South Africa – The Amatola Mountains

The brochure I received about the Amatola hiking trail suggested an early start. We were, however staying in one of the cottages at Starways Pottery in Hogsback and needless to say we could not help but get involved in the preparations for the opening of the Rose Theatre on the premises.

After Anton van der Merwe, the owner and master potter of Starways, showed me how to operate the chainsaw there was no stopping me and Sam, an artist from Scotland and within hours we had built the bar for the theatre. Phillip and Anton finalized the roof while the band consisting of Elliot and Pierce had us all in a cheerful mood after their practice session. Pretty soon it was time to work on my culinary skills, or should I rather say my decorative skills since 40 pizzas had to be made and what better oven to bake them in than the pottery oven!

The opening went exceptionally well and the music had everyone in a relaxed mood.

Day 1: Marden Dam to Gwili Gwili. (12 km - 7 hours)

Unfortunately, waking up at 5 am the next morning left me less chirpy than usual. Vale, Anton’s daughter, was kind enough to take me and Phil to Marden Dam where we started our first day hike. We decided on taking the short cut after we were informed of 1000 bee stings received the previous week by two hikers who were forced to abandon their hike. Hiking through the Pirie forest gave new meaning to sweating and made me feel good about my resolution (old year?) to get fit! What a great way to start!  We could hear birds singing all the time but it was only the Knysna Louries that showed themselves. Vermiculture was also given a new meaning when we learned that giant earthworms reaching up to 6m were responsible for the ever present heaps on the paths. Gwili Gwili hut was a pleasant surprise and since I was not expecting hot water, I was not too disappointed when we discovered that there was none. It started raining 15 minutes after we arrived and the rain only stopped an hour before we had to leave the next morning.

Day 2: Gwili Gwili to Dontsa (18 km - 8 hours).

The hike was predominantly through the moist indigenous forests and we once again could hear birds chirping all the way. We took the lower route at the Dontsa forest station which left us with some climbing near the end. Phillip couldn’t resist swimming in one of the lovely pools and refused to remove the pair of RayBan sunglasses he had picked up on the path. At the hut after another cold shower it started to rain and we were forced to move to another room since the roof started leaking rather badly.

Day 3: Dontsa to Cata  (17 km - 10 hours)
We decided to stick to indigenous forests and shorter routes and after reaching the Eseka Stream we opted for the  upper route. I was getting quite confident in my navigation skills and showed Phillip exactly where we were. After explaining to him that we should just follow the jeep track for another 4 km, I set off, leaving him to enjoy his snooze next to the path.  I was an inspired woman! It wasn’t long before I heard Phillip shouting at me – apparently I had taken the wrong route. My explanation for not finding any footprint markers along the way was that according to my reading of the map the route was so obvious and they weren’t needed!

A long 6 km followed and we reached the lovely hut without having to use headlamps. According to the journal left at the hut, we were not the only hikers getting lost.

Day 4: Cata to Mnyameni (13.5 km - 8 hours)

According to the brochure, one of the finest days hiking you are ever likely to experience is day 4 of the Amatola Trail. The trail was not laid out to get you simply from A to B, but rather to take you past the most spectacular and scenic spots you could wish to see. Unfortunately I did not find this amusing as the trail kept on cutting back to the extent that we seemed to almost be returning to our starting point. Picking up all the litter that the previous hikers had left around the hut left me in an even sulkier mood. Luckily we were still not expecting hot water.

Day 5: Mnyameni to Zingcuka (18.2 km - 10 hours)
The day started with a stiff climb up through another enchanting forest. I found this the best day and we could see the surrounding mountains most of the way. Phillip had several dips in and naps alongside the many rock pools. 

Day 6: Zingcuka to Tyumie River (15 km - 7 hours)

Due to heavy mist and after getting lost in the forest we were forced to take the forestry road to Hogsback. I found walking in the mist special with huge trees along the road and next to no visibility creating a wondrous atmosphere.

Two days later we were back at Zingcuka hut and completed the last leg of the hike in perfect weather. This time we were accompanied by Vale, Anton’s daughter. The whole mountain was covered in flowers and all along the route we were presented with fantastic views and we finally got to see a lot of birds.

Except for the zig-zaging from Cata to Mnyameni on day 4 and the huts not being maintained properly, I can definitely recommend this hike. The fact that the huts couldn’t lock was something to get used to.

South Africa – Drakensberg – Ship’s Prow

The invitation to join Chris Sommers on his hike up Ship’s Prow (Northern Fork) and down Gray’s pass couldn’t have come at a better time.  Arranging 15 SOAPkidz events and involving 3538 people in environmental projects during the past 9 months had left me depleted of any spare energy.

