MOUNTAIN - Cape Province Mountain Club
MOUNTAIN - Cape Province Mountain Club
MOUNTAIN - Cape Province Mountain Club
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<strong>MOUNTAIN</strong><br />
C A P E P R O V I N C E<br />
VOL 3 • NOVEMBER 2009<br />
C L U B<br />
november 2009 / newsletter of cape province mountain club
After the AGM, the atmosphere in the club<br />
seems to be more positive and we look forward<br />
to great progress in the growth of the club.<br />
We have seen steady positive developments<br />
like the successful hike of the Fish River Canyon<br />
in June and the accent of Mount Kilimanjaro by<br />
Ron and Sharon and their subsequent union.<br />
More progressive reforms in the constitution<br />
have been made that are more democratic and<br />
fair.<br />
I however would like to see more development<br />
as to the status of the hut. It cannot be treated<br />
as a boogieman – what you do not see, you do<br />
not fear. Clarity is needed as to ownership and<br />
the lease – we may also appeal to the relevant<br />
authorities for some serious funding for<br />
renovations, to do otherwise would risk losing<br />
the hut altogether due to neglect and abuse.<br />
In our last edition of “<strong>Mountain</strong>eering Report” I<br />
made mention of how the financial crunch has<br />
impacted on the way we do things. It appears<br />
that things are changing slightly for better, but<br />
is still felt. This is evident as we see how people<br />
chose to spend their free time. It is pleasing to<br />
note that our members still manage to attend<br />
social events as they are committed to honour<br />
the activities of the club.<br />
Our membership over the past twelve months<br />
has not changed much with a few regulars not<br />
as active as before and a couple of new members<br />
joining during the period under review. To those<br />
who joined recently, I trust that your stay with<br />
CPMC will be long, enjoyable and valuable to<br />
both you and the club. I always say, “What is it<br />
that I can do for the club rather than what can<br />
I benefit from the club”.<br />
With regards to climbing the major highlights<br />
of our events were the country trips of which<br />
the “Grootwinterhoek” sadly had to be cancelled<br />
in April due to excessive erosion caused by the<br />
recent fires in the area earlier this year.<br />
A few of the day hikes had to be cancelled due<br />
to the lack of interest at the time. However, it<br />
has been noted that most of the scheduled hikes<br />
went ahead as planned. I would like to express<br />
Editor’s Report<br />
Chairperson’s Column<br />
newsletter of cape province mountain club / november 2009<br />
Let’s together, up the status of the hut (the<br />
only tangible remnant of the original founders<br />
of the club) and so, up our utilisation of this<br />
valuable asset.<br />
I would like to see the hut upgraded, enlarged<br />
with more toilets and showers, enclosed for<br />
security, have an inclusive library and museum<br />
area, an upgraded kitchen area and generally a<br />
more modern feel. This will up our status and<br />
marketability.<br />
I would also like to see young blood entering<br />
the club. Of course outreach goes a long way,<br />
and this needs to be worked on.<br />
An encore is honouring the existing and<br />
past members of the club on gaining the well<br />
deserved status of honorary membership – Viva<br />
Sidney, Peter, Hugh and Colleen!!<br />
Morty Petersen<br />
Executive Members of <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Province</strong> <strong>Mountain</strong> <strong>Club</strong><br />
Chairperson Benny Pietersen 021 705 8540 0822025821 bpietersen@lotus.wcape.school.za<br />
Secretary Anthony Jacobs 021 959 2412 0848610191 ajacobs@uwc.ac.za<br />
Treasurer Sharon Holmes 021 531 2023 0833982562 sharon@soliciors.co.za<br />
Hut Convenor Mike Francke 021 697 2150 0828235464 FranckM@telkom.co.za<br />
Fund Raising Convenor André Curtis 021 706 4997 0832842447<br />
Climbing Convenor Ronald Holmes 021 531 2023 0767407886 sharon@soliciors.co.za<br />
my sincere appreciation to climbing convenor<br />
Ron and his companion (now Mrs Holmes)<br />
Sharon for their unselfish and valuable input.<br />
Despite the financial crunch most members<br />
reshuffled personal budgets to honour their<br />
financial commitment to CPMC. A special word<br />
of thanks to the fundraising team, Mike, Karen<br />
and Andre who drove the fundraising initiatives<br />
throughout the year as well as to those who<br />
supported them in all their efforts.<br />
To Darrel and all who form the hut committee,<br />
your passion you display by giving of yourselves<br />
when it comes to planning, strategising and<br />
the enthusiasm in trying to make this a<br />
more luxurious venue, your efforts never go<br />
unnoticed.<br />
There are members who continually sacrifice<br />
their time and recourses to assist with the<br />
various youth outreach programmes of which<br />
some have provided written feedback. Without<br />
individuals of this calibre CPMC’s youth<br />
outreach would be non-existent. Let’s join forces<br />
and continue to strengthen this arm<br />
To everyone else who has contributed towards<br />
the prosperity of <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Province</strong> <strong>Mountain</strong> <strong>Club</strong><br />
I would like to encourage you to continue with<br />
your effort in promoting positive lifestyles.
oCtobER 2008<br />
■ 19th October<br />
Noordhoek Peak and the Upper Contour<br />
Party of 3: 2 members and 1 non-member<br />
We started from the car park at Silvermine Dam.<br />
This eager group of three faced a few challenges<br />
in that firstly, Ron forgot to bring his hiking boots<br />
along, secondly Shannon’s hydration bladder<br />
sprung a leak and soaked the entire contents<br />
of his backpack and, lastly, yours truly forgot to<br />
bring a water bottle along! Despite these glitches,<br />
and because we had enough food to feed an army,<br />
our merry little group explored the area until we<br />
found a suitable spot where we enjoyed a hearty<br />
breakfast.<br />
NovEMbER 2008<br />
■ 23rd November<br />
Constantiaberg and tokai Forest<br />
Puffing our way to Constantiaberg Peak<br />
Party of 12: 8 members and 4 non-members<br />
We started from the car park at Silvermine<br />
Dam. As we headed towards Elephants Eye it<br />
became evident that this has become a popular<br />
Sunday walk as we must have met up with about<br />
6 groups. The Eye was quite congested with about<br />
60 people there at one time. Fortunately many<br />
