BONGOLO MARATHON
6TH NOVEMBER 2004
I have run a number of Bong’s. My cousin, Wayne used to stay in Queenstown and so I would often stay over at his home. In the past I have been up with other Achilleans such as Bob Stedman, Ron Pask and Medicine Dlabati. More recently and since Wayne moved back to PE I have taken to camping at the dam and running the race the next day. Bill Corkill and others have camped with me. The start at the Bongolo Dam is often quite chilly. One morning a few years ago, I was at the start of the race and met up with Roz Gerber. I was feeling low and lazy and chatting to Roz, so was she. So when the gun went off the two of us turned around and ran the 21 instead of the 42.
This year I had planned to run the race and had Tim Gendall, Earl Scott and Stuart Brown as running partners for the event. As the time drew nearer, Stuart had to pull out due to work pressure and then, in the last week, Earl also had to pull out. Earl is a Pharmacist and the new regulations pertaining to Pharmacies has affected his business. Tim does not do too much training but is a natural athlete and can cope with the rigours of a marathon on minimal training. I had been training on a daily basis but no real long runs except for the 27 in Port Alfred and two weeks later the 27 in PE. Tim and I had run these two events.
On Friday afternoon Tim and I left PE at about 14.00 and with one stop at the Baddaford farm stall, got to the dam at just before 18.00. It took us about a half-hour to set up camp in the area behind the clubhouse at the dam. We registered and then went for the traditional pasta supper in the tent. The organisers had moved the bar to the clubhouse and so we did not see any of the PE people. We also missed Mike and Elaine Burger … Ex Queenstown Harriers and Ex Crusaders now living in East London. The supper was tasty, substantial and good value for money at R20.00. At this stage the locals had set up a fireworks display (being Guy Falkes night). As they did not serve coffee and we were not in the mood for beers, we drove to the filling station in town and there we had a coffee. Feeling quite stuffed we were soon ready for bed. Parked the car next to the tent and left the radio playing. That put me to sleep in a few minutes. I have stretcher camping beds and comfortable fold up mattresses so had a good night’s rest. Tim told me that he had a fitful sleep as he was disturbed by the coming and going of the cars and people. Many of the people who come to run the Bong are there more for the party than the race. The girls in particular seemed to be having a great time there.
I was up at 04.00 and went to the ablutions where I was greeted by some of the black runners who were showering. I think that they often have a hard time as they sleep on the floor where ever they can find a warm dry spot. I checked with them that the race did start at 05.30 and went back to bed for some more sleep. I woke again at 05.00 and found Tim nearly ready. 20 Minutes later we were ready to amble down to the start. The 21 and the 42 start at the same time and place. The 42 heads out in an Easterly direction towards Dordrecht and the 21 in a Westerly direction towards town. The race was started by a man standing on a big truck. He had one of those “Tins of Hooter” which he blasted but no one paid any attention to until he kind of shooed us away. So off we went. By this time we realised that we were the only Achillean representatives in the 42. The Boschoffs were not there nor any of the other regular Bong runners. We were soon to see that there were no Crusaders, no Body Concept runners and to top it all; no PE Club runners. We did however see a few of the black guys from Harmony and a few PEB runners. Quite strange running a race in the Eastern Cape where there are so few people to greet.
The race heads out away from town for two kays before turning into a farm road. The weather was good to us being overcast, not too cold but quite high humidity. At the start we greeted one of the few people that we recognised, Charlene who used to work for Spar. It was about here that we passed a man with one leg in a prosthesis. He is a big man and was breathing heavily but said the artificial leg was not hurting him today. We saw him much later as we were driving home and he still had about half a kay to go. He missed the 5 hour cut off but his personal sense of achievement must be huge. Anyway as we were heading off down the dirt road we agreed that we really did not feel like a marathon today. I was feeling heavy and tired before 5 kays were gone. And then we saw the fast runners coming back and making it all look so easy. At this stage not even the “Jong Bokkies” could lighten the load. The grazing cows in the nearby fields gave me a sense of peace and made me ask the question “What on earth am I doing running a 42kay 350 kays from home?’”. We met up with Alize and Elize from Albany. And we were to run with them in our vicinity for most of the first 28 kays. Then Alize, who has a PE sister called Alida, and runs for Uitenhage I think (small tattoo on the back of her shoulder), passed us. We never saw Elize again after this.
