This is the second part of my story of solo hiking and exploring a magnificent
Wilderness area very dear and near to my heart. I am no recognized author or
linguist, OR EXPERIENCED BLOGGER for that matter and this is a story as it
happened and in my own words. Should you want to accompany me on a hike, please
make contact with me. I hope you enjoy the story.
Please note that all photos on this blog are copyright protected. If you would like to obtain photos please make contact with the author.
Please note that all photos on this blog are copyright protected. If you would like to obtain photos please make contact with the author.
GO OUT ALONE ON THE HILLS AND LISTEN.
YOU WILL HEAR MUCH.
THE WINDS WILL HOLD FOR YOU SOMETHING MORE THAN
SOUND;
THE STREAMS WILL NOT BE MERELY THE BABBLING
OF HURRYING WATER.
THE TREES AND FLOWERS ARE NOT SO SEPERATE FROM
YOU AS THEY ARE AT OTHER TIMES,
BUT VERY NEAR;
THE SAME SUBSTANCE,
THE SAME RHYTHM,
THE SAME SONG BINDS YOU TO THEM.
ALONE AMIDST NATURE,
A MAN LEARNS TO BE ONE WITH ALL AND ALL WITH ONE.
FRANK S. SMYTHE
CHAPTER SEVEN
DAY
6 – EMANDUWINI TRIAL – JURASSIC PARK
Today I want to go
and re-explore Jurassic Park which I discovered on a previous visit. With my
last visit there the waterfall was inactive and maybe now I will be fortunate
enough to see it cascading. I also want to explore the valley a little bit more
and maybe I can find some new caves with rock art in them.
Although last
night the whole area of Jurassic Park was covered in very low lying clouds,
right up to the valley floors and all the way down to the Elandshoek River. If
you go walking now it will give new meaning to the phrase “Walking with your
head in the clouds”.
I sometimes sit
and wonder – whoever owned this place as a farm many, many years ago, did they
really appreciate the beauty of it, did they actually consider themselves lucky
living here?
What about the
Bushmen, they lived in this valley, what a place it must have been then,
teeming with wildlife of all sorts, the area totally undisturbed. And the
Bushmen also went barefoot every day, no fancy hiking boots and equipment for
them. Neither did they have any doctors. But, it must have been a very
contented, easy lifestyle – until the Voortrekkers and the Settlers arrived,
that is!
I wish that I had
a time machine and could go back to that time and witness it all. What an
experience it would have been!
Over hundreds of
years the Drakensberg has seen them come and has seen them go, and see them
die.
I left the cabin
at 05h33. In my wisdom (stupid) I decided to walk down to the office, cross the
bridge over the Lotheni and pick up the trial from there. This decision
promptly added an additional 5 kilometers to my walk. For starters, my boots
were still very wet as was the grass with last night’s rain.
Soon I had 2
swimming pools for boots. Not even my plastic trick on the tongues of the boots
plus the gators could keep the torrent of water out of my boots. Some distance
after starting on the trial, met up with the herd of Eland again. They were
within spitting distance of me and some stood their ground, but all of them had
eyes on me. Some nervous ones made a run for it.
Got to the first
river to cross, and as I earlier in the week found a crossing point by boulder
hopping, I could keep my boots on. Now it was time to start the serious 4
kilometer uphill battle to the top of the mountain. There are still some low
clouds lingering in this area. This time this walk uphill absolutely taxed me
to the bone. I have not ever been this tired before on this mountain and I can
only blame it on my very heavy wet boots and the heat.
(15H45 – Lying on
the bed in the hut whilst writing this chapter with an absolute downpour taking
place outside. This is the heaviest rain thus far, but there is no thunder or
lightning.)
Halfway up the
mountain I saw a nice looking forest on the left hand side of the mountain and
what look like possible caves, will have to come back and explore in the next
couple of days. At last, I have reached the top of the mountain trial, and a
little bit of level ground leading down to the river! This specific river is
one of my favorites as it is a very scenic area. I sat down on a rock next to
the river for a short break.
Now for a nice
easy crossing of the river and I am on my way to the forest. I am totally
knackered at this stage with the heat and all. At the forest the path leads
into the forest and then makes its way for quite a distance through a very
dense area with lots of magnificent trees and big boulders lying around inside
the forest. There are lots and lots of huge Yellowwood trees around. Just
before I reached the forest exit, I found this huge wet rock with a beautiful
flower garden on the top of it. There are some really nice flowers showing off
on this rock.
I was busy putting
away my camera after I took some photos of the flowers when I noticed a person
approaching the forest from the outside. He all of a sudden stopped as he
noticed me inside the forest and it was clear the he got a big fright. He was a
German tourist who started the trial from the opposite end and he was obviously
in a hurry to complete the trial as soon as possible. He was only interested in
how far it still was to go and was obviously in bad shape with the sun taking
its toll on him to.
I exited the
forest and arrived at the river flowing next to the forest. Just below the
river crossing must be the biggest river pool I have seen anywhere in the Berg.
I sat there for a while to give my wet feet some time to dry and relax; my toes
were also burning badly. I then walked on to Jurassic Park. At the Valley
entrance, I was really tired and could not explain why. It can only be because
of the relentless heat and it was still early morning!
Jurassic Park
gives you a sense of awe; it looks so out of the Jurassic age and also looks
very mysterious. On the one side of the valley is the forest and river right
against some very high imposing mountain cliffs. On the other side, up the
mountain you will find the Bushmen caves with the rock art. The river runs
inside the forest and you cannot see it, although it is very audible and there
must be a high volume of water in the river to generate all that noise. Big
Yellowwood trees bursts through the forest canopy, and the trees are absolutely
massive.
(16h00 – Heavy
rain has just finished.)