of them did not proceed further which made our<br />
walk to the peak a pleasant one.<br />
This part if the hike was enjoyable as we<br />
continued the rather physically demanding<br />
ascent. The short breaks taken were rewarded<br />
with the spectacular panoramic view of the <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Flats. Our Port Elizabeth visitors really enjoyed<br />
the walk, despite the fact that three of them<br />
decided to skip the final stretch from the tarred<br />
service road to the top.<br />
Once on top we enjoyed the view of Hout Bay<br />
and surrounding area. The weather was coolish<br />
with some cloud cover which contributed to the<br />
pleasant mood enjoyed and shared by our hiking<br />
party. After an early lunch we started to descend<br />
at about 11h45 and reached the car park by<br />
13h45.<br />
dECEMbER 2008<br />
■ 16th December<br />
77th Anniversary<br />
As usual, we celebrate CPMC’s anniversary in<br />
style. Our 77th was celebrated at Glencairn Naval<br />
Recreation Park, and we thank Oswald Haupt for<br />
organising the venue. Thanks to Elroy Seymour<br />
who also tried to arrange a venue in Town, but<br />
this one seemed more convenient.<br />
The format was a braai (a break away from<br />
the traditional spit braai) which was attended by<br />
approximately 50 members and guests. After lunch<br />
we enjoyed the vast space while some members<br />
actually practiced their golfing techniques while<br />
others just soaked up the beauty of the summer<br />
afternoon sun. This time of the year is extremely<br />
busy and many find they caught-up in Christmas<br />
shopping and house repairs, etc.<br />
A special word of thanks to those who spent<br />
the day with us and especially to those members<br />
who left home early the morning to ensure that<br />
the venue and food was prepared by the time<br />
everyone else arrived.<br />
Benny Pietersen<br />
jANUARy 2009<br />
■ 23rd January<br />
Kloof Corner<br />
Sundowners on Kloof Corner –<br />
waiting for sunset.<br />
Party of 22: 9 members and 13 non-members<br />
We had a staggered start from 18h00 onwards<br />
for members and guests where we walked up to<br />
KloofCorner.<br />
On our arrival, a sundowner picnic was<br />
enjoyed by all. The sunset made for marvellous<br />
photographs and it would seem that this<br />
particular walk is fast becoming one of CPMC’s<br />
popular annual events.<br />
We descended once the sun had set at about<br />
20h35.<br />
Ronald Holmes<br />
november 2009 / newsletter of cape province mountain club
FEbRUARy 2009<br />
■ 14th February<br />
Lower Krom River<br />
Party of 18: 4 members and 14 non-members<br />
The hike started at approximately 08h40. The<br />
hike was planned for February, being the hottest<br />
month of the year, with the idea that we would<br />
be able to enjoy the rock pools along the hiking<br />
trail, but the temperature on the day only<br />
reached a maximum of 25°C, which was quite<br />
surprising because the temperature for a few of<br />
the preceding days had exceeded the 30°C mark.<br />
The cool temperature had, however, made for<br />
a comfortable hike to Paradise Pool. The ±4km<br />
hike took approximately an hour and 40 minutes.<br />
The scramble just before Paradise Pool was quite<br />
challenging but there were no difficulties in<br />
doing the short ascent. The water at the Pool was<br />
exceptionally cold but that didn’t stop the group<br />
from taking a dip. An early lunch was enjoyed at<br />
the pool, and thereafter we all made our way back<br />
to our cars. En route some of the group enjoyed<br />
one last splash in the smaller rock pools. We<br />
arrived at our vehicles at approximately 15h00.<br />
Ronald Holmes<br />
■ 20th February<br />
Signal Hill Picnic<br />
Although this event had no walk scheduled<br />
it turned out to be one of our more successful<br />
events in a long time. The turnout of people was<br />
tremendous and I think that the intended goal of<br />
socialising was achieved. The event had a turnout<br />
of about ±35 people.<br />
At 18h00 the weather was perfect with no wind<br />
and a warm evening. Once everyone had arrived<br />
a sunset picnic was enjoyed by all and it is quite<br />
clear that everyone made a great effort when<br />
one looks at the spread that some of members<br />
put on. As the sun was setting, the wind started<br />
to pick up and the temperature started to drop,<br />
people started leave. There were, as always, some<br />
party animals who stayed to enjoy each other’s<br />
company and the city lights.<br />
Enjoying the company of good friends.<br />
MARCH 2009<br />
■ 8th March<br />
Long beach<br />
newsletter of cape province mountain club / november 2009<br />
■ 8th March<br />
Pick ’n Pay Argus Cycle tour<br />
Duration: 109km<br />
Participants were: Mike, Karen, Sharon, Benny,<br />
Oswald and the cyclists from KONEK Cycling<br />
club.<br />
This year the team grew as some of our<br />
members decided to act as chaperones to a group<br />
of young cyclist from KONEK cycling club.<br />
The battle of the “storms”.<br />
Despite the fact that this year’s event was<br />
dubbed the “race of storms”, for those who<br />
managed to complete it was a real achievement.<br />
On the day we experienced wind speed of up to<br />
70km/h along the False Bay coast line with most<br />
people battling to reach the half-way mark.<br />
But thereafter it was a gentle breeze until we<br />
reached Noordhoek where it appeared that the<br />
wind direction had changed somewhat, with<br />
the organisers forced to stop the race on top of<br />
Suikerbossie. Many cyclists never completed the<br />
race due to the safety risk faced by the organisers,<br />
but for those who did, even if your transponder<br />
stopped working or if your number was retrieved<br />
during the race, you were allowed to proceed at<br />
your own risk, this is a race that will never be<br />
forgotten.<br />
Yes we hope to be back next year.<br />
The hike started at Kommetjie’s Long Beach<br />
07h30 with a staggered start for those arriving<br />
at different times and making their way to<br />
Noordehoek Beach. The weather was great,<br />
making it just perfect for what seemed to be<br />
another walk that is a favourite on our <strong>Club</strong>’s<br />
programme. The approximately 4 km walk<br />
towards Noordehoek was pleasant with a mild<br />
wind and cool temperature. Once all arrived at<br />
Noordhoek Beach, everyone enjoyed a light picnic<br />
and then we all made our way back to Kommetjie<br />
Beach. The hike ended at approximately 12h00.