The group would consist of

·       Chris Sommers – very fit, the leader and Drakensberg fundi who has saved my life on several occasions in the Berg. (I suppose that he put my life in jeopardy to start with does not really count)

·        Phillip van der Merwe, whose fear of heights was displaced by a fear of death on the previous trip to the Drakensberg, still very unfit, especially since he was also involved with the arranging of the 15 events and has yet again decided to give up smoking on the hike (Help!)

·        Kim Lesley– Phillip’s school friend, extremely fit but a novice to the group and the great Dragon.

·        Warren – Energetic and motivated for his fourth hike in the Berg. Good company, especially for himself, as he has the habit of talking to himself whilst hiking. Well prepared this time with his newly acquired Gortex bivvy bag after being caught in a wind and snow storm during our previous encounter with the Berg.

·        Myself – very unfit and desperate to escape the noise pollution and recharge my batteries in the beautiful Berg.

Day 1: We left Pretoria at 5 am and arrived at Monk’s Cowl KZN Wildlife office around 11 am.  The 12 km hike was unadventurous and we were all relieved to pitch our tents in day light – it has been a long day and an even longer year.

Day 2: Five eager hikers were up by 4 am and ready to start the hike by 6 am. Phillip was feeling strong and the first 4 km to the start of Ship’s Prow Pass was done on a high note. We encountered our first Chi Chi bush at the bottom of the pass. The struggle with the Chi Chi bushes was interrupted by some serious boulder hopping, followed by gun shots and shouting from persons unknown on the southern fork of Ship’s Prow. 

Bundu Bashing through chi chi bush

Later back at Monk’s Cowl KZN Wildlife office we were told that rustlers were using the pass and that there were two dead cows there. Wondering how cows could possibly get up such a difficult pass, we were informed that the rustlers spread cow dung ahead of the animals and the cows happily followed thinking many cows had gone before. 

The last 1.5 km to the top was filled with some horrific moments when loose rocks came crashing down. Luckily no one was injured and by the time we reached the summit, we were just in time to glance at the sunset.  A mere twelve hours to get up the pass.  Kim who was so carried away admiring the sunset, delayed dressing warmly and got a fright when he entered the first stages of hypothermia .

Kim on top of Ship's prow pass

The wind was howling and five very tired and very quiet hikers hiked the last 2 km in the dark to iNkosazana cave, sharing 3 headlamps and the 1 remaining sense of humour. After 14 hours of hiking, no one was up to eating, Phillip and Kim climbed straight into their sleeping bags and appeared to be in shock.  I had to force feed them and very soon everyone was asleep.  Or almost everyone as I was busy trying to figure out the earplugs I had brought as protection against Phil’s snoring.

Day 3: Kim and Chris went exploring for the day while Warren and myself hiked to Champagne castle. Feeling a bit weak after the previous day’s hike, we were not brave enough to face the howling wind and went back to join Phillip who was lying on three mattresses, still snoring.

Phil, myself and Chris on top of Grey's pass

Warren discovered that we had lost the tent and luckily recovered it upon backtracking. I spend some time cutting grass for the cave and by 3 o’ clock, everyone was back and we decided to hike to Vulture Retreat to look at the magnificent view and watch the sunset.

The magnificent view on top of Grey's pass

Day 4: Walking to the top of Gray’s pass to watch the sunrise we noticed plenty of litter along the river. Two hours were spent picking up the plastics left by the locals and compressing it for transport down Gray’s pass.  By 10h00 we started our descent down Gray’s pass. The going was slow. We stopped regularly to pick up litter and when we finally pitched our tents at the camping spot close the Gatberg, we had collected 3 bags of litter, 99% bread plastic bags.

Trying to fit all the litter into the bags we took along

Day 5: Any ideas about going up Gatberg were put aside. We were on a mission to clean the campsites on our way back.  Picking up all the toilet paper left by, I truly want to believe ignorant women, got me into a raging state.  Finding empty gas canisters put me over the edge. Luckily Phil was there to remind me that by educating the children (SOAPkidz), we were influencing the next generation.

Down Grey's pass

Almost at the end we came across some day hikers. My instinct was to protect the mountain against further litter and so I said “Enjoy your hike, we have just cleaned the mountain for you”. The two girls smiled and politely said, “Thank you.”  Unfortunately the wise ass with them replied, “Don’t worry, I will dirty it for you once more”.  Fortunately for him the rest of our group was strong enough to hold me back.

Some of the litter we brought down the mountain

The Chief in Charge of the Wilderness area was contacted and informed about the litter and guns shots whereupon he provided us with some very positive feedback on the progress they had recently made with the smugglers and rustlers.

We were on the road back to Pretoria by 13h00.

My personal feelings:

·        I consider mountains holy.

·        It is a privilege to be on a mountain and not a right.

·        I don’t have any idea how we can stop the littering by the locals but I do know that I cannot keep quiet about the litter left by hikers. (especially women).