I went into the
valley, and then had to start mountaineering as the valley is very steep and
also overgrown. At this point I could see some big thunder cloud built up
higher up on the high mountains. I reckon that this storm will make its
appearance at about 14h00. There are very many Protea trees in this area, but
still no flowers on any of them. Standing looking at the caves the thought
crossed my mind as to what the Bushmen living in these caves did every day. Did
their children play down in the forest, adults out hunting and gathering or them
socializing in the caves? Painting their pictures? I saw two other areas which
promised some cave locations. Decided to go and investigate and did some
serious mountaineering to get to the location. Well, this time it was a serious
let down as it was only little overhangs. I then had too mountaineered back
down to the valley floor again.
Before arriving
back at the forest, I had to sit down and wring the water out of my socks and
let my feet dry a bit. I was now lucky as I was going down the mountain and at
the bottom I decided to cut across the veld to the Elandshoek River.
Once through the
river it was back up Kwa-Pitoli and locates the Eland trial to follow down to
the Lotheni River. I had again had to mountaineer down the last stretch of the
mountain to get to the river. This time I had to wade through quite a deep area
of the river in order to get through and I also encountered some very strong
rapids.
Without my walking
stick it would have been very difficult to cross these rivers, might have been
sort of impossible unless you make a swim for it.
I arrived at the
hut an hour before the storm broke.
16h30 – The rain is
coming down very hard.
17h00 – It is
still raining with thunder.
17h37 – The rain
is now done, beautiful rainbow being displayed across the mountain. I rushed
outside with my camera in hand to get a good photo of the rainbow.
CHAPTER 8
DAY
7 I EMANDUWINI TRIAL – NEW FOREST AND CAVES
05H00 – There is a
very strong berg wind blowing and it looks look there is a serious storm
brewing. I am in two minds today whether it would be good idea to go walking.
If I do go, it might only be a short walk and then to go and explore a new
forest and possible cave sightings. At this stage half of the air is clear and
the other half is very stormy.
Eventually I
decided to go even though the weather is looking very bad. I have also decided
to use my old hiking boots today and give the other pair a chance to dry out a
bit.
I left the hut at
06h20, straight down to the river from the hut; I then had to follow the river
for quite a distance before I found a safe spot to cross. It was then the boots
off procedure and wade across the river. I am now on Kwa-Pitoli and I had to do
some mountaineering to get away from the river edge. I found a good Eland trail which followed a
contour of the mountain. I t was quite a long walk to get to the point where
the Elandshoek River meets the river coming down the Emanduwini trail valley.
On reaching this point I mountaineered down to the river, repeat the boots off
procedure, wade across and boots back on procedure.
I now had before
me some serious stiff climbing to do in order to get up to the level of the
forest. After some serious climbing
through thick growth and rocks, I eventually reached the left hand side of
forest. Yet again this side of the mountain is scattered with protea trees, and
still no flowers. What a climb it was!
From my vantage
point at the forest level I could see all of Lotheni in the direction of the
chalets and office and far beyond.
The forest is not
that big, but it is what you would call a proper forest and is impregnable. Again there are lots of Yellowwood trees
bursting through the canopy of the forest.
The forest is so
overgrown that you cannot see into it at all. I walked all along the length of
the forest trying to find a way in, which proved to be impossible. At the right
side of the forest I found a nice marsh which has its own water supply. This
water supply seems to be a fountain right in the middle of the marsh. Can you
imagine finding a fountain at that height on a mountain? Spectacular!
I now want to go
and explore the possible caves which I saw, but to get there I had some serious
climbing to do. This climbing meant being on all fours and holding on for dear
life. It is pretty much the way that a baboon would do it.
After all this
climbing I reached the point where I saw the cave, but found it to be more of a
small overhang than a cave. I checked out the left hand side of the cliff and
found a similar overhang. I turned the other way and followed the cliff face to
the right hand side, which gave me more of the same. Turning around a corner, I found a big rock
leaning over the edge of a cliff, and promptly sat on it and had
breakfast! What a view point it was! Me being so high up the mountain gave me
spectacular views in every direction and I was also looking down at everything.
By now the clouds
have disappeared and the sun was starting to beat down again. Fortunately my
rock was still in the shade of the cliff behind me. I packed up and decided to
move a further 10 meters to the right along the cliff face and to my surprise
found another cave which was a little bit bigger than the others. None of the
overhangs or this smaller cave had any rock art though. It seems that this area
was too high up and the caves were not sufficient to be used as shelter by the
Bushmen. I did found some lovel
At the forest just
before these caves I found some more of the beautiful bell shaped flowers. They
are very pretty little things. I am so lucky in finding more of them.
Getting down the
mountain from the cliffs and caves was not too much of an exercise, and my way
down let me straight onto the Emanduwini trial.
By now it was again very hot and it seems as if the sun is trying to
kill anything which moves. It is amazing how the sun sucks every inch of energy
from your body.
I started down the
trial getting down to the river, and the trial was very steeply downhill. I
sometimes do not know which is worse – going uphill or going down. Going down
is also a very slow and careful process as slipping and falling down a cliff is
a big danger. Quite close to the river there is a nice massive rock next to the
trial. At this stage the sun was burning down so fiercely that any shade was a
welcome relief. The one side of the rock had quite a nice shade to it and was the
ideal hiding place for a while. I took of my boots and garters as at this stage
I needed to air my feet a bit. I also had the garters on as additional
protection against snake bites as the mountaineering up and down was through
prime snake country
I did not want to
move out of the shade back into the sun, but eventually had to. I crossed the
river and managed to do this with boots on, a little lower than the normal
cross point. I the decided to follow the path to where the Elandshoek and
Lotheni rivers meet, make my way down to the rivers from there and cross both
the rivers at the junction. Now we were back to the old procedure of boots off,
first cross the first river very carefully and then the other river. Sitting
down to put my boots back on was an issue as I had to do it in the blazing sun,
and picking up my backpack actually burnt my hand as the backpack got that hot
in the sun.
Now it was the
standard hard slog through the undergrowth and up the very steep hill back to
the hut. What a blessing to be out of the sun!
