{go hiking} MIDLANDS HIKING CLUBgohiking.co.za/newsletters/news/201609.pdf · The Eden to Addo...

CONTENTS

HIKERS EDEN; CHAIRMAN’S CHIRP; EDEN TO ADDO; WE HIKED TO… KLOOF

GORGE, BOUGHTON, DRAKENSBERG GARDENS, UMGENI VALLEY NATURE RE-

SERVE, SATORI TO NHLOSANE, HIGHMOOR; YOUR OUTDOOR CARTOONS,

MAGAZINES, LIBRARY & MOVIES.

{go hiking} MIDLANDS

HIKING CLUB

NEWS

hikers' eden

MIDLANDS HIKING CLUB COMMITTEE

Chairman: Alistair Nixon ([email protected] Vice-Chairman: Peter Comrie ([email protected])

Treasurer: Sue Rowley ([email protected]) Secretary: Cathy Stevens ([email protected])

Fixtures Manager: Katy Hart ([email protected]) Webmaster: Rod Hart ([email protected])

Membership Manager: Peter Rippon ([email protected])

Newsletter Editor & Activities Manager:

Volume 3 Number 14 20 September 2016

GO TO: www.gohiking.co.za

www.gohiking.co.za

Next Social

25 November

In all things of nature there is something of

the marvellous. –Aristotle

EEEEditor’s Letterditor’s Letterditor’s Letterditor’s Letter

This issue is packed with

hiking reports and hope-

fully youwill take inspira-

tion from it to go hiking.

Our website has the re-

ports as well enhanced by

numerous photographs, so

don't hesitate tovisit the

site. And oh yes, our Face-

book Page is alive and

well, so do have a peep.

Keep on hiking!

Brigitta Brigitta Brigitta Brigitta


Greetings from South Korea

where hiking must be one of

the main pastimes. During our

travels we've woven our way

through unending rolling

mountains. The Koreans are

very organised, probably too

much for SA hikers. Fashion

and hiking attire is in much

evidence. Considering winter is

extreme here being prepared is

the only way to go.

It's a beautiful country,

exceptionally welcoming and

organised.

Andean JungleAndean JungleAndean JungleAndean Jungle Chairman’s Chirp by Alistair Nixon

DAVE'S HIKING TIP

There is time to do hard berg hikes where one comes back ex-

hilarated and physically ex-hausted, but don’t have a clue as

to where or what scenery you have traversed, or even know if you could get back there without someone who knows the route. Then there are times to spend time in the berg to savour the

experience, the atmosphere, and most of all our prestigious moun-

tain range and environment. Both have their place, but don’t lose the opportunity to take in

special moments, stop the train, look, listen, smell and revel in the moment. You will never experi-ence that moment again – it is a

once in a lifetime experience.

Welcome

Debbie Stobie

Jenny Rooks

Joanna & Paul Barker

Pauline Bowman Edgar

Heather Anderson

Committee 2016/17

Chairman: Alistair Nixon

Vice-Chairman:

Peter Comrie

Treasurer: Sue Rowley

Secretary: Cathy Stevens

Fixtures Manager:

Katy Hart

Webmaster: Rod Hart

Membership Manager:

Peter Rippon

Newsletter Editor &

Activities Manager:

Brigitta Simpon

Next Social

15 November

Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas

PartyPartyPartyParty

11 December11 December11 December11 December

EagleEagleEagleEagle''''s Ridges Ridges Ridges Ridge

Be there!Be there!Be there!Be there!

The Eden to Addo Great Corridor Hike is an expedition for and about conservation. All money raised contrib-

utes to building essential conservation corridors stretching from Knysna to Addo and linking the three mega reserves of

the area: The Garden Route National Park, the Baviaanskloof World Heritage Site and Addo Elephant National Park.

These linkages are vital for preserving biodiversity in times of climate change. On the hike you walk through portions

of all these reserves and through private areas where only Eden to Addo is allowed access.