·        The following rule should apply to everyone going to a mountain or wilderness area – Leave the place in a better condition than you found it.

·        Nature conservation is there to preserve what should be precious to us all and visitors should therefore be placed under greater scrutiny. They should be required to detail in a register all food and canisters they have and upon return be required to show the empty packets, canisters etc.  I know that this is difficult to police but at least the message is clear, “What you take up must be brought back”.

·        All visitors must adhere to and sign a Code of Conduct for mountains or wilderness areas.  The Code of Conduct must clearly state all the Do’s and Don’ts relating to ablutions, water usage, litter, wildlife, plants, fires, rock art etc.

·        This Code of Conduct must be promulgated and promoted nation wide.

Botswana – Mount Otse (Otse)

The first time I set foot on Mt Otse was in November 2006. Two friends and I just got back from hiking in Namibia and we had a vague idea where Botswana’s highest peak was. After two hours of asking the locals where the highest peak in Botswana was, we found ourselves in front of Otse’s cheese factory. The lady behind the counter showed me where the highest peak is but warned me not to go the top. According to folklore, people don’t return. My two friends had enough of mountains and it was decided that I must run to the top, try to take pictures of myself on top of Botswana’s highest peak (without reading the camera’s manual and therefore not knowing how the self timer works) and run back.

The second time I set foot on Mt Otse was in September 2007. I had, in the meantime, discovered that there is a trig beacon on top of Botswana's highest peak. Needless to say, I had to go back and find the real highest peak. Crossing the border post at Ramatlabama, the staff informed us that people disappear when they go to Mt Otse. We were, however, adamant and this time I knew exactly where the mountain was. Finding the highest peak could not be that difficult. We found ourselves parked in front of the Cheese factory by 10h00. This time I asked the owner where the highest peak was. By 14h00 we were sipping a beer in the tea garden opposite the cheese factory discussing our hike. Yes, we did find a trick beacon but discovered a higher point about 50 m away. Taking the necessary pictures and coordinates, I can also lay claim to the first lady ever to fall off the “highest peak” in Botswana. It was while trying to recover some of my dignity that I spotted what seemed like a higher peak 3 km away. Decisions! Decisions! We were running out of water and time.

Back at the border post we had a wonderful welcome. The staff came running out of the building to make sure that we were flesh and blood. What a nice welcome back after visiting Botswana’s highest peak.

The third time I set my foot on Mt Otse was in June 2008. This time we wrote “Monalanong Hill” as the place of our visit at the border post. Armed with several GPS coordinates we turned left before the cheese factory and followed the dirt road for a while. By 10h00 we were parked in front of a lodge. Looking at the top of the mountain we slowly unpacked our daypacks. 90 minutes to the top, 90 minutes down. 2 Litre of water and 4 energy bars amongst us would be more than enough. 90 Minutes later we were standing on top of a peak. The highest in Botswana it definitely was not. Far right, I could see the peak I visited in 2006. To our right were the ones we visited in 2007. To our left, about 2 km away, were the ones we saw in 2007. Decisions! Decisions!  With renewed energy we raced to the range 2 km away. To be double sure I measure the peak to the left before rushing off to measure the peak to the right. Alas, somewhere along the line, by eliminating the other possibilities, Eureka! Trig Beacon and all!

For me, every encounter with a mountain is different. Some mountains are gentle, some are unforgiving. Normally I get a sense of a mountain when I lay eyes on her. With Mt Otse I’m still trying to figure out if it is respect.

The conclusion I arrived at after comparing the GPS coordinates I took with a Garmin Vista C with two I got off the internet

• Google Earth’s Highest peak in Botswana was 42 km away
• Peak Bagger’s highest peak in Botswana was 18 km away

South Africa – Drakensberg – The Sky Run

a) The 10 summits on the skyrun

b) The mountaineer’s/hikers/idiots version of the skyrun

c) Doing the skyrun barefoot/in crocs/on one leg

d) How to cross the 39 fences on the skyrun

I’ll leave it in your hands to choose the report’s heading

Day 1: (8 km): Exploring a new part of the Berg was the only requirement I had. When Pieter suggested doing the skyrun, I had to do some research. The only information I got was that it was an adventure race (Ultra marathon) over 120km + and lasted about 2 days. Thinking we need at least some sleep, I stupidly thought we could do it in 4 days. I contacted all the farmers to get permission and on Friday the 25^th of April 2008 we left Pretoria.

On the way to Lady Grey, Pieter showed me the maps and all the peaks we were going to summit. Still terrible with navigation, I just nodded my head. Once in Lady Grey, Otto Oertel from the Mountain Inn Hotel took us with his Caravelle to Tiffendele, pointing at the peaks Pieter couldn’t stop talking about. 5 Minutes after Otto dropped us at Tiffendele Ski Resort – we discovered our hiking sticks were still in his kombi. Thank goodness for cellphones. 10 minutes later we were on our way to Ben Macdui with our hiking sticks. We tried to get as much of the snow that was still left behind after the previous weekend’s fall. Since it was cold and getting dark, we pitched the tent after 8km and got into our sleeping bags immediately.

