Hello all from New Zealand!! :)
How is the family doing?
We are really starting to relax well into our holiday. Our flight to Hong Kong was long and because it was during the day we didn't get much sleep. We arrived at about 8am in Hong Kong and after customs etc found a bus that would take us into town. Lugging our bags, looking like real tourists with our map opened up and waving around over our heads as we tried to figure out where we were and how to get to our hotel we walked for a bit before we found our hotel. We stayed at the Charterhouse Hotel, a good hotel in Hong Kong standards. They let us check in early which was great! A quick shower and we head off into the streets of Hong Kong, Charterhouse is situated in Wan Chai on the border of Causeway Bay which is where there is quite a bit of activity and markets. We walked the full day around the areas exploring the streets and markets and so on. That evening it began to rain and there began our run back to the hotel. Completely drenched by the time we arrived back at the hotel we decided to get dry, rest for about an hour and then head out for the night. Back at the hotel we heated up our packet meal in our tea cups with the boiled water from the kettle. There wasnt any teaspoons in the room so we used drink stirers to eat with. Was too funny (but we were saving as much money as possible). WELL we put our heads down and we were completely out of it woke up with quite a start and it was dark outside. Lucky it wasn’t actually that late so we had a quick shower again just to wake ourselves up and we headed down to the concierge to book our tour for the next day. After we arranged our activities we went walking again.
Getting side tracked by a Crocs shop where we bought ourselves the most 'comfy' Crocs, or so we thought until we walked back to the hotel to put our stuff down and by the time I got home I had blisters on my feet and Saul was flinging them off with every step. Anyway, we discuss our shoe situation and decided that we can’t do with these shoes, so pulled on our takkies and started running back to the shop. Down the side alleys and across the busy roads we dashed and turned before panting and puffing we arrived back at the Croc shop just before they were closing the doors. Ha! We got new pairs of great fitting Crocs the second time round :)
After quite a long time we found a pub (we were looking to mingle with the locals and drink local beer). So we were ushered into this bar called 'Cars bar' well the name says it all. The building looked clean and quite upmarket from the outside and from the ground floor, up the lift and into this dingy dark little bar we were the only people there. The place STANK of cat pee. It was so bad I had to hold my breath for a while to get used to the smell. Anyway, all part of the experience I suppose. The staff was lovely though and they had this big screen for their Karaoke and had Chinese music playing with the music videos. First they offered for us to sing some songs but after some protest they understood that we weren’t going to be singing anything :) Anyway, we had our local beer during this time the bar filled up a bit so we weren’t the only ones there anymore. Later we left and headed back to the hotel.
The next morning wake up call at 7am. Complete Zombies we showered, packed our bags for check out (had to check out then because our tours would only end late) and rushed downstairs to meet our tour guide. A quite abrasive woman greeted us downstairs and rushed us onto her couch. Along with a single English girl, an Indian family of three us the two of us we headed off onto day tour of Hong Kong. First stop of Man Ho Temple ( I will send photos later), the up the steepest tramway in the world to Victoria Peak and down to a Jewellery factory (NO we DIDN’T buy a ring... for those of you that got any thoughts :)) and then onto a boat ride around the harbour before heading towards Repusle Bay and onto Stanleys Market. Back at the hotel we used their gym to shower and get dressed before lugging our bags down the streets again and off to the airport. Was a great stay, quick but we got to see and do a lot - will tell more in detail later.
Our terminal was 65, it took us 25minutes to get there and that was on the fast walk way belt as well. So on the plane we eyed out an empty four seater which we jumped for the first second we got and stretched out for a hopefully better night sleep.
We arrived in New Zealand at 12:30, again hardly any sleep and now really feeling the effects of sleep deprivation and the time differences. The days were short and the nights even shorter. Saul’s parents greeted us at the airport and we made our way to their house. After some coffee and catching up we showered and ended up going out for a walk on the beach and a cup of coffee near by. It was about 11:30pm when we arrived back home, Saul and I went to bed and slept solid! We only woke up at 2pm the next day!
Ok, well I’m not going to put our New Zealand trip in here yet, I will let you digest all my blurb here now and send you an update with what we did in the past few days probably tomorrow or the next day. We are really having a wonderful time and a great adventure. Tomorrow we head to Rotorua and Toupau (something like that) for the day. We are planning to go away for the night I think on Monday with his folks and then we will do our campervan trip for a bit.
I will keep you updated.
Please send this on to all the people that I have not copied into this email, it’s only because I don’t have their email addresses in my hotmail address book and I really don’t want to go into my work account at all costs to get the addresses.
Love you all!!
Cathy
30.03.2008.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
WILDCLIFF WILDERKRANS KLOOF EXPLORATION STEFAN STEENKAMP 26 MARCH 2008.
Exploring the Wilderkrans Kloof at Wildcliff Nature Reserve from the top down.
On 23 March 2008, Andre and I, explored the Wilderkrans Kloof on Wildcliff reserve, starting at the top with Ena’s falls going down the Kloof as far as we could, with the main aim to establish a Kloofing trail down the river. The secondary objective was to identify the number of waterfalls in the Kloof. Up to the time of our exploration, only two waterfalls had been identified.
Andre is a work colleague who does photographic work with me at Photo & Video in Cape Town. Andre’s wife, Fralene, Peter, my father-in-law, Andre & I started off with the walk up from Talari.
We had driven through to Wildcliff on Good Friday 21st March 2008 after injury and poor health had precluded Nicci and Peter from running the Two Oceans the following Saturday. Here we had met up with Ian and Jenny who were at Wildcliff for a few days. Talari was in the process of being renovated. At this stage the kitchen cupboards were nearly complete. The house now had three bathrooms and the North section of the house which would be for Ian and Jenny’s use was nearing completion.
Our family stayed in the West facing room, Barbara, Peter and Ally stayed in a room that had been designed for them on the east side. The house was still in the finishing stages but it was more than adequate. Andre and Fralene stayed in the Heron House together with Brett (manager), Emily his girl friend and assistant and Pascal, volunteer and researcher.
On the Saturday morning we had walked up the Wilderkrans Kloof to the first waterfall. Andre and I had swum across the pool to see how difficult it would be to get up and past this fall. While we were able to scale the smooth surface on the left hand side to a point where we could jump in to the pool, we were not able to make it to the top of this fall. We had left Nicci and Peter a short way back as they were both not as fit as they would have liked and at this stage we had no idea how far ahead these falls were. Brett, Emily and Pascal joined us at the falls. We had now established a bottom up section of Wilderkrans and were determined to find a top down route.
The following morning we began the walk from Talari up to Ena’s falls. We had packed a roll of Webbing that Peter had as well as some heavy Hessian rope that I coiled around my torso. We took a backpack with some eats and a bottle for water. I had experience of Kloofing from December 2006 when a group of us had descended the Groot Rivier pass from the N2 to Natures Valley and knew the importance of continuous hydration as well as having some kind of energy replacement. The walk up to Ena’s Falls took us through the wattle and pine forest and through the Protea fields up to the top where it is possible to refill water bottles. The weather was an overcast and misty day and we were not too hot. From the Telari house to Ena’s falls is a 3.5km hike along a 4x4 dirt road. We then walked back down to Ena’s falls and then made our way to the bottom of the Kloof just below the pools of Ena’s falls. Here we had a bit to eat and Peter had a swim. Peter was still not fully fit and had decided to climb back up to the road. Fraylene, Andre & I climbed over rocks, boulders and bush to reach what we now referred to as Bum Slide falls.
1. Ena’s Falls is roughly 20 meters high in total. It has a 10-meter straight drop, before hitting a 3-meter wide platform and then dropping another 10 meters straight drop before hitting a pool. This pool is not deep, about knee high in most places. Ena’s falls can be easily seen by steering slightly off the road at the top of the neck.
2. The second waterfall can be seen from the road that leads to the neck. It is about 400 meters further down the Kloof from Ena’s falls. So far we have called this the Bum-slide falls because of its low gradient. I estimate it to be no more than 30 degrees. The falls are about 5 meters high from top to bottom, but are about 15 meters in length. You can easily go down or around these falls without a rope.
A. Section 1 – Ena’s falls to Bum-slide falls (600 meters)
We climbed down the cliff just below Ena’s falls to where the river flows. This climb is fairly easy with just 2 places with a 2-meter drop. However, these are easy to negotiate as it is over a rocky terrain, with lots of foot and hand holds.
Once down in the river, we followed the river down stream. This section is characterized by a lot of enormous boulders in the river. Subsequently, the river often splits in to smaller streams for short sections before joining again. In order to avoid swimming through the pools, we had to leave the river for about 50-meter sections and walk on the right bank. This section, I estimate, is where you turn the bend in the river, before going into the straight with all the pools (this can be seen from the road at the top).
Good gripping, closed shoes are a must to go down this section. Good leg and upper body strength is needed. People from about 12 years of age will be able to do this route.
Just before we hit the Bum-slide falls, there was a 1.3 meter deep pool that we had to go through. There might be a way around it, but none that we could clearly see, so expect to get wet here. Besides this pool, all others can be avoided. We were able to keep most of our kit dry by holding it above our heads as we swam across.
Fraylene had twisted her ankle as she came down a step boulder and was keen to go back up to the road where we saw that Peter was waiting. At Bum Slide pools we headed up in a northerly direction and after quite a steep climb met up with Peter on the road. We then all walked down the road to the point where we though that the next fall would be. Here Peter & Fraylene continued down the road and we headed straight into the protea fields and downhill back to Wilderkrans Kloof.
If an exit route had to be created here, this would be the route followed with a Zig Zag at for the last part up to the road. The gradient is quite steep all the way from the river to the road.
B. Section from Bum-slide falls to waterfall 3 (not named)
This section is about 700 meters long (measured on map)
This section is about 600 meters long
Although we have not done this section on foot down the river, this can be seen from the road quite clearly. No big drops can be seen in this section and it should be fairly easy to negotiate.
After following the road back downhill around the bend, we found a rocky ridge to go down to the river again. This route has good foot and handholds in the rock to go down. Although the gradient is steep, it is not that difficult to get down.
Right after you get down to the river, there is a small waterfall of about 3 meters high. The gradient is not very steep and you can easily go down it on your backside. There is no alternative than to get wet here, as the rocks on the side are quite slippery.
About 30 50 meters from here, you will hit Waterfall number 3. (Ena’s Falls = number one; Bum slide falls = number two). This is a very high straight drop with a little platform in the about a third of the way down. We could not judge the height as we looked from the top. We estimate it to be 30 meters high in total. There is no way around this and the only way down would be to use abseiling gear with a proper harness and pulley system.
This can also be an exit route to get up to the road if both section A and B is done in one go.
We turned back up the hill and walked around waterfall 3 on top of the ridge alongside it.
C. Section from Waterfall 3 to Waterfall 4 (1000 meters)
Coming from Waterfall 3 along the ridge at the top, we entered the river along a little side-Kloof / steep valley. This is heavily overgrown by fern and we called it “Fern Valley”. The ferns are shoulder high and very dense. At some points you cannot see further than 3 meters ahead of you and it makes walking down here quite dangerous. Apart from the dense vegetations than makes it slow going, it is also extremely steep and you constantly have to hold on the ferns to avoid falling.
This section of the Kloof has an Afro-Montane vegetation with high trees like in the Knysna Forest area.
About 50 meters after getting down to the river, we encountered a few smaller waterfalls and rapids with 2 big pools we had to swim through. Both were quite deep and you cannot stand here – probably 2 meter + deep.
After going through these pools we hit the 4th waterfall, another big one I estimate to be at least 15 meters high (later we found this to be more like 30 meters high). Again, we saw no way around this and we had to climb back up the cliff to the road. To get out here was very difficult with the gradient more than 70 degrees at some points. Also the vegetation here is extremely dense and it makes going very slow and tiring. You constantly have to grab and hold onto grass and plants to get up. After the steep cliff, you hit a section with a smaller gradient, but here is a field of head high protea with very prickly bush (probably part of the Erica family of Fynbos) at the bottom of it. You have to go through about 200 300 meter of this before hitting the road again – Exit point is about 300 meter from the Pine and Wattle forest area.
Andre & I reached home shortly before dusk. We were both totally exhausted. We were wet cold and in need of a shower. The following day Andre and Fraylene left for Cape Town and while I joined Ian, his Dutch friends; Daf, Willem & Gys and Peter for a walk up to Ena’s falls where they all had a swim, I was still pretty tired and needed this as a rest day. A while later, back at Talari, Ian led and expedition to putting logs and boulders in the Talari pond but Peter & I opted out and took it easy in the lounge.
That evening Ian had a bit of a Wildcliff meeting where he explained how far the progress of the Nature reserve project had progressed. Pascal gave us a very interesting talk and presentation on the Chacma Baboon and in particular the Cheek Pouches and how this is used by a variety of animals as well as the Baboons.
Exploring the Wilderkrans Kloof on Wildcliff Nature Reserve from the bottom up.
1. From Tahelari House to Home Falls ( 1000 meters)
2. From Cave Pool falls Home Falls to Waterfall 4 (500 meters)
Tuesday 25 March 2008, Peter and I endeavoured to explore the Kloof on Wildcliff from the bottom up, as far as we could go.
We started at Oak tree Meadow at about 09.30am and followed the river up stream until we reached the first Waterfall. This took us about an hour. It is a slow walk.
The first half of the way there, you can stay fairly dry by keeping on the right bank of the river. After that, unfortunately, there is no way to stay dry, but the deepest you have to get wet is about knee height. We tried to create some kind of permanent path way but this will best be done with a tin of brightly coloured paint and a couple of attempts to find the most favourable footpath. It is a fairly easy walk apart from the concentration to get a good grip on the rocks. These are slippery due to a fine algae / moss growing on them. The sun does not get here often to dry out the rocks so they constantly stay damp.