You will experience 5 of South Africa’s 7 biomes and probably some of the wildest areas in South Africa. The

Eden to Addo Corridor is certainly the most bio-diverse corridor on the planet with fynbos, forest, thicket, succulent

karoo and nama karoo biomes. Just one of the biomes, fynbos, consists of 9000 species of which 6192 are found no-

where else.

You will be part of a small, exclusive group of maximum 20 people that makes its way to Addo. There is no

organised trail to follow. You will not come across other hikers or chalets. It can be very tough at times as we bundu

bash through the Fynbos and follow animal paths. You will walk through areas where the last truly free elephants, black

rhino and buffalo still roam without fences to hamper their movement. You will follow the spoor of leopard, bush buck

and red hartebeest. And as you walk your donation is contributing to increasing their range by establishing conservation

corridors between the parks.

If you have friends who you think would enjoy the hikes why not get them to walk with you - new friends are

made and old friendships grow stronger when out in the wild.


Eden to Addo http://www.edentoaddo.co.za/

hike-the-e2a-corridor

Felicity Kromhout

Felicity Kromhout enjoys the Great Outdoors and is a member of the Midlands Hiking Club, Run/Walk for Life, The

Ramblers Club (Pietermaritzburg) and Mountain Backpackers.

Over the years she has taken part in a number of marathons and ultra-marathons, including the City-to-City (from Jo-

hannesburg to Pretoria), Om Die Dam (at Hartbeespoort Dam), Bergville to Ladysmith and 3 twelve- hour endurance

events around a track. She has also completed 3 Comrades Marathons, 1994, 1995 and 1998 and started 7 and com-

pleted 6 of the 50 km Mont-aux-Sources Challenges, 3 in the time allotted and 3 just missed cut-off times.

She have ‘dabbled’ a little in rock-climbing and wall-climbing and has completed a total of 13 Midmar Miles......10 in a

row, between 1991 and 2000, then again in 2009 to help a blind man across and in the same year also did her own age

category event. In 2015 she again entered and chose to do the 3 km event. Over the years she has done a few hikes into

the Berg, including guiding a blind person. She has always simply ‘followed the leader’ and lived in the moment and

therefore does not really ‘know’ the Berg as well as she possibly could.

In 2003 Felicity was given the opportunity to help a blind man (Neville Clarence) in his quest to reach the summit of

Aconcagua in South America. He succeeded and became the 3rd blind person in the world to reach the top. In 2004 she

joined a group from Hilton College to go to Everest Base Camp. On this expedition she guided, helped and took full

responsibility to help blind Neville Clarence once again. In 2004 and 2005 she assisted Neville to do the New York

Marathon. In 2005 Felicity did a short Ice-Climbing course with Peak High Adventures (Gavin Raubenheimer), help-

ing Neville, who at that time had a dream to one day climb Mount Everest. In 2009 she back-packed the Wild Coast

between Mkambathi and Port St.John’s with a group of youngsters from the Mountain Club. In 2010 she did the

Whale Trail. Each year between 2013 and 2016 Felicity has slack-packed along the Wild Coast and has now covered

the coast from Port Edward to The Kobb Inn. During June 2016 she completed another dream when she spent 6 days

and 5 nights walking the Fish River Canyon Hike.

Felicity's longest adventure was in 2014 when she completed the Eden to Addo Corridor Hike, a distance of about 400

km over 20 days.


grassland where we spotted 7

resident Zebras and shortly

thereafter passed a memorial

plaque of Greg Bosch who was

killed there after he had

followed robbers at night who

had broken into his nearby

house.

We made a detour via

the crack before descending into

the gorge to the riverbed and

Soreass pool, our lunch spot.

The rocky area was explored at

length and Neville had to do his

thing and climb the big rock -

boys will always be boys!

Because of the cold

weather we did not linger too

long and made our way zig-

zagging along the river and

crossing it a few times. Wet

leaves covered the rocks here

and there which made it a

dangerous game.

Without injuries we

reached the point where we had

to leave the riverbed and make

our way up the steep slope back

to the upper part of the gorge.

Huffing and puffing uphill

warmed us up again.