After ten kays it was back onto the tar road and at 12 kays past the start. This had taken us a little over an hour and the first of the 21 kay runners were finishing. Disgusting when you think about it! We were feeling a bit better now as we had warmed up and so the thought of bailing was not there. Past the dam wall and down the hill to the main road at about 15kays. Now the 21ers were coming past us thick as fast. They were heading home and we were at the 16 and 17 kay mark with 25kays to go! Still none of the PE regulars. And then into the suburbs and past some of the most beautiful gardens and homes that there are in the country. Through a short pathway and round the reservoir took us to about the 21 kay mark. At this stage I was wondering how I was ever going to make it to the finish. I had heavy and tired legs. Tim was being kind and waiting for me. The route then takes a strange kind of loop past the schools and the Queenstown Harriers clubhouse.
At 25kays is the start of the Heartbreak Hill and into the reserve area. This hill is nearly three kays altogether but with some leveling out in-between. Here the seconding is great with a number of pretty young girls whooping and shouting encouragement to get us to the top. It is only at the 28kay mark that the downhill starts again. Last year a cyclist had passed us on the down and took a tumble on the gravel road. Then at the 30 kay mark (just after the Jackson’s Isuzu watering point) the race leaves the Lonehill nature reserve and heads along a dirt road back to town. About here started the walking stage. “Okay Tim we run to that lamp pole and then walk to the next intersection” This is the kind of statement familiar to us back markers.
Once back in the suburbs of Queenstown the route takes the runners along wide roads where it is best to stay on the North side to enjoy every bit of shade that you can. The town becomes hot and the sun bakes down onto the runners who take as long to complete the race as we were going to. The watering stations are excellent. Some of them less than a Kay apart. I presume that this is in anticipation of the extreme heat that can be part of the Bong. Also they are catering for the 21 kay runners as well. Today it was not particularly hot but still hot enough to seek out the shade.
At this stage others started to pass us at an alarming rate. It was down to single figures and I was unable to manage a full kay of running without a walk. Tim set the points where we were allowed to take a break and we jogged on. At the four kay to go mark I met up with Tony, an ex PE man who works at PG glass and commutes to Queenstown. Finally we got to the turn off to the dam. 3 kays to go. This is mainly uphill with a nasty steep climb of 600meters just before the start of the last kay. Tim charged up and I walked, jogged up. I found him enjoying the attention of the pretty girls from the FNB watering station and having a street shower. We managed to run the whole of the final kay to the finish and timed ourselves at a magnificent 4H19. Did I say Magnificent, when the next day Hendrik Ramaala goes on to win the New York Marathon in 2H09? A proud moment for SA.
Well done to the Queenstown Harriers and their supporters who together put on an excellent event. The local businesses seem to give huge support to the club in the form of seconding, goodie bag and prizes. In addition the locals turn out in good numbers to support the runners and SA Breweries.
I was exhausted to say the least. Tim said he had plenty of Vooma left. A short rest, hot showers and we were ready to pack up. Bob Stedman has a saying that you can tell a runners fitness by the rate of recovery. The showers are really hot due to a “Donkey” or wood heated geyser that is kept permanently burning. Packing up the tent and gear took us about 20mins and we headed off home. Once we had filled up with petrol we did not stop until we were home, there was minimal traffic and just one stop start where there were road-works. The drive took us a little over 3.30 hours.
And as if we had not had enough of each other by that time we spent the afternoon watching the Springbok side play Wales. The last time SA played Wales in June of this year they had beaten them 53 to 18 at Loftus. The Boks had come off a Tri-Nations win in August 2004 (after losing to both teams in away games). They had beaten New Zealand 40 to 26 at Ellis Park then in the final, beaten world champions Australia 23 to 19 at ABSA Park in Durban. The Boks managed (almost by default) to beat the Welsh at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff by just two points 38 to 36. There was a crowd of over 50 000 spectators and it seemed to us that half of them were South Africans. Percy Montgommery scored most of the points (23) with a try and taking the penalties & conversions. The other try scorers were Jaco van der Westhuizen, Joe van Niekerk & Jean de Villiers. Victor Matfield took man of the match. Other play makers for the South African team were Fourie du Preez at scrum half, Marius Joubert and our favourite; Schalk Burger. John Smit captained the side with Jake White as head coach.