■ 27-28th March<br />
Work Meet<br />
We arrived at the hut on the Friday of the 27th in<br />
deteriorating weather conditions which I thought<br />
might impact on our schedule for the week-end.<br />
Fortunately, the weather held and we were<br />
able to complete a few of the tasks of which the<br />
refurbishing of the fireplace was paramount.<br />
Verbal apologies were passed on by members of<br />
those who could not make it. Three vehicles were<br />
used over the week end to transport cement, sand,<br />
fire bricks and tools including the generator and<br />
angle grinder for the proposed work tasks.<br />
The Friday evening saw us conduct a “bosberaad”<br />
which was ably facilitated by Larry<br />
Witkowsky so that we could plot a way forward<br />
in terms of what tasks were considered priority.<br />
Those present took a decision to re-evaluate the<br />
entire structure and its surrounds so that we<br />
could compile a draft proposal which we as the<br />
Hut Committee would in due course submit at the<br />
next general meeting for approval (in principle).<br />
Larry, rebuilding the braai.<br />
The refurbishing of the fire went ahead with<br />
Larry Witkowsky laying the “fire bricks” in and<br />
around the fire place along with metal rods placed<br />
strategically in the fireplace for pots, kettles and<br />
or braai grids. The area around the fire-place<br />
was reinforced with cement and secured, along<br />
with the floor area around the fire-place. Angle<br />
iron was fitted around the brick work to ensure<br />
that the structure was absolutely stable. I think<br />
the fire place does enjoy “pride of place” currently<br />
in the hut. The extractor was secured as best<br />
possible but the club will have to invest in a new<br />
one in the near future. The club needs to make<br />
a decision in this regard as there seems to be so<br />
many priorities to attend to at this stage. In my<br />
opinion the extractor was secured and could hold<br />
out for a few more months. The ladies contributed<br />
in terms of the layout of the area for cupboards<br />
and work tops which made a lot of sense within<br />
the overall plan. I have no doubt that this could<br />
be done with minimum cost as we go along.<br />
Darrel Abrahams<br />
APRiL 2009<br />
■ 4th April<br />
Grootkop<br />
The hike started at 07h45 at the track leading up<br />
the slope off Theresa Drive in upper Camps Bay.<br />
The moderate climb up the track from Theresa<br />
Drive to the Pipe Track was sufficient to get a<br />
few of the attendees to break into a mild sweat.<br />
From there it was a nice level walk along the Pipe<br />
Track to the start of Corridor Ravine.<br />
“Grootkoppe”.<br />
From the top of Corridor ravine the group<br />
walked at a steady pace to Grootkop which we then<br />
ascended. At the top of Grootkop the group took<br />
in the amazing views and all were in agreement<br />
that we had not allowed sufficient time to sit on<br />
top of this absolutely stunning view point. We<br />
enjoyed a light snacked and then retraced our<br />
way back to our vehicles and did not go down<br />
Kasteel Poort as planned due time constraints.<br />
All in all it was one of the better walks on our<br />
programme. The deciding criteria were the views<br />
of the peninsula.<br />
Ronald Holmes<br />
■ 18th April<br />
UtC-outreach<br />
On April 18th I joined 8 students from Masiyile<br />
Secondary School on a hike up the Constantia<br />
route of Table <strong>Mountain</strong>. Ron and Sharon lead<br />
us up the mountain and safely to the hut. We<br />
hiked half of the time as the sun was setting and<br />
half of our time in the dark. The students eyes lit<br />
up when the saw the lights of <strong>Cape</strong> Town from<br />
such a distance. The hike was a bit of a struggle<br />
for some, especially for those that hiked in<br />
sandals, but all pushed through. In the evening<br />
the students settled in to the cabin, played card<br />
games, and told stories. They also performed<br />
some traditional songs and dances for us. The<br />
next morning we were set to hike back down the<br />
mountain but it was raining. I had brought some<br />
black garbage bags just in case it rained, and we<br />
november 2009 / newsletter of cape province mountain club
all got very creative adorning ourselves in black<br />
plastic. On the way down the students were very<br />
excited. The downhill was less tiring as well, and<br />
some were so energised that they ran down part<br />
of the trail. At the very end, all of the students<br />
were excited and proud that they had climbed<br />
Table <strong>Mountain</strong>.<br />
I cannot thank Benny, Ron, Sharon, and the<br />
rest of the <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Province</strong> <strong>Mountain</strong> club enough.<br />
Without you, I would not have been able to show<br />
these students an important and exciting natural<br />
attraction of their home city. The co-ordination<br />
of the trip ran very smoothly; the students and<br />
I especially appreciated the hiking backpacks. I<br />
think next time they will pack a bit lighter.<br />
The students only had good things to say about<br />
the trip:<br />
“...thanks for the weekend out. It was very nice<br />
and we enjoyed ourselves. Personally, I enjoyed it<br />
a lot. Hope to do it again.”<br />
“I had a great time this weekend...”<br />
“I have to thank you for giving me an opportunity<br />
to achieve my dream of climbing the highest<br />
mountain of <strong>Cape</strong> Town.”<br />
There’s something about hiking that brings<br />
people together; this trip brought my students<br />
and I closer. It was quite an adventure!<br />
Megan Mateer<br />
■ 23/24th and 29/30th April<br />
Lotus High School<br />
On behalf of the grade elevens, the hiking trip<br />
was one of the best experiences that we’ve come<br />
across in life.<br />
It was our first time ever that we had gone<br />
hiking. The boys and girls went on two separate<br />
days. What we as girls experience was that it was<br />
quite a cold day with rain in between but it was<br />
great weather to walk in. We walked for about<br />
four hours because of the shorter route we took<br />
because of the weather conditions.<br />
The route (Pipe Track/Kasteelspoort) we had<br />
taken was much more strenuous than the route<br />
Girls on the move.<br />
“See-saw”.<br />
newsletter of cape province mountain club / november 2009<br />
(Pipe Track/Corridor Ravine) which we were<br />
suppose to have walked. We as girls were totally<br />
surprised that we could climb up those rocks<br />
without hesitating. It was very tiring and at<br />
certain points we felt as if we were going to give<br />
up. We realised that no matter what you do, you<br />
shouldn’t give up on life and any other obstacles<br />
that become your fear.<br />
When we arrived at the hut, we unpacked and<br />
had lunch. Thereafter, the weather cleared up a<br />
bit and our educator Mr Petersen and mountain<br />
guide, Mr Stevens, took us to the museum where<br />
the two of them explained the history of the<br />
museum. They also took us to other huts that<br />
belongs to different mountain clubs.<br />
When it was just about dark we chopped and<br />
sawed wood in order to get a fire going and lit<br />
candles for light in the hut and prepared our<br />
supper. After supper we gathered around the fire<br />
where we spoke about the history of the hut, told<br />
stories (which were scary) and had debates. It<br />
was such a memorable evening and we were over<br />
excited to be there. The next day when we headed<br />
home, the weather was beautiful because it was a<br />
bright day. The view was so beautiful from where<br />
we were walking, we felt like staying longer but<br />
unfortunately we couldn’t.<br />
The boys went the following week. The weather<br />
in which they had walked was worse than ours<br />
because it was ice cold and it was raining that<br />
day. They walked the same route (Theresa Road<br />
– Kasteelspoort) as the girls did. From their<br />
experience they found it easy and walked much<br />
faster and arrived at the hut within 2hours.<br />
When they arrived at the hut, they unpacked<br />
and had lunch. They helped Mr Pietersen saw<br />