There are several pools in this relatively slow flowing stream, but at no stage is it necessary to swim. The last pool before the first waterfall upstream (dubbed the Home falls) is deep and wide. The only way you can reach the waterfall on the north side is to swim across the pool to the falls.
The Waterfall is about 7 meters in total. It is two tiered, with the top drop of about 3 meters and the bottom drop into the pool being about 4 meters.
Peter and I took some long nails and a roll of seatbelt webbing. We clambered up to the first ledge and then with the inexperience of first time attempts we nailed the webbing into some crevices on the left hand side of the waterfall. The waterfall goes through a narrow part, about 2.5 meters wide. On the left side, there is a very slippery section where we found some footholds and got up to about 2 meters next to the waterfall. After realising that we had reached a point which was not really where we had wanted to achieve, Peter went back to the rocks where we had left our backpacks to both fetch more nails and his Leatherman which we would use to cut the webbing. As he used to webbing to climb back up to the ledge where I was waiting he realised that the assistance that the webbing gave was not ideal as it was too far to the left, but it was sufficient to assist him to almost reach the top of the falls. He was just not strong enough and so handed over to myself. I was able to clamber over the final part of the waterfall. This was quite scary, as a fall here would have surely meant some broken bones or severe bruises.
I found a big rock to tie the rope around and let the rope down the waterfall for Peter to grab and pull himself up. The second part of the fall was relatively easy to climb, as there were some loose boulders on the right-hand side of it.
Once past this waterfall, the boulders get bigger and bigger and the gradient of the river increases. The river makes a natural bend to the left. At a point you can see a recent (last 10 to 20 years maybe) rock slide from the overhanging cliffs on the left-hand side. These rocks are enormous and difficult to get over.
Once past these rocks, another 100 meters up stream you get to a very big waterfall. This is the same falls (Waterfall number 4) we had to stop at when coming downstream on the 23rd of March.
Now seeing them from the bottom, I can safely say that it is at least a 30 meter drop with a gradient of 70 to 80 degrees. Unfortunately, just as we had thought from a vantage point at the top, these falls are just impossible to negotiate without proper abseiling equipment – harness and helmets. You would also need a few ropes of at least 50 meters each.
On the way there, we saw a ravine going up on the right-hand side. This would be a possible entry or exit point. The vegetation is very thick though and it will mean clearing a path before this will be possible.
Coming back down the river, back towards the Home Falls, was not difficult at all. We had to swim through about 4 pools at waist height – it is just safer that way, rather than scaling the cliffs on the side to try and stay dry.
When we got to the Home falls, we encountered what we first thought to be a Puff Adder that had fallen from the overhanging cliffs into the water, just where we tied the rope previously. It was battling to get onto the rock, trying to swim against the current. It was right in our path and no way to go around it. So we helped it onto the rock with a stick and managed to get around it (about 1.5 meter away) and climb down the falls on our newly tied rope.
It was a very nervous affair, with both of us watching the snake and trying to find footholds while going down the falls. On later reading a snake book at Talari we think that it was a harmless Egg Eating Snake which also has “V shaped” markings on its back but does not have the Diamond Head of a Puff Adder. From there the route back was quite easy as before. Peter was quite exhausted by this stage and had banged his chins a couple of times. The slippery rocks and his exhaustion took its toll and he slipped and fell a couple of times.
However we both had a sense of elation as we had accomplished our first objective of establishing a way up the “home pool falls”. Both the webbing that we had nailed to the rock-face and the second section of webbing that we had tied around a rock and released into the falls were now reasonably permanent fixtures and would certainly enable future Kloofing expeditions to take place.
It took us 5 hours in total from Talari to the big falls and then back to the house again. We spent about 1 hour in getting the ropes fixed, so it is safe to say that this would be a 4 to 5 hour hike depending on the number of times stopped.
We have now located and identified 5 waterfalls that are over 5 meters in height. These are all in the Wilderkrans Kloof.
Named from the top of the Kloof down:
1. Ena’s Falls – approx 25 meters
2. Bum-slide falls – approx 5 meters
3. 3rd Falls – approx 30 meters
4. 4th Falls – approx 30 meters
5. Home Falls – approx 7 meters.
Possible hikes in the Kloof:
1. From Ena’s falls to after the Bum-slide falls and then exiting towards the road to the left. (600 meters)
2. From Ena’s falls to the 3rd Falls and exiting about 30 meters before the falls on the rocky cliff on the left.
3. From the road, down Fern Kloof (small ravine leading to river between falls 3 and 4) and then up fern Kloof again. In this hike, you will be able to see the base of the 3rd falls and the top of the 4th falls. Waterfall 3 and 4 is 100 meters apart
4. From Oak tree Meadow, following the river up stream to the Home Falls
5. From Oak tree Meadow, up stream across the Home falls to the base to the 4th falls.
Stefan Steenkamp
26th March 2008.
On 23 March 2008, Andre and I, explored the Wilderkrans Kloof on Wildcliff reserve, starting at the top with Ena’s falls going down the Kloof as far as we could, with the main aim to establish a Kloofing trail down the river. The secondary objective was to identify the number of waterfalls in the Kloof. Up to the time of our exploration, only two waterfalls had been identified.
Andre is a work colleague who does photographic work with me at Photo & Video in Cape Town. Andre’s wife, Fralene, Peter, my father-in-law, Andre & I started off with the walk up from Talari.
We had driven through to Wildcliff on Good Friday 21st March 2008 after injury and poor health had precluded Nicci and Peter from running the Two Oceans the following Saturday. Here we had met up with Ian and Jenny who were at Wildcliff for a few days. Talari was in the process of being renovated. At this stage the kitchen cupboards were nearly complete. The house now had three bathrooms and the North section of the house which would be for Ian and Jenny’s use was nearing completion.
Our family stayed in the West facing room, Barbara, Peter and Ally stayed in a room that had been designed for them on the east side. The house was still in the finishing stages but it was more than adequate. Andre and Fralene stayed in the Heron House together with Brett (manager), Emily his girl friend and assistant and Pascal, volunteer and researcher.
On the Saturday morning we had walked up the Wilderkrans Kloof to the first waterfall. Andre and I had swum across the pool to see how difficult it would be to get up and past this fall. While we were able to scale the smooth surface on the left hand side to a point where we could jump in to the pool, we were not able to make it to the top of this fall. We had left Nicci and Peter a short way back as they were both not as fit as they would have liked and at this stage we had no idea how far ahead these falls were. Brett, Emily and Pascal joined us at the falls. We had now established a bottom up section of Wilderkrans and were determined to find a top down route.
The following morning we began the walk from Talari up to Ena’s falls. We had packed a roll of Webbing that Peter had as well as some heavy Hessian rope that I coiled around my torso. We took a backpack with some eats and a bottle for water. I had experience of Kloofing from December 2006 when a group of us had descended the Groot Rivier pass from the N2 to Natures Valley and knew the importance of continuous hydration as well as having some kind of energy replacement. The walk up to Ena’s Falls took us through the wattle and pine forest and through the Protea fields up to the top where it is possible to refill water bottles. The weather was an overcast and misty day and we were not too hot. From the Telari house to Ena’s falls is a 3.5km hike along a 4x4 dirt road. We then walked back down to Ena’s falls and then made our way to the bottom of the Kloof just below the pools of Ena’s falls. Here we had a bit to eat and Peter had a swim. Peter was still not fully fit and had decided to climb back up to the road. Fraylene, Andre & I climbed over rocks, boulders and bush to reach what we now referred to as Bum Slide falls.
1. Ena’s Falls is roughly 20 meters high in total. It has a 10-meter straight drop, before hitting a 3-meter wide platform and then dropping another 10 meters straight drop before hitting a pool. This pool is not deep, about knee high in most places. Ena’s falls can be easily seen by steering slightly off the road at the top of the neck.
2. The second waterfall can be seen from the road that leads to the neck. It is about 400 meters further down the Kloof from Ena’s falls. So far we have called this the Bum-slide falls because of its low gradient. I estimate it to be no more than 30 degrees. The falls are about 5 meters high from top to bottom, but are about 15 meters in length. You can easily go down or around these falls without a rope.
A. Section 1 – Ena’s falls to Bum-slide falls (600 meters)
We climbed down the cliff just below Ena’s falls to where the river flows. This climb is fairly easy with just 2 places with a 2-meter drop. However, these are easy to negotiate as it is over a rocky terrain, with lots of foot and hand holds.
Once down in the river, we followed the river down stream. This section is characterized by a lot of enormous boulders in the river. Subsequently, the river often splits in to smaller streams for short sections before joining again. In order to avoid swimming through the pools, we had to leave the river for about 50-meter sections and walk on the right bank. This section, I estimate, is where you turn the bend in the river, before going into the straight with all the pools (this can be seen from the road at the top).
Good gripping, closed shoes are a must to go down this section. Good leg and upper body strength is needed. People from about 12 years of age will be able to do this route.
Just before we hit the Bum-slide falls, there was a 1.3 meter deep pool that we had to go through. There might be a way around it, but none that we could clearly see, so expect to get wet here. Besides this pool, all others can be avoided. We were able to keep most of our kit dry by holding it above our heads as we swam across.
Fraylene had twisted her ankle as she came down a step boulder and was keen to go back up to the road where we saw that Peter was waiting. At Bum Slide pools we headed up in a northerly direction and after quite a steep climb met up with Peter on the road. We then all walked down the road to the point where we though that the next fall would be. Here Peter & Fraylene continued down the road and we headed straight into the protea fields and downhill back to Wilderkrans Kloof.
If an exit route had to be created here, this would be the route followed with a Zig Zag at for the last part up to the road. The gradient is quite steep all the way from the river to the road.
B. Section from Bum-slide falls to waterfall 3 (not named)
This section is about 700 meters long (measured on map)
This section is about 600 meters long
Although we have not done this section on foot down the river, this can be seen from the road quite clearly. No big drops can be seen in this section and it should be fairly easy to negotiate.
After following the road back downhill around the bend, we found a rocky ridge to go down to the river again. This route has good foot and handholds in the rock to go down. Although the gradient is steep, it is not that difficult to get down.
Right after you get down to the river, there is a small waterfall of about 3 meters high. The gradient is not very steep and you can easily go down it on your backside. There is no alternative than to get wet here, as the rocks on the side are quite slippery.
About 30 50 meters from here, you will hit Waterfall number 3. (Ena’s Falls = number one; Bum slide falls = number two). This is a very high straight drop with a little platform in the about a third of the way down. We could not judge the height as we looked from the top. We estimate it to be 30 meters high in total. There is no way around this and the only way down would be to use abseiling gear with a proper harness and pulley system.
This can also be an exit route to get up to the road if both section A and B is done in one go.
We turned back up the hill and walked around waterfall 3 on top of the ridge alongside it.
C. Section from Waterfall 3 to Waterfall 4 (1000 meters)
Coming from Waterfall 3 along the ridge at the top, we entered the river along a little side-Kloof / steep valley. This is heavily overgrown by fern and we called it “Fern Valley”. The ferns are shoulder high and very dense. At some points you cannot see further than 3 meters ahead of you and it makes walking down here quite dangerous. Apart from the dense vegetations than makes it slow going, it is also extremely steep and you constantly have to hold on the ferns to avoid falling.
This section of the Kloof has an Afro-Montane vegetation with high trees like in the Knysna Forest area.
About 50 meters after getting down to the river, we encountered a few smaller waterfalls and rapids with 2 big pools we had to swim through. Both were quite deep and you cannot stand here – probably 2 meter + deep.
After going through these pools we hit the 4th waterfall, another big one I estimate to be at least 15 meters high (later we found this to be more like 30 meters high). Again, we saw no way around this and we had to climb back up the cliff to the road. To get out here was very difficult with the gradient more than 70 degrees at some points. Also the vegetation here is extremely dense and it makes going very slow and tiring. You constantly have to grab and hold onto grass and plants to get up. After the steep cliff, you hit a section with a smaller gradient, but here is a field of head high protea with very prickly bush (probably part of the Erica family of Fynbos) at the bottom of it. You have to go through about 200 300 meter of this before hitting the road again – Exit point is about 300 meter from the Pine and Wattle forest area.
Andre & I reached home shortly before dusk. We were both totally exhausted. We were wet cold and in need of a shower. The following day Andre and Fraylene left for Cape Town and while I joined Ian, his Dutch friends; Daf, Willem & Gys and Peter for a walk up to Ena’s falls where they all had a swim, I was still pretty tired and needed this as a rest day. A while later, back at Talari, Ian led and expedition to putting logs and boulders in the Talari pond but Peter & I opted out and took it easy in the lounge.
That evening Ian had a bit of a Wildcliff meeting where he explained how far the progress of the Nature reserve project had progressed. Pascal gave us a very interesting talk and presentation on the Chacma Baboon and in particular the Cheek Pouches and how this is used by a variety of animals as well as the Baboons.
Exploring the Wilderkrans Kloof on Wildcliff Nature Reserve from the bottom up.
1. From Tahelari House to Home Falls ( 1000 meters)
2. From Cave Pool falls Home Falls to Waterfall 4 (500 meters)
Tuesday 25 March 2008, Peter and I endeavoured to explore the Kloof on Wildcliff from the bottom up, as far as we could go.
We started at Oak tree Meadow at about 09.30am and followed the river up stream until we reached the first Waterfall. This took us about an hour. It is a slow walk.
The first half of the way there, you can stay fairly dry by keeping on the right bank of the river. After that, unfortunately, there is no way to stay dry, but the deepest you have to get wet is about knee height. We tried to create some kind of permanent path way but this will best be done with a tin of brightly coloured paint and a couple of attempts to find the most favourable footpath. It is a fairly easy walk apart from the concentration to get a good grip on the rocks. These are slippery due to a fine algae / moss growing on them. The sun does not get here often to dry out the rocks so they constantly stay damp.
There are several pools in this relatively slow flowing stream, but at no stage is it necessary to swim. The last pool before the first waterfall upstream (dubbed the Home falls) is deep and wide. The only way you can reach the waterfall on the north side is to swim across the pool to the falls.
