It’s going to rain, the clouds are building, well maybe it will rain tomorrow. The weather forecast says it will rain in the
next few days, but it doesn’t. It almost
sounds like a hiker’s lament, I am going to hike you know, soon. But as we know we don’t, and time marches
on, the garden gets drier, the hikes get left behind, and time marches on to
winter. Our lives march past so fast,
unless one makes the time to do these things, we don’t. I visited my mother on Sunday, she is 91
years old, it was my first visit since seeing her at
Xmas. She has changed, more frail, harder to move around, more comfortable in her
room than the lounge - could she have changed so much in just 3 months?. When we look around some day we too will say,
what have we done that is worthwhile in the last period.???
Club Condolences
We remember Dan Dicks, and our thoughts go to, and have
been with Rose these last few months.
Rose has been busy and has done several club hikes as well as Mountain
Backpackers hikes. We wish her strength and comfort as the days go on.
Others on our list who are not well are Campbell Downie, past member of the club, Chantel
Beattie and Fiona Bell all of whom are braving Medical setbacks. We wish them quick recoveries
.
Others who have been very busy over the last time
frame are our Web Master Rod and Sam. Both
have been writing exams – serious stuff. We know that they have done well, and thank
Rod for managing to keep “Our” web sites going ,
despite having to spend long hours studying , then a full working day on top of
that.
Club Activities –
Most of the hikes have been well attended, full numbers
on the week end hikes, a bit less on the day hikes. Come
on people, the day hikes should be really full - what do we do on the week ends.
Support your club, otherwise really where do we go ??? The flowers in the berg this summer have
been phenomenal, the wet spring had brought on a show of flowers that I have
not seen in many a year. Any day hiker
to the berg over the past 2- 3 months, would have seen some really
spectacular colours and flowers. Unfortunately, the changes have started, and
the browns of winter are creeping in, the flowers have gone.
New Finds - A new scribe has emerged from the ranks, a
different way of writing, a different way of putting across the experiences of
the hiking week-end. Read the newsletter,
visit our website to find out who this is. Thanks to “The Observer”
We need members to again start to volunteer to submit
articles and photos to our web master Rod, for inclusion in the club web site www.gohiking.co.za . New articles and
photos tend to make for more people visiting the web site to see what is
happening. This also gives the club a
better chance to attract new members.
BIG EVENTS TO HAPPEN
PMB to
Grand Traverse
The 2008 Grand Traverse South to North - The highlight of any
serious hikers dreams is to do the “GRAND TRAVERSE”. The ultimate Drakensberg hiking challenge. For this 240 kilometer – 12 day hike,
climbing up and down -
in all a total of nearly 12000 meters, or 12 kilometers or,
nearly twice the height of
Keith and Irene are also doing the cycle ride - don’t
you wish you could be that fit !!??? From the club, we wish our hikers “A GRAND
TRAVERSE” , may they enjoy it, and have a wonderful
walk in the majestic Drakensberg.
Our wish for you all is this:
MAY YOU WALK IN SAFTEY
MAY YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH OF
10
MAY THERE BE NO BLISTERS
“MAY THE WEATHER BE EVER ON
YOUR SIDE”
MAY THE UP-HILLS BE
FLAT,
THE DOWN-HILLS BE GENTLE
MAY YOU SLEEP WARM AND
CONTENTED
MAY YOUR TENTS BE DRY IN THE
MORNING
MAY EACH DAY BRING JOY AND
HAPPINESS
MAY EACH NIGHT BE FILLED WITH CONTENTMENT
MAY YOU SHARE SPECIAL TIMES
WITH SPECIAL PEOPLE
MAY YOU BE GO IN THE
KNOWLEDGE THAT FAMILIEIS AND
FRIENDS ARE PRAYING FOR YOU
GO WELL IN THE HANDS OF
NATURE
We look forward to sharing your stories and photos in
the not too distant future.
Mountain Safety
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
have issued a new safety pamphlet
for the berg. It is available at all EKZN Wildlife Offices.