wood and thereafter they gathered around the<br />
fire telling stories, and they were told about the<br />
history of the hut, then they took an afternoon nap<br />
but unfortunately they did not visit the museum<br />
because of the weather conditions which was cold<br />
and rainy that day. Although the weather wasn’t<br />
too good to visit the museum and other places,<br />
they still had fun.<br />
In conclusion, we experienced that no matter<br />
what you do, or no matter how hard something
is, you shouldn’t give up and there is no such<br />
thing as “I can’t”, because everybody is capable<br />
of succeeding. If you work hard at it and put your<br />
mind to it, you will reach success.<br />
Lastly we want to thank the mountain club for<br />
the accommodation that was made possible for<br />
us. It was comfortable and there was provision<br />
for everybody’s needs. If it wasn’t for you guys<br />
we would’ve been shelterless and everything<br />
would’ve turned out to be a disaster, or we<br />
wouldn’t of gone hiking.<br />
Thank you once again, we really appreciate it.<br />
We enjoyed ourselves and we hope this will not<br />
be the last hike.<br />
Farzaanah Carr<br />
and Toheer Schroeder<br />
MAy 2009<br />
■ 15-17th May<br />
Hut Hike<br />
I got a late message from Ron that the hike<br />
was cancelled due to weather warnings of the<br />
impending storm. At that point I had already left<br />
– what a week-end! I was literally battered and<br />
soaked. I have never experienced weather like<br />
that, but it was quite awesome! While climbing up<br />
I thought of turning back, but my “adventurous<br />
spirit” got the better of me (the “ego” I think some<br />
people call it).<br />
I got disorientated at the top because I was<br />
so cold and wet that I landed up taking a wrong<br />
turn because I stayed to the left to get to the top<br />
quicker (Spring Buttress) – and I know that path<br />
like it was a part of me, and still...... So, I had to<br />
work my way around and I got (swam) to the hut<br />
at 6.30pm after leaving at 3.30pm!<br />
The lesson.....adverse conditions can cause<br />
disorientation no matter how seasoned you might<br />
think you are! It was the first time this happened<br />
to me, but then I am getting older!<br />
You must remember that I had on “webbed<br />
rockies” with a “vibram sole” which was extremely<br />
good on the wet rock; a shorts and of course my<br />
rain jacket, as I had walked straight into the rain,<br />
and I was going to get wet anyway. All the contents<br />
in my bag were bone dry – thank goodness.<br />
I got to the hut and, there was no wood.......no<br />
candles.......no lanterns...... nothing to warm or<br />
dry myself and my clothing. Over and above that,<br />
the small window was brocken due to the wind,<br />
and the rain just poured in. I had to take half<br />
bricks and plastic to wedge the gap which helped.<br />
I left the outer door ajar with about 20 bricks<br />
which the wind kept blowing open and I decided<br />
to lock the door, and if anyone was going to arrive<br />
they would have had to kick the door down as I<br />
was going to fall into a deep sleep, which of course<br />
did not happen, as the wind threatened to lift the<br />
roof the entire night. I did fall asleep eventually<br />
around 4am after knocking myself out with a half<br />
a bottle of Grant’s whisky – what was I supposed<br />
to do man! I had to scrounge around for pieces of<br />
wet wood to make a fire and I managed that on<br />
the Saturday afternoon. I was then able to dry<br />
out the clothes and my rockies. With a a nice fire<br />
going and cooked food, I polished off the other<br />
half of the whisky, only this time I slept from 8pm<br />
to 6am which was a blessing. I took parts from<br />
different lanterns and got one to work during this<br />
time and fortunately there was a bit of paraffin.<br />
I was able to make coffee and tea during the<br />
evening. I did not bring my gas lantern with as<br />
I was carrying heavy already and I had a back<br />
up torch beside my headlamp and batteries only<br />
lasts for a while, so the lantern was a life saver.<br />
I left at 7am on Sunday, again, straight into the<br />
rain and wind, but I got back at 9am – safe, and<br />
in one piece.<br />
Darrel Abrahams<br />
■ 23rd May<br />
Kalk bay Caves<br />
We had a party of 7 cavers: two members and<br />
five visitors (namely Mike and Alf; Lester, Vic,<br />
Donald, Clover and Aernout). We started at<br />
8.45am and the route was Constantia Corner. It<br />
was slow going and we reached our first cave at<br />
eleven – Pristine Cave – for our warm up. Mike<br />
and Aernout were too big to get through the<br />
entrance so they decided to explore the exit to<br />
give them picture of the size of the cavity we had<br />
to go through. Donald and Clover got scared and<br />
decided not to give it a try.<br />
Lester was very keen and he took up the<br />
challenge and managed to get through. Our<br />
next cave was a fairly easy one and we all went<br />
through without any problem. Our last cave was<br />
Giant Extension with two tight passages and five<br />
of us managed to go through.<br />
Thanks to Sharon and Mike for keeping me<br />
informed. Keep up the good work.<br />
Alfie Alfreds<br />
november 2009 / newsletter of cape province mountain club
jUNE 2009<br />
■ 27th June – 1st July<br />
Fish River Canyon<br />
by Benny Pietersen<br />
This article represents my personal experience<br />
as convenor and proud CPMC<br />
hiker who managed to complete the<br />
above-mentioned hike covering 90 km<br />
(as stated on the map) in five days.<br />
The initial planning started in 2007<br />
with the intention of hiking in June<br />
2008 but we only managed to secure a<br />
booking for 2009. An enormous amount<br />
of preparation was expended which<br />
initially catered for 30 hikers, but only<br />
21 individuals completed the entire<br />
hike: Amy Pietersen, Lauren Pietersen,<br />
Marvin Jutzen, Avril Esterhuizen,<br />
Desireé Pietersen, Mike Francke, Karen<br />
Kinnear, André Curtis, Ashley Seymour,<br />
Oswald Haupt, Sharrel Haupt, Darrel<br />
Abrahams, Abubakar Johardien,<br />
Leyland Reagon (2nd time), Sydney<br />
Alexander (3rd time), Tony Jacobs,<br />
Ronald Holmes, Sharon Desai, Riaan<br />
Mathews, Peter Mathews and Benny<br />
Pietersen. Morty, Doreen Petersen and<br />
children who were supposed to do the<br />
hike decided on arrival at Ai-Ais not to,<br />
but rather spend some time at the resort.<br />
They later joined us at the Causeway on<br />
day four as they then decided to hike<br />
from Ai-Ais.<br />
the meeting place<br />
All the preparation came to fruition<br />
as most of us met at the BP garage in<br />
Viking Rd, Epping at 03h30 on Friday<br />
morning 26 June 2009. We departed<br />
promptly at 04h00 reaching our first stop,<br />
Citrusdal at 06h00 with the morning<br />
temperature at 1°C. At 08h00 we were<br />
at our breakfast stop in Vanrhynsdorp<br />
and our final SA stop before crossing<br />
the border, Springbok at 12h00. Once<br />
over the border and having to deal with<br />
unfriendly officials we arrived at Ai-Ais<br />
at 16h15. The rest of the day was spent<br />
unpacking, setting up camp where we all<br />
enjoyed a social evening with some very<br />
interesting stories from other hikers who<br />
had completed the hike, braaivleis and<br />
beverages.<br />
day 1<br />
By 09h30 the Saturday morning we had<br />
left Ai-Ais for Hobas where we checked<br />
in and caught a shuttle to the start,<br />
10km from Hobas. En-route we were<br />
newsletter of cape province mountain club / november 2009
overcome with euphoria as we witnessed the<br />
canyon meandering from east to west.<br />
At this stage I would like to suggest that you<br />
read this article with the maps on pages 8 and<br />
10, as it will certainly help put expressions and<br />
opinions into perspective with regard to where<br />
certain features can be found and how parts of<br />
the trail was negotiated.<br />
As we descended into the canyon the knees<br />
of the not so fit hikers took strain, but by 14h30<br />
everyone was down in the canyon after enjoying<br />
the highly overrated steep descend where we<br />