The Waterfall is about 7 meters in total. It is two tiered, with the top drop of about 3 meters and the bottom drop into the pool being about 4 meters.
Peter and I took some long nails and a roll of seatbelt webbing. We clambered up to the first ledge and then with the inexperience of first time attempts we nailed the webbing into some crevices on the left hand side of the waterfall. The waterfall goes through a narrow part, about 2.5 meters wide. On the left side, there is a very slippery section where we found some footholds and got up to about 2 meters next to the waterfall. After realising that we had reached a point which was not really where we had wanted to achieve, Peter went back to the rocks where we had left our backpacks to both fetch more nails and his Leatherman which we would use to cut the webbing. As he used to webbing to climb back up to the ledge where I was waiting he realised that the assistance that the webbing gave was not ideal as it was too far to the left, but it was sufficient to assist him to almost reach the top of the falls. He was just not strong enough and so handed over to myself. I was able to clamber over the final part of the waterfall. This was quite scary, as a fall here would have surely meant some broken bones or severe bruises.
I found a big rock to tie the rope around and let the rope down the waterfall for Peter to grab and pull himself up. The second part of the fall was relatively easy to climb, as there were some loose boulders on the right-hand side of it.
Once past this waterfall, the boulders get bigger and bigger and the gradient of the river increases. The river makes a natural bend to the left. At a point you can see a recent (last 10 to 20 years maybe) rock slide from the overhanging cliffs on the left-hand side. These rocks are enormous and difficult to get over.
Once past these rocks, another 100 meters up stream you get to a very big waterfall. This is the same falls (Waterfall number 4) we had to stop at when coming downstream on the 23rd of March.
Now seeing them from the bottom, I can safely say that it is at least a 30 meter drop with a gradient of 70 to 80 degrees. Unfortunately, just as we had thought from a vantage point at the top, these falls are just impossible to negotiate without proper abseiling equipment – harness and helmets. You would also need a few ropes of at least 50 meters each.
On the way there, we saw a ravine going up on the right-hand side. This would be a possible entry or exit point. The vegetation is very thick though and it will mean clearing a path before this will be possible.
Coming back down the river, back towards the Home Falls, was not difficult at all. We had to swim through about 4 pools at waist height – it is just safer that way, rather than scaling the cliffs on the side to try and stay dry.
When we got to the Home falls, we encountered what we first thought to be a Puff Adder that had fallen from the overhanging cliffs into the water, just where we tied the rope previously. It was battling to get onto the rock, trying to swim against the current. It was right in our path and no way to go around it. So we helped it onto the rock with a stick and managed to get around it (about 1.5 meter away) and climb down the falls on our newly tied rope.
It was a very nervous affair, with both of us watching the snake and trying to find footholds while going down the falls. On later reading a snake book at Talari we think that it was a harmless Egg Eating Snake which also has “V shaped” markings on its back but does not have the Diamond Head of a Puff Adder. From there the route back was quite easy as before. Peter was quite exhausted by this stage and had banged his chins a couple of times. The slippery rocks and his exhaustion took its toll and he slipped and fell a couple of times.
However we both had a sense of elation as we had accomplished our first objective of establishing a way up the “home pool falls”. Both the webbing that we had nailed to the rock-face and the second section of webbing that we had tied around a rock and released into the falls were now reasonably permanent fixtures and would certainly enable future Kloofing expeditions to take place.
It took us 5 hours in total from Talari to the big falls and then back to the house again. We spent about 1 hour in getting the ropes fixed, so it is safe to say that this would be a 4 to 5 hour hike depending on the number of times stopped.
We have now located and identified 5 waterfalls that are over 5 meters in height. These are all in the Wilderkrans Kloof.
Named from the top of the Kloof down:
1. Ena’s Falls – approx 25 meters
2. Bum-slide falls – approx 5 meters
3. 3rd Falls – approx 30 meters
4. 4th Falls – approx 30 meters
5. Home Falls – approx 7 meters.
Possible hikes in the Kloof:
1. From Ena’s falls to after the Bum-slide falls and then exiting towards the road to the left. (600 meters)
2. From Ena’s falls to the 3rd Falls and exiting about 30 meters before the falls on the rocky cliff on the left.
3. From the road, down Fern Kloof (small ravine leading to river between falls 3 and 4) and then up fern Kloof again. In this hike, you will be able to see the base of the 3rd falls and the top of the 4th falls. Waterfall 3 and 4 is 100 meters apart
4. From Oak tree Meadow, following the river up stream to the Home Falls
5. From Oak tree Meadow, up stream across the Home falls to the base to the 4th falls.
Stefan Steenkamp
26th March 2008.
Monday, March 17, 2008
CLARENDON SLEEP OVER; NIPPERS AGM; ACCHILES RUN; RIVER MILE; MARCH 2008.
Weekend: Friday 15th to Sunday 17th March 2008.
During the week I visited Cape Town on Business and was able to see Nicci and family. Christian had his tonsils removed and was not feeling his best. He had a bad time of it for over a week after the operation.
The following weekend 16th and 17th January Ally had a sleep over at her school. We pitched tents on the Clarendon Field and ordered Pizza’s for supper. Craig and Shane Giddy with Lara were our next door neighbours and the Kotze’s, Colin, Lolo and Jarred made up the group. Both Barbara and Cheryl had decided to go home for the night. The children had a wonderful evening paying in each other’s tents in a totally safe environment.
The grown ups sat in little lagers enjoying the mellow evening with no worries about where the children were. Sharks played the Western Force and won the game to add to our fun of the evening. Barbara introduced me to a friend of hers (Edna) who does Power Plate. Edna is friends of Don and Cathy and fitted into the little group very well. As did her friend Lorinda. I think that they both enjoyed the sherry I had brought for Barbara. Desire (and Kenny) also joined the group. Ally and I went to bed at about 10 or 11.
It was some time after I had fallen asleep that I felt something in the tent. A young boy was looking for his mother and had come into our tent by mistake. Later I wondered if he ever found his mom. At the time I had been too deep in my sleep to think about what was going on.
Ally & I left early as I had to see a customer that morning. Later we went to Red House to register for the River Mile. By being early we qualified for vouchers for free Crocs. This is a plastic shoe that has become quite popular. That afternoon Ally had a party. I took a lift with Donald to the Nippers evening at Summerstrand. Aunty Mary and Gail came to visit Barbara.
We had a wonderful evening at Summerstrand, starting with a swim. Donald, Alex and I caught some amazing body surfs. Back in the club house we were able to acknowledge the Nippers who had participated in Carnivals. Summerstrand had won the last two carnivals. We then had a Lucky Draw for the Nippers. A host of prizes were handed out. In addition each Nipper and sibling received a small gift of chips and cold drinks.
Donald showed a DVD of pictures taken by Terry at the two Carnivals. Varrin explained the rules of a Carnival such as Plett where Nippers are “missing” at the time of their event. Warren spoke about the need for succession in the committee as some of the existing committee members would leave Nippers after the next season. He also appealed for sponsorships or for parents to search for financial assistance for Nippers Nationals in March this year. Warren thanked the people who work hard to make Nippers and evenings such as these, a reality.
The adults then had a Lucky Draw 100Club. Lots of prizes were handed out. I would go as far as to say hardly anyone left empty handed. After this we were treated to a supper that Clint had prepared; chicken Pootjie and rice. Clint has a very tasty but healthy recipe with plenty of vegetables. As you may know, Clint puts together a huge quantity of supper and despite this, the pot was empty at the end of the evening. Certainly no one went home hungry!
If you missed this evening I hope it was for a good reason as it turned out that there was this amazing vibe for parents and Nippers alike. Donald brought the Ice Princess as well as a Penguin musical movie. This was a surprisingly popular attraction. Many of the adults watched the Super 14 matches where, to the great delight of Bulls Supporters such as the Clint family, the Bulls beat the Stormers. Predictably the Cheetas beat the Lions. This had been an excellent evening with great support from parents and Nippers alike.
Sunday morning I was up at 04.30 and drove down to the Fig Tree where I met up with Achilles for a run. It was drizzling slightly but warm and perfect weather for a run. I started off in the slow group with Liz, Mary-Grace, Tom and Leslie. Gail and Pat surged ahead. Liz was quite beside herself as she had not anticipated being able to go to Two Oceans this year and Jock had phoned her to say that it would now be a possibility. All Liz now has to do is to enter the event. It will be her tenth Two Oceans and she is very excited at the thought.
During the run we had some really interesting and solid discussions. The route is up 17th Avenue and right into Buffelsfontein. Up to the top at Boundary road and down on the new Seaview road. Roy Cartmel was providing welcomed seconding. As we headed down Seaview; Bob, Theresa, Earl and Cathy caught us. From there Bob and I chatted for most of the way home as we went up the Chelsea Tea gardens road past “Much in sight” and over to Longbarn and back down Buffelsfontein and Constance roads.
Bob tells me that he is getting married in April. The faster runners such as Bruce, Mike, Baron, Andrew and Bradley had passed us along the road. It had been a most pleasant 24kay training run with some of the runners doing a bit extra as they ran home. I drove straight to church where I showered and then met Ally to attend the service.
After church we drove down to Redhouse. At registration I met up with Rob Ermes who was delighted as he had been chosen to represent EP at Triathlon. He had a stunning Olympic standard Tri in East London.
At registration we had body marking done and were handed caps to wear. The ladies were first off. Ally, her friend Kaylee and I walked to the start. It was these two youngsters first time to swim the River Mile and they were a little nervous. This could be heard in their conversation as they walked downstream. I left them to go the final bit to the start on their own.
Cheryl & John were there with Greg and once the race got under way John took a few pictures of Ally. She and Kaylee swam the whole way together and did an excellent time of about 24 minutes. Other ladies we saw included Carmen, Ashleigh, Tara and various other Nippers. Arlene (from church) is now a regular swimmer in the ocean swims on Sundays. Jenny you may be interested to know that your friend (Zelda?) from Croft McGill, also took part.
Michael had brought his family to watch Ally. He reminded us of his younger years when our whole family had taken part in this event. Clint was there with a tent and braai. He was cooking boerewors rolls for about 80 people as there were about 35 Nippers and family taking part in the mile. He was delighted to see that the whole lot had been consumed.
After Ally had swum her event she gave me her goggles and I walked to the start. I arrived and walked straight into the water and the race started. It was perfect timing. The run in the morning had taken its toll and I cramped up in my calves and feet a number of times and had to lie on my back to stretch the muscles. I was quite surprised to see how many people were walking on the shallow banks. John had said that some people were being disqualified.
I was able to finish in just over 30 minutes. Others who I had seen enjoying the outing were: Bradley Joubert, Kaylee’s Dad, Markus and MC, Warren and Jason, Imraan Moosagie, Roger and Christian, Kurt, Luke and Adam, Giovanni, Matthew and Luke, Donald, Matthew and Jonathan, Greg Kotze and a number of other Nippers.
Donald was cutting it fine as he had to get to the airport for a 17.00 flight to Cape Town. We all sat around enjoying the afternoon. It had been overcast and windless. Conditions were perfect for the river. At about 4 the prize giving started and, after a number of lucky draws, Matthew McGillivray was given a motor scooter as a prize. This was a highlight for the Summerstrand crowd.
Last year 720 swimmers had taken part in this event. This year I saw numbers on participants well into the 800’s. This event has been an annual swim for the PE public since 1924 and is the oldest event of its kind in South Africa. As the afternoon drew to a close, John & I reflected on the incredible vibe in the area as people mixed and had fun together with active participation in sport as the catalyst.
During the week I visited Cape Town on Business and was able to see Nicci and family. Christian had his tonsils removed and was not feeling his best. He had a bad time of it for over a week after the operation.
The following weekend 16th and 17th January Ally had a sleep over at her school. We pitched tents on the Clarendon Field and ordered Pizza’s for supper. Craig and Shane Giddy with Lara were our next door neighbours and the Kotze’s, Colin, Lolo and Jarred made up the group. Both Barbara and Cheryl had decided to go home for the night. The children had a wonderful evening paying in each other’s tents in a totally safe environment.
The grown ups sat in little lagers enjoying the mellow evening with no worries about where the children were. Sharks played the Western Force and won the game to add to our fun of the evening. Barbara introduced me to a friend of hers (Edna) who does Power Plate. Edna is friends of Don and Cathy and fitted into the little group very well. As did her friend Lorinda. I think that they both enjoyed the sherry I had brought for Barbara. Desire (and Kenny) also joined the group. Ally and I went to bed at about 10 or 11.
It was some time after I had fallen asleep that I felt something in the tent. A young boy was looking for his mother and had come into our tent by mistake. Later I wondered if he ever found his mom. At the time I had been too deep in my sleep to think about what was going on.
Ally & I left early as I had to see a customer that morning. Later we went to Red House to register for the River Mile. By being early we qualified for vouchers for free Crocs. This is a plastic shoe that has become quite popular. That afternoon Ally had a party. I took a lift with Donald to the Nippers evening at Summerstrand. Aunty Mary and Gail came to visit Barbara.
We had a wonderful evening at Summerstrand, starting with a swim. Donald, Alex and I caught some amazing body surfs. Back in the club house we were able to acknowledge the Nippers who had participated in Carnivals. Summerstrand had won the last two carnivals. We then had a Lucky Draw for the Nippers. A host of prizes were handed out. In addition each Nipper and sibling received a small gift of chips and cold drinks.
Donald showed a DVD of pictures taken by Terry at the two Carnivals. Varrin explained the rules of a Carnival such as Plett where Nippers are “missing” at the time of their event. Warren spoke about the need for succession in the committee as some of the existing committee members would leave Nippers after the next season. He also appealed for sponsorships or for parents to search for financial assistance for Nippers Nationals in March this year. Warren thanked the people who work hard to make Nippers and evenings such as these, a reality.