In what looked like a

cave/overhang, climbing skills

were practised again with fun

and laughter.

Soon thereafter we approached

the more comfortable path

which took us back to the weir

and the last slippery rocks of

which we had had our fair

share. Then back along the last

stretch with some more viewing

into the deep gorge after which

we soon reached the car park.

Our small party,

enriched with a new experience,

departed for home with great

satisfaction. Thank you all for

joining and covering “new

ground”.

We hiked to ...

Page 5


.BOUGHTON DAY HIKE

Hike leader Katy Hart 28 AUGUST 2016

Photos & comment by Rod

Hart Thanks to Katy for providing the op-

portunity to do a very manageable

hike, yet still with quite a lot of vari-

ety in terms of hills, cool shaded

walks, open forestry tracks, and the

very pleasant walk through a leaf

covered trail, as well as covering a

very respectable 7.2 km, all within

the borough of Pietermaritzburg.

Also a good opportunity for fellow

MHC hikers, Corlia, James, Jacky,

Peter, Sue, Kate, Rod and leader

Katy to meet and enjoy hiking com-

pany.

Kloof Gorge Hike

Krantzkloof Nature Reserve

23rd July 2016

Report and photographs by

Margret Kirsten After having had to cancel this hike

twice before due to rain, we finally

made it in spite of rain having been

forecast once again. Yes, it had

rained during the night and heavy

clouds hung over the Gorge and I

heard someone whisper.......Margret

is the Rain Queen!! Giggles and

Chuckles!

We were 7 sturdy hikers, 2

had cancelled at the last minute.

Again I heard a whisper from the

same person ... sissies … and then...

lots of laughter again.

We started along the upper

gorge and passed several view

points which were admired in awe.

It was a pity that we did not

have sunshine. Then, over slippery

rocks we crossed the weir and up,

through the forest passing another

great view point. Reaching the

grassy slope on high ground, we

passed the beacon. We encountered

a little drizzle and slipped on rain

coats and two minutes later we

were off again.

Next we visited Margret's

cave which is situated close to the

edge and dangerous in slippery

conditions but was nevertheless

photographed with great

excitement.

We continued via another

high view point where one person

contemplated climbing to the nearly

free standing rock. The leader

quickly decided to continue and

gave him NO time to attempt it.

We descended through a small

forest, crossing the stream and up

along the next stretch of

WEDNESDAY HIKE - 20 KM

Having spent a relaxing evening

catching up with our friends and

welcoming Linda de Beer to our

group as this was to be her first

hike with Midlands, we tucked

up in our cosy beds and fell

asleep to the haunting cries of

jackals.

What a day awaited us. We set

off on a relatively easy route

which meandered to the

Mzimkhulu River where the

path became quite a challenge

as its obviously not very well

used by hikers going to the vari-

ous caves in that area (Fun and

Verkyker).

After a fairly strenuous

10+kms, we stopped at a mag-

nificent pool for a welcome

lunch break. For us who are city

dwellers, the absolute glory of

these pristine waters and the

healing solitude is what keeps

us coming back again and

again. The river is still running

gently, but the small grassland

streams are often quite dry – the

once luxurious growth of tree

ferns now sadly drooping. By

this time, we were all fairly

tired and feeling that the hike

home might be a “bit much”.

Keith kindly offered us an alter-

nate route, but as it entailed go-

ing straight UP, we declined

and plodded along the well

marked path back home...which

proved much easier than we

anticipated as it was gently

downhill.

We hiked to ...


THURSDAY HIKE - 12 KM

A couple of us had not done this

hike before, so a major challenge

loomed as we tried not to look at

the far-away beacon at the top of a

very very steep hill. (Personally, I

was worried that I wouldn't make

it !) Of course, Keith's prophetic

words of ‘ït's not as bad as it

looks’....were true, and that won-

derful feeling of achievement hav-

ing reached the beacon was indeed

shortlived as the next hill – and the

next and the next – caused much

heavy breathing and thoughts of

why we actually hike. Having

reached the top of the top of the

top, naturally we had to go down

again. This was tricky over freshly

burned grass where the small loose

stones made for a tentatively slow

descent. Our journey brightened by

a few tenacious early flowers brav-

ing the drought and the scorched

grass. Controlled fire burns were

all around us, far away enough to

be impressive without a threat to

safety. A late night line of fire trav-

ersing the height of Little Bamboo

was an awe inspiring sight against

the night sky..