Day 2: (19 km) One can only sleep so long and we started hiking at 7h30 and headed straight for Edgehill. We were informed by everyone associated with the skyrun to turn left at a certain point but since we were adventurous/mountaineers/idiots we decided to head straight up. This would mean a 20km shortcut and how difficult can it be? Two hours later, we were back at the place the adventure racing experts told us to turn left. Okay, maybe it is not so safe going over the cliffs if you don’t know what’s waiting on the other side. Going down the mountain took ages and we battled with vegetation resembling rose bushes. We didn’t want to go down to the road since it would mean another 10 km. Decisions decisions. We could go down the road the adventure racers take and hike right into the night or we could try contouring again. We tried the contouring bit again. After 4 hours, 15 fence crossings and thousands of the rose bushes, we pitched our tent.

Day 3: (13 km) We started hiking at 7h30 again. According to Pieter, we had to make up for lost time. Belloch peak was waiting. Unfortunately I didn’t read my boots’ washing instructions and leaving them to dry in the sun I presume, was not something they recommend. My toes were in agony and part of the morning’s hike was done barefoot and part in Phil’s imitation Crocs. Pieter’s dream of making up for lost time was shattered. Going up was time consuming (with me it was one step forward, 2 steps sliding back). It was time to make a decision again. Pieter would go up and myself and Phil would slide along slowly. Two hours later, we made it to the top as well. Pieter was stuffed. It took him an hour to get to Belloch peak and back and he’s energy level was at an all time low.

Decisions, decisions. We started contouring. “Pieter, is this part of the skyrun?” I asked two hours later. “No, the skyrun is way over there!” By this time, I have regained my sense of humour. We were doing our own proper skyrun. We were surrounded by beautiful mountains. We decided to camp once the clouds moved in and to wake up early to make up for lost time. Pieter also mentioned a change of plan. By 18h00 Pieter and Phil were snoring!

Day 4: (19 km). We started hiking at 6h00 and by 8h00 Phil’s knee has given in. The going was slow but the view was absolutely breathtaking. I could do with new feet but it was really worthwhile. We stopped at 15h30 below Avoca Peak. We watched a spectacular sunset and the guys couldn’t stop talking about food (especially meat). I kept everyone awake doing 23 Sudokos. So much for bonding. But I did say on day 1 that we were either going to kill one another or bond!

Day 5: (12 km). Why do I enjoy summiting peaks? Well, the view from Avoca explains it all. It was breathtaking. We were on top of the clouds. Another long spectacular hike on a ridge followed. Phil was still battling with his knee. We camped below Snowdon peak at 13h00. At 14h00 Pieter and myself hiked to Snowdon peak. A lazy cold afternoon followed and by 18h00 we were all in bed, hoping for snow

Day 6: (23 km). We woke up at 5h00, expecting snow but were greeted by mist. We waited till sunlight and since the mist was not disappearing we decided to hike down. We bumped into several quadbikers . Phil was keen to phone Otto for a lift and when Pieter said it’s a thing of pride walking to the hotel, Phil said he lost his pride when he turned 30. Unfortunately Pieter is only 29 ¾. The only car we saw hiking down/up the road stopped to ask where we were going. Phil, still limping but not limping enough shouted: “We came from Tiffindele”. “Well, pop in for coffee at Olympus”, the lady replied before speeding off.

I was keen to hike to the hotel (idiot since it was still another 19km and my feet were already looking for a new owner) to fetch Cutie but Pieter convinced me that it was not such a great idea. Coffee at Olympus lead to supper at Olympus. Maureen, Leo and Kathy – Lee were extremely hospitable and after nice red wine and a lovely meal (when Phil asked what vintage (apparently it was the best wine he has ever tasted), Maureen replied Box wine!) we went to sleep. We were all snoring by 21h30.

Day 7: (19 km). We were on the road by 4h30. 19 km of bird watching and some interesting conversations followed. Pieter’s shoes were finally ready for the museum and he suffered a bit with blisters. When we reached the first house in Lady Grey, we were greeted by a lady, Helene Du Preez who was very impressed with our hiking and picking up litter. We were invited for coffee but nothing could stop the guys from having some meat first. (They were talking to the cows on our way down). After a nice bath and something to eat, we went for coffee at Helene’s place. Pieter was invited to develop hiking trails and we visited till late. All plans to sleep a bit forgotten. Back at the hotel, it was once again time for the boys to eat some meat! We chatted to Otto and Dalene and going to bed I was a bit sad, I have met wonderful people the past two days. Hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to meet them again.