On it are important safety tips, and even more
important, Emergency Contact Numbers for Mountain related problems. Make sure
that you get a copy of this pamphlet if you go into the mountains. It may save
your life.
.
For more information on Mountain Safety – for anyone
going into the mountains, see my web site www.bergfree.co.za - and look at the section on “Mountain
Safety”
New Members
As already mentioned, we have a number of new members who
have joined the club recently, and who have already done a number of hikes with us. We welcome Graham & Elizabeth Mannall, Bronwyn Jones and Bruce Aiken.
As I reported this time last year, the next few months
up to the end of May are wonderful times to be in the mountains. The weather is
more stable, the incredible Autumn colors are taking
over the green grasslands, the cold is not that cold, and the steams are still
running well. Take a good look at the
club calendar and plan to spend at least one day out in the fresh air with the
club. Only by your efforts, will YOU GET
THERE
See you there.
Hiking
regards
Competition winners
|
BEST
PHOTOGRAPH SUBMITTED TO THE WEB SITE |
|
|||||||||
|
(Judged
by an independent authority) |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
Castleburn Dam with reflections of the mountains and clouds beyond. |
|
|
||||||||
|
Prize
Winner - Noël Harper. |
|
Prize
- Big box of chocolates & bottle of sherry. |
||||||||
|
Highly
commended other photos submitted to the web site:- (again judged by
independent authority) |
||||||||||
|
Devils
Knuckles & hikers framed by rock arch / Hikers in " |
||||||||||
|
Submitted
by Irene Wisdom. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
International
Backpackers Dam with reflections of |
||||||||||
|
Submitted
by Keith Ashton. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Close-up
of two adult hippos with baby hippo - all with mouths wide open - |
||||||||||
|
Submitted
by Keith Ashton. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
BEST
HIKE WRITE-UP SUBMITTED FOR THE NEWSLETTER & WEB SITE (Judged by independent
authority) |
||||||||||
|
8-Day
Naukluft Trail - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Prize
Winner - Peter Wedge |
|
Prize
- Long Weekend for 2 persons -
Friday-Sunday |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
at
Keith & Margaret's Berg Cottage |
|
|||||
|
Highly
commended other write-ups submitted for the newsletter & web site need
congratulations |
||||||||||
|
for
the following:- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Backpacking
weekend - Bushman's Nek to Whyte's Cave - via |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
"Emotional
thoughts" - Submitted by Petro Mostert |
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
Long
Weekend at Keith & Margaret's Berg Cottage - |
|
|
||||||||
|
Submitted
by Sally Browne. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Climbing
Mount Kenya (8 days on the mountain) - 10 days in |
|
|||||||||
|
Submitted
by Peter Wedge. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
MEMBER
WHO HAS INTRODUCED THE MOST NEW MEMBERS (Numbers taken from Application Forms) |
||||||||||
|
Prize
Winner - Rose Dix |
|
Prize
- Long Weekend for 4 persons - Friday-Sunday at Mountain Shadows in the |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
2-bedroomed
cottage recently refurbished. Prize
kindly donated by Alan & |
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
Margaret
Herbst of Mountain Shadows. |
|
|
||||
ANOTHER
ADVENTURE WITH BUSHY KIRBY Libby Deysel
It was disappointing that only 4 Club members were
able to join Bushy and Pat for the hike at Hella Hella.
The four of us, namely Jill Plummer, Tony Moreno,
Sandra Naidoo and I left Howick
at 7 a.m. as we had been asked by Bushy to be at the Shell Garage in
Having paid our dues, we set off from the river to
climb to the top of the gorge. It
didn’t look too daunting, especially as Bushy assured us that we would not have
to scale the cliffs that we could see from the bottom of the valley. However, it was one of those climbs where
you are nearly at the top, only to discover that there is another top and
another and so you continue up and up and up!!
We had many stops on the way, mainly to see the view and drink
water. It was fortunate that it was
overcast while we were climbing, but it was still hot. Anyway, pole pole
as they say on
Once on top of the ridge, walking was easy going and
Bushy assured us that from then it was downhill all the way. The clouds parted and we were fairly well
exposed to the sun from then on.
