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.

Zambia – Mafinga Hills

Ask 5 different people where Zambia’s highest peak is and you will get 5 different answers.

In my search for the correct information the past 15 months, I have tried the following:

• Got international roaming and phoned a surveyor in Zambia
• Contacted the Surveyor General in South Africa, Zambia and Malawi
• Joined a singles website and contacted everyone on the site living in Zambia
• Searched the internet for days
• Tried to contact Ginge Fullen, the guy who climbed the highest peak in all 53 African countries
• Contacted several surveyors, pilots and possible map sources as well as anyone that’s been to Zambia or Malawi recently
• Visited the High Commission of Zambia
• Visited the Surveyor General’s office in Lilongwe

After some search on GoogleEarth, Jimmy Stone summarised everything as follows:

“I found a number of high points in the Mafinga Hills in Zambia. From the different websites, we have the followings points given as the highest in Zambia

1. Lonely planet: Mwanda Peak 2148m
2. Peakbagger website: Zambia high 2164m
3. CIA website: Mafinga hills 2301m

I was a bit doubtful about the CIA website, as their elevation was so much higher than the others (more than 140m). But the elevations found in GoogleEarth at the Mafinga Hills area clearly shows that the highest point in Zambia is clearly higher than the 2164 indicated by PeakBagger. And must be in the 2277 plus range.

The only real issue now is to go climb it. When there, one can visit all three or four high points and that way make sure you have been on the highest point in Zambia.”

Jimmy tragically passed away on 7 March 2007, so it was up to me to go and find the highest peak.

On the 23^rd of June we (Frans Botha, Alan Reynolds and myself) left Pretoria at midnight in my 1300 Terios called Cutie. We traveled via Mozambique (where I got the distinct feeling that stopping South African motorists was every official in Mozambique’s dream come true). When we finally entered Malawi on the 27^th, we were stuck with a driver who will have nightmares about corrupt officials for life.

At the Mosambique border post

On the 7^th of July, we left the Chelinda camp in the Nyika Plateau at 08h30 and arrived at Chief Chambe’s village in Zambia 3 hours later. The road is only for true 4X4 lovers and you have washed away bridges as an added bonus.  

Sunset next to Tete

You definately need a 4X4 and lots of beer for the
passengers

Another day, another bad bridge

The Chief (76 years) insisted on joining us, we reached Mwanda peak 3 hours later. The Chief then prayed for the wellbeing of his people (according to Clever, our guide and translator). The beacon was broken by poachers looking for the steel. We arrived back at his place by 18h00 and were invited for supper, chisembe and relish.  We were also given bags filled with oranges and spinach. We arrived back at Chilinda camp at 24h00. It has been a privilege to visit Zambia’s highest peak on the Nyika Plateau with the 76 year old Chief. 

8^th of July:” Muzungus, Muzungus.” The happy chanting of the friendly Malawian children followed us all the way to Chisenga where we met everyone that was someone in the tiny village. The minister, teacher, chief in charge of the dispensary, policeman, etc. They all believed that Namitowa was the highest peak in Mafinga Hills. Just before we left the Nyika Plateau the previous day we met David Foot, who was kind enough to let us borrow his topographic maps of Mafinga Hills. Al and Frans wanted chicken for supper but there was a conspiracy amongst the vegetarians and the chicken got away.

Fish on top of "Why God Why" sign on the taxi
Don't you just love Africa?

9^th of July: Surrounded by at least 20 children and carrying 50 buns bought at the bakery the previous day, we reached the pine forest by 11h00. I measured the first unnamed peak at 13h00. According to the maps, this was it. In the distance we could, however, see a peak that looked higher. (Does this sound familiar?) We set of in that direction and pitched the tent close to the only water we could find around 18h00.

Me, Alan and the kids on top of the mountain

10^th of July: After 4 hours of hiking, we were back where we started. Disorientated by the mist, we almost climbed the wrong peak. Patches of dense vegetation turned out to be very challenging and the lack of water was becoming a problem so we headed back. We reached the pine plantation by 17h00 and I had to do without a bath since we couldn’t spare 20 drops of water.

Measuring what could be the highest peak

Some serious bundu bashing

11^th of July: Al and myself set off to measure Namitowa hill believing that it was the peak mentioned in Peakbaggers. Once again the mist came rolling in and by 12h00 we have measured Namitowa hill. (A lovely hill with a breathtaking view). We discovered that the peak mentioned in Peakbagger’s was 700m away. With no water left, we decided to go down to the village and return the next day.