The adults then had a Lucky Draw 100Club. Lots of prizes were handed out. I would go as far as to say hardly anyone left empty handed. After this we were treated to a supper that Clint had prepared; chicken Pootjie and rice. Clint has a very tasty but healthy recipe with plenty of vegetables. As you may know, Clint puts together a huge quantity of supper and despite this, the pot was empty at the end of the evening. Certainly no one went home hungry!
If you missed this evening I hope it was for a good reason as it turned out that there was this amazing vibe for parents and Nippers alike. Donald brought the Ice Princess as well as a Penguin musical movie. This was a surprisingly popular attraction. Many of the adults watched the Super 14 matches where, to the great delight of Bulls Supporters such as the Clint family, the Bulls beat the Stormers. Predictably the Cheetas beat the Lions. This had been an excellent evening with great support from parents and Nippers alike.
Sunday morning I was up at 04.30 and drove down to the Fig Tree where I met up with Achilles for a run. It was drizzling slightly but warm and perfect weather for a run. I started off in the slow group with Liz, Mary-Grace, Tom and Leslie. Gail and Pat surged ahead. Liz was quite beside herself as she had not anticipated being able to go to Two Oceans this year and Jock had phoned her to say that it would now be a possibility. All Liz now has to do is to enter the event. It will be her tenth Two Oceans and she is very excited at the thought.
During the run we had some really interesting and solid discussions. The route is up 17th Avenue and right into Buffelsfontein. Up to the top at Boundary road and down on the new Seaview road. Roy Cartmel was providing welcomed seconding. As we headed down Seaview; Bob, Theresa, Earl and Cathy caught us. From there Bob and I chatted for most of the way home as we went up the Chelsea Tea gardens road past “Much in sight” and over to Longbarn and back down Buffelsfontein and Constance roads.
Bob tells me that he is getting married in April. The faster runners such as Bruce, Mike, Baron, Andrew and Bradley had passed us along the road. It had been a most pleasant 24kay training run with some of the runners doing a bit extra as they ran home. I drove straight to church where I showered and then met Ally to attend the service.
After church we drove down to Redhouse. At registration I met up with Rob Ermes who was delighted as he had been chosen to represent EP at Triathlon. He had a stunning Olympic standard Tri in East London.
At registration we had body marking done and were handed caps to wear. The ladies were first off. Ally, her friend Kaylee and I walked to the start. It was these two youngsters first time to swim the River Mile and they were a little nervous. This could be heard in their conversation as they walked downstream. I left them to go the final bit to the start on their own.
Cheryl & John were there with Greg and once the race got under way John took a few pictures of Ally. She and Kaylee swam the whole way together and did an excellent time of about 24 minutes. Other ladies we saw included Carmen, Ashleigh, Tara and various other Nippers. Arlene (from church) is now a regular swimmer in the ocean swims on Sundays. Jenny you may be interested to know that your friend (Zelda?) from Croft McGill, also took part.
Michael had brought his family to watch Ally. He reminded us of his younger years when our whole family had taken part in this event. Clint was there with a tent and braai. He was cooking boerewors rolls for about 80 people as there were about 35 Nippers and family taking part in the mile. He was delighted to see that the whole lot had been consumed.
After Ally had swum her event she gave me her goggles and I walked to the start. I arrived and walked straight into the water and the race started. It was perfect timing. The run in the morning had taken its toll and I cramped up in my calves and feet a number of times and had to lie on my back to stretch the muscles. I was quite surprised to see how many people were walking on the shallow banks. John had said that some people were being disqualified.
I was able to finish in just over 30 minutes. Others who I had seen enjoying the outing were: Bradley Joubert, Kaylee’s Dad, Markus and MC, Warren and Jason, Imraan Moosagie, Roger and Christian, Kurt, Luke and Adam, Giovanni, Matthew and Luke, Donald, Matthew and Jonathan, Greg Kotze and a number of other Nippers.
Donald was cutting it fine as he had to get to the airport for a 17.00 flight to Cape Town. We all sat around enjoying the afternoon. It had been overcast and windless. Conditions were perfect for the river. At about 4 the prize giving started and, after a number of lucky draws, Matthew McGillivray was given a motor scooter as a prize. This was a highlight for the Summerstrand crowd.
Last year 720 swimmers had taken part in this event. This year I saw numbers on participants well into the 800’s. This event has been an annual swim for the PE public since 1924 and is the oldest event of its kind in South Africa. As the afternoon drew to a close, John & I reflected on the incredible vibe in the area as people mixed and had fun together with active participation in sport as the catalyst.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
A HECTIC SUNDAY IN MARCH 2008.
A HECTIC SUNDAY IN MARCH 2008.
On Friday, 7.3.2008, evening, Barbara & I realised that we had just one weekend left to take the stuff that I had brought from Dawn’s house in East London, down to Wildcliff and that was this weekend. Otherwise we would miss taking it before the Easter weekend. Ally had been invited to Meghan Derry’s Party but was unable to go as she was feverish and not at all well. Normally we would have asked one of her friends if she could stay over for the day on Sunday but decided to take her with us instead.
We then decided to hire a trailer and that we would leave at 02.00am on Sunday morning and return the same afternoon. On Saturday afternoon, after work, I went to the trailer hire and we hired a really big (3m X 2M) trailer, took it up to Michael’s house and loaded the two couches that we had stored there. I collected Noluthando (Michaels domestic) and her child at the same time.
While driving home I questioned her a bit about her life. She told me how her mother had abandoned her and her two younger brothers when she was about 5 years old. Her mother had left with another man and went to Durban she thinks. Her father and mother had never married and so she went to live with her aunt in Walmer township while her father married and had six children of his own and lives in Motherwell. Her two younger brothers have subsequently died. It seems that the youngest was a sickly child from birth. Noluthando was introduced to us by her aunt who attends the same church as we do. She has two children. Her son is about 12 and attends a school in Peddie where he lives with his paternal grandparents and her baby lives with her in a RDP house in Walmer township.
Noluthando had agreed, at short notice, to house sit for us. That afternoon we loaded a double bed, a table with fixed stools (chairs), a TV Cabinet and some other small stuff. I tied it all down and hitched the trailer to the car ready for Sunday morning. My alarm woke me up at 01.30 and I made ready for the trip. Ally unfortunately was still not feeling well and had a fever. We bundled her into the back seat and left at about 02.15am.
The trailer was heavy and so the going was slow. We were very lucky with traffic and for the whole trip had to pass just one truck and saw probably less than 50 cars on the road. Our first stop was the Shell station at Plett where we off loaded some of the internal fluids. We had Digby with us and he did a bit of territory marking just for good measure. The BP filling station in Knysna is not open all night so we pressed on to Sedgefield where we filled up at the Engen and had a Wimpy Coffee. We are never disappointed with their coffee. As we approached the open fields of the Riversdale area we saw a Secretary bird walking the field with a deliberate no nonsense walk that said: “watch out snakes. Here I come.”. We also saw three Blue Crane feeding on the leftovers of the cut wheat field.
We swapped driving a couple of times but otherwise drove straight through and arrived at Heidelberg at 08.45am. Brett drove through from Wildcliff to meet us and we hitched the trailer onto the Bushpig. Brett had to use the 4 wheel drive facility and we had a slow drive to Wildcliff with Barbara following.
Brett told me a little of his background. His parents live in Benoni where he went to school. He has taken on a number of challenges since leaving school but seems to be destined for the outdoors which he loves. He has worked in the Timbivati / Kruger National Park where he acted as a guide. He would have to be on duty for up to six weeks at a time. It was at this time he met Emily who is from North East America. She studied at Washington DC and took on a job in South Africa. Brett makes no secret of his love for this attractive young woman and hopes that they will be able to commit to Wildcliff for a year. Brett tells me that he has a brother who is equally adventurous and who is teaching English as a foreign language in France. His brother did the same in Indonesia and England.
Brett is enjoying the experience of being the manager of daily operations on the Reserve and Emily tends to manage the house, administration and recording work. As we arrived at Wildcliff, Pascal (Swiss doing a Primates study) and Emily joined us and helped off load the trailer. We packed most of the stuff under the Casita which is now being developed into a Nursery. There are no plants yet but the netting has been put into place and Brett is busy building shelves.
We walked up to Talari where a huge amount of renovation has taken place. The floors have been completely redone, two extra bathrooms have been built, a courtyard is in construction and the garage area is now a conservatory or similar with see through corrugated roofing. The front stoep is much wider and has new tiles. Ian has made a cosy area for the main bedroom, study and bathroom leading onto the courtyard on the north side of the house. Each bedroom now has its own bathroom.
The Kitchen has been opened on to the lounge area and the cabinets should be started soon. We saw all the cabinet wood lying in the lounge. The walls of the Kitchen look old and shabby compared to the rest of the house and I am not sure if they are going to be re-plastered, painted or covered up with boards and cupboards.
There are huge piles of builder’s rubble lying around where the front garden used to be. Once the building operations and building materials have been removed this is going to be a wonderful place for all kinds of purposes. The bottom house that used to be known as the White house is also undergoing renovations and is being re-plastered with new windows and fittings.
Barbara had her eye on the old wood burning stove and we loaded this onto the trailer with the assistance of the labourers who were having tea. We did not linger and Brett hitched the trailer back on to the Bushpig and we headed back to Heidelberg. As we drove down past Heron we saw a Puffadder crossing the road. He looked healthy and in excellent condition. The Toyota Bushpig is not pulling well despite the fact that it has just been serviced. It looks like it will need to be diagnosed and repaired to restore the power that we expect from a vehicle like this.
Once back in Heidelberg we filled up with petrol and hitched the trailer back on to the Toyota and left at about 12.00 for PE. From here we again made just one stop in Knysna to refuel and buy some provisions at the Spar. When I was in Canada earlier this year I had bought a book on CD. It was a Ludlum book and we listened to about half of the story during the trip. It is not that easy to listen to a story like this as there are all kinds of characters and intrigue. You need to concentrate and if you are not the driver at the time it is easy to fall asleep and miss a whole section of the reading.
Pat phoned from Cape Town to say that she had ridden a good Argus cycle tour in just over 5 hours. Herman was also riding but we did not hear from him. We had missed Nippers and the Biathle for the day but Ally would not have been able to take part anyway. I tried, on the phone, to persuade Ena that relationships were more important than opinions and being right. I had met up with Alice the previous weekend and had heard that they are no longer “best buddies”. This upset me and led me to this vain attempt at patching up their friendship. I should know from experience that this never works.
Ally was still not feeling well and basically slept the whole journey there and back. We tried to get her to eat but nothing interested her. We had stopped at Albertina for Gekervde (sliced) Biltong and she was not even interested in that. I also tried some fruit salad that I bought at the Spar in Knysna but after a feeble attempt she left that as well. We also bought a Beef Fillet at the Albertina shop. Their prices are quite a bit better than in town. The return trip was easier pulling the empty trailer but a lot more traffic. We surprised ourselves by arriving back home by about 17.30. I off loaded and took Noluthando home.
The whole trip was 1000kays and we had taken 15 hours. But there is nothing a shower and coffee cannot refresh you for the next activity of life. We were pleased with our efforts and glad to have gotten this job behind us. It was Emily’s birthday and we returned home to a batch of photo’s of Jacqui’s family and the party. Nicci had run two events recently and seemed to have hurt her heel. She too sent us a number of photo’s of the event and of the family at the beach.
On Friday, 7.3.2008, evening, Barbara & I realised that we had just one weekend left to take the stuff that I had brought from Dawn’s house in East London, down to Wildcliff and that was this weekend. Otherwise we would miss taking it before the Easter weekend. Ally had been invited to Meghan Derry’s Party but was unable to go as she was feverish and not at all well. Normally we would have asked one of her friends if she could stay over for the day on Sunday but decided to take her with us instead.
We then decided to hire a trailer and that we would leave at 02.00am on Sunday morning and return the same afternoon. On Saturday afternoon, after work, I went to the trailer hire and we hired a really big (3m X 2M) trailer, took it up to Michael’s house and loaded the two couches that we had stored there. I collected Noluthando (Michaels domestic) and her child at the same time.
While driving home I questioned her a bit about her life. She told me how her mother had abandoned her and her two younger brothers when she was about 5 years old. Her mother had left with another man and went to Durban she thinks. Her father and mother had never married and so she went to live with her aunt in Walmer township while her father married and had six children of his own and lives in Motherwell. Her two younger brothers have subsequently died. It seems that the youngest was a sickly child from birth. Noluthando was introduced to us by her aunt who attends the same church as we do. She has two children. Her son is about 12 and attends a school in Peddie where he lives with his paternal grandparents and her baby lives with her in a RDP house in Walmer township.
Noluthando had agreed, at short notice, to house sit for us. That afternoon we loaded a double bed, a table with fixed stools (chairs), a TV Cabinet and some other small stuff. I tied it all down and hitched the trailer to the car ready for Sunday morning. My alarm woke me up at 01.30 and I made ready for the trip. Ally unfortunately was still not feeling well and had a fever. We bundled her into the back seat and left at about 02.15am.
The trailer was heavy and so the going was slow. We were very lucky with traffic and for the whole trip had to pass just one truck and saw probably less than 50 cars on the road. Our first stop was the Shell station at Plett where we off loaded some of the internal fluids. We had Digby with us and he did a bit of territory marking just for good measure. The BP filling station in Knysna is not open all night so we pressed on to Sedgefield where we filled up at the Engen and had a Wimpy Coffee. We are never disappointed with their coffee. As we approached the open fields of the Riversdale area we saw a Secretary bird walking the field with a deliberate no nonsense walk that said: “watch out snakes. Here I come.”. We also saw three Blue Crane feeding on the leftovers of the cut wheat field.
We swapped driving a couple of times but otherwise drove straight through and arrived at Heidelberg at 08.45am. Brett drove through from Wildcliff to meet us and we hitched the trailer onto the Bushpig. Brett had to use the 4 wheel drive facility and we had a slow drive to Wildcliff with Barbara following.