enjoyed the soft sand which we later found out<br />
would be our sleeping and eating terrain for the<br />
next few nights. Our first night’s stop at First Rest<br />
Pools, after covering only 8km of the trail was<br />
rather interesting as Desireé and I celebrated our<br />
seventeenth wedding anniversary in the open,<br />
with a fire made from drift wood of which<br />
there was plenty, braai meat prepared the<br />
previous night and clear skies with everyone’s<br />
interpretation of the milky way and its wonders.<br />
Unfortunately there was no chance of a honeymoon<br />
suite available. Some brave hikers actually<br />
spent the night on a large flat rock relying on their<br />
mattresses to keep the cold from penetrating.<br />
After a good night’s rest which wasn’t cold at<br />
all we managed to start day two at 08h30 after<br />
breakfast and abandoning some kilos.<br />
day 2<br />
With Palm Springs as our destination we enjoyed<br />
the wonders of the canyon such as the Rapids,<br />
Sweet Thorn Bend, the unexplained rusty Vespa<br />
scooter, which prompted surprising theories from<br />
some members of the group, from a crash down<br />
from the road above by two drunk commuters<br />
to undisclosed art work which should never<br />
be explained, then Dolerite Dykes and Quartz<br />
Figures where we stopped for lunch. At the scooter<br />
we were surprised to find fossils of a baboon of<br />
which you will see on some of the photographs.<br />
This part of the trail required careful negotiation<br />
as the terrain required skilful crossing over<br />
boulders and steep sloped river bank. The<br />
most interesting occurrence at this point was<br />
that André and Mike’s fishing skills managed<br />
to provide five yellow fish of a reasonable size.<br />
“Tony’s palms”.<br />
This was enjoyed at the next day’s lunch stop<br />
which proved rather tasty. We finally arrived at<br />
Palm Springs, after passing the majestic Walls<br />
of Jericho and the first escape route, with its<br />
invasive date Palm trees believed to be the work<br />
of two German soldiers who were on the run<br />
during the war. At the palms a natural sulphur<br />
spring provides a constant gush of water at 57°C<br />
which meanders into pools which we thoroughly<br />
enjoyed. Once we emerged from this water we felt<br />
like a new beings. As we made camp and enjoyed<br />
supper most of us celebrated Oswald’s 48th<br />
birthday with talk and fun around a camp fire. I<br />
must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed one cup of<br />
red wine which tasted as good as mother’s milk.<br />
day 3<br />
On the third day we had a late start with the<br />
trail sweepers leaving at 09h30. From here on<br />
the trail seemed less demanding as the terrain<br />
appeared to be more sand and pebbles with<br />
careful negotiation required to ensure that we<br />
cut towards the inside of the large bends. By now<br />
we were all anxious to cover at least 25km before<br />
the end of the day. Once again the surroundings<br />
of the canyon are unexplainable to those who did<br />
not walk the trail, but provides the hiker with a<br />
constant sense of appreciation of God’s wonders.<br />
Namibia’s Table <strong>Mountain</strong>.<br />
As we passed Reedhen Bush and <strong>Mountain</strong><br />
Chat Ridges where we heard lots of Whitebacked<br />
Mousebirds chirping along and some strange<br />
rock formation we passed Zebra Pools before<br />
reaching Table <strong>Mountain</strong> which is 30km from<br />
the start. Here we enjoyed a good lunch before<br />
moving on to our third night’s destination, Pen<br />
Knife Bush. Although the sand gets to you, you<br />
realise that if the destination is not reached you<br />
will have more kilometres to walk the next day.<br />
As we moved on the stragglers discovered that<br />
the faster hikers had decided to camp at the first<br />
Rock Pinnacle were the Grey Herons can be seen<br />
with a beautiful view of the river after missing<br />
the Boulder Crossing to Sand Against Slope and<br />
were then persuaded to proceed to our agreed<br />
destination as we trekked along Vasbyt Bend,<br />
where we were surprised by a herd of Gemsbok,<br />
november 2009 / newsletter of cape province mountain club
finally completing 40km of the<br />
hike. Well the facility here<br />
was similar to that of the<br />
previous night with an early<br />
to bed evening as I was unable<br />
to carry the refreshments one<br />
would have liked to share with<br />
good friends when celebrating<br />
your 46th birthday. Well the<br />
Happy Birthday song proved<br />
more than enough because<br />
the natural setting offered<br />
much more than enough when<br />
it comes to celebrations and<br />
the outdoors.<br />
day 4<br />
Day four’s start began with<br />
a briefing where everyone<br />
agreed that Four Finger<br />
Rock will be the lunch break<br />
stop and Bandage Pass the<br />
overnight camp site. Here we<br />
negotiated the three short<br />
cuts which eliminated about<br />
10km in total. However, the<br />
shortcuts have various options<br />
which we later found out as<br />
not all hikers were able to<br />
progress at the same pace. This<br />
therefore led to some missing<br />
0 newsletter of cape province mountain club / november 2009<br />
the same shortcuts which provided<br />
various levels of adventure. But at<br />
least we were able to look down<br />
into the canyon and appreciate the<br />
distance covered thus far as some<br />
were starting to develop blisters<br />
and deal with fatigue. If anyone felt<br />
as if they had not yet done anything<br />
strenuous, I would regard them<br />
as being superhuman. The terrain<br />
started taking its toll on some which<br />
resulted in the group spreading<br />
further apart. Some even over<br />
walked the agreed lunch stop and<br />
the temperature must have been in<br />
the high twenties. Needles to say<br />
the features of note were Dassie<br />
Ridge, Baboon <strong>Mountain</strong> towards<br />
Bushy Corner where many spores<br />
were found of various cats and buck<br />
before the first steep short cut. After<br />
Camel Thorn Rest crossing one had<br />
a clear view of Three Sisters before<br />
negotiating the second short cut<br />
which eliminated 5km of Kooigoed<br />
Heights before reaching the lunch<br />
break. The reflection of Four Finger<br />
Rock in the water is an awesome<br />
sight to be appreciated while you<br />
dig your weary feet into the mud<br />
as it cools off the blisters. After<br />
lunch we slogged up the short cut<br />
(a reminder of a mini horrible hill)<br />
to appreciate the other side of Four<br />
Finger Rock as we slogged on to the<br />
grave of the German officer, von<br />
Throta which dates back to 1905<br />
where he was killed in a skirmish<br />
between the Germans and the local<br />
Nama people. Another treacherous<br />
sandy short cut called Cornelius<br />
Camp brought us back along the<br />
river bank as we reached the<br />
Causeway, which is part of a road<br />
leading to a private farm. Here we<br />
found quite an odd looking building<br />
which served as a shop for hikers<br />
in previous years, but really stands<br />
out as a sore sight purely because it<br />
does not blend in with the natural<br />
environment. Later we discovered<br />
that some of our hikers only had<br />
lunch here because they were not<br />
sure about the agreed lunch break.<br />
About 3km further we arrived at<br />
Bandage Pass only to discover<br />
that the faster hikers had moved<br />
on about 4km to Sandy Beach.<br />
Unfortunately, the stragglers were<br />
in no mood or psychological state to<br />
move on and decided to spend the<br />
night as agreed in the morning’s<br />
briefing. Here we managed to lay a
“Trail fire’s burning”.<br />
spread as we celebrated Amy’s 12th birthday with<br />
lots of fun and undiscovered alcoholic beverages.<br />
What an awesome evening as the Milky Way<br />
was accompanied with a moonlit evening around<br />
another awesome campfire where the day’s<br />
stories were told. However, during the night we<br />
heard many sounds from various animals and<br />
some strong wind. At times we were uncertain if<br />