12^th of July: After studying the maps again we decided to go to Zambia and climb the 7547 feet peak indicated on the map. The Trade Commissioner of Zambia in Pretoria had given me a letter to give to his brother in which he requested Mr Kaumba to assist us on Mafinga Hill and it was close to where Jimmy thought the highest peak was. We went through a small border post. The Zambian side was closed but we were told that it would be no problem. We could have our passports stamped in Isoko. Our nightmare in Zambia had just begun! At Tendere village I gave the letter to Mr. Kaumba and we were instructed by the Counselor to first go to Isoko to have our passports stamped before climbing the mountain. 6 hours of potholes, petrol fumes and dust followed. Our passports were stamped, we were told to have the vehicle papers sorted in Kapiri Moshi and I was given the Minister of Lands’ phone number. Apparently he could tell me where the highest peak in Zambia was. I was put on hold three times and was then informed by the expert himself that the highest peak in Mafinga Hills was where the contour lines were the thickest on the map.  I checked the date to see if it was not April fool’s day and then went looking for my sense of humour. Finally arriving back in Tendere, Al and Frans had a very athletic chicken for supper.

13^th of July: After meeting the Chief and all the important people around the mountain we started our hike at 09h00. 12 Hours and at least 30km later we were back at the vehicle. The descent in the dark was hectic but we achieved what we came to do. We had measured all the peaks Jimmy had thought were possibilities plus the 7500 feet peak on the map. The mystery surrounding the unnamed hill in Mafinga Hills has been solved.

Conclusion:

1. Mwanda is the highest peak in Zambia on the Nyika Plateau
2. The hill mentioned in Peakbagger is behind Namitowa hill and is not the highest in Mafinga Hills.
3. CIA website: They were referring to the 7500 feet peak called Mafinga West. This is the highest peak in Zambia that’s not on the border.
4. The highest peak in Zambia is on the watershed and is higher than 7547 feet.

Decision: I need to start dating guys who work for the CIA. They must have access to topographic maps.

…… the next morning we left early and 60 hours of constant praying that we would not be asked for the Third Party Insurance, we had not obtained as we had entered Zambia through an unmanned border post on a weekend, followed. In Mfika the policeman’s face lit up when we informed him that we didn’t have Third Party Insurance. The fact that Frans accidentally almost ran over him when he tried to park the car didn’t help our case and two very long hours followed. We were told to pay a ZK 375 000 fine. The fact that we didn’t get a letter from the authority explaining the situation didn’t help. Neither did the fact that it was Saturday and that we didn’t have Zambian Kwatchas with us because the bank in Isoko didn’t exchange money. Luckily we were informed by the Commissioner in Isoko that he would notify the authorities on the Monday. We just had to be patient. Just before we took out the stove to cook some pasta, Frans was given his passport and drivers license back and we were instructed to go.

We refused to pay any bribes, and waited for 3 hours
before they gave up and let us go.

The vehicles paperwork was finally sorted out in Kapiri Moshi but because it was a weekend, we were still stuck without the third party insurance. It was a big relief when we finally crossed the Zambian border early Monday morning. 

To me, mountains are holy places and I think the highest peak in Zambia deserves a name. A name given by the locals. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of people that have been to the highest peak.

South Africa – Drakensberg (The Grand Traverse)

I stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago so when my blind dancing partner asked me to join him on the 230km Drakensberg Grand traverse, I started packing.  The traverse was organized by the Roodepoort hiking club as part of their 25^th anniversary and they decided to raise funds for the society of the blind. Mmm, there was no way a blind guy can out walk me, was my exact thoughts!

On Sunday, the 22nd of April 12 eager hikers started the 13 day hike at the Sentinal. Andre, my friend decided in the end that he was not fit enough but Jaco Lubbe, who has got 5% eyesight joined us. The average age of the group was 47 – with Walter Mössner (74) the oldest and Jaco (30) the youngest. Our senses of humor were tested thoroughly and some of the highlights included

·       Strong winds that knocked some of us off our feet

·       Hail and temperatures below -10°

·       Snow

·       Visiting Mafadi and Thaba Nthlenyana, South Africa and Southern Africa’s highest peaks (And in Jaco’s case, doing handstands on them)

·       The pictures we took of ourselves first thing in the morning to see who looked the most like the michellin man. (I woke up one morning thinking I won the prize when I could not see anything. Unfortunately, I was then informed by Jaco that the reason I could not see anything was because I had my beanie over my face.)