This was the start of the tour to the UK with three more matches to follow. (Ireland {SA beat Ireland twice in June this year; at Newlands 26 to 17 and Vodacom park 31 to 17}, England [we were beaten 25 to 6 by England when we last played them in the world cup, October 2003] and Scotland {we last played Scotland in June 2003 where we beat them 28 to 19} and then off the Argentina [the PE stadium was the venue for the last match, June 2003, where we scraped home with a victory of 26 to 25} for five consecutive Saturdays). So it seems possible that we may yet win the Grand Slam on this tour. SA are currently ranked 5th in the world of Rugby behind NZ, Australia, England and France. After us are Ireland, Wales, Argentina and Scotland.
It had been a good day for us generally. The next morning we were able to go for a 500m swim to the Coke can in our attempt to train for the Energade Triathlon later in the month.
Peter Giddy
6 November 2004.
Saturday, November 6, 2004
Sunday, September 26, 2004
MILL PARK RUNNING GROUP RUN THE STILBAAI 21KAY SEPTEMBER 2006
STILBAAI REPORT
26 SEPTEMBER 2004.
In September 2003, Susan Burri and her family went to Stilbaai to join their family. Susan then decided to run the 21kay race that is held annually during the local S, S & K Fees. I think that Sue said this stands for Strand, Sand and Kultuur. But could be wrong. I am not sure that we were exposed to any Kultuur except maybe the Bokdrol competition that you can read about on page 4. Anyway this lead to her organising the MPRG to run the event in September of 2004.
The Mill Park Running Group (MPRG), for the uninformed, is a small group of people who meet in the mornings on the corner of Wares and Salisbury road (next to Grey school) in Port Elizabeth. The group includes members of a number of running clubs plus those who belong to no club at all and has a variety of country members (the Fears, the Elfiks, the Richards’ & the Niebergs to name a few) ex members, ex runners, family and friends of members and anyone else who one of the current members feels will feel comfortable in the group (runners or not!). I think that there are some of the older (oops I mean more mature) members who would disagree with my summation of membership but the reality is that almost every one and any one is welcome to join the group. Membership is actually a really complicated issue that is understood by no one at all except Kobus. And that is only because he is advisor in chief to the chairman of the group. And because Andy seems to have elected Kobus as spokesman. And all decisions made in this group are determined by the chairman in his normal democratic way. Usually soon after he has re-elected himself to his position of chairman for a further ten years in office. I said complicated!
So back to Stilbaai; Those who heard of it and could make the weekend were:
Myself, (Barbara & Alli were in London to visit our family there),
Andy (the chairman in case you missed it) and Bev;
Caroliss (When Kobus is in love) or Carol and Kobus;
Benita and Andrew (Andrew has just been transferred to Botswana),
Pat, Gerald and their beautiful daughter Ronelle;
Tracey (official organiser, secretary, and communications expert) Herman (official Photographer), Leah and Kim;
Susan, Markus, MC and Emilio;
Angela and Richard (Angela is just recovering from an operation and stress fracture);
Dorothea (also know as Doortjie, lives in Sedgefield and was one of the main reasons why we agreed to this trip). Doortjie does not qualify for the status of “Jong Bokkie” because she does not engage in conversation on the run….see later commentary on Gerald’s run;
Maryna (who has never met with the group before and does little running but wears a Comrades T-Shirt and is a friend of Sue’s so immediately qualified for membership of the MPRG) Maryna had given Paula a lift to Mossel Baai where she was due to catch a bus to Cape Town for a bike fitting. On the way there the car battery had failed and so Maryna had to borrow a battery for the weekend;
Rob (Rob has only run with the group for one year and so is still a probationary visitor with no status at all!); Did I mention that membership of the MPRG is complicated?