However, we were walking alongside a plantation and were able to find a
nice shady spot for lunch. The view
from the top of the ridge was spectacular - what a beautiful area this Heritage
site is with the deep, deep valley with the
The descent from the top of the ridge was mainly
through grassland and at the bottom onto a rocky path before joining the road
back to the office. Bushy allowed me to
lead at this stage – now I know why, to get rid of all the spider’s webs!! We just made it back to the cars when it
started to rain lightly, but it was great to just sit in the rain to cool
off. Tony had made a plan to travel
back the other way, through Donnybrook and Bulwer as he wanted to call in at
the Pickle Pot. The road climbing out
of the valley the other side was a bit rougher, but once again beautiful
views. We were too late for the Pickle
Pot and hit some heavy weather with mist and heavy rain. However, we arrived home safely at about 18h45 – thanks to
Tony.
Special thanks to Bushy and Pat for a wonderful
day. I certainly feel quite rejuvenated
and ready to tackle the week ahead.
THE HIKERS.
“The Best 4x4
By Far” (Dave), “The Centurion Tank” (Keith), “The Entertainer” (Margaret), and “The Observer” together with “Ms. Perseverance”, “The Flying
Scot”, “The Mensch” and “The Apprentice” made up the
party of eight for this hike.
“Ms. Perseverance” (Margaret Kirsten) - An experienced
hiker who has completed hikes in various parts of the world including in the
American Rockies, Mont Blanc, Mount Kenya and all over the 'Berg. The pace of the leading pack and the altitude
on this hike started messing with her brain less than 2 hours into the hike and
she was on the verge of retreating and spending 36 hours at the car park while
the remaining seven hikers continued. However,
enter “The Mensch”.
He quickly removed her bedding
roll from her backpack and strapped it to his own and proceeded to carry it for
the remaining 6 hours on Saturday and the return trip on Sunday. A highly embarrassed Ms. Perseverance plodded
on at the tail for the rest of Saturday, but by Sunday had acclimatised
and was fit and ready to climb to the top of the 'Berg.
“The Flying Scot” (Irene Wisdom) - When she starts
pumping her Black Diamond ski poles, smoke rises from the soles of her boots. Better not to try and keep up with her when
she is in that mode. Completing the
Grand Traverse last year is not enough of an accomplishment for her and she is
in training (with some other daft Amazons from a certain school in Pmb) to tackle a cycle trip of several hundred kilometres to Rhodes in the Eastern Cape.
“The Mensch” (Mark Wisdom) -
Could not believe my eyes when the Ashton's Nissan bakkie
arrived at
Not only did “The Mensch”
come to the rescue by strapping Ms. Perseverance's bed roll to his pack, but
once he had reached the summit of a severe climb in searing heat, he dumped his
pack and then descended about 50m to dispossess Ms. Perseverance of hers and to
carry it to the summit!! What a 'boytjie!'
“The Apprentice.” (Brian Checkley.)
This is the third (all 3 have been with
the club) overnight hike that the 62 year old “The Apprentice” has done and he
is already getting quite cocky! After
spending some time in conversation with “The Centurion Tank”, “The Apprentice”, quote, 'Will give
serious consideration to helping with the re-supply for the next Grand
Traverse.' This will immediately tell
you that we hiked in exceptionally hot weather and that the sun affected some
of the hikers very badly. According to the thermometer on his watch, the
temperature was as high as 39oC in the valleys. When we left the cave on Sunday, the temp at
8h30 was 33oC! No wonder that helping with the re-supply
seemed like a walk in the park to “The Apprentice”. He always hikes with a stick but on this
occasion it was forgotten at home. This
hike is one that definitely needs at least one stick and he grumbled and
muttered to himself about his forgetfulness for large portions of Saturday. But,
(to his close friends he is known as “Mr Fixit”) no
sooner had we reached the cave and he whipped out his Swiss army knife and
sawed and fashioned a new stick for the return journey. He was a much happier chappie
on Sunday. “The Best 4x4 By Far” passed
some of his wisdom and experience onto “The Apprentice” by telling him to
follow his example by preparing a checklist to tick off at the commencement of
every hike.