FRIDAY HIKE - 12 KM

Always the highlight of the trip – a

hike to Three Pools, taking in the

two caves with their interesting

indigenous trees and paintings.

This time, Keith led us on a harder

route, climbing up behind the cot-

tage and then contouring amongst

rocky outcrops, finally meeting up

with the well defined path (relief!).

A short climb to the two caves

where we had a breather and a

snack before taking the low road

back to Margaret’s celebrated waf-

fles and double cream.

What a marvellous stay-over.

We say thank you to Keith and

Margaret – we say it over and

over – and it is never enough to

convey our immense gratitude for

sharing their lives and beautiful

new hikes with us. We are indeed

privileged, and we all do so appre-

ciate the extra work involved in

finding and marking safe, new and

exciting routes.

DRAKENSBERG GARDENS

COTTAGE

MID-WEEK

12-15 JULY 2017

Report by Rose Dix

Photos Keith Ashton and

Rose Dix

Keith and Margaret Ashton: Mar-

gret Kirsten: Margaret Robberts:

Steve and Lynda Verreynne: Marie

Gurr and Nevil Walmsley: Linda de

Beer and Rose Dix

Once again, Keith and Margaret

hosted 8 of us in the beautiful cot-

tage near Drakensberg Gardens,

looking out onto Garden Castle,

which on a clear day, seems one

could reach out to touch its para-

pets.

TUESDAY HIKE - 11 KM

Most of us had driven up early to

enable us to catch the extra hike

which turned out to be quite differ-

ent from the norm, as it was an easy

hike(!) – on a Biking Path (Skudla

Track)– with soft undulating

climbs, even a strategically placed

rest-bench overlooking Drakens-

berg Gardens Golf Course and

amenities. After an early lunch

break where we had a competition

to test who could keep their feet in

the freezing water the longest

(Steve won!), we laced up our boots

to hike up to the Giants Cup Trail

which took us on its familiar path

back via Swiman Hut to our cars at

the nearby car park.

For those of us who have hiked the

Giants Cup Trail, we were re-

minded of the relief of seeing the

hut appearing over the low hills.

Here we were afforded the delight-

ful bonus of two elegant eland la-

dies basking on the warm grass near

our path. A lovely hike to ease us

into the next few days.

We hiked to ...


UMGENI VALLEY NATURE

RESERVE DAY HIKE

SUNDAY, 7 AUGUST 2016

LEADER KEITH ASHTON

Report and photos by Keith Ashton

Twenty two people had put

their names down for this popular

venue again, but it was a very chilly

morning as we assembled in the

reserve, so it was still good to have

17 hikers actually participating.

We set off suitably clad at

about 08h30 and first made our way

from the office towards Shelter

Falls Camp and it was an easy

downhill route until we reached the

top of Shelter Falls, the stream cas-

cading down the shear rock face

into the pool far below. Braver

members of our group stood close

to the shear drop peering over the

edge to get a better view - certainly

not the place to stand if you suffer

from vertigo. From here we took

the lovely route alongside and up-

stream in the Shelter Falls valley -

in summer sometimes it is difficult

to do this route due to the stronger

flows in the stream.

It was then a climb out of the

valley and after reaching the top

track it was time to strip-off some

of our gear as we had thoroughly

warmed up with our efforts and in

any case the ambient temperature

was rising and it was a beautiful

day in exquisite surroundings. We

continued along this higher track

looking down into the lovely valley

below and soon we had very good

views of the Shelter Falls Camp's

rustic accommodation.

Continued on www.gohiking.co.za

Want more?

