Stunning….continued
My apologies for the long hiatus in the blog of the epic trail of Ken, Linda, Gordon and Judy. I have been away training San (bushman) youngsters aspiring to become guides. Yes – the irony of a white man of Eastern European ancestry training bushmen how to track animals is not lost on me. This is simply another indictment on our species . . . but the story of the training is material for a separate posting. So, back to the epic walk. You will recall that everyone had been...
S stunning
What a day! I’m not sure how I can limit this posting to just a few pictures . . . so I may have to do two postings for the one walk. It was just too much fun and too beautiful to fit into one short post.Kili was determined to look handsome and so assumed a pose on every prominent rock. The ascent from Simonstown was much easier than everyone had been led to believe. And once at the top, the views improved all day. Here the Atlantic Ocean and...
A rainy day
Cape Town is known for it’s unpredictable and changing weather and we certainly experienced it today. Yesterday we walked in 30C weather (86F for those of you still stuck in the 19th century) with cloudless skies. We (most of us) were awoken at 04h30 by a very loud electric storm. By the time we started walking across the gorgeous Noordhoek Beach, the rain had abated but the weather was cool.We continued to the wreck of the Kakopo and beyond. Ken was so happy that he threw all his collected feathers...
Wish you were here
Contrary to weather forecasts, Tuesday was very hot. And the walk was extremely long. It didn’t take long before we were looking down onto Hout Bay and the Sentinel.We ate lunch in a shady spot with exquisite views onto the Bay as well as onto Chapman’s Peak in the cloud.We walked on with dramatic cliffs behind us. At the Col Gordon and Judy decided to descend, with Anele and Kyla showing them the way. The rest of us continued up Chapman’s Peak. Just before the top...
Table Mountain in the mist
I was unable to guide Monday’s walk up Table Mountain. In spite of misty weather fine views were enjoyed and Ann MacGregor pointedout some very special flowers, including our provincial flower The Red Disa. As is apparent from the photograph this flower is an orchid species. They also saw the incongruously delicate Gladiolus carneus – "the painted lady". Everyone in the party did very well and enjoyed a grand meal at Buitenverwachting that evening....
I must go down to the sea again
No – it’s not the famous one by John Masefield. . . I was thinking more about Spike Milligan’s immortal lines:"I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky; I left my shoes and socks there - I wonder if they're dry?"Which are in fact more appropriate lines for our stroll on Buffels Bay Beach at the Spring high-tide on Friday! In all honesty, though, on this fifth and last day of walking I did think of paraphrasing the bard:Once more onto...
The high road and the low road
Today Stuart & Anele took the low road while Lysanne, Kili & I took the high road, so I can only comment on the high road . . . and I think that the pictures below showing the scenery will save a lot of commenting. . . I like this photo of Lysanne taken at the top of Swartkop. In the background you can see Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak, Constantiaberg, Chapman’s Peak, Steenberg and Elsies Peak! This photo was also taken at the top of Swartkop, but looking east across...
(Beach) Snakes alive!
Lysanne & Stuart certainly looked well fed this morning when I arrived to collect them – and a little reluctant to depart the House at Pooh Corner.I eventually got them onto the beach and we started walking. Lysanne decided to do a little “paddling” and quickly discovered that the water on the Atlantic Coast comes directly from Antartica – she was wishing that she was in the North Sea instead!We all agreed that the walk across the beach was pretty damn beautiful. In the photo below you can...
First Mountains in the Sea for 2010
On their first day on The Mountains in the Sea trail, Stuart & Lysanne learnt just how changeable the weather in Cape Town can be. They started their epic walk in fine weather but by the time they had reached the summit at Maclears Beacon, the mist was thick and the visibility was poor. As a result we have no photographic evidence that they actually summitted Table Mountain!However, day two was pretty close to a perfect day – great visibility and not too hot. They clearly appreciated it!The flowers were...
Big Country
That afternoon we drove north, in the rain, to the Algeria Parks Headquarters and slept in a lovely old farmhouse below the Uitkyk Pass. Miraculously the following day was a perfect day for walking – cool and clear, and we began our ascent up through Die Gat (The Hole) to Grootland (Big Country). It was a beautiful but rather steep ascent.We emerged on the plateau below the Grootland Peak, surrounded by eroded rock sculptures and peaks. Just through the nek (saddle/col) we saw the area called Grootland. It is an...