Brett told me a little of his background. His parents live in Benoni where he went to school. He has taken on a number of challenges since leaving school but seems to be destined for the outdoors which he loves. He has worked in the Timbivati / Kruger National Park where he acted as a guide. He would have to be on duty for up to six weeks at a time. It was at this time he met Emily who is from North East America. She studied at Washington DC and took on a job in South Africa. Brett makes no secret of his love for this attractive young woman and hopes that they will be able to commit to Wildcliff for a year. Brett tells me that he has a brother who is equally adventurous and who is teaching English as a foreign language in France. His brother did the same in Indonesia and England.
Brett is enjoying the experience of being the manager of daily operations on the Reserve and Emily tends to manage the house, administration and recording work. As we arrived at Wildcliff, Pascal (Swiss doing a Primates study) and Emily joined us and helped off load the trailer. We packed most of the stuff under the Casita which is now being developed into a Nursery. There are no plants yet but the netting has been put into place and Brett is busy building shelves.
We walked up to Talari where a huge amount of renovation has taken place. The floors have been completely redone, two extra bathrooms have been built, a courtyard is in construction and the garage area is now a conservatory or similar with see through corrugated roofing. The front stoep is much wider and has new tiles. Ian has made a cosy area for the main bedroom, study and bathroom leading onto the courtyard on the north side of the house. Each bedroom now has its own bathroom.
The Kitchen has been opened on to the lounge area and the cabinets should be started soon. We saw all the cabinet wood lying in the lounge. The walls of the Kitchen look old and shabby compared to the rest of the house and I am not sure if they are going to be re-plastered, painted or covered up with boards and cupboards.
There are huge piles of builder’s rubble lying around where the front garden used to be. Once the building operations and building materials have been removed this is going to be a wonderful place for all kinds of purposes. The bottom house that used to be known as the White house is also undergoing renovations and is being re-plastered with new windows and fittings.
Barbara had her eye on the old wood burning stove and we loaded this onto the trailer with the assistance of the labourers who were having tea. We did not linger and Brett hitched the trailer back on to the Bushpig and we headed back to Heidelberg. As we drove down past Heron we saw a Puffadder crossing the road. He looked healthy and in excellent condition. The Toyota Bushpig is not pulling well despite the fact that it has just been serviced. It looks like it will need to be diagnosed and repaired to restore the power that we expect from a vehicle like this.
Once back in Heidelberg we filled up with petrol and hitched the trailer back on to the Toyota and left at about 12.00 for PE. From here we again made just one stop in Knysna to refuel and buy some provisions at the Spar. When I was in Canada earlier this year I had bought a book on CD. It was a Ludlum book and we listened to about half of the story during the trip. It is not that easy to listen to a story like this as there are all kinds of characters and intrigue. You need to concentrate and if you are not the driver at the time it is easy to fall asleep and miss a whole section of the reading.
Pat phoned from Cape Town to say that she had ridden a good Argus cycle tour in just over 5 hours. Herman was also riding but we did not hear from him. We had missed Nippers and the Biathle for the day but Ally would not have been able to take part anyway. I tried, on the phone, to persuade Ena that relationships were more important than opinions and being right. I had met up with Alice the previous weekend and had heard that they are no longer “best buddies”. This upset me and led me to this vain attempt at patching up their friendship. I should know from experience that this never works.
Ally was still not feeling well and basically slept the whole journey there and back. We tried to get her to eat but nothing interested her. We had stopped at Albertina for Gekervde (sliced) Biltong and she was not even interested in that. I also tried some fruit salad that I bought at the Spar in Knysna but after a feeble attempt she left that as well. We also bought a Beef Fillet at the Albertina shop. Their prices are quite a bit better than in town. The return trip was easier pulling the empty trailer but a lot more traffic. We surprised ourselves by arriving back home by about 17.30. I off loaded and took Noluthando home.
The whole trip was 1000kays and we had taken 15 hours. But there is nothing a shower and coffee cannot refresh you for the next activity of life. We were pleased with our efforts and glad to have gotten this job behind us. It was Emily’s birthday and we returned home to a batch of photo’s of Jacqui’s family and the party. Nicci had run two events recently and seemed to have hurt her heel. She too sent us a number of photo’s of the event and of the family at the beach.
Friday, February 8, 2008
BAY ULTRA 50KAY MARATHON FEBRUARY 2008.
The Bay Ultra February 2008.
Friday 8th February 2008.
This afternoon Barbara, Ally, Cheryl Kotze and Greg headed off for East London where the two youngsters would be representing their school (Clarendon) and EP at an interprovincial Gala at the Joan Harrison pool. John & I were not able to accompany them due to business commitments. By all account both of them did well in their events both on Friday afternoon and on Saturday.
I phoned Gerald to find out what run we would be doing on Saturday morning. He told me that he would be running the Bay Ultra 50kay and why don’t I join him? Since our return from Canada I have been out of town (travelling) for two of the three weeks and have not been able to train but thought that this would be a good tester for Two Oceans. I was able to purchase some of the energy sachets by kind favour of Earl who dropped them off at my house. I thought that at least I should have some kind of help on the way.
At my first Comrades of about 20years ago, there was a competition where you had to predict your time. I had no idea what my time would be but guessed at 10 hours. I finished in 9.59 and was about third in the competition and won a gift pack from Lepin including an Energy Belt. This morning I opened the belt for the first time. I put my sachets & toilet paper in the pouches and headed off to Hobie beach. I paid my R70.00 and entered the run.
I met up with some of the usual crowd: Hennie and Gesina, Pietie, Graham Elborne, Gerald Scheepers (who has done every one of these events from the early 52kay Marina Salt to the present day run), Kobus Gerber, Benita Barton, Percy, Mark H.S., Mof and others. Davera was there in her new colours looking quite red. Frans had some good advice for runners: In an ultra like this start off slowly and when you really get tired; put on the breaks! I liked the sound of this and followed it from start to finish.
We jogged up the beach road in a westerly direction and then up through Walmer. At this stage we had the East wind behind. This was a day for cyclists to be out training. We saw small and big bunches. The only problem with cyclists that when they ride past and greet you, you have no idea who they are. The speed and “camouflage” is just too confusing. We recognised Margie Saunders, Mike Kingston, Baron Naude and other Ironman contenders on the road.
For me this would be a new course. The last time I did a Bay Ultra was out along Marine Drive and back down Buffelsfontein road. Today it was the other way around. I had started out with Gerald and then met up with Mof and young Bently from GM, but from about 10kays out Johan & I stuck it out together to the finish.
The course takes the runner all the way up Buffelsfontein road, right at the old Seaview road and up to Longbarn. Then we went right again to the top of the Chelsea tea garden road. The Chelsea tea garden is now known as The Estate Deo Volente (God willing). This is where our daughter Jacqui had her wedding reception. From there we headed east and into the wind. The route goes down to the new Seaview road and towards Sardinia bay. Then we head along the Sardinia bay road and eventually head down to Schoenmakerskop. Finally the last twenty kays is along the Marine Drive and ends at Hobie Beach.
Johan was quite concerned that he had over trained. He had been reading Bruce Fordyce’s book where the advice was lots of rest. Johan was also worried about a hip injury, his diet the night before as well as that morning, Suntan Lotion, and his son who should have been at the 30kay but we finally found him at the 39kay marker. Interestingly, Johan had been reading about something that Bruce used to use called FRN. This was a product made by Lepin and was well known to runners of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Johan is an interesting running partner as he has all kind of experiences to relate: his motor Biking trips, his hiking in the berg and his previous runs all make for interesting listening. Johan even gave me some cooking lessons. I think that I may have persuaded him to start doing what I do and recording these activities in writing.
In particular Johan related a story of being assisted by famous rugby player, Ian McCullum when he got into trouble with his motor bike in the Baviaans Kloof. Dr. Ian McCullum (Rondebosch boys high) played rugby for the Springboks in the 1970’s with players like Morne DuPlessis, Gerrie Germishuys, Hannes Marais, Piston van Wyk, Robert Cockrell and Boland Coetzee to name a few. Ian is now a medical doctor, psychiatrist, naturalist, author and poet. He wrote the book Ecological Intelligence. In April of 2006 he stated that he is of the opinion that the psychological well being of mankind is largely dependant on how we interact with nature.
It is amazing how many people are out there to support runners. Pierre Bester and family represent Brian Bands, Total sports were there. Pam Golding and Ann Carol Hyam assisted with seconding. Bob, Tremaine, Graham and his daughter gave us encouragement on the old Seaview Road. Cliff McKenzie was out on the Sardinia Bay road. The Crusaders team were keen seconders at the 30kay mark. Neil Calder drove past to encourage the stragglers. There were a few seconding tables provided by both Clarendon and Alexander Road schools. Bruce and Paulette came past us at Willows to announce that the Trailer would be at the finish. I was unfortunately not able to stay at the end as I still had to go to work.
This event is huge for a small club like Body Concept. They have just over 30 members and people like Eckart and Paul coordinated an excellent run. When we turned at the top of Seaview we headed into the easterly wind. It was reasonably strong but it was only when we reached the Marine Drive that we started to feel the force of the wind. Johan and I were at this stage almost last in the field with just 5 runners behind us.
We teamed up with Krish Pillay on urging from his wife who was driving the course. She was worried that he would not finish but he seemed determined and eventually finished just ahead of us. We also met up with young Lindy who had only run a 21kay previous to this. As we approached the 42.2kay mark we realised that we would not make the 5 hour cut off. To qualify for Oceans or for Comrades you must have run as standard marathon in 5 hours. The cut off time for today’s run was 6.30hours. We thought we could make this but while this would qualify Johan for Two Oceans it would not be a qualifier for Comrades. Johan was considering going to Kango for a Comrades qualifier. I think that Kango is an easier run.
It was a tough section of about 16kays along the Marine Drive from Schoenmakerskop to the University but when we hit the last four kays we had the wind behind us. It was about here that I started to cramp. I had hoped that the energy sachets would help me but so far I am not sure if they were doing any good as I was becoming extremely tired. Johan had a Red Bull and he seemed to think that this was the magic juice.
As we approached Summerstrand we passed a group of cyclists who were doing a fun event leading up to the Herald Cycle tour that would be taking place the following day. Johan could have finished earlier but stayed with me to the bitter end where we completed the event in just under 6.30hours.
This had been a learning curve for Johan who had never really walked in a run before. It had also been a lesson to myself: firstly a bit of training would have helped and secondly I had better enter the Oceans Half marathon and run with my daughter, as there is no way that I will finish a 56kay at this pace. Johan had spoken quite a bit about “Frosties”.
When I phoned him that afternoon his daughter answered the phone and told me that Dad was sleeping. I am not sure if it was the exertion or the Frosties that had caused him to pass out. The Biggest Loser: I had weighed myself that morning just before leaving and did so again when I returned home. I had lost three kays.
Friday 8th February 2008.
This afternoon Barbara, Ally, Cheryl Kotze and Greg headed off for East London where the two youngsters would be representing their school (Clarendon) and EP at an interprovincial Gala at the Joan Harrison pool. John & I were not able to accompany them due to business commitments. By all account both of them did well in their events both on Friday afternoon and on Saturday.
I phoned Gerald to find out what run we would be doing on Saturday morning. He told me that he would be running the Bay Ultra 50kay and why don’t I join him? Since our return from Canada I have been out of town (travelling) for two of the three weeks and have not been able to train but thought that this would be a good tester for Two Oceans. I was able to purchase some of the energy sachets by kind favour of Earl who dropped them off at my house. I thought that at least I should have some kind of help on the way.
At my first Comrades of about 20years ago, there was a competition where you had to predict your time. I had no idea what my time would be but guessed at 10 hours. I finished in 9.59 and was about third in the competition and won a gift pack from Lepin including an Energy Belt. This morning I opened the belt for the first time. I put my sachets & toilet paper in the pouches and headed off to Hobie beach. I paid my R70.00 and entered the run.
I met up with some of the usual crowd: Hennie and Gesina, Pietie, Graham Elborne, Gerald Scheepers (who has done every one of these events from the early 52kay Marina Salt to the present day run), Kobus Gerber, Benita Barton, Percy, Mark H.S., Mof and others. Davera was there in her new colours looking quite red. Frans had some good advice for runners: In an ultra like this start off slowly and when you really get tired; put on the breaks! I liked the sound of this and followed it from start to finish.
We jogged up the beach road in a westerly direction and then up through Walmer. At this stage we had the East wind behind. This was a day for cyclists to be out training. We saw small and big bunches. The only problem with cyclists that when they ride past and greet you, you have no idea who they are. The speed and “camouflage” is just too confusing. We recognised Margie Saunders, Mike Kingston, Baron Naude and other Ironman contenders on the road.
For me this would be a new course. The last time I did a Bay Ultra was out along Marine Drive and back down Buffelsfontein road. Today it was the other way around. I had started out with Gerald and then met up with Mof and young Bently from GM, but from about 10kays out Johan & I stuck it out together to the finish.
The course takes the runner all the way up Buffelsfontein road, right at the old Seaview road and up to Longbarn. Then we went right again to the top of the Chelsea tea garden road. The Chelsea tea garden is now known as The Estate Deo Volente (God willing). This is where our daughter Jacqui had her wedding reception. From there we headed east and into the wind. The route goes down to the new Seaview road and towards Sardinia bay. Then we head along the Sardinia bay road and eventually head down to Schoenmakerskop. Finally the last twenty kays is along the Marine Drive and ends at Hobie Beach.
Johan was quite concerned that he had over trained. He had been reading Bruce Fordyce’s book where the advice was lots of rest. Johan was also worried about a hip injury, his diet the night before as well as that morning, Suntan Lotion, and his son who should have been at the 30kay but we finally found him at the 39kay marker. Interestingly, Johan had been reading about something that Bruce used to use called FRN. This was a product made by Lepin and was well known to runners of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Johan is an interesting running partner as he has all kind of experiences to relate: his motor Biking trips, his hiking in the berg and his previous runs all make for interesting listening. Johan even gave me some cooking lessons. I think that I may have persuaded him to start doing what I do and recording these activities in writing.