When I was still
on the trial and right before I got to the rock with the shade relief, I met up
with a baboon family near the river. One teenager tried his best to sound like
the leader by trying to imitate the alarm call off the leader. He did not quite
succeed in doing so and it was very funny listening to him! All the other
baboons in the family also totally ignored him.
15H00 – The
thunderclouds are building up again at this time and a princely 20 drops of
rain fell, and the clouds then moved off. I think that later tonight it might
rain again.
15h20 – My little
cape wagtails are back on the hunt around the hut. I thing they might be
nesting in the thorn trees next to the hut.
At this stage I am
much undecided whether tomorrow will be a rest day for me. My right knee is
starting to complain a little bit and having rest should do it good. My boots
are also still very wet.
I walked with my
old boots today as I wanted dry feet for a change. The boots did not fare badly
at all, and they also weigh less than the other pair. It made for quite a
welcome change having lighter and dry boots on.When I was high up on the mountain today, I left my cellphone on, knowing that because I am so high up, somewhere up there will be some signal. Found signal near the caves at the top and could sms me still being alive back home.
On my way up to
the forest today, I have yet again looked at the summit of Kwa-Pitoli which
looks like a pimple on top of a mountain. It beckons and calls me to climb it
and sit on the top of that pimple. I have decided that before I leave Lotheni
that I was going to be on the top of that mountain. Come hell or high water. It
is obvious that from the pimple you will have an absolutely stunning view in
every direction as that is the highest point around in the immediate vicinity,
bar the escarpment. It will be a massive undertaking but very doable.
16h00 – The sun is
absolutely merciless again now that the clouds have moved on. Sitting in the
shade of the tree I am still getting sunburnt!On my way back up to the hut earlier today, in the thick undergrowth next to a big rock, I found the biggest mushroom which I have ever seen. It was absolutely huge! It is about half a meter from side to side and
17H31 – A strong
berg wind has picked up and is really howling around the hut. It is so strong
that the grass on the opposite hill behaves like sea waves on a very high tide.
Around the hut it sounds like a steam train!
The wind is
blowing very low cloud cover across the mountains and valleys. In a matter of
15 minutes the temperature has dropped from 34 to about 10 degree Celsius.
Unbelievable! All of a sudden everything from the mountains right down to the
ground is covered in cloud. What a change in weather in a short 15 minutes.
From clear burning skies to full cloud cover and ice!
17h50 – I watched
an eagle hunting on the slopes across the river from the hut. He is using the
wind to hover dead still in one spot for up to 5 minutes before diving down to
the ground. He is also hovering very low above the ground. It is so amazing
that he can hover like that in such a strong wind. He does not move an inch
during hovering. He seems to be hunting mice, which might now be visible as the
wind opens up the grass.
It is now really,
really cold outside and freezing. I can still not believe that you can go from
34 degrees, absolute burning misery to freezing in 15 minutes. It just shows you – if unprepared on a walk or
hike – The Drakensberg Gods will take a serious bite out of you. It is not
raining though. The cloud cover is very low and you cannot see the mountains.
There are only some smaller hills close by which are still visible. This seems
to be a cold front moving in from the Cape. Maybe, who knows? Certainly seems
like it.
The Drakensberg
never ceases to amaze, whether by weather, beauty, splendor, plants, animals,
flowers, or forests, it never ceases to amaze.
I nearly forget to
mention a funny episode which happened when I was on Kwa-Pitoli to day coming
back to the hut. I came down an eland trial into a small marsh area and gave a
mountain rehebuck the fright of his life. The buck was standing inside the
marsh, hidden by grass taller than him. I was about 10 meters away from him
when he suddenly realized I was there. I have never seen a buck react so badly
and swiftly. He jumped straight up into the air, making alarm calls, then
jumped sideways and ran up the mountain. Neither of us was aware of the other
one. When you walk or hike on your own there is obviously very little noise
generation, and therefore you get very and unexpectedly close to wildlife.
18h16 – Some
really big thunder at play now, huge raindrops are coming down. It is not a lot
of rain, but it might still be coming. Again it is thunder only with no
lightning. Definitely the most thunder I have heard all week.
On my way back up to the hut earlier today, in
the thick undergrowth next to a big rock, I found the biggest mushroom which I
have ever seen. It was absolutely huge! It is about half a meter from side to
side and the size of a big serving tray
17H31 – A strong
berg wind has picked up and is really howling around the hut. It is so strong
that the grass on the opposite hill behaves like sea waves on a very high tide.
Around the hut it sounds like a steam train!
The wind is
blowing very low cloud cover across the mountains and valleys. In a matter of
15 minutes the temperature has dropped from 34 to about 10 degree Celsius.
Unbelievable! All of a sudden everything from the mountains right down to the
ground is covered in cloud. What a change in weather in a short 15 minutes.
From clear burning skies to full cloud cover and ice!
17h50 – I watched
an eagle hunting on the slopes across the river from the hut. He is using the
wind to hover dead still in one spot for up to 5 minutes before diving down to
the ground. He is also hovering very low above the ground. It is so amazing
that he can hover like that in such a strong wind. He does not move an inch
during hovering. He seems to be hunting mice, which might now be visible as the
wind opens up the grass.
It is now really,
really cold outside and freezing. I can still not believe that you can go from
34 degrees, absolute burning misery to freezing in 15 minutes. It just shows you – if unprepared on a walk or
hike – The Drakensberg Gods will take a serious bite out of you. It is not
raining though. The cloud cover is very low and you cannot see the mountains.
There are only some smaller hills close by which are still visible. This seems
to be a cold front moving in from the Cape. Maybe, who knows? Certainly seems
like it.
The Drakensberg
never ceases to amaze, whether by weather, beauty, splendor, plants, animals,
flowers, or forests, it never ceases to amaze.