it was our imagination or reality. This proved to<br />
be a reality because in the morning we could see<br />
fresh spores and we were greeted by two or three<br />
groups of baboons.<br />
After five gruelling days, finally at Ai-Ais.<br />
day 5<br />
By the start of the fifth day we were all anxious<br />
to get to Ai-Ais for some real food and drink<br />
including some hot water for a good wash. At<br />
10h00 we met with the hikers who had slept<br />
at Sandy Beach as we proceeded with the hike.<br />
Here we were challenged with two possible<br />
short cuts as we passed Fools Gold Corner, came<br />
upon a scorpion and a horse skeleton whom we<br />
believe died as a result of some horse disease,<br />
passing the stock kraal and Stink Water before<br />
lunching at “Almost There”. Needless to say once<br />
we embarked on the last leg we trekked past the<br />
water pipes before reaching the weir and final,<br />
suddenly, unexpectedly and pleasingly the 85 or<br />
so KILOMETERS was something of the past.<br />
Well by now I was thrilled that everyone had<br />
managed to complete the hike safely and we<br />
exchanged hugs, kisses, bravos, you name it.<br />
The feeling of accomplishment overwhelmed and<br />
eliminated any misunderstanding, emotional<br />
differences or confusion experienced during the<br />
hike.<br />
Once the drivers had return from fetching<br />
the vehicles at Hobas the evening proved to be<br />
another social success as people crept into bed as<br />
fatigue overpowered the high spirits.<br />
What a wonderful experience it was. If you<br />
have not done it yet, do it soon.<br />
november 2009 / newsletter of cape province mountain club
Richtersveld –<br />
Augrabies Fall Expedition<br />
2 – 10 july 2009<br />
After the Fish River some hikers left as early as<br />
07h30 while the last left by 12h00 after leisurely<br />
packing while the following 11 hikers had planned<br />
to tour the Richtersveld: Benny, Desireé, André,<br />
Mike, Karen, Amy, Lauren, Marvin, Avril, Sydney<br />
and Tony. Mortimor and family had indicated<br />
they would also join, but at that stage we were<br />
uncertain as they had left earlier. At Noordoever<br />
we met Hugh and Susan who unfortunately could<br />
not do the hike as intended due to the fact that the<br />
flu had got the better of them three days before<br />
the hike. By now they had recovered fully and<br />
we also met up with Morty who was experiencing<br />
vehicle problems.<br />
We finally reached the border at 16h30 after<br />
Morty needed to replace a tyre and attend to<br />
overheating problems. From here we moved to<br />
Koetzeshoop where we purchased groceries at<br />
the local shop. Without realising we needed to<br />
change plans as we wanted to spend the night<br />
at Eksteenfontein which was about 40km from<br />
here, but required about three hours of driving<br />
because of the off-road terrain. The locals advised<br />
us to camp at Oeverbos rest camp which we<br />
thoroughly enjoyed.<br />
Tranquility . . .<br />
This camp site situated on the Orange River<br />
bank is where we spent the next two nights.<br />
The facilities are of a high standard while the<br />
prices reasonable. If you wanted to you could buy<br />
farm pizza’s which some of us did on the second<br />
night, very delicious. A fresh cabbage from the<br />
neighbouring farm converted a simple potjiekos<br />
into a scrumptious delight.<br />
the great trek into the Richtersveld<br />
Saturday 4 July is when the great trek into<br />
the Richtersveld began with Morty’s family<br />
deciding to rather move on to Springbok and<br />
newsletter of cape province mountain club / november 2009<br />
have the Microbus seen to by a professional<br />
motor technician. In hindsight this was the most<br />
sensible decision as the terrain for the next 60km<br />
proved extremely demanding on any vehicle.<br />
En-route we were surprised by the natural<br />
beauty this part of the world has to offer, such<br />
as extra-ordinary mountain formation, live stock<br />
giving birth, San rock art (petroglyphs), Halfmens<br />
and Kokerboom trees and one surprising section<br />
which looked like a cairn cemetery. All we needed<br />
to do was place some more stones on them. One<br />
part of this road was so treacherous that the<br />
Musso which was towing a loaded trailer needed<br />
to be assisted with a tow rope by the Pajero up<br />
one steep section after stalling and overheating.<br />
Day time temperature at the time was 35°C, still<br />
winter. Before we ventured on this part of the<br />
expedition some hikers who had seen a small<br />
section of this area asked us, “why do you want<br />
to go and see nothing”. Well our response was<br />
“we want to see the nothing for ourselves” and we<br />
were quite pleased that we did exactly that.<br />
the road to Khuboes<br />
The most interesting part of getting to<br />
Eksteenfontein, which was our intended stop over,<br />
was the ability of our vehicles over this terrain.<br />
After about four hours of travelling and only<br />
covering 40km we arrived at Eksteenfontein only<br />
to be told that no accommodation was available.<br />
We were advised to move on to Khuboes which I<br />
discovered is spelt many different ways. The road<br />
to Khuboes meanders across the Annis river with<br />
off-road sections which had us really worried<br />
about the little fibre-glass Riksha trailer I was<br />
towing. We finally reached Khuboes at about<br />
19h00 and found a camp site “<strong>Mountain</strong> Resort”<br />
under construction. The only facilities available<br />
here were four two sleeper chalets and a dry<br />
river bed. We managed to camp outside using<br />
one unit as an ablution facility. After supper we<br />
managed to sit around the fire sharing the day’s<br />
experiences and discussing our future plans.<br />
What I found interesting about this leg of our<br />
expedition was that there was no set itinerary. We<br />
would collectively make decisions, on impulse, as<br />
the journey progressed. By midnight we were all<br />
in bed with some rising as early as 06h00. While<br />
enjoying an early coffee chat one of the local<br />
herders passed our camp and shared some of his<br />
experiences. He later moved to his camp up in the<br />
mountain which he told us was not too far. About<br />
an hour later Mike, Marvin and I were interested<br />
in finding some goat meat and ventured up into<br />
the mountain with the Musso.
treacherous terrain<br />
After lengthy negotiations with the treacherous<br />
terrain we finally arrived at Johannes’ kraal<br />
were he shared his experiences. It was one of<br />
the things I really wanted to do whilst on this<br />
excursion and I was pleased I did.<br />
Later that Sunday morning after driving<br />
through the town and speaking to the locals<br />
we were on our way to Sendilingsdrift which is<br />
the entrance to the Richtersveld National Park<br />
and the Pont border post. One thing we learnt<br />
which we did not expect, the further you enter<br />
the Richtersveld, the towns become smaller and<br />
supplies become more expensive and scarce,<br />
vehicles become larger and you find less of what<br />
you are used to. Here they told us fresh bread<br />
arrives once every five years, so resort to making<br />
your own. It was a good thing we had purchased<br />
yeast and flour in Eksteenfontein because the<br />
last place we bought bread was at Khuboes.<br />
“Wondergat” and “Nama kraal”<br />
Well the main attraction before reaching the<br />
park was the “Wondergat” and the other “Nama<br />
kraal”. Later that afternoon, after we had paid<br />
for our entry into the National Park, we headed<br />
for “Potjiespram” camp site. Unfortunately the<br />
Pajero cut out 6km before the destination and<br />
had to be towed to the camp site by the Nissan.<br />
This camp really proved to be what the<br />
Richtersveld was all about. The pictures taken<br />
tell you everything that cannot be noted in this<br />
brief report. Unfortunately it is sad to note that<br />
many people refuse to take their rubble with<br />
them and the monkeys really mess up the trash<br />
left behind.<br />
Well we managed to set up a kraal camp<br />