In particular Johan related a story of being assisted by famous rugby player, Ian McCullum when he got into trouble with his motor bike in the Baviaans Kloof. Dr. Ian McCullum (Rondebosch boys high) played rugby for the Springboks in the 1970’s with players like Morne DuPlessis, Gerrie Germishuys, Hannes Marais, Piston van Wyk, Robert Cockrell and Boland Coetzee to name a few. Ian is now a medical doctor, psychiatrist, naturalist, author and poet. He wrote the book Ecological Intelligence. In April of 2006 he stated that he is of the opinion that the psychological well being of mankind is largely dependant on how we interact with nature.
It is amazing how many people are out there to support runners. Pierre Bester and family represent Brian Bands, Total sports were there. Pam Golding and Ann Carol Hyam assisted with seconding. Bob, Tremaine, Graham and his daughter gave us encouragement on the old Seaview Road. Cliff McKenzie was out on the Sardinia Bay road. The Crusaders team were keen seconders at the 30kay mark. Neil Calder drove past to encourage the stragglers. There were a few seconding tables provided by both Clarendon and Alexander Road schools. Bruce and Paulette came past us at Willows to announce that the Trailer would be at the finish. I was unfortunately not able to stay at the end as I still had to go to work.
This event is huge for a small club like Body Concept. They have just over 30 members and people like Eckart and Paul coordinated an excellent run. When we turned at the top of Seaview we headed into the easterly wind. It was reasonably strong but it was only when we reached the Marine Drive that we started to feel the force of the wind. Johan and I were at this stage almost last in the field with just 5 runners behind us.
We teamed up with Krish Pillay on urging from his wife who was driving the course. She was worried that he would not finish but he seemed determined and eventually finished just ahead of us. We also met up with young Lindy who had only run a 21kay previous to this. As we approached the 42.2kay mark we realised that we would not make the 5 hour cut off. To qualify for Oceans or for Comrades you must have run as standard marathon in 5 hours. The cut off time for today’s run was 6.30hours. We thought we could make this but while this would qualify Johan for Two Oceans it would not be a qualifier for Comrades. Johan was considering going to Kango for a Comrades qualifier. I think that Kango is an easier run.
It was a tough section of about 16kays along the Marine Drive from Schoenmakerskop to the University but when we hit the last four kays we had the wind behind us. It was about here that I started to cramp. I had hoped that the energy sachets would help me but so far I am not sure if they were doing any good as I was becoming extremely tired. Johan had a Red Bull and he seemed to think that this was the magic juice.
As we approached Summerstrand we passed a group of cyclists who were doing a fun event leading up to the Herald Cycle tour that would be taking place the following day. Johan could have finished earlier but stayed with me to the bitter end where we completed the event in just under 6.30hours.
This had been a learning curve for Johan who had never really walked in a run before. It had also been a lesson to myself: firstly a bit of training would have helped and secondly I had better enter the Oceans Half marathon and run with my daughter, as there is no way that I will finish a 56kay at this pace. Johan had spoken quite a bit about “Frosties”.
When I phoned him that afternoon his daughter answered the phone and told me that Dad was sleeping. I am not sure if it was the exertion or the Frosties that had caused him to pass out. The Biggest Loser: I had weighed myself that morning just before leaving and did so again when I returned home. I had lost three kays.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
BIATHLON INTERPROVINCIAL OUDTSHOORN 2 FEBRUARY 2008
Biathlon interprovincial in Oudtshoorn. Saturday 2nd February 2008.
Friday afternoon Barbara, Ally & I left for Oudtshoorn. IN separate cars were; Debby & Meghan Derry & Jacqui and Amber Zeelie. John & Cheryl Kotze followed with Mike and Greg. Rianna Green was also due to be travelling to the Biathlon as her daughter Wendy had qualified for the interprovincial, but had developed a Cyst on the Brain and had been operated on that week. Markus and Susan Burri brought their two children MC and Emilio.
It was the Interprovincial Biathlon Meeting in Oudtshoorn. The drive from PE was not fun as we left PE in traffic all the way to Humansdorp. There were road works and we had foolishly failed to take the alternative route. From the Langkloof road turnoff it was easy going. We had made bookings at B&B’s and arrived at Attakwas in Van Riebeek road to find the Derry’s and Zeelie’s were already there.
The following morning we chat to the host of the cottage. Katot is a colourful man who appears to be a 4X4 enthusiast. He tells us that Katot translates into English as “Billycan”. He tells us how the name Attakwas came to be:
The Attakwa people are the remnants of a tribe of Khoi/San people who lived near the beaches of Cape Town when the first Dutch Sailors landed in the 1600s. The Khoi/San were a pastoral people who used oxen as pack animals and for the transportation of women and children.
Their dome shaped houses were made out of reed mats laid over a framework of sticks.
The Attakwas were well known for showing early settlers the passes over the Outeniqua Mountains to Cannaland (Oudtshoorn) as many of them dwelt and harvested honey along Attakwas Kloof, now a famous hiking trail.
It turned out to be an excellent house with a view over a green valley and park below. It was early evening and time for a sundowner as we waited for the Kotze’s to arrive. What a wonderful evening it turned out to be. It was warm and breathless and we had plenty to chat about as Ally, Amber and Meghan played in the park below.
When John and Cheryl arrived they joined us for an evening drink. Their two sons soon mixed in with the three girls and when we went to supper at a road side restaurant called Headlines they youngsters all sat together and had a wonderful evening as old friends. The Adults also had a stunning evening chatting and enjoying Ostrich Steaks, Calamari and Lasagne. The children had huge Pizza’s which they could not finish and were used to feed them on the way home the following day.
When we finished our meal it was already 20.00 and our bed was calling. Barbara, Ally and I shared a King-sized bed and watched the end of the ODI against the West Indies. It was Shaun Pollock’s last game in front of his home crowd in Durban. Quite emotional as he hit the winning runs!
We were up early the following morning and made our way to the athletic track.
The biathlon starts with a parade of the athletes in their uniforms. It was already hot and a tracksuit was not the coolest of outfits. After the parade (Optog), we all sit in the sun while speeches are made to welcome us. First it is the organiser, then the Dominee, then the organiser again, then the Burgermeester who is a lady, Mrs. De Jager who is the wife of the late Mr. De Jager after whom the sports stadium is named.
Then Chris Jansen makes a speech. Chris is Die Voorsitter of Biathlon SA. Finally we are dismissed and the running begins with the U9’s. Emilio is our representative and he does not do as well as he did in the trials but finishes strongly. Then in the U11’s we first have Amber who has a good run. These children have to run twice around the track (800m).
The competition is fierce but they all have fun and are trying hard. In the next U11 heat we have Ally and Meghan. These two are great friends but also strong rivals. Barbara bought Ally a pair of spikes just before we left PE and this will be her first time to run in them. At first they seemed uncomfortable but then she loosened the laces and she was fine. Their heat starts at a strong pace and the two girls are soon a way back from the front runners. Meghan is able to pick up the pace in the second lap and does fairly well. Ally chases her and also has a good finish.
The U11 boys start their run and Greg & MC are in the same heat. They start off together and stay that way throughout the run. MC is stays just behind Greg until he sees the finish line when he makes a break and just manages to beat Greg to the tape. There are not many competitors in the masters Ladies and it is soon the turn of the Senior Vets (that is us) and the Masters (Chris and Herman). We have to run 1000m.
I have done a bit of warming up in the sun and am feeling good so when the gun goes off I make a break for the front of the group. This is not like me as I normally fool around at the back. However I find my self as front runner of the EP team and wonder how long I will be able to keep up this pace. There is a Western Province athlete ahead of me and I try to focus on him and to stay with his pace.
We come to the end of the first lap and I hear 1.31 being called out and I know that I am running faster than I normally do and again wonder when I am going to start fading. Then the bell rings for the last lap. I have been hearing heavy puffing behind me and Chris passes me. They only do 800m and I know he is surging to his finish so while I try to keep up with him he is not my focus. I remain just behind the WP runner. Chris pulls off.
We reach the final 100m and I decide to try to pass the WP runner. I can hear the cheers from our group in the stands including the youngsters who are all very supportive. He hears me coming and surges. But I stay focussed and push as hard as I can and pass him in the final few meters. He had a watch and announces that we did a 3.53. This is my best time for the distance and I am delighted.
It is a very hot sun and our little group decides to pack up and find a café for breakfast. After driving around we discover a restaurant with shade and umbrellas. Here we all sit and order a small feast. Again there is a great deal of laughter from both the children’s and the adult’s tables. We try to get the children to behave but when they start throwing chips across the table we decide to let them have fun.
After breakfast we head for the swimming pool where there are already a number of people. The runners were still taking part on the track as we drove past so we are able to have a bit of a swim. The water is a bit green, not surprising as the temperature is 29 degrees and almost bath warm. There is not a breath of wind and the sun bakes down on us. We have found a nice shady spot and the Burri’s join us. I am able to have a short nap in my beach armchair.
Mike decides he has had enough of his cast and John cuts it off with a wire cutter. Mike had broken his arm in a fall from a horse. The swim goes off well enough. Emilio is first off, then Amber, Ally and Meghan. All of them do well and we are proud of our group. Greg and MC compete again but it is MC who steals the show with a 34 second 50m which is one of his best times ever. Markus has a good swim of 66seconds while I look like a dredger in the water arms flailing about, splash splash, gasp gasp and finally end up with 1min52.
After the adults have swum we head off home. The Burris will stay for the weekend and do some sight seeing on Sunday. John and family head off to Calitzdorp to visit Boplaas wine farm. I ask John to buy me a case. I am not a connoisseur of wines but will enjoy whatever he buys for us.
As we leave town we buy ourselves an ice cream & a Curry Bunny. We still have some grapes and cold drink in the car so we have plenty of sustenance for the drive home. The road is fairly clear and after 100kays we are on the Langkloof road.
We pass Krakeel where the heavy rains of December has washed to bridge away and the road has been filled in with Gravel. A sign announces Diesel at R7.42. There is a stall selling Biltong and Dry Wors. We pass other stalls selling fresh produce. Local people walk along the road with big smiles as they enjoy each other’s company and the weekend activities. Krakeel is the name of a village where I took part in a run many years ago.
We drive through Louterwater where the local industry is apple farming and pack houses. Then we come to Joubertina. We recall that a year ago, Ian had phoned to tell us about a farm near to Uniondale, he was considering buying, high up in a mountain called Mannetjiesberg. In the end he did not buy that farm but a 100hectare property now known as Wildcliff near to Heidelberg.
I glance down towards the village of Joubertina and see that they have some kind of activity on a field. They are having as much fun and sporting activity as we have just left in Oudtshoorn. There are apple orchards all along the road. Thousands of trees laden with fruit which will be harvested and used for export as well as sold to juice companies.
We make a pit stop in Kareedow. From there it is less than 150kays home. We remember to take the alternative route across the Gamtoos River and avoid the road works and traffic. We arrive safely in PE. I phone John and he tells me that he has a case of wine for us. Half red and half white.
I receive and SMS from Adrienne to say that Rianna is out of intensive care. I phone Rianna and she says that while she still has headaches she is on the mend.
That afternoon was the start of the Six Nations Rugby in Europe. Ireland beat a strong Italian team coached by Nick Mallet. And in a real upset, Wales beat England in Twykenham for the first time in 20years. The English had led 16;3 at half time and had really dominated the game with lineouts, turnovers and possession. Then there was a short period in the second half where they lost concentration altogether and Wales took over with a couple of breaks and some excellent defence that won the game for them.
Friday afternoon Barbara, Ally & I left for Oudtshoorn. IN separate cars were; Debby & Meghan Derry & Jacqui and Amber Zeelie. John & Cheryl Kotze followed with Mike and Greg. Rianna Green was also due to be travelling to the Biathlon as her daughter Wendy had qualified for the interprovincial, but had developed a Cyst on the Brain and had been operated on that week. Markus and Susan Burri brought their two children MC and Emilio.
It was the Interprovincial Biathlon Meeting in Oudtshoorn. The drive from PE was not fun as we left PE in traffic all the way to Humansdorp. There were road works and we had foolishly failed to take the alternative route. From the Langkloof road turnoff it was easy going. We had made bookings at B&B’s and arrived at Attakwas in Van Riebeek road to find the Derry’s and Zeelie’s were already there.
The following morning we chat to the host of the cottage. Katot is a colourful man who appears to be a 4X4 enthusiast. He tells us that Katot translates into English as “Billycan”. He tells us how the name Attakwas came to be:
The Attakwa people are the remnants of a tribe of Khoi/San people who lived near the beaches of Cape Town when the first Dutch Sailors landed in the 1600s. The Khoi/San were a pastoral people who used oxen as pack animals and for the transportation of women and children.
Their dome shaped houses were made out of reed mats laid over a framework of sticks.
The Attakwas were well known for showing early settlers the passes over the Outeniqua Mountains to Cannaland (Oudtshoorn) as many of them dwelt and harvested honey along Attakwas Kloof, now a famous hiking trail.
It turned out to be an excellent house with a view over a green valley and park below. It was early evening and time for a sundowner as we waited for the Kotze’s to arrive. What a wonderful evening it turned out to be. It was warm and breathless and we had plenty to chat about as Ally, Amber and Meghan played in the park below.
When John and Cheryl arrived they joined us for an evening drink. Their two sons soon mixed in with the three girls and when we went to supper at a road side restaurant called Headlines they youngsters all sat together and had a wonderful evening as old friends. The Adults also had a stunning evening chatting and enjoying Ostrich Steaks, Calamari and Lasagne. The children had huge Pizza’s which they could not finish and were used to feed them on the way home the following day.