I nearly forget to
mention a funny episode which happened when I was on Kwa-Pitoli to day coming
back to the hut. I came down an eland trial into a small marsh area and gave a
mountain rehebuck the fright of his life. The buck was standing inside the
marsh, hidden by grass taller than him. I was about 10 meters away from him
when he suddenly realized I was there. I have never seen a buck react so badly
and swiftly. He jumped straight up into the air, making alarm calls, then
jumped sideways and ran up the mountain. Neither of us was aware of the other
one. When you walk or hike on your own there is obviously very little noise
generation, and therefore you get very and unexpectedly close to wildlife.
18h16 – Some
really big thunder at play now, huge raindrops are coming down. It is not a lot
of rain, but it might still be coming. Again it is thunder only with no
lightning. Definitely the most thunder I have heard all week.
17H31 – A strong
berg wind has picked up and is really howling around the hut. It is so strong
that the grass on the opposite hill behaves like sea waves on a very high tide.
Around the hut it sounds like a steam train!
The wind is
blowing very low cloud cover across the mountains and valleys. In a matter of
15 minutes the temperature has dropped from 34 to about 10 degree Celsius.
Unbelievable! All of a sudden everything from the mountains right down to the
ground is covered in cloud. What a change in weather in a short 15 minutes.
From clear burning skies to full cloud cover and ice!
17h50 – I watched
an eagle hunting on the slopes across the river from the hut. He is using the
wind to hover dead still in one spot for up to 5 minutes before diving down to
the ground. He is also hovering very low above the ground. It is so amazing
that he can hover like that in such a strong wind. He does not move an inch
during hovering. He seems to be hunting mice, which might now be visible as the
wind opens up the grass.
It is now really,
really cold outside and freezing. I can still not believe that you can go from
34 degrees, absolute burning misery to freezing in 15 minutes. It just shows you – if unprepared on a walk or
hike – The Drakensberg Gods will take a serious bite out of you. It is not
raining though. The cloud cover is very low and you cannot see the mountains.
There are only some smaller hills close by which are still visible. This seems
to be a cold front moving in from the Cape. Maybe, who knows? Certainly seems
like it.
The Drakensberg
never ceases to amaze, whether by weather, beauty, splendor, plants, animals,
flowers, or forests, it never ceases to amaze.
I nearly forget to
mention a funny episode which happened when I was on Kwa-Pitoli to day coming
back to the hut. I came down an eland trial into a small marsh area and gave a
mountain rehebuck the fright of his life. The buck was standing inside the
marsh, hidden by grass taller than him. I was about 10 meters away from him
when he suddenly realized I was there. I have never seen a buck react so badly
and swiftly. He jumped straight up into the air, making alarm calls, then
jumped sideways and ran up the mountain. Neither of us was aware of the other
one. When you walk or hike on your own there is obviously very little noise
generation, and therefore you get very and unexpectedly close to wildlife.
18h16 – Some
really big thunder at play now, huge raindrops are coming down. It is not a lot
of rain, but it might still be coming. Again it is thunder only with no
lightning. Definitely the most thunder I have heard all week.
On my way back up
to the hut earlier today, in the thick undergrowth next to a big rock, I found
the biggest mushroom which I have ever seen. It was absolutely huge! It is
about half a meter from side to side and the size of a big serving tray.
17H31 – A strong
berg wind has picked up and is really howling around the hut. It is so strong
that the grass on the opposite hill behaves like sea waves on a very high tide.
Around the hut it sounds like a steam train!
The wind is
blowing very low cloud cover across the mountains and valleys. In a matter of
15 minutes the temperature has dropped from 34 to about 10 degree Celsius.
Unbelievable! All of a sudden everything from the mountains right down to the
ground is covered in cloud. What a change in weather in a short 15 minutes.
From clear burning skies to full cloud cover and ice!
17h50 – I watched
an eagle hunting on the slopes across the river from the hut. He is using the
wind to hover dead still in one spot for up to 5 minutes before diving down to
the ground. He is also hovering very low above the ground. It is so amazing
that he can hover like that in such a strong wind. He does not move an inch
during hovering. He seems to be hunting mice, which might now be visible as the
wind opens up the grass.
It is now really,
really cold outside and freezing. I can still not believe that you can go from
34 degrees, absolute burning misery to freezing in 15 minutes. It just shows you – if unprepared on a walk or
hike – The Drakensberg Gods will take a serious bite out of you. It is not
raining though. The cloud cover is very low and you cannot see the mountains.
There are only some smaller hills close by which are still visible. This seems
to be a cold front moving in from the Cape. Maybe, who knows? Certainly seems
like it.
The Drakensberg
never ceases to amaze, whether by weather, beauty, splendor, plants, animals,
flowers, or forests, it never ceases to amaze.
I nearly forget to
mention a funny episode which happened when I was on Kwa-Pitoli to day coming
back to the hut. I came down an eland trial into a small marsh area and gave a
mountain rehebuck the fright of his life. The buck was standing inside the
marsh, hidden by grass taller than him. I was about 10 meters away from him
when he suddenly realized I was there. I have never seen a buck react so badly
and swiftly. He jumped straight up into the air, making alarm calls, then
jumped sideways and ran up the mountain. Neither of us was aware of the other
one. When you walk or hike on your own there is obviously very little noise
generation, and therefore you get very and unexpectedly close to wildlife.
18h16 – Some
really big thunder at play now, huge raindrops are coming down. It is not a lot
of rain, but it might still be coming. Again it is thunder only with no
lightning. Definitely the most thunder I have heard all week.
It’s raining, it’s raining
The old man is snoring
He went to bed and hit his
head
Erly in the morning
Even the low lying
hills are now clouded over and the rain intensity is increasing. Then, all of a
sudden, the rain is all over and done with. More talk than anything really
happening. It is nice and cold though which is a welcome relief.
I am watching the
Cape Wagtails again. Seems they like hunting in this kind of weather, brings
out more insects I suppose.