and enjoyed a moonlit evening with the hope<br />
of getting the Pajero sorted in the morning. We<br />
managed to enjoy left over braai with freshly<br />
baked pot bread, the only one for the trip. We’re<br />
still waiting for someone to bake another loaf as<br />
promised. We will not divulge the identity of this<br />
individual through the media. This person owes<br />
us a large pot bread.<br />
Interacting with the herdsman.<br />
technical assistance needed<br />
The next morning after a lengthy diagnostic<br />
session carried out by André and Mike it was<br />
decided that the rest of the National Park leg<br />
be abandoned and that we tow the Pajero closer<br />
to Alexander Bay for technical assistance. We<br />
finally reached Sendilingsdrift by 15h30 and I<br />
decided to move on to Alexander Bay for fresh<br />
produce whilst the towing party proceeded to<br />
Brandkaros.<br />
On arrival at Brandkaros we decided to spend<br />
the night in rondawels which had lovely hot<br />
showers, something we hadn’t experience for a<br />
few days. The evening’s braai was enjoyed under<br />
a restio lapa with good company and snacks.<br />
the other alternative<br />
By now we had decided to spend two nights at this<br />
pleasant resort but were told that the rondawels<br />
needed to be evacuated as it had been booked<br />
for the next night. The other alternative was to<br />
move into the trailers which we did while André<br />
progressed with the diagnostic testing session.<br />
By 14h00 our professional motor technician<br />
had the Pajero’s engine running again. The fuel<br />
pump was taken off, something done to it and put<br />
back. André was looking forward to his bottle of<br />
Johnnie Walker. Later that afternoon we all drove<br />
to Alexander Bay for fresh produce, explored the<br />
diamond dump town, a visit to the Orange River<br />
mouth, touching the sea water on the black sandy<br />
beach and taking lots of photo’s.<br />
On Wednesday 8 July at 09h00 we left<br />
Brandkaros for Augrabies, some 580km apart.<br />
Port Nolloth provided some interesting historical<br />
information but because time did not permit we<br />
moved on fast past this town. Thanks to Sharon<br />
Desai who facilitated our booking, we arrived at<br />
Augrabies shortly after 5pm.<br />
Make a point of going there sometime<br />
What an awesome destination. Indescribable as<br />
the pictures will tell. If you haven’t done any of<br />
the above, plan well and make a point of going<br />
there sometime. The time spent here will remain<br />
in my memory for as long as I live. If given the<br />
opportunity I will spend more time at all the<br />
places above. It is my intention to arrange another<br />
excursion of this sort with people who have not<br />
done it before, but this time better prepared. But<br />
then again the question of how well prepared can<br />
one be will remain unanswered.<br />
the long journey home<br />
The long return journey (some 800km) home<br />
commenced at 14h30 Thursday 9 July, throughout<br />
the night passing Kakamas, Keimoes, Kenhardt,<br />
Brandvlei, Calvinia, Niewoudtville and<br />
Vanrhynsdorp, Clanwilliam, Citrusdal, Piketberg<br />
and finally arriving in <strong>Cape</strong> Town at 06h30 on<br />
Friday 10 July 2009 totally exhausted. Will I do<br />
this again? Yes! For sure.<br />
Benny Pietersen<br />
november 2009 / newsletter of cape province mountain club
jULy 2009<br />
■ 19th July<br />
Chapman’s Peak<br />
We waited till 08h30 and continued hiking<br />
towards Chapman’s peak. We started off around<br />
the dam and then took the Noordhoek Circuit.<br />
We ended up back on the mountain bike track<br />
and deviated from our original plan but decided<br />
to ascend up Noordhoek Peak and then back to<br />
Silvermine. The hike ended at 13h00. This was<br />
my first real hike for the year and I must say it<br />
went off very well. The hiking party enjoyed it<br />
very much. (They decided to do it every second<br />
Sunday or so.)<br />
Jonathan van Breda<br />
■ 24-26th July<br />
Landroskop<br />
boland 90 RECCÉ weekend<br />
The weekend was attended by 14 individuals of<br />
which 3 were children younger than 10.<br />
On arrival at the Mule Stable we enjoyed the<br />
warmth of the fire. Thanks to the Nuweberg staff<br />
who provided the fire wood and the mattresses.<br />
Wow! The cold penetrated through the thermals.<br />
After breakfast on Saturday morning I decided<br />
to make two trips to Stokoes after I was unable to<br />
find any <strong>Cape</strong> Nature drivers to assist dropping<br />
off marshals.<br />
After dropping off the first group about 2km<br />
before the start of the pass (SAFCOL busy felling<br />
there, destination inaccessible), I decided to<br />
redirect the other marshals along Sphinx route<br />
to meet the rest at Landroskop hut. It should be<br />
noted that the dongas en-route to the footpath<br />
makes vehicular access virtually impossible<br />
unless the dongas are filled with rocks or<br />
something more suitable.<br />
On my return to the Mule Stable I packed the<br />
remaining luggage into the Musso, headed for<br />
fresh supplies and gas in Grabouw and arrived<br />
at Landroskop by 15h45.<br />
Jill and Wesley after Stokoe’s Pass.<br />
newsletter of cape province mountain club / november 2009<br />
Felicia preparing her scrumptious soup.<br />
By now I was concerned that we would<br />
experience severe cold conditions because we had<br />
anticipated about 30 marshals would attend the<br />
reccé. To our surprise the hut had been booked by<br />
other hikers as well with only 8 beds available<br />
for our group.<br />
Fortunately I managed to convince everyone<br />
that we needed to deal amicably with the situation<br />
as the booking personnel was probably at home<br />
watching the Springboks beat the All Blacks.<br />
I would like to ask the booking personnel to<br />
ensure that this does not happen in future, as one<br />
could have imagined the chaos had all marshals<br />
arrived for the reccé.<br />
According to the guys who walked the routes<br />
the condition of the trails is fairly acceptable for<br />
hiking, although it would be more pleasant if<br />
some hacking could be done on Stokoes.<br />
After inspecting the recently erected toilets at<br />
Landroskop it is clear that the flushing mechanism<br />
(if that is what is supposed to happen) requires<br />
regular refilling of water in the tanks and this<br />
function needs to be delegated clearly.<br />
The overcrowding prompted the other hikers<br />
to make a fire outside of the hut in a half braai<br />
drum. I strongly discouraged this as I felt it<br />
to be extremely hazardous. However, these<br />
hikers insisted on making the fire even after I<br />
tried unsuccessfully to persuade them not to<br />
do so. Fortunately nothing bad occurred and<br />
there is nothing further to report on other than<br />
requesting that this braai drum be removed from<br />
the mountain. It needs to be noted that no axe<br />
is available at Landroskop hut and it therefore<br />
makes starting a fire more challenging which<br />
could encourage other irresponsible hikers to use<br />
furniture instead to start the fire. The return via<br />
the jeep track was enjoyed by all.<br />
Allow me to express my sincere appreciation<br />
to all who attended and to the families whom<br />
they had left at home for the weekend. Looking<br />
forward to the next reccé.<br />
Benny Pietersen
AUGUSt 2009<br />
■ 8-9th August<br />
boemanskloof<br />
boland 90 RECCÉ weekend<br />
The weekend reccé was attended by 23 individuals<br />
of which all names are recorded and on file.<br />
At Nuweberg on Friday evening we agreed<br />
that because Sunday was Women’s Day we<br />
would attempt to make a speedy return and<br />
therefore decided that all three routes be<br />
walked on Saturday with everyone meeting at<br />
Boesmanskloof at the end of the day. We then<br />
decided who would lead the various routes and<br />
who would accompany the various leaders.<br />
At 08h30 everyone was ready to start the<br />
days walk with Mike Francke leading the Triple<br />
Jumps fall group via the Brail Trail who was to<br />
meet Donny, who led the Escape route team, at<br />