When we finished our meal it was already 20.00 and our bed was calling. Barbara, Ally and I shared a King-sized bed and watched the end of the ODI against the West Indies. It was Shaun Pollock’s last game in front of his home crowd in Durban. Quite emotional as he hit the winning runs!
We were up early the following morning and made our way to the athletic track.
The biathlon starts with a parade of the athletes in their uniforms. It was already hot and a tracksuit was not the coolest of outfits. After the parade (Optog), we all sit in the sun while speeches are made to welcome us. First it is the organiser, then the Dominee, then the organiser again, then the Burgermeester who is a lady, Mrs. De Jager who is the wife of the late Mr. De Jager after whom the sports stadium is named.
Then Chris Jansen makes a speech. Chris is Die Voorsitter of Biathlon SA. Finally we are dismissed and the running begins with the U9’s. Emilio is our representative and he does not do as well as he did in the trials but finishes strongly. Then in the U11’s we first have Amber who has a good run. These children have to run twice around the track (800m).
The competition is fierce but they all have fun and are trying hard. In the next U11 heat we have Ally and Meghan. These two are great friends but also strong rivals. Barbara bought Ally a pair of spikes just before we left PE and this will be her first time to run in them. At first they seemed uncomfortable but then she loosened the laces and she was fine. Their heat starts at a strong pace and the two girls are soon a way back from the front runners. Meghan is able to pick up the pace in the second lap and does fairly well. Ally chases her and also has a good finish.
The U11 boys start their run and Greg & MC are in the same heat. They start off together and stay that way throughout the run. MC is stays just behind Greg until he sees the finish line when he makes a break and just manages to beat Greg to the tape. There are not many competitors in the masters Ladies and it is soon the turn of the Senior Vets (that is us) and the Masters (Chris and Herman). We have to run 1000m.
I have done a bit of warming up in the sun and am feeling good so when the gun goes off I make a break for the front of the group. This is not like me as I normally fool around at the back. However I find my self as front runner of the EP team and wonder how long I will be able to keep up this pace. There is a Western Province athlete ahead of me and I try to focus on him and to stay with his pace.
We come to the end of the first lap and I hear 1.31 being called out and I know that I am running faster than I normally do and again wonder when I am going to start fading. Then the bell rings for the last lap. I have been hearing heavy puffing behind me and Chris passes me. They only do 800m and I know he is surging to his finish so while I try to keep up with him he is not my focus. I remain just behind the WP runner. Chris pulls off.
We reach the final 100m and I decide to try to pass the WP runner. I can hear the cheers from our group in the stands including the youngsters who are all very supportive. He hears me coming and surges. But I stay focussed and push as hard as I can and pass him in the final few meters. He had a watch and announces that we did a 3.53. This is my best time for the distance and I am delighted.
It is a very hot sun and our little group decides to pack up and find a café for breakfast. After driving around we discover a restaurant with shade and umbrellas. Here we all sit and order a small feast. Again there is a great deal of laughter from both the children’s and the adult’s tables. We try to get the children to behave but when they start throwing chips across the table we decide to let them have fun.
After breakfast we head for the swimming pool where there are already a number of people. The runners were still taking part on the track as we drove past so we are able to have a bit of a swim. The water is a bit green, not surprising as the temperature is 29 degrees and almost bath warm. There is not a breath of wind and the sun bakes down on us. We have found a nice shady spot and the Burri’s join us. I am able to have a short nap in my beach armchair.
Mike decides he has had enough of his cast and John cuts it off with a wire cutter. Mike had broken his arm in a fall from a horse. The swim goes off well enough. Emilio is first off, then Amber, Ally and Meghan. All of them do well and we are proud of our group. Greg and MC compete again but it is MC who steals the show with a 34 second 50m which is one of his best times ever. Markus has a good swim of 66seconds while I look like a dredger in the water arms flailing about, splash splash, gasp gasp and finally end up with 1min52.
After the adults have swum we head off home. The Burris will stay for the weekend and do some sight seeing on Sunday. John and family head off to Calitzdorp to visit Boplaas wine farm. I ask John to buy me a case. I am not a connoisseur of wines but will enjoy whatever he buys for us.
As we leave town we buy ourselves an ice cream & a Curry Bunny. We still have some grapes and cold drink in the car so we have plenty of sustenance for the drive home. The road is fairly clear and after 100kays we are on the Langkloof road.
We pass Krakeel where the heavy rains of December has washed to bridge away and the road has been filled in with Gravel. A sign announces Diesel at R7.42. There is a stall selling Biltong and Dry Wors. We pass other stalls selling fresh produce. Local people walk along the road with big smiles as they enjoy each other’s company and the weekend activities. Krakeel is the name of a village where I took part in a run many years ago.
We drive through Louterwater where the local industry is apple farming and pack houses. Then we come to Joubertina. We recall that a year ago, Ian had phoned to tell us about a farm near to Uniondale, he was considering buying, high up in a mountain called Mannetjiesberg. In the end he did not buy that farm but a 100hectare property now known as Wildcliff near to Heidelberg.
I glance down towards the village of Joubertina and see that they have some kind of activity on a field. They are having as much fun and sporting activity as we have just left in Oudtshoorn. There are apple orchards all along the road. Thousands of trees laden with fruit which will be harvested and used for export as well as sold to juice companies.
We make a pit stop in Kareedow. From there it is less than 150kays home. We remember to take the alternative route across the Gamtoos River and avoid the road works and traffic. We arrive safely in PE. I phone John and he tells me that he has a case of wine for us. Half red and half white.
I receive and SMS from Adrienne to say that Rianna is out of intensive care. I phone Rianna and she says that while she still has headaches she is on the mend.
That afternoon was the start of the Six Nations Rugby in Europe. Ireland beat a strong Italian team coached by Nick Mallet. And in a real upset, Wales beat England in Twykenham for the first time in 20years. The English had led 16;3 at half time and had really dominated the game with lineouts, turnovers and possession. Then there was a short period in the second half where they lost concentration altogether and Wales took over with a couple of breaks and some excellent defence that won the game for them.
Friday, February 1, 2008
CANADIAN HOLIDAY PETER, BARBARA & ALLY GIDDY JANUARY 2008.
Peter, Barbara & Ally: Canadian Holiday: January 2008.
26th December 2007: Boxing Day. That evening Cathy and Saul dropped us off at the Cape Town airport and we flew to London. The following morning a friend and work colleague of Stefan, Reinard, collected us from the airport. We had a really interesting chat on the way to Jacqui’s house. Reinard told me all about their photographic business, photo-video, and about his own life in London. It makes a huge difference to be met at the airport rather than having to take the underground especially if you have a pile of luggage to cart along.
Reinard is married to Lisa who is the sister of Clinton Van Buuren. Some of the Port Elizabeth people may remember Clinton. Clinton is an Old Grey boy who made quite an impression when he played rugby for Grey about 6 years ago.
We spent two days at Jacqui’s house. They have bought a flat in the East of London. The East side of London is where Afrikaans South Africans tend to live, while many of the English Speaking South Africans tend to migrate to the West of London. That afternoon Barbara, Ally, Jacqui, Michael, Emily and I had a walk in the Epping Forrest. I will recommend some kind of exercise as soon as possible after Jet Travel. This helped us to get our circulation going again and we had two good days with Jacqui.
Emily is now two years old and a real delight. Jacqui is devoted to this child and they have rarely been separated in the two years. Jacqui is pregnant and is due to have a girl in May 2008. Michael was in the process of buying a Sony LCD flat screen TV. We did quite a bit of searching from shop to shop for a good product at a good price. Within the Sony brand we found a selection and the choice was not easy. Finally Michael made his choice after we had left for Canada. Being in the retail trade I enjoy this kind of comparative shopping. I also enjoy wandering through supermarkets. Both in London and in Calgary I was fascinated by the different selection on offer.
We left for Canada on the 29th of December and flew Air Canada from Heathrow to Calgary. It was a strange flight as we left at 10.00am, Flew for 9 hours and arrived in Calgary at Midday. We had flown Northwards from London until we reached the southern tip of Greenland. At this time it was as dark as midnight outside. We then flew south East and back into the light. We landed in Calgary and were quickly cleared through customs and were met by Dawn, Richard, Tracey, Asher, Cale and Raylene. They had come in three cars and I drove with Raylene.
They took us to Tracey’s house. This house is South West of Calgary near to a village called Priddis. The house is on a small holding. They were in the process of completing renovations and we were the first to sleep in a new room that they had built. Dawn and Richard have moved into the basement where they have a very comfortable flat with a stunning south facing view. Our room faced south west and we had a view of the Rockies covered in snow. We would get both Morning and Evening sunshine.
New Years Eve was an interesting experience. I had developed a sore in my mouth and needed to purchase some anti-biotics. In PE I would have walked over to the local pharmacy which is run by a running friend and he would have assisted me in an emergency case. No such luck in Calgary. We visited a local clinic where we were informed that the wait would be 5 hours to see a doctor who would then prescribe the Muti and then I would have to find a pharmacist who would open for us. I decided to follow a remedy offered by one of our family: wash your mouth out in salt water. I did this a few times and took a few “Panado” and was soon fit to enjoy the evening.
New years evening was spent at Raylene and Steven’s home where they served us a delicious combination of sushi, sea foods and a variety of salads. All washed down with some ice wine. Steven runs a business that offers energy savings consultations. He has two smaller operations doing air conditioning installations as well as cabinet fittings. At one time we visited his offices and then met up for lunch at a Japanese restaurant.
The weather was good for us. Temperatures would be between an early morning -30 degrees Centigrade to about -5 degrees in the middle of the day. The houses have central heating and the sun is low on the horizon. So a house that has south facing windows can become quite hot during the day. The days were clear and we were able to ski on a number of occasions.
The first time we attempted skiing we drove to the Rockies to a ski resort called Kananaskis. Ally & I hired skis and all the equipment. We spent about three hours finding our feet. Ally was able to take a ski lesson with a young man called Adam. The class for adults would have been too late and I had to muddle through on my own. I had skied once before when I was about 16 when my parents had taken us to a ski resort in Switzerland called Wengen.
We stayed on what I refer to as the Nursery slopes but is known to Canadians as the Bunny Slopes. They have a kind of Travelator (Called the Magic Carpet) similar to those found in airports that take you up the gentle slope. You stand on the carpet with your skis attached and slide off as you reach the top. This was good practice for both of us and we were quite exhausted when we finished this session.
What I found to be a particularly good experience was being on the same level as Ally. It was not as though I was an experienced coach or was better at skiing through experience. We had started off at the same level and were progressing together. Our next attempt at skiing was to be at the Canadian Olympic Park (COP). This was specially built for the Winter Olympics of 1999.
Ally & I again hired all the equipment needed and off we headed for the Bunny Slopes again. At this venue there are a variety of Magic carpets from the very basic to a little more adventurous. After a while I decided to be even more daredevil and took the chair lift up to the top. As I headed up I think that I realised that I had made a mistake. But when I reached to top I was certain that this was actually beyond my novice capabilities. The slope was quite steep and there were a number of experienced skiers whizzing down with confidence.
Anyway there was only one thing to do and that was to try to make my way down without breaking my neck. I decided the way to go would be to Zig and Zag from side to side rather than zoom headlong down with no way of stopping. This worked quite well as I managed a few Zig and Zags without incident. However after about four of these I was heading in a Zig direction when a snowboarder decided to stop in front of me. I am quite sure that a skilful skier would have been able to avoid a collision but BANG I collided with this young boy.
Skis snowboard and people went flying. I collected my right shoulder on the hard snow and while the snowboarder was quickly up and off, it took me quite a while before I could compose myself and headed downhill again. I finally reached the bottom where Barbara & Dawn were waiting. I was quite shaken but nothing a hot chocolate could not cure.
I did not venture up the chair lift again that day but after four hours of skiing was very glad to head off home. For me it is the tension in the leg muscles and generally the work required that exhausted me. Ally was by now making real progress and would take the magic carpet up and zoom down, coming to a skilful stop at the start of the magic carpet.
The next time we went to the COP it was the turn of Dawn and Barbara to try skiing. They had decided to try cross country. The boots and skis are quite different as are the skills required. They took a lesson and Barbara was soon able to control the skis and have a fall-free down hill run. It looked quite fun but was also exhausting. Barbara had a final down section that the instructor took them down but was unable to stop herself and came to an undignified and painful stop on her rear end.
Our final attempt at skiing was back at the Kananaskis ski resort. Ally & I again hired all the necessary equipment but this time I took a helmet as well as I was determined to venture up the chair lift and up to the more daring slopes. After a short while on the bunny slopes I managed to convince Ally to come with me and the two of us ventured over to the Bronze Slopes. For many skiers this would be too tame but for us it looked just right.
We lined up for the lift and when it came to our turn we took off with a bit of a jerk and I gave Ally a knock on the head. Soon we were way above the skiers below. Mark and Cale had also decided to use this ski lift. They were on snowboards and it would be Cale’s first time up to this height. As we reached the top both Ally & I tried to ski off but ended up in a heap of skis and limbs. Falling down with skis on is most undignified and I was happy when I was offered a hand up and we were able to recover some of our composure.
Now I don’t want to make out that this would qualify for a Sylvester Stallone movie but the descent looked quite scary as we started down. But after a bit of a shaky start we started the Zigging and Zagging and made our way safely to the bottom. And were elated! We took up our position in the queue for the chair lift again and off we went. This time we were ready when we reached the top and alighted gracefully as we skied off. We were soon whizzing down as though we were used to this and not two Hill Billies from sunny South Africa. After the first two times we began to develop confidence and went up and down again a number of times before we realised that this was really tiring and headed back to the café for a drink.
I was extatic at how Ally had grasped the basic skill so quickly and was also happy with my own progress. We had planned to have one more attempt but time ran out and we determined that we would do some skiing as soon as an opportunity presented itself again.
