Experiencing the rock art on the Bushmans Kloof reserve in the Cederberg Mountains is all about movement.

If you're a city slicker like me, then you've probably been plagued by the odd bout of insomnia. You can also easily imagine my relief when the calm of the Cederberg lulled me into one of the deepest sleeps I've had in a long time. At first it seems disconcerting, especially when you consider the frenetic pace of our lifestyles.

But Bushman's Kloof, 275km from Cape Town via the N7, is all about relaxation - even if the daily itinerary seems rigorous. The thing is nobody says you have to participate in every single planned item, which is purely an extension of the service provided at this Relais and Chateau partner.

 

Escape the frenetic city pace with one of these package deals.

Every opportunity is utilised to allow guests to get the most of their fascinating surroundings.

The rock art drives begin at 8am.

Understandably, it was with a measure of difficulty that I left the comfort of the four-poster, raised bed of the Paterson Suite with its thick pile carpet and under-floor-heating.

The cold air along the drive was biting and I would probably have been really grumpy had I not slept so well the night before. And it would take the weight of the world to remain glum in the face of this smog-free, sun-kissed horizon.

Pretty soon the fresh, steamy coffee and buttery croissants, served beside the river, had me scrutinising my au-natural surroundings. Artistic indeed. The caffeine not only lifted my sleepiness but it made the entire group more amiable.

A delightful Scottish lady and her American friend reminded me of an older version of Thelma and Louise, had they survived their plunge.

As they dismounted the 4x4 truck, Lynn the savvy US lady remarked, "We've probably done more climbing in the past two days than we have in the last 15 years."

An out of the ordinary sound, and there are many out here in the bush, soon had Pauline the Scott reminiscing about a previous close encounter with a hippo.

It was on the outskirts of the Kruger. "I came out of our chalet to find an attentive herd of buck grazing," she said in a surprisingly refined accent - turns out she's been living in South Africa for the past 30 years, which explains why.

She had found it quite strange that the skittish buck had disappeared in a flash, until she had decided to look down.

I paid closer attention to the size of any fresh tracks I spotted during the rest of my Cederberg stay.

After a gentle hike we entered the cove to the shaman / habitable rock art site dubbed The Elephant Hunt. The intensity of the hikes varies and you can choose to visit sites best suited to your level of fitness.

Southern Africa, including Namibia and Zimbabwe, is one of the richest areas in the world when it comes to remnants of this ancient art form.

There are more than 130 rock art sites on the Bushmans Kloof Reserve, dating back 2 000 to 10 000 years ago - essentially making some of the sites older than the Egyptian Pyramids of Giza.

Shaman sites - These are caves that are able to accommodate one or two people and the paintings have a slightly weird or trancelike quality to them.

Habitable sites - The size is of these sites or shelters are easily able to hold an entire camp and procession paintings, depicting large groups of people loaded with bags, dominate these walls.

Special sites - These are far and few between, as the name suggestions. They are often single composites of exceptional skill and beauty, by western standards, and can be found in small overhangs.

Gazing at the rusty red prints before me, I turned on my heel to look out at the landscape beyond. Thousands of years ago, a Xam spiritual leader sat here and took in the very sight I was enjoying. It was a real goose-bump moment.

The Xam, as the now extinct Southern San were known, apparently enjoyed exclusive occupation of the area for more 100 000 year and it is during this time that many of these images were created.

Londi, our capable guide, proceeded to explain the significance of the images found at Elephant Hunt.

There are five different composites at this site. But the three of significant interest are the Elephant kill, the trance journey and what appears to be an initiation ceremony.

While the first and last are rather self-evident in their simplistic beauty, the trance journey congers up ancient insight that could easily be overlooked by the untrained eye.

According to Londi, a trancelike state was achieved by dancing until excessively dehydrated, all the while inhaling the smoke of boegoe and wild rosemary.

Bushman figures are often referred to as hookheads because the substance used to create the faces have long since disappeared. In fact the images we saw are but imprints or stains on the rock.

In the trance journey a man is shown changing form, figure by figure, into an animal before changing back into human form again. The Xam people also apparently believed that animals evolved from humans, converse to Darwin's theory of evolution.

Personally I find it hard to accept that all this beauty around me just exploded but either way, the artistry is undeniable. Our entire group was enthralled for the duration of Londi's talk.

And then it was back to the present and the rigorous itinerary.

A decadent brunch followed at 11am back at the lodge. We greeted the afternoon with a Klein Constantia wine tasting.

After which you we could either do some archery or canoeing before the game drive at 4.30pm. We did both.

I even did a solitary mountain bike ride along one of the estate's many trails while my partner Grant enjoyed the rugby. There were no close encounters to speak of, well not if you count almost stepping into some bokkie dung along one of the stops - but the experience was food for my soul.

Needless to say, that night's slumber was even better than the last.