Visit our

website

Satori to Nhlosane

KZN Midlands

14 August 2016

Report and photographs

by Dave Sclanders

Just two years ago the Mid-

lands Hiking Club did this same

hike, and a surprising number of

the hikers of 2014 were back to

have another good walk from

Satori to the top of the well known

Nhlosane Peak. This high peak is a

land mark for the Midlands of

KZN – Natal, and can be seen

from many kilometers away, but

also gives many kilometres of a

360 degree panorama from the top.

Meeting at the appointed time by

the organising leader, the 15 of us

set off for our walk, very ably led

by the 3 farm dogs that attached

themselves to us. At times, they

seemed to turn around to us and

sort of indicated that we should

step up the pace a bit .

There is no real identified

route up to the summit, so we

chose our own way, but whichever

way one goes it is “up-hill”, short

cuts don’t help. Take the wrong

ridge, and sooner or later you

might have to drop down into a

valley, and climb up the other side

to continue in the right direction,

or do a longer detour on the cur-

rent ridge. The hikers were up to

the long climb, and with the fre-

quent stops to enjoy the sights and

scenes around us which improved

with every metre climbed, we

reached the top in good time and

condition.

Our organiser and chief

whip was one of the first to the

top, with the lagers puffing up be-

hind. The dogs seemed very proud

to have made the top again, and

were rewarded with a bowl of cold

water by Neville.

Each to their own to select

a good spot to eat and chatter and

admire the great scenery around

them. Snow was evident on the

Drakensberg far away to the west,

but the haze over the mountains

did not allow for any pictures to be

taken.

A cold wind cut across the

top of the peak, and resulted in a

few hardy guys, who after having

checked out the views, finding a

spot out of the wind, and to rest and

build up some strength for the haul

down the mountain, and back to the

cars.

There is a sort of a tradition

that is expected of those who do

reach the beacon at the top of the

mountain, and that is that maybe

you should leave a piece of your

underwear tied onto the beacon. As

a few of our party had disappeared

from time to time, just as we were

ready to start the downhill part, the

question was asked “ Who had left

some underwear on the beacon ?

The response was surprising, hands

shot up all from all around the

group.

Fortunately on closer inspec-

tion of the beacon, it was sort of

obvious that our members were

“just wishing”, as the underwear on

the beacon was pretty old and tatty.

Let’s hope that this old tradition

stays in moth balls.

Then it was time to head

back down the hill to our cars. And,

as some of us know, going down a

long steep hill can put a lot of strain

on certain leg muscles as some

found out. Anyway, we took a dif-

ferent route down and enjoyed a

longer, but less steep way home.

The last river was crossed at

an old road drift, the last hill did not

seem so bad, and with high spirits

the group stopped for a last picture

at the entrance to the farm.

Luckily, on inspection of picture 1

and picture 26, we were happy to

see that all the starters managed to

get back safely. A great hike with a

good group of spirited people, and

farm dogs.

We hiked to ...


dicey, we would come back the

same way.

On the way, my memory

clicked back to many years ago to a

very isolated rock face that had

some Bushman paintings on it. Af-

ter some mountain slope bashing,

and finding and loosing the old path

(a good indication that the area was

not visited very often), we found

the paintings.

Back on our way again, we

could see the cliff face that I had

planned to ascend far in the dis-

tance, with the ever increasing mist

that we would have to face later,

and make a serious decision about

the day. Crossing the river we

headed up to a large boulder where

there were a few old, tired and well

visited paintings. A snack time was

enjoyed where we could take in

some energy food for the long

climb that lay ahead.

We were now looking

straight up the valley we would

have to climb to get to the top of

the cliff face. From here we hoped

to do a bit of a roundabout route to

Lebanon. The climb did not seem

too bad, but towards the top it got

rather steep, with much erosion,

loose boulders and big steps. We

eventually reached the top, and sat

down for a well earned rest. There

is always someone who has to find

a better place to sit and check the

view.

A walk to the top of a

nearby ridge confirmed that the

mist was seriously thick above us,

and we still had higher to walk, so a

good decision was made to turn

around and head down again, and

go for lunch at the camp. The mist

closed in swiftly, and soon we

could not see the ridge that we had

just climbed down.