CHAPTER NINE
DAY
EIGHT – 17 JANUUARY 2015
I slept late this
morning. I have decided that this day was going to be my off-day and time to
take a break. It is cold and overcast outside, which makes for a nice change
after all the heat.
I saw a big troop
of baboons walking in single file at the bottom of the hut close to the river.
In the middle of this long single file a fight was going on between the
teenagers – more playful fighting than anything else.
My tracks are now
lying all over Lotheni. I am now in a position to navigate anywhere simply by
memory, I know every inch of terrain, know where you will find what, and where
the spectacular stuff off the beaten track can be found.
It is true that
most of the really nice, wild places are way off the beaten track, and if you
are not willing to explore and willing to put in the effort and bundu-bash, you
will never be in a position to experience the true grandeur of Lotheni.
All sorts of
things, from tiny little flowers and creatures, to big massive forests and
rocks never cease to amaze me.
I think that
tomorrow I will go and sit on top of mount Kwa-Pitoli, right on that little
pimple at the highest point of the mount. I will have a brilliant view all
over!
08H50 – Decided to
go for a short walk.
Wow! What a walk
it turned out to be. So much for planning to go on a short walk and leg
stretcher!
When I walked
through the path through the campsite, I saw that quite a number of campers
have arrived. They all look so miserable this morning because it is wet and
cold. They are all dressed as if they are in Alaska. They are even wearing
beanies. I am in a short sleeve shirt.
I walked the trial
up to the Loteni river waterfall. On this part of the route you do not get
close to the river as it is far down below at the bottom of the valley floor. I
reached the waterfall. All that you can see of the fall from here is where it
cascades over the cliff. The rest of the fall and the bottom is out of view.
There is a nice rock here to sit on and the fall spray washes all over you.
This was a nice spot for my breakfast which I really enjoyed. I have to say
that I had a lovely peach. Now I wanted to see the bottom of the falls. This
entailed walking back down the trial to find a way to mountaineer down the
cliff and on to the river. I had to do some heavy baboon type mountaineering
down the mountain and eventually arrived at the river. I was then blocked by
the river and rocks which prevented me from getting across the river. The only
access to the bottom of the falls is on the other side of the river, but the
river was running strong and deep here with some strong rapids. Swimming across
will be the only option. There really was no other way from this side of the
river. And it looked so damn interesting!
I then climbed
back up the cliff to get to the path and carried on with it a little further. I
found another spot leading down the mountains and cliffs, and decided to try
and go down here. Now I had to employ the baboon style again down cliffs, rocks,
dense grass and undergrowth. Half way down I found to little caves sitting on
the side of the cliff. No art in them. I now wanted to make it down the river
and this last part was some hairy cliff crawling stuff to get down to the
river. I followed the river which in this area is very pretty with a great
amount of pools and falls. It is also very wide. I then arrived at an area
which blocked me in on this side of the river, and to stay on this side of the
river I would have to crawl back up the mountain, walk down the path around a
cliff and come down at a suitable point again. I did this and arrived back down
at a small cave.
The river makes a
bend to the left at this point, and then splits in two, with this big forested
island in the middle. I sat on a rock at the river edge looking at the small
cave, pondering my options. I turned around on the rock, and noticed that in
the far distance below the island, that the river flows headlong into a cliff
and then bends toward the right.
From my point it
looked like a very pretty and interesting area to explore. At this distance I
thought I might just be seeing the mouth of a cave in the cliff. I babooned my
way up the 90 degree angle of the cliff face next to me, went over the top of
the cliff, down all fours again on the other side and all the way down the
river. I managed to get onto the island and then had to find my way across a
very wide area of the river to get to what I think is a cave. Now that I am on
the island it is looking all the more to be a nice cave.
I then decided
what the hell, my boots are already dripping wet from the wet grass again, so I
kept my boots on and walked straight through the river. My boots could not get
any wetter than what they were already! And I did just that. The cross point
was about knee-deep with a strong flow and some strong rapids. The boots
actually made the crossing much, much easier than what it is trying do to it
barefoot. Crossing barefoot is a slow and very careful process, whereas with
boots on, it takes a quarter of the time to cross the river.
At this stage it
was still overcast, so it was quite pleasant weather for walking. There was
none of the bad oppressive heat around. There was also a bit of a chill in the
air.
I approached the
cave and what a treat it was. It was a very big cave and was also very deep.
The sunlight did not even reach the back of the cave. In front of the cave
there is a stream running right next to the cave which runs the length of it.
This whole area was covered with a very pretty garden full of all sorts of
flowers and wild strawberries. Even varkore made their appearance here. Some
big trees sheltered the front of the cave and hide the cave from view.
It is fascinating
how much stone is available from the river area. This is truly a beautiful
place.
I said my
farewells and carried on with the walk. I spent most of the walk following an
eland trial through very dense growth. You cannot see the ground at all and
placing your feet is a very careful process. I walked through lots of small
marsh areas which are an absolute delight as all sorts of flowers and bracken,
ferns and the like grows here.
I had to do some
mountaineering along the way with some very careful walking on the edges of
cliffs. The grass is still very wet, everything is for that matter. There is no
direct sun and it is not hot enough to dry the environment out. The river is
very pretty and scenic along the way. I came to a point where I had to scale
down two cliffs to get to the river and wade across. The river is very close to
the hut at this point, and it forks yet again with a nice island in the middle,
with a cliff on the opposite site. I managed to find a safe cross point which
allowed me to get onto the island. It was difficult to cross the next part of
the river as there were some serious rapids in this area. Eventually I just
went for it where it seemed to be reasonably safe. I still had my boots on
which made for a safer crossing. I now had a big cliff in front of me and had
to get to the top of it. I mountaineered my way up and all that was left was
the short vicious climb up to the hut.
Back at the hut I
reflected that this was quite an enjoyable exploration walk, and it certainly
delivered much more than what I expected and set off for initially.
It just shows you
again, he who does not dare, bundu-bash, mountaineer, baboon and explore, and
only stay on the path, miss out on basically everything that is on offer.