·       The beautiful sunrises

·       Jaco saying someone left their teeth in his boots when he started getting blisters

The mountain was exceptionally clean and we only send two bags of litter (mostly plastic bags left in the streams by the locals) down with the resupply team.

It’s been a real privilege to

·              see some parts of the Drakensberg I haven’t seen before with my new hiking friends.

·              hike with Jaco (with his 5% eyesight he made me aware of the beauty of the Drakensberg’s reflections in the streams) and last but not least

It’s been an honour hiking with the stubborn 74 year old Walter who refused to let us carry some of his belongings after he had a fall.

South Africa – Wolkberg

Wolkberg

Thanks to several warnings, pictures and a video clip, we knew the road to the MCSA hut was going to be bad. We parked the 4X4 in the shade, just before the road got horrendous. Jimmy Stone and his son, who arrived the next morning, tried to go further, got stuck twice and decided to park close to us.

The hike to the hut was a pleasant one, with definite signs of where the other land rovers and 4X4 got stuck the previous weekend.  

Beautiful sunset

The litter-free MCSA hut was a pleasant surprise. Thanks to a handful of Haenertsburg ex-service men and their friends, building started in June 1951. Building material was loaded onto an armored car (from 2^nd ww and armor removed) and got the first building material to the hut. It took them 4 days to get down again so further material were either carried up manually or on donkeys. Today most people take the hut for granted. Hopefully future users will use it with the respect it deserves. (More info in the 1997 MCSA Journal).

Bird watching, a nice swim in the pool, a sunset and sitting around a cozy fire chatting before crawling into my sleeping bag ended my first day in this beautiful remote wilderness area.

Saturday: The next morning Etienne was very excited about the dormouse he encountered the previous evening. Reading through the journal in the hut he discovered that his name was Wallice. Wallice was a true gentleman and only took some of my breakfast cereal and a bit of Etienne’s. After breakfast we explored the area about 1km upstream from the famous pools. Our first attempt up the stream was barefoot and lasted about 30 minutes. Our second attempt was hiking through the bushes next to the stream. After several encounters with brambles, we decided to hike in the stream. The last stretch required pangas and we turned back reluctantly.

This bit required pangas

The hike back was awesome and we spotted a lot of birds, duikers and a reedbuck. Once again the swim in the pool was awesome. The rest of the afternoon was filled with bird discussions. The evening was spend story telling and just admiring this beautiful unspoiled place and lightning.

Sunday: 5 Minutes after waking up a decision was made to keep the hut as base camp. Etienne and Jimmy told me that Wallice and his cousin, Mr. Cutie Pie (A Fluffy Tailed Mouse) would have been kicked out if they were not indigenous. I went exploring while the rest of the group waited for the weather to clear. Around 10h00 Etienne and I started the “official” hike to the top of Wolkberge.



The top of Wolkberg

We startled a little reedbuck that injured his leg. It left both of us sad. It was spectacular on top. After our third attempt, we found a pass down. Etienne stepped on a berg adder – so much for injuring animals. The hike back was lovely and we arrived at the hut around 4 o’clock. After a nice sunset I was ready for bed.

Monday: We decided to explore a bit more and took the Jeep track we spotted the previous day. After +- 15km we turned back and hiked for another hour. Then we entered the “aqua/brandnetel” route. Hiking in the river turned out just as much fun as the previous time and we finally got the spot where we started exploring the previous time. Etienne shoe sole came undone and he looked pretty silly picking up his feet! Going up the hill on top of the famous pools, Etienne cleared the path using the cutter. The path to the hut was also very overgrown. By this time, my legs full of scratch marks were shouting for mercy. Etienne decided to head for the car to find something he can fix his boot with while I tried my best to avoid the brambles and other branches poking into my legs. The path was badly eroded. The swim in the pool at the MCSA hut must have been the best I ever had.

Once can easily spend a month here. There are so many beautiful places to explore (if you ignore the nasty plants). Etienne build another campsite after he fixed his boot.

Tuesday: We started at 8h00 and got to Oom Paul’s nose around 12h00. What a beautiful unspoilt place. The scramble down was hectic at first. Once in the Sprokieswoud we took a wrong turn and discovered a lot of litter. Needless to say, it spoilt the moment. We picked up what we could and had the rubbish bags with us the rest of the hike as a reminder how selfish people can be. It was an awesome sight watching hundred’s of fireflies in this magnificent forest.



