I was immediately intrigued when Roger suggested a hike to an area called The Citadel, situated beneath the Devils Knuckles at Bushmans Nek. It was the first I had heard of it, so there was no hesitation in signing on for this hike- its always good to explore a new area!
6 of us set off from the Bushmans Nek border post on a hot and sunny day. There had been a lot of rain over the last couple of weeks and conditions underfoot were very wet. We had to take boots off at the first of the initial three river crossings and further on the waterfall at Cedrics Pool was flowing hard and fast. We took the ridge route up to Tarn Cave and I had forgotten how steep this is. I ran out of energy on this section and really struggled, not sure why this sometimes happens to me on the first day of a hike - I also don't do well in the heat! By the time we reached the top, clouds had come in and the air was mercifully a lot cooler. We settled in at the cave and the others braved the chilly waters of the tarn above the cave whilst those not that keen opted for a quick wet-wipe clean up followed by a welcome mug of hot chocolate. It was a lot cooler than expected and later the mist came up the valley and into the cave, hiding our view of the Devils Knuckles for the remainder of the afternoon
The sun burnt off the mist by the time we got going the next morning and we headed off towards the foot of the first Knuckle under blue skies. We climbed a little until we reached the contour path that goes along the bottom of the Knuckles, stopping now and then to admire the expansive views below us. Sean, Tegan and Farouk decided to climb the South Knuckle and after leaving their packs on the path, ascended the steep gully. We arranged to meet up at the Citadel later on, and the rest of us continued on. After winding our way across the gullies and ridges, we could see a huge fortress like formation of sandstone on a ridge that was jutting out – this had to be the Citadel! The name is very apt as it really does look like a fortified little city of huge rock domes and arches. A fascinating area with plenty to explore. The others joined us a few hours later, tired but happy after conquering the South Knuckle. We set up our tents and enjoyed a very lazy afternoon exploring the formations and myriad of tarns in the area. A well kept secret and not one that many people know about. The wind came up strongly during the night and only abated once we had packed up our tents the following morning. We made our way down the ridge, and had to bypass a few tricky sections before reaching a wide grassy plateau with some large tarns. From here we descended a very steep and rough section to reach the valley below and then through a little saddle to get to the path that led back to Cedrics Pool and the border post. We were back at the cars before midday. An excellent hike with wonderful company and the added bonus of exploring an entirely new area!