Staying on the path gives you a view and that is about that. If you want to
experience nature and find all the nice areas, then go and explore.
Also, if you walk
around with fear, you better then stay on the path because it will be
impossible for you to explore. Have no fear for nature but, also do not be
stupid and treat nature with respect. Stupid will seriously injure or kill you
in these mountains.
Oh, by the way,
three times on the walk back from the cave, in the marsh areas, did I step into
hidden underground river channels and fell. It is the same type of rivers where
on a previous occasion in Jurassic Park I stepped into one, tumbled down the
mountain and lost my hat. These areas are impossible to see, they are covered with
very dense growth, sometimes with grass as tall as me. Sometimes a murmur of
water will give their position away, at other times there is no sound at all.
Your leading leg will just all of a sudden disappear in this big hole. If you
do not walk slowly through these areas and prod with your walking stick, you
can very easily end up with a broken leg.
It really was a
most enjoyable walk and it absolutely suits my exploration character.
16H45 – It is
absolutely dead quiet and ice cold outside the hut. It must have been a cold
front which moved into the area yesterday afternoon. There is no heat and it is
very cloudy.
CHAPTER 10
DAY 9 – KWA-PITOLI’S PIMPLE – 18 JANUARY 2015
At 04h00 this
morning everything outside the hut was covered in white cloud and mist. All you
could see in all directions was white. Everything outside is also dripping wet.
06H31 – The mist
and clouds are slowly lifting and receding back up the mountains.
You will now
notice from the above picture the birth of “The Mountain Man”. This stick
character made his appearance and followed my writing right through the end. He
actually started taking over what was happening during the writing of this
journal!
I cannot climb
Kwa-Pitoli now as I will not be able to see anything from the summit if the
cloud cover and weather persist. The sun does look like it wants to make an
appearance though.
07H00 – Decided to
go anyway!
I started the
route on my quest at the bottom of the hut and crossed the river again with my
old boots on. They were still very wet from yesterday. I then slowly started to
climb to the higher contours bit by bit in order to find a way up the mountain
and all the cliffs in my way.
The vicious
serious climbing has started. At this point the, mountain is at about an 80
degree slope with some 90 degree cliffs in between. I had to do some major
climbing with hands and feet involved in the process. Finding a toe-hold,
grabbing onto something with your fingers and then pulling yourself up were at
the order of the day, hoping that neither gives way. I had to continuously
change directions to get higher up the mountain.
Climb, climb, and
climb – it was all never ending. I did find a nice cave half-way up and soon
after that quite a nice fountain which created its own stream.
Then, finally, one
fine big vertical climb where I really had to hold on for dear life, and voila!
I was on the top of the world! I found a rock right on the edge of the cliff
and sat down to appreciate the view. With such a splendid view in front of me
now was also a good time for breakfast.
I was just about
to finish my breakfast when I noticed a raptor rising up into the air. Soon
afterwards another raptor followed. This was quite a treat as they were not far
away and very close to me. One of the birds seems to take an interest in me and
flew closer to me. Now I could identify the birds and to my utter amazement and
delight they were two Bearded Vultures!
What a special treat to be able to see this magnificent and scares birds
from so close-up. It really was my lucky day.
At the height that
I was sitting at with my feet dangling over the edge of the mountain, I was
treated to one of the most magnificent aerial display by two birds. It was the
kind of stuff that dreams are made of. The one bird kept on coming closer to
me, drop in height and then pass just about 2 meters above my head! I have not
ever been that close to a Bearded Vulture. I could count the feathers on the
bird, he was that close. The bird would then fly past, turn in front of me at
eye-level height, gain altitude, turn and then drop down on me again. You could
actually here the “whoosh” of the wind beneath him as he passes me. This bird
was so big – it felt as if a Boeing 747 was passing overhead.
I guess that the
bird is about 3 meters from wing tip to wing tip. These birds were big and
absolutely spectacular! This display
carried on for about ten minutes and they then just disappeared the same way in
which they arrived. This was such a treat. It made all of the hard work to
climb up to this point seems totally insignificant. What a view and what a display!
I started climbing the
vertical face of the cliff with hands and feet, made it and sat on the pimple
for a while. I also did find some pretty flowers at this altitude.
I decided to go
down the other side of the mountain towards the Lotheni River, then follow the
river back to the hut. I first had to get off the Pimple’s vertical face which
took me a while as some serious considerate climbing down was involved. Once
down, it was downhill travelling through very thick grass, hill by hill which
never seems to end. Some hills were so steep that you had to sit down and slide
down on your backside. The rest of it had to be done sideways, step by step and
balancing with the walking stick at the same time.
At the bottom of
the vertical face I gave another Grey Rehebuck the fright of his life. He took
off running and ran from that high altitude all the way to just short of the
river, which was one hell of a distance. This buck was just not going to stop!
He did actually stop twice, gave a look and then took off again. Running and
leaping, showing the white underneath his tail, barking as far as he goes. It
is fascinating how these animals can run and jump like that in this type of
terrain without breaking their legs or falling.
Half way down the
mountains I found a black water pipe laid out on a contour. The open end is in
a stream running down a ravine. I followed this pipe as the contour was easy
going. The pipe ended in an area where the pipe feeds into 3 drums sitting on
the side of the mountain, with another pipe leading to a stream in a ravine
close by.
I wonder what this
is for as it is not for drinking water for any of the camp areas; it is just
too far away. It might be an experiment of some sort.
Meandering down
the mountain I came upon such pretty flowers. I obviously had to take photos of
all of them! I eventually reached the river, crossed it with boots and
all. Now it was the steep climb up that
vicious little hill again to the hut. At the point where I crossed the river
was a really nice pool for swimming. I will have to swim in this pool before
going back home.
What an epic day
it was! The cherry on top of it all was my encounter with the Bearded Vultures.
It
is now very hot again with sun beating down in all of its glory. The clouds are
still lingering at the top of the mountains and down some of the lower slopes.