While we were in Canada it was my 57th birthday. That evening my family took us out for supper where we had a delightful evening and as excellent meal. They presented me with a book voucher for a shop called Chapters where we would sit in the mornings and enjoy a Starbucks coffee and browse through the shop.
With this voucher I was able to purchase: a book telling the story of a man tried for teaching evolution in the “Bible Belt of America; a book telling the inside story of Michael Schumacher; another one called from Lance to Landis. After reading this book I am totally convinced that both these riders used performance enhancing dope while cycling I bought a fascinating novel telling the story of a Palestinian in Bethlehem. I bought two “books on Disc” and finally I bought two fiction novels. I had a huge amount of fun choosing the books and being assisted by the store staff.
We spent an evening at the Calgary Zoo. This was not to see any animals but so see the “Zoo Lights”. The Calgary Zoo decorates the pathways, trees and various exhibits with the most amazing Christmas lights and people come from all over to see this spectacle. Another tourist destination was the Science Centre. We enjoyed experimenting with the interactive exhibits.
One evening we went to watch Asher and Cale as they attempted to take part in the Ice Hockey. As you are aware this is one of the major sports of Canada. The Canadian children grow up skating and were quite a way ahead of the two South African Children. Nevertheless our two brave nephews acquitted themselves quite well and were keen to go again after their first try out. Standing out in the snow it was freezing for us adults and we had to take it in turns to be supporters while the others would thaw out indoors.
We were able to buy a second-hand pair of skates and Ally did some ice skating with Asher and Cale at the local rink in Priddis. While they were skating we visited the little library there. What really fascinated me was the way that Dawn took out a couple of books. There were no people in attendance. The Library operates on trust; you are expected to return books when finished and donate books as often as you can.
Living in Canada is a very ordered life. They do not have the pressing issues and problems that we have. People obey traffic laws. The police do not have the volume or complexity of crime & investigations that we have. When people do break the law there are consequences and there is enforcement. We examined a police vehicle which had an on-board computer that was linked to police headquarters and provided a complete history of previous offenders or of any vehicle on the road.
We saw little or no evidence of security. Homes open to the street without walls, spikes or electric barricades. Generally we found the Canadian people to be very friendly. But our family tells us that this is superficial and Canadians rarely visit or invite friends to their homes. There is a large South African community in Calgary.
Ally had been doing a lot of swim training before we left and so as often as we could we would get down to the YMCA gym where we would spend as much time as we could both swimming and running. The gym has a runner’s track where you can do a kilometre in 8 laps.
Canada operates a vast Volunteer system. People volunteer for all kinds of work. There are sections of highways that are regularly cleaned by a local school or other organisation. When we arrived at Calgary airport we were welcomed by a lady in a smart red Mounties outfit. She was a volunteer. At the Gym the reception clerks were volunteers. Many of the people we encountered at the Zoo were volunteers.
Our return trip consisted of a 9 hour flight to London, a day with Jacqui in London, a 12 hour flight to Cape Town and the day with Nicci & family in CT. then the following morning we left CT at 02.00am and had an 8 hour drive home. Barbara & Ally slept most of the way and I was able to listen to one of the books on disk that I had purchased.
26th December 2007: Boxing Day. That evening Cathy and Saul dropped us off at the Cape Town airport and we flew to London. The following morning a friend and work colleague of Stefan, Reinard, collected us from the airport. We had a really interesting chat on the way to Jacqui’s house. Reinard told me all about their photographic business, photo-video, and about his own life in London. It makes a huge difference to be met at the airport rather than having to take the underground especially if you have a pile of luggage to cart along.
Reinard is married to Lisa who is the sister of Clinton Van Buuren. Some of the Port Elizabeth people may remember Clinton. Clinton is an Old Grey boy who made quite an impression when he played rugby for Grey about 6 years ago.
We spent two days at Jacqui’s house. They have bought a flat in the East of London. The East side of London is where Afrikaans South Africans tend to live, while many of the English Speaking South Africans tend to migrate to the West of London. That afternoon Barbara, Ally, Jacqui, Michael, Emily and I had a walk in the Epping Forrest. I will recommend some kind of exercise as soon as possible after Jet Travel. This helped us to get our circulation going again and we had two good days with Jacqui.
Emily is now two years old and a real delight. Jacqui is devoted to this child and they have rarely been separated in the two years. Jacqui is pregnant and is due to have a girl in May 2008. Michael was in the process of buying a Sony LCD flat screen TV. We did quite a bit of searching from shop to shop for a good product at a good price. Within the Sony brand we found a selection and the choice was not easy. Finally Michael made his choice after we had left for Canada. Being in the retail trade I enjoy this kind of comparative shopping. I also enjoy wandering through supermarkets. Both in London and in Calgary I was fascinated by the different selection on offer.
We left for Canada on the 29th of December and flew Air Canada from Heathrow to Calgary. It was a strange flight as we left at 10.00am, Flew for 9 hours and arrived in Calgary at Midday. We had flown Northwards from London until we reached the southern tip of Greenland. At this time it was as dark as midnight outside. We then flew south East and back into the light. We landed in Calgary and were quickly cleared through customs and were met by Dawn, Richard, Tracey, Asher, Cale and Raylene. They had come in three cars and I drove with Raylene.
They took us to Tracey’s house. This house is South West of Calgary near to a village called Priddis. The house is on a small holding. They were in the process of completing renovations and we were the first to sleep in a new room that they had built. Dawn and Richard have moved into the basement where they have a very comfortable flat with a stunning south facing view. Our room faced south west and we had a view of the Rockies covered in snow. We would get both Morning and Evening sunshine.
New Years Eve was an interesting experience. I had developed a sore in my mouth and needed to purchase some anti-biotics. In PE I would have walked over to the local pharmacy which is run by a running friend and he would have assisted me in an emergency case. No such luck in Calgary. We visited a local clinic where we were informed that the wait would be 5 hours to see a doctor who would then prescribe the Muti and then I would have to find a pharmacist who would open for us. I decided to follow a remedy offered by one of our family: wash your mouth out in salt water. I did this a few times and took a few “Panado” and was soon fit to enjoy the evening.
New years evening was spent at Raylene and Steven’s home where they served us a delicious combination of sushi, sea foods and a variety of salads. All washed down with some ice wine. Steven runs a business that offers energy savings consultations. He has two smaller operations doing air conditioning installations as well as cabinet fittings. At one time we visited his offices and then met up for lunch at a Japanese restaurant.
The weather was good for us. Temperatures would be between an early morning -30 degrees Centigrade to about -5 degrees in the middle of the day. The houses have central heating and the sun is low on the horizon. So a house that has south facing windows can become quite hot during the day. The days were clear and we were able to ski on a number of occasions.
The first time we attempted skiing we drove to the Rockies to a ski resort called Kananaskis. Ally & I hired skis and all the equipment. We spent about three hours finding our feet. Ally was able to take a ski lesson with a young man called Adam. The class for adults would have been too late and I had to muddle through on my own. I had skied once before when I was about 16 when my parents had taken us to a ski resort in Switzerland called Wengen.
We stayed on what I refer to as the Nursery slopes but is known to Canadians as the Bunny Slopes. They have a kind of Travelator (Called the Magic Carpet) similar to those found in airports that take you up the gentle slope. You stand on the carpet with your skis attached and slide off as you reach the top. This was good practice for both of us and we were quite exhausted when we finished this session.
What I found to be a particularly good experience was being on the same level as Ally. It was not as though I was an experienced coach or was better at skiing through experience. We had started off at the same level and were progressing together. Our next attempt at skiing was to be at the Canadian Olympic Park (COP). This was specially built for the Winter Olympics of 1999.
Ally & I again hired all the equipment needed and off we headed for the Bunny Slopes again. At this venue there are a variety of Magic carpets from the very basic to a little more adventurous. After a while I decided to be even more daredevil and took the chair lift up to the top. As I headed up I think that I realised that I had made a mistake. But when I reached to top I was certain that this was actually beyond my novice capabilities. The slope was quite steep and there were a number of experienced skiers whizzing down with confidence.
Anyway there was only one thing to do and that was to try to make my way down without breaking my neck. I decided the way to go would be to Zig and Zag from side to side rather than zoom headlong down with no way of stopping. This worked quite well as I managed a few Zig and Zags without incident. However after about four of these I was heading in a Zig direction when a snowboarder decided to stop in front of me. I am quite sure that a skilful skier would have been able to avoid a collision but BANG I collided with this young boy.
Skis snowboard and people went flying. I collected my right shoulder on the hard snow and while the snowboarder was quickly up and off, it took me quite a while before I could compose myself and headed downhill again. I finally reached the bottom where Barbara & Dawn were waiting. I was quite shaken but nothing a hot chocolate could not cure.
I did not venture up the chair lift again that day but after four hours of skiing was very glad to head off home. For me it is the tension in the leg muscles and generally the work required that exhausted me. Ally was by now making real progress and would take the magic carpet up and zoom down, coming to a skilful stop at the start of the magic carpet.
The next time we went to the COP it was the turn of Dawn and Barbara to try skiing. They had decided to try cross country. The boots and skis are quite different as are the skills required. They took a lesson and Barbara was soon able to control the skis and have a fall-free down hill run. It looked quite fun but was also exhausting. Barbara had a final down section that the instructor took them down but was unable to stop herself and came to an undignified and painful stop on her rear end.
Our final attempt at skiing was back at the Kananaskis ski resort. Ally & I again hired all the necessary equipment but this time I took a helmet as well as I was determined to venture up the chair lift and up to the more daring slopes. After a short while on the bunny slopes I managed to convince Ally to come with me and the two of us ventured over to the Bronze Slopes. For many skiers this would be too tame but for us it looked just right.
We lined up for the lift and when it came to our turn we took off with a bit of a jerk and I gave Ally a knock on the head. Soon we were way above the skiers below. Mark and Cale had also decided to use this ski lift. They were on snowboards and it would be Cale’s first time up to this height. As we reached the top both Ally & I tried to ski off but ended up in a heap of skis and limbs. Falling down with skis on is most undignified and I was happy when I was offered a hand up and we were able to recover some of our composure.
Now I don’t want to make out that this would qualify for a Sylvester Stallone movie but the descent looked quite scary as we started down. But after a bit of a shaky start we started the Zigging and Zagging and made our way safely to the bottom. And were elated! We took up our position in the queue for the chair lift again and off we went. This time we were ready when we reached the top and alighted gracefully as we skied off. We were soon whizzing down as though we were used to this and not two Hill Billies from sunny South Africa. After the first two times we began to develop confidence and went up and down again a number of times before we realised that this was really tiring and headed back to the café for a drink.
I was extatic at how Ally had grasped the basic skill so quickly and was also happy with my own progress. We had planned to have one more attempt but time ran out and we determined that we would do some skiing as soon as an opportunity presented itself again.
While we were in Canada it was my 57th birthday. That evening my family took us out for supper where we had a delightful evening and as excellent meal. They presented me with a book voucher for a shop called Chapters where we would sit in the mornings and enjoy a Starbucks coffee and browse through the shop.
With this voucher I was able to purchase: a book telling the story of a man tried for teaching evolution in the “Bible Belt of America; a book telling the inside story of Michael Schumacher; another one called from Lance to Landis. After reading this book I am totally convinced that both these riders used performance enhancing dope while cycling I bought a fascinating novel telling the story of a Palestinian in Bethlehem. I bought two “books on Disc” and finally I bought two fiction novels. I had a huge amount of fun choosing the books and being assisted by the store staff.
We spent an evening at the Calgary Zoo. This was not to see any animals but so see the “Zoo Lights”. The Calgary Zoo decorates the pathways, trees and various exhibits with the most amazing Christmas lights and people come from all over to see this spectacle. Another tourist destination was the Science Centre. We enjoyed experimenting with the interactive exhibits.
One evening we went to watch Asher and Cale as they attempted to take part in the Ice Hockey. As you are aware this is one of the major sports of Canada. The Canadian children grow up skating and were quite a way ahead of the two South African Children. Nevertheless our two brave nephews acquitted themselves quite well and were keen to go again after their first try out. Standing out in the snow it was freezing for us adults and we had to take it in turns to be supporters while the others would thaw out indoors.
We were able to buy a second-hand pair of skates and Ally did some ice skating with Asher and Cale at the local rink in Priddis. While they were skating we visited the little library there. What really fascinated me was the way that Dawn took out a couple of books. There were no people in attendance. The Library operates on trust; you are expected to return books when finished and donate books as often as you can.
Living in Canada is a very ordered life. They do not have the pressing issues and problems that we have. People obey traffic laws. The police do not have the volume or complexity of crime & investigations that we have. When people do break the law there are consequences and there is enforcement. We examined a police vehicle which had an on-board computer that was linked to police headquarters and provided a complete history of previous offenders or of any vehicle on the road.
We saw little or no evidence of security. Homes open to the street without walls, spikes or electric barricades. Generally we found the Canadian people to be very friendly. But our family tells us that this is superficial and Canadians rarely visit or invite friends to their homes. There is a large South African community in Calgary.
Ally had been doing a lot of swim training before we left and so as often as we could we would get down to the YMCA gym where we would spend as much time as we could both swimming and running. The gym has a runner’s track where you can do a kilometre in 8 laps.
Canada operates a vast Volunteer system. People volunteer for all kinds of work. There are sections of highways that are regularly cleaned by a local school or other organisation. When we arrived at Calgary airport we were welcomed by a lady in a smart red Mounties outfit. She was a volunteer. At the Gym the reception clerks were volunteers. Many of the people we encountered at the Zoo were volunteers.
Our return trip consisted of a 9 hour flight to London, a day with Jacqui in London, a 12 hour flight to Cape Town and the day with Nicci & family in CT. then the following morning we left CT at 02.00am and had an 8 hour drive home. Barbara & Ally slept most of the way and I was able to listen to one of the books on disk that I had purchased.
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