Picking up litter left behind by hikers in the forest

We had to abandon this route when we had to swim

Wednesday: The bramble made the hike to the bottom house extreme – at some stage we carried our backpacks on our necks following a river until it got too deep. The next step was to leopard crawl through the bushes. A very exciting hike indeed. Once we got to the house we left our back-packs behind and speed walked the 5 km to the vehicle.

Leopard crawling

This is a truly wilderness experience and I can easily spend a month here.

Zimbabwe – Mt Inyangani (Inyangani) and Mozambique – Chimanimani (Binga)

Zimbabwe – Mt Inyangani (Inyangani) and Mozambique – Chimanimani (Binga)

Going to Zimbabwe’s mountains seemed like a great idea. Visiting Mozambique’s highest peak via Zimbabwe made it seem like an even better idea! For more than a year, people have warned me not to go –so this time, I didn’t mention the trip to anyone. I found another mountain lover and we left Pretoria on the 25^th at 22h00 with 145l petrol in jerry cans.

The Beit Bridge border experience was not that horrendous – we arrived at 03h00 and were on our way again by sunrise, having only paid R400 in total.

Then we were on our way to Nyanga.  Due to the shortage of petrol, there were not a lot of vehicles on the road and we were surrounded by beautiful mountains most of the way.

After paying our entrance fees at the Nyanga National Park, it took us 90 minutes minutes to get to the top of Mount Nyangani (2593m). Mount Nyangani is a charming "soft" shy mountain and clouds covered her most of the time. She was very clean and we only picked up a small bag of rubbish. An awfully big piece of my heart was left behind.

Touring through the Honde valley afterwards was spectacular.

The next morning we were up early but our plans to see the sun rise in the Vumba botanical gardens had to be postponed because of the mist/rain. We did spend some time with Wilfred Mbowa, the birding guide at the Leopard Rock Game Reserve and what a remarkable experience.

On our way to Mutare later that afternoon a speed cop jumped in front of us with the biggest smile I have seen on a person's face. He greeted us with "I'm going to lock you up". It was also the quickest I have seen someone's smile disappear when he noticed Wilfred in the vehicle with us. We paid R20 for driving 69km/h in a 60km/h zone.

The Chimanimani is raw beauty on a vast scale. We arrived at Chimanimani national park at 15h30 and because of the mist rolling in we pitched our tents at the car park.

The next morning we started our hike to Mt Binga at 08h00. We arrived at the spotlessly kept hut at 10h30. Two scouts came to chat to us and explained that the rifles they were carrying were meant to shoot the illegal miners, which left me speechless and feeling much safer J They told us that the path to the top was clearly marked and we should reach Mt Binga by 15h00.

When we were still hiking at 15h00 with Mt Binga nowhere in site we came to the mutual agreement that we were lost. We also agreed that we must have followed one of the thousands of paths made by the illegal miners (there were at least 15 of them panning for gold in the river but we didn't stay to find out if they were friendly). The mist was rolling in and taking Jimmy's thumb as a measuring tool, we came to the conclusion that we were very far off the map in Mozambique. Since we didn't have Mt Binga's coordinates, Jimmy decided to calculate it using his thumb, my hiking stick, a book and the waypoints of the hut and camp.

By 17h00 it was confirmed! We were totally lost. Keeping in mind the warning about the land mines we decided to pitch the tent in a spot we hoped were safe from the smugglers. We must have looked a sight moving around on the rocks trying to avoid "possible landmines". Once the mist cleared we were greeted by trillions of bright stars.

The sunrise was spectacular and we started our hike shortly afterwards. We followed a path going in the general direction of where we thought Mt Binga must lie and an hour later we were very close to the peak. We didn't read the manual properly and decided after an hour of struggling to get to the top that there must be an easier route. Walking around we soon found a clearly marked path – straight to the top! What a fine-looking site!

I did warn Jimmy that I can't help crying when I have to go down a beautiful mountain so he didn't seem very concerned when my tears came.   We were back at the camp by 15h00.

Chimanimani is a beautiful mountain and my only regret is that we didn't spend more time on her. The scouts keep her clean and we could only fill a small bag with rubbish – apparently left behind by the smugglers. According to the register the following hikers were on Chimanimani in 2006: 217 from Zimbabwe, 6 from South-Africa, 2 from England, 2 from Denmark, 3 from Finland, 4 from Italy, 2 from Israel, 1 from Germany, 1 from Netherlands and 1 from America.

Going through Beit Bridge on our way back was a pleasure. We went through at 6h00 and it took us no more than 20 minutes.