Some of these clouds display a dark blue base which is typical of thunder
clouds. There might be a thunderstorm brewing again.
16H50 –
Thunderclouds are now building on two sides again and its looking quite dark.
The one storm building on the escarpment might bring some rain.
Today
-which has been a very cloudy day for most of the day - I have been burnt by
the sun way more than in the previous 8 sunny days!
The
arial display by the two Bearded Vultures was most definitely the highlight of
the day and a great bonus. It was absolutely brilliant!
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
DAY TEN – UNDECIDED – 19 JANUARY 2015
05H00
– There was a grey Rhebuck standing right outside the hut window again eating
grass. A beatifull animal with some big horns on him. The animals obviously
enjoy the lawn grass. I t is also very misty again this morning and everything
in sight is clouded over again. It is also very cold. I can never make up my
mind whether it is going to rain or simply clear up, or only clear up half way
like it did yesterday.
Should
I go or should I stay? Last week every morning at 05h00 you had bright clear
skies and the last four mornings wre all covered in mist. It also did not rain
or thunder yesterday.
I
have used my new camera from day one. It is very heavy to carry but you get used
to the weight hanging around your neck. The battery lasted for 9 days and took
over 1000 photos. Unbelievable!
The
mist does not seem to want to clear, it opens and closes all the time. Maybe
the mist will eventually burn away.
I LOVE LOTHENI
LIKE A GLASS OF MARTINI
ALL THE RIVERS
ARE WORTH MORE THAN FIVERS
IT IS SO MISTY
TO BE VERY NIFTY
DO I WALK
OR DO I TALK
IT IS SO COLD
DO I NEED TO BE BOLD
PICK – UP MY BAG
AND GO FOR A SLOG
I AM THE MOUNTAIN MAN
07h10
– It is now very cloudy. I went outside to check the weather all around. It is
also raining very softly and the clouds are very thick. I want to start
walking, mostly I will be exploring today. It is really cold now as well. Maybe
I should give it a break today and take that rest which I have not done sso
far. Will have to give my old knees a break some time. My knees have been very
well behaved with only a slight twinge now and then. I still need to go and GPS
map all the campsites behind the hut. One or two of them are quite nice to camp
at, and they are about the only ones with nice shady trees.
There
are lots of areas all over the reserve, especially the marshy and forested
areas where the dreaded Port Jackson weed made its appearance and are now
slowly taking over. They are also absolute hell to walk through as they have
some vicious thorns. A single plants spreads out over quite a wide area and
they grow quite tall. It will grab you all over and the thorns break off in
your skin. The reserve staff will have to make a plan to eradicate them before
they become a major issue.
You
sometimes have no option as to go through them, and always try my best to
trample them in the process where I can. This time ot he year these plants also
carry a fruit which looks like a clump of berries lumped together and they turn
red when ripe. The baboons seem to be eating these fruit as I have found quite
a nuber of half eaten fruit close to the plants where the baboons moved
through.
This
weed is spreading at a rapid rate and in some areas there are very large
patches of them. In other areas they are starting off with one or 2 single
plants. They also seem to like the moist areas, marshes, wet forest areas,
close to rivers and the underground river areas. If these plants are left
uncontrolled, they will become a major problem. Nothing eat this plant and they
therefore colonise areas and root out the indiginous plants.
When
you are walking in the grasslands, you have to look carefully for the beautiful
shy little flowers hiding away all over in the grass. Some flowers grow proud
and tall, like the yellow and pink daisies smiling at you, while others are so
small and delicate and are barely above ground. I you do not look, you will not
see. These flowers come in all colors – white, red, yellow, orange , pink,
prurple and even gray. Then there are the magnificent lilies and Varkore grow
where you would expect nothing to grow. At Kwa-Pitoli’s pimple yesterday I saw
one Varkoor hanging on for dear life on a rock half way up a cliff.
08H48
– It is still very cold outside with no sun. It might get warmer later today
and I will go for a short walk then.
I
need to go and GPS map all the campsites now. Only 2 of the sites are really
nice with big trrees. The other sites have no trees. The ablution block have 2
toilets and 2 showers each for male and females, with a zink on the outside to
wash dishes in.
09H46
– The sun is out now and it seems that all the cloud cover was only very thick
mist. It is still very cold and my feet are 2 blocks of ice.
I have decided to bundu-bash
from the hut down to the river and from there up along the river right up to
the bottom of the falls. What a journey it turned out to be! It was through
very dense and unbroken undergrowth and grass, and lots of marhses along the
way. On 90% of the journey it was impossible to see my feet or where I am
placing them.
I had to cross the
river 10 times, moving from the one side of the river to the other to be able
to get around obstacles and cliffs. It was one hell of a long way to go. I
crossed many strong rapids, most of the time close to waist deep. Again did it
with boots on which made the crossing safer and easier.
At the one
crossing I found an absolute stunner of a pool, coming out of the main flow of
the river, it was deep and the water is also a little bit warmers as the sun
gets a change to warm the water.
I finally arrived
close to the bottom of the waterfall, and only one hurdle still remains. I was
on the wrong side of the river! I had to cross, get over into the forest and
then make my may through the forest to the bottom of the pools. At this cross
point I had to deal with some serious rapids and depth of waters as this area
was very close to the falls, which generated extra water speed and volume of
water. I had to negotiate some tricky bits and eventually made it to the other
side.
I entered and
walked through the forest which was a bit tricky as the forest was very dense
and over grown with bush and trees. I found a very nice spot next to the river
close to the bottom of the fall and sat on a rock. The fall was a bit of a
letdown, because when viewed from the top with all the noise and mist around,
you would expect a much longer drop. The drop is however only 10 meters, but it
is still a very pretty area though.