THE HIKE.
It is fascinating and intriguing to observe and to
listen to “The Best 4x4 By Far” as he gazes at the typography and game tracks
while deciding which route to take. He
weighed up “giant cutbacks” against “ridges” and then set off at a helluva pace, usually up the ridges to save distance and
time. He does not have a 'saak' with the consequences regarding aching muscles and
feet and sagging energy levels!
He could often be heard talking to himself while
gazing at and determining route markers in the distance. At other times he would say, “We are now in
the hands of the Eland”. We never saw one of the damn beasts but we did
often walk where they had walked. Our
leader enjoyed himself by periodically inviting
someone in the group to either take us back to the car park or to point out
where we had rested or lunched the previous day.
This hike is mostly over virgin terrain and is testing
on the ankles, feet and calves. The sky was clear and the heat severe. To cope with the heat, some of us plunged
ourselves into the streams on Sunday and dunked our hats in the streams on both
days. Even “The Entertainer” (who as you know has a slowish
but comfortable pace) took a beating. We could probably have left our sleeping
bags at home, so mild was the night.
The round trip was 26 km. Day
one with the descent into a valley was more strenuous than day two and in fact
took an hour longer than the return trip. On Saturday we set out at 9h00 and
arrived at the cave at 16h00. We left
the cave at 08h00 on Sunday and arrived at the cars at 14h00.
About 300m from the cave is an awesome
sandstone 'ruin.' Its inhabitants may
have left many years ago but the walls are still standing firm with scarcely a
stone out of its original position. It is evident that the sandstone blocks
were cut and dressed on site, a testimony to the quality of work in those days.
“Gebou om
te hou.”
A cattle dip
has been chiseled out of the surrounding stone with sandstone block walls at
the entrance and exit. A furrow (about
8cms wide and 2cm deep) has been chiseled into the rock above the dip and it
directs rain and dew into the dip.
I found it
sobering to think on what our forefathers achieved without the aid of
computers, electricity and the tools and machinery we enjoy today. That was an age of hard physical labour and discipline when a 'klap'
did no one any harm. Have we progressed or regressed?
A steep descent from near the ruin and we entered the
cave. The well concealed entrance to the
cave area is through a magnificent gnarled tree in the form of an arch - quite
spectacular. Water cascades over the cave area and provides a freezing shower (took my
breath away as I stood beneath it) and a shallow water hole (not deep enough to
swim or bath).
Because of the boulders in the overhang, only 8 hikers
can be accommodated and then they are about 10-20m apart in pairs. Not conducive to a social evening or to
snooping to see who has what gadgets/equip- ment and
food and drink.
I found gazing
at the dinosaur footprints an awesome experience. I have seen such things on TV, but to stand on
a boulder and to gaze down at an actual dinosaur print which was probably
millions of years old, WOW!!! Thanks Dave.
For those who have not been as fortunate to have
visited this cave, let it be known that this was Dave's last hike to it. Only BEEEEG bucks will get him to lead
another group to it.
AN AFTER THOUGHT.
My observation is that although the club has over 150
members, a core of about only twenty of them participate
in these overnight hikes. Such a pity. After one has run 10 Comrades, a green number
is awarded. After completing three Two Oceans, one's name
goes into the Ship's Log. After one has
donated a certain number of units of blood, a certificate/badge is issued. Has the Club's Committee ever considered a
recognition/incentive for hikers who complete say 10 overnight hikes in a
calendar year? Maybe a gold badge for
10 in a year, a silver for 7 in a year and a bronze
for 5 in a year. Just
a thought.
FOR
Ladies HiTech
Boulder hiking boots with "SympaTex"
membrane - size 6 - used only a few times.
Cost new R900 - Asking price
R300. Contact Margaret Ashton on 033
239 5023.