Fred and Charlie at Castle Gorge

After a recommendation from our good friend Tiaan, we headed to Maretlwane in the Magaliesberg for Charlie's birthday weekend. Our usual birthday celebrations involve a hike or something exciting, so this was right up our street! We stayed at **Waterfall Camp**, a well-maintained campsite named after the nearby waterfall and pool. From camp, we set off on the Castle Gorge hike, looking forward to exploring the spectacular rock formations, river crossings and, of course, those incredible natural swimming pools. The pools at the top of the gorge are absolutely spectacular. But before we could get stuck into the swimming, our arrival was interrupted by a group of young hikers alerting us to a snake nearby. Fred's immediate question? Did they know what it was? Nope! They did, however, show him where it was, and he identified it as a harmless green water snake. Crisis over, adventure resumed! And what pools they are! The water is quite deep, making them perfect for bombs, dives and generally behaving like kids who've been let loose in a natural swimming paradise. Before long, everyone was in the water, and the snake incident was forgotten. *A word of advice if you're heading up there:* that final section to the top pools can be tricky if you don't know what to look for. Keep an eye out for the white spray-painted dots on the rock formations. They provide an informal guide to finding your way to the pools. Without them, finding the access can feel like trying to uncover a state secret you weren't deemed important enough to know about! The AllTrails app also has the route and makes that last bit considerably easier to navigate. Eventually, we dragged ourselves away from those incredible pools and hiked back down to camp. After a relaxing lunch, we headed to the waterfall and pool right by the campsite for another swim and to cool off. Because apparently, one swim in a day simply wasn't enough! The evening was spent around the braai, enjoying the peace and quiet of the bush. Later, we climbed into the tent and fell asleep to the sound of raindrops on the canvas, accompanied by some gentle thunder in the distance. It doesn't get much better than that. The following morning, we squeezed in one last swim at the waterfall pool before packing up and heading home. A brilliant birthday weekend of hiking, deep rock pools, a harmless snake encounter, good food and sleeping under a proper Highveld sky. Thanks to Tiaan for the recommendation — this one's a keeper! *Getting there:* Maretlwane is in the Magaliesberg, roughly an hour to an hour and a half from Johannesburg, depending on where you're starting. Arrange your accommodation and the required Castle Gorge access in advance, and make sure you have the permit instructions and directions before setting off. If you enjoy hiking, wild swimming and a little adventure, Castle Gorge is well worth adding to your list. Thanks for watching, and happy trails! https://www.maretlwane.co.za