I followed the
path back which made for an easy and relaxed walk. The river is now far down at
the bottom of the valley. My knees are complaining know and after all the
mountaineering it is no wonder. At the turn-off to the camp ground, my groin
muscle all of a sudden snapped. It is the first time since being here that this
muscle gave me any problems and it is really bad now. I had a big struggle
getting to the hut.
I think that I
should have rested today as I planned to do earlier on.
15H00 - There are
some big storm clouds building up again. The whole area is being clouded over.
A few rain drops fell just now.
I am looking at a
big eagle hunting across the river from the hut. It is hunting in the same area
as previously when I saw him, still hovering and then to hit the ground at
speed. It is amazing how such a big bird can hover like that. The approaching
bad weather seems to be this bird’s hunting time.
GARMIN
E-TREX 20
This unit is a
brilliant piece of engineering. It is also as good on batteries as the 10. You
can save a huge amount of way-points and daily recorded tracks. In this regard
it is better than the 10. It is as reliable as the 10 and has no satellite
reception problems. It is a very handy feature of the unit to be able to save
so many way-points and tracks, especially when you go exploring and need that
capability. It also have the archive function which saves up memory space.
My old boots are
now really done with after all the river crossings and being permanently wet.
They have done 3 days of river wading and wet hikes. Today especially was bad
for the boots as I had to do about 10 river crossings. They gave me good
service and I think that this will be their last trip as they are now really
bursting at the seams.
19H30 – It started
raining and carried on for a while. There is some critter on the roof apart from
the Starlings which is kicking up quite a racket and is actually very disturbing.
Maybe it is only the starlings.
I might go for a
swim today but then I have a big up and down hill to deal with.
I have thought
about hiking during this trip but the weather is so unpredictable. This trip
was is also so long and I need to keep something in the bag for later hiking
trips.
There is one guy
who very regularly hikes to Ash Cave on his own, and has been doing so for
close to a year now. Why would one
person hike one valley so often and stay for one night only? By this time he
must know every stone and piece of grass in that valley intimately. It does not make any sense unless there is
some smuggling going on. There is a mountain pass close by and the area is very
remote with no chance of getting caught at anything. It is not even a
spectacular valley for exploration purposes in any case!
The mosquitos here
are quite violent at night. You do not see or hear them, but you certainly feel
them! All of a sudden you will have an egg size swelling on a finger or
somewhere else. It feels like they took a piece of your flesh away as a
take-away dinner.
13H00 – The
weather has now improved but it is still coolish. The clouds are also building
up again. There is a very peculiar iciness in the air.
If it was not for
my groin muscle today would have been a good day’s long walk. But then, the
groin muscle did not complain for 10 days with some severe walks being done.
The worst part
about being here in the wilderness always has been to leave and go back to
civilization.
It is so wild and
rugged her, no noise, lights, traffic, phones or any other intrusions. It is
you, the wilderness and the weather.
Tomorrow I will go
and explore Elandshoek Valley, and will do so from the Kwa-Pitoli side of the
valley. If I can find an eland trial on one of the contours, I will be able to
follow the trial all the way to the back of the valley. I might be lucky and
see the Bearded Vultures again as they seem to be keeping in this valley.
17H00 – It turned
out to be quite a pleasant hot afternoon. Some clouds are building up behind
the hut again.
My feet are now
just itching to walk.
A herd of about 40
eland came down to the mountain now towards the river, right at the point where
the Elandshoek and Lotheni rivers meet. There are a couple of short fights
taking place between some of the bulls. These fights never last longer than a
couple of seconds and no real harm is done.
It is to imagine their lives so long ago. It
is to drink the coolest, purest water from a stream or river. It is to sit on a
rock in the middle of a river or high up a mountain and drinking it all up and
listening to the symphonies of nature. It
is to be treated high-up a mountain to the aerial display of Bearded Vultures.
It is the shriek alarm of a buck suddenly seeing you. It is the different
flowers smiling coyly at you in passing, all their bright colors and glory on
display. There are all these brightly colored butterflies dancing around. And
it is then, after a heavy climb up the mountain or cliff, a lone tree offering
up its shade against the sweltering sun.
You can walk this
here wilderness, where the only company is silence. For days on end you can
trek from one wonder to another. You can climb countless hills, cross many
rivers, yet you survive on your own and never want the experience to stop.
Hundreds of years
ago, many, many, people had to live and survive in the wilderness. It was a way
of live. How much have things change!
What is there not
to love, not to wonder about? To become part of nature in all its glory is
amazing. Moving silently around the wilderness, carefully go about wherever you
are.
17H40 – It is
mosquito time again. I am on the menu and only me!
How did The
Mountain Man, the stick man in my story come about? I do not know. I was still
writing one evening, and there he was, he made his appearance out of nowhere.
He seems to be growing in character and is actually taking over my story
telling. He is involved in everything now1
MIRROR,
MIRROR, ON THE WALL, WHO IS THE STRONGEST OF THEM ALL? MOUNTAIN MAN OF COURSE!
18H00 – It is ice
cold outside, even though the sun is shining. There is a very chilly wind
blowing. It does not look like thunder storms will be forming tonight. The
escarpment is covered in cloud right down to the bottom of the mountain; all
you can see is one big cloud. I think it is going to be very hot again
tomorrow.
Last night I
placed some crumbed salti-crax out for the birds, which they never came for.
This morning however all of the salti-crax was gone. I thought that it must
have been one or another critter during the night finishing it off.
Late this
afternoon I again put some salti-crax out as some birds were hanging around the
braai. The birds were not interested and left it untouched. At 19h15 I saw a
eland coming up from the river, and then up to the hut. He walked right past
the bedroom window. I thought he was on his way to the campsite to munch on the
lawn. I then heard this peculiar noise outside and found the eland going after
the salti-crax! He was licking up every single piece of salti-crax off the 2
braais and the stoep and very gently so, he was also not going to miss a piece!
Not even the fact that I was looking at him through the window disturbed him.
Now I know who the salti-crax thief is!
This is still not the end of the story! The final chapters coming up soon.