Well someone cannot read

too well. After lunch, the weather

changed, dark clouds, cold wind

and drizzle with whips of mist scur-

ried around the high ground for the

whole afternoon. The area we had

planned to walk in was totally cov-

ered in a thick mist. An early sup-

per was planned, but then the eve-

ning changed totally. It went terri-

bly dark, the wind howled up and a

torrent of rain fell from the sky.

A little later the first lightening

flashes lit the sky and seemed to

flash into the tent. As we counted

the seconds between the flashes,

and hearing the thunder, we were

under no illusion that the storm

was heading straight for us. Later

the flash and the boom were right

above us mixed up with the sound

of very heavy rain falling on the

tents. There is something sadisti-

cally exciting to me to be lying

nice and snuggly warm in a flimsy

windblown tent, with terrible

weather outside. Closer to nature,

and to be warm and be comfort-

able, you cannot be or imagine.

The rain stopped eventually and

the wind dropped. Sun-up was a

cold misty affair. However it

brightened later so we decided to

do a short walk and hopefully be

back at camp and packed before

the forecasted wet afternoon.

We headed south towards

the Kamberg boundary. The Dra-

kensberg on our right was bright

and clear in the fresh air, with

patches of snow all over it. It was

a great day to walk this open

space and experience the open air

and scenery.

After some time along the

crest of this huge valley, we

headed across the flat, Moorish

wastelands of Highmoor to a little

known waterfall some distance

away. There are no paths here, so

it is not a route to be taken in bad

weather.

After a short while here,

we headed again cross country to

the camp. Our tents were dry, so

after lunch, it was a dry packing

of gear, farewells to all, and off to

home base.

A really interesting week-

end, good weather, bad weather,

good walks for what we did, and

some fantastic scenery. Come well

prepared for anything, and live

with nature for a while. Needless

to say it did not rain on Sunday

afternoon.

Visit our website for

photographs

Tenting and Day Walks

Weekend

Highmoor Nature Reserve.

Central Drakensberg

20 – 21 August 2016

Report by Dave Sclanders

A number of hikers, in-

cluding some first timers, indi-

cated that they would join us at

Highmoor for the weekend. Seven

would come up on Friday after-

noon to make a longer tenting

weekend. Others would follow on

Saturday.

The weather forecast was

rather off-putting, with forecast

cold, misty and wet conditions for

the week end. Well, the weather-

man can be wrong, you know.

Well-equipped for any

weather we set off for Highmoor

on Friday afternoon. On the way

up it rained slightly and dirty dark

rain clouds hung over the Giant.

Not a good omen.

On arriving at the camp

site we set up camp with a touch

of speed as the sun was still shin-

ning. We had just got everything

sorted when a huge wind started

and we had to move our Gazebo

to a slightly better sheltered area.

The wind dropped, and we spent

the rest of the afternoon relaxing

on the lawn. Later a most incredi-

ble moon arose and the camp area

was bright with the moon light,

and no wind, we spent an hour out

in the open just doing some seri-

ous mountain “chatter”. Later in

bed, the moon was so bright, one

could be forgiven that someone

had left a light on outside.

During the night it rained,

then cleared. Next morning a

misty cool sun pushed its way

through the mist of the valley, sort

of warmed us up for a while

whilst we had breakfast. I had

planned a day hike via a new

route to Mount Lebanon, then to

follow the usual route home. As

we readied ourselves to start the

day, a huge shroud of heavy mist

started to drift up the valley and to

cover everything in its way. We

decided to go as far as we could,

but if the conditions were a bit

Ha Ha Ha Ha HAHAHAHA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA hAhAhAhA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA hA hA hA hA ha ha HA ha ha ha HA ha ha ha HA ha ha ha HA ha hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha

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Suitable for hikers, this comprehensive South African trail directory de-

scribes more than 500 trails.

Hiking Trails of South Africa is the essential guide for every hiker. Written

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http://www.takealot.com/hiking-trails-of-south-africa

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