia, convincing yourself it was “actually beautiful.” You know, when you swear "never hiking again," then conveniently forget and end up doing it all again.

The trail itself is in great shape, with plenty of little areas to collapse and reevaluate your life choices.

The establishment is top-notch, offering loads of amenities and activities... but the hike? Eh, it was okay.

But the company? Awesome.... we were all in it together, contemplating climbing that fence to get to the pool on the other side!

AREA: Mulbarton

COST: R 40—very reasonable

DIFFICULTY

Lots of inclines, nothing technical,

LENGTH:

10 km (but with the heat, felt like 20)

TIME:

4 hours... because stopping to coax your soul back into your body takes time

ELEVATION

204 m

MARKERS: Excellent, except for the one spot where we may have been hallucinating from heat exhaustion and took a little "detour"

HIGHLIGHT:

The cold bottle of water at the end. Seriously.

ABLUTIONS: Spot on.

SAFE FREE PARKING:

AMENITIES:

Plenty to keep you entertained—if you're still standing, that is.

The food at Just Darling? Top-notch. The name alone earned points, but the food sealed the deal.

And yes, we seriously contemplated scaling the fence to dive into that Olympic-sized pool at the end.

ON A FINAL NOTE

It’s one of those hikes where you’ll curse it while you’re on it and praise it when it’s over,