the junction where these two trails meet. The<br />
rest were led by Roland who hiked the Orchard<br />
route after descending Horrible Hill.<br />
After dropping Donny and his team at Versoek<br />
I made my way to Vinks Bridge to see the new<br />
construction. It is quite evident that this river<br />
really has the ability to take anything down<br />
with it as one can clearly see that the newly<br />
constructed bridge has some of its railings twisted<br />
by flash floods. However, it remains suitable for<br />
safe hiking.<br />
Mike reports that although the vegetation on<br />
the path has been cleared by the recent fires, a<br />
couple of trees which have been felled still block<br />
certain sections of the route, and the bridge at<br />
Triple Jumps Fall requires some repair. A few of<br />
the wooden slats are loose and needs very careful<br />
negotiation in order to prevent possible injury.<br />
Furthermore everything else appears to be in<br />
order and conducive for hiking.<br />
Donny reports that the Escape route hasn’t<br />
Boesmanskloof Trail.<br />
change much other than the previously<br />
overgrown vegetation which made walking quite<br />
challenging has been cleared by the recent fires<br />
and the dongas are as previously recorded, can do<br />
with some filling.<br />
Roland’s feedback of the Orchard Route raises<br />
no alarm other than as with all the other routes,<br />
clearer signage is required as this is virtually<br />
non-existent.<br />
While the volunteers were out on the trails I<br />
made an attempt to speak to Simon Neville from<br />
Mara Farm but unfortunately he was unavailable.<br />
I however managed to leave a note and speak to<br />
his wife about our intention to reccé those routes<br />
on September 12. I need to follow this up with<br />
a telephone call. I am planning to do this very<br />
soon.<br />
By 16h30 all hikers had completed the<br />
anticipated hikes, and thanks to the committee,<br />
they all enjoyed the hot soup provided. In<br />
addition we later enjoyed the coffee and hot<br />
chocolate which seemed to reduce the evening<br />
chill which was enjoyed by the ever amazing<br />
reflection of the moon on the Theewaterskloof<br />
dam with the silhouette of the surrounding<br />
mountains. However, we all need to attend some<br />
serious photographic classes in order to record<br />
this digitally and accurately.<br />
Allow me to express my sincere appreciation to<br />
all who attended and to the families whom they<br />
had left at home for the weekend. Our next reccé<br />
has been planned to take place on 12 September<br />
based at Nuweberg from the evening of Friday<br />
11 September.<br />
Benny Pietersen<br />
november 2009 / newsletter of cape province mountain club
From the <strong>Cape</strong> Flats to the Roof of Africa<br />
For many of us who hike, there is always the dream of<br />
climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and for us it all started with<br />
a mere comment about 8 years ago. We began planning our<br />
trip by reading up on the subject and by chatting to those<br />
who had actually climbed the mountain. During casual<br />
conversation while hiking with our friend, Mark Kruger,<br />
early last year, Mark asked whether we would be interested<br />
in climbing to the Roof of Africa. It was fortuitous because<br />
we had decided that, without giving any thought to details,<br />
we would be doing so in 2009. We can now say it was<br />
all thanks to Mark’s hard work in relentlessly sourcing<br />
the cheapest transport and accommodation that we had<br />
managed to pull of this holiday of a lifetime.<br />
On 27 July 2009, we departed <strong>Cape</strong> Town International<br />
Airport and embarked on our adventure. After two flights,<br />
a three hour ferry ride to Dar-es-Salaam, five taxi rides<br />
and a nine-hour bus ride, we found ourselves at the foot of<br />
Kilimanjaro National Park (altitude 1970m AMSL). Our<br />
party comprised of Mark Kruger, Christopher Smith and<br />
us (Ronald Holmes and Sharon Desai) and we started our<br />
climb on 1 August 2009. We planned to summit during<br />
the month of August (on the recommendation of our good<br />
friend, Trevor Johnston), as it is considered one of the<br />
most “stable” months insofar as the weather is concerned.<br />
We opted for the Marangu Route as it is by far the most<br />
economical and, more importantly, the easiest of all the<br />
routes on offer.<br />
The first day saw our group, which was supported by<br />
a team of eleven, go through a tropical rain forest which<br />
was lush and green. We would describe the walk as being<br />
similar to that of the contour path on Table <strong>Mountain</strong> or<br />
that of the forest on the Harkerville Trail. The thing that<br />
really surprised us was how clean the ablution facilities<br />
were especially after all the horror stories we had heard!<br />
The first day’s walk took about 6 hours to reach Mandara<br />
Hut (at 2720m), where, due to some or other chaos, we<br />
ended up sleeping in the porters’ quarters which actually<br />
turned out to be more spacious than we had imagined.<br />
Supper was great and comprised of meat and potatoes,<br />
preceded by soup which was to be the standard for all Kili<br />
suppers.<br />
Day 2 saw us walking through the moorland to Horombo<br />
Hut (3780m altitude) where we would be spending the<br />
next two days. The change in terrain was quite sudden<br />
and dramatic and as one left the lushness of the rain<br />
newsletter of cape province mountain club / november 2009<br />
forest one could actually see how the vegetation changed<br />
over a distance of about one kilometre. The gradient on<br />
the walk was so slight that it placed no real strain on the<br />
limbs, which was a good thing because by now the effects<br />
of the high altitude were beginning to show. With Kibo<br />
constantly in sight as well as the awesome views, spirits<br />
were high and we all thoroughly enjoyed the day’s walk.<br />
As usual, supper was delicious but now the nights were<br />
becoming bitterly cold and we all dreaded the night visits<br />
to the toilet which were becoming more frequent due to<br />
the amount of fluid we were taking in to combat the effects<br />
of altitude sickness.<br />
Day 3 was basically a rest day as all we did was take<br />
a short walk in order to acclimatise and to enjoy our<br />
surrounds.<br />
Day 4 saw us leave the moorlands and walk through<br />
the alpine desert. This part of the walk was the most<br />
interesting for us as it was crazy cold and with almost no<br />
vegetation. Our spirits were still high and as usual, we<br />
were chatting most of the way to Kibo Hut (4750m). As we<br />
drew closer to the hut, the effects of altitude were becoming<br />
more noticeable. At Kibo we received our final briefing: we<br />
were allowed an hour-long nap, followed by supper at 6pm<br />
whereafter we were to get as much sleep as we could; we<br />
would start our climb to the summit at 10pm.<br />
When we woke for supper, it felt as though we had barely<br />
closed our eyes and the same applied to the short sleep we<br />
were afforded after supper. At supper we basically had to<br />
force our food down our throats as our appetites were nonexistent,<br />
yet another effect of the high altitude.<br />
As we started our nine-hour climb to Uhuru Peak<br />
(5895m), the one thing that stood out for us (besides the<br />
excruciating headaches and extreme nausea) was the cold!<br />
It is definitely not a feeling that we, as <strong>Cape</strong>tonians, were<br />
used to. The temperature was so low, the water in our<br />
hydration packs froze; water in our thermal flasks was so<br />
cold that when you drank it, it chilled you to the core. It<br />
was a long and cold walk in the dark but after daybreak<br />
the summit was in sight and it was a short two-kilometre<br />
walk along the rim of the crater to Uhuru Peak, making it<br />
all worthwhile. Thereafter it was a quick descent to Kibo<br />
Hut where we slept for about 2 hours before making our<br />
way down this awesome mountain. The entire experience<br />
was surreal making it a memory that we will carry for the<br />
rest of lives.<br />
Ronald Holmes and Sharon Desai