Stuart and Rianna who kindly agreed to keep me company for the drive there and back;
Graham (known for his cheerful disposition), Cherryl and Kristin;
Baron who had travelled with the Bartons and who kept pining for Linda who had charged off to the Natal Midlands on a church mission.
Then there was Sue’s family (Sister Lora and Hennie Plus children). I cannot remember all the names of these people and was never sure which children belonged to who but just that they were a great family who loved Sue very much and seemed to enjoy the whole outing as much as we did.
This made a total of over 30 people who had to be accommodated and fed. Sue seemed to have done a marvellous job of setting up the whole weekend.
Stilbaai is a holiday town at the mouth of the Goukou River (spelling may be wrong). It is bigger than a village but not quite a town. It has a Spar, Friendly Grocer and an OK Foods if that is anything to go by. It is situated about 470 kays West of PE, 20kays off the N2 to Cape Town. The turn off is between the Gouritz bridge, where the Bungee jumping is done, and Riversdale.
We stayed in a variety of facilities from self catering, Bed and Breakfast to shared homes. The central venue was the Pink House which belongs to Sue’s sister and is right on the river / beach. 14 of us stayed in the blue house known as Bloubaasie. The travel arrangements were individually organised. Some went down on the Thursday as far a Greyton and Hermanus to see the whales. The main group seemed to arrive on the Friday which was Heritage Day and therefore a public holiday. Stuart, Mariana & I had stopped over at Ena in Plett for breakfast.
Once we had established our accommodation I saw how many children there were there I became quite sad that Alli was not there as she would have loved to be part of the group of fun loving children. I was able to finish off the Grisham book that I had been reading since Rhodes. That evening we met at a restaurant on the East Bank of the River where we occupied two long tables and proceeded to receive some of the best service that any first class restaurant could ever hope to offer such a big group. I was lucky enough to sit next to Kristin and Maryna. Graham had warned me to choose my company well as, at a table like this, the evening can be completely spoilt by the company that you have forced upon you. I also had Doortjie, Tracey and Markus opposite me so my evening was a great success and I was kept entertained.
The weekend had so many highlights and this was one of them. Kobus had decided that this was to be a slightly elitist reunion of the Greek marathon trip of 2003. Last year some of the MPRG had travelled to Athens to experience the original route from Marathon to Athens. It was also the route for the 2004 Olympics. The restaurant was decorated as Greek setting with murals that seemed almost like they had known we were coming. Kobus had a bottle of Ouzo which was opened and the cap immediately lost so the bottle had to be finished. We had a lot of laughs and a good meal as well.
The Saturday morning saw us ready to run at about 07.00am. We met where we thought the start would be and found there to be no one else there. We are so used to being at the start of a race in PE with ET blaring out all his useless information and a whole lot of runners milling around that we were quite lost for a while. At about 07.25 there seemed to be a fair number of runners at the start and at 07.30 we demanded that the race be started. The Organiser then began his announcements in Afrikaans. This town is entirely Afrikaans. And the race eventually got underway about 5 mins late. The group of runners consisted of myself, Andy, Kobus, Benita and Andrew, Susan, Richard, Doortjie, Pat & Gerald, Stuart, Baron, Rob and Graham (14 in all, although we were also joined for a short while by Alf Zemke). We had the usual photo shoot before the run with the (elitist) Greek group receiving special attention again.
We were to be supported by Ronelle and Maryna on Bicycles. Richard, ignoring all the rules and etiquette of the MPRG, went ahead with Doortjie. Doortjie soon realised that her mistake could seriously affect her continued acceptance in this group and hung back for the chairman and his cronies to pass. We stuck together for a while, Gerald searching out a Jong Bokkie decided that Sue would have to do. Graham had no training after 2 Oceans (not that he had done much running prior to Oceans) and paid the price. Pat found a friendly bunch of Outeniqua runners to take care of her and the rest of us pressed on to the turn on the East Bank. Soon thereafter Rob decided to see what the sand tasted like. He was, unfortunately, a little behind the main group and so no one was able to stomp over him or kick him when he was down. The fall seemed to anger Rob and so at 11kays, when Baron was totally bored with the 5.5min a kay pace and pushed off up the first of the hills, Rob tried to catch him.
The second half of the race consisted of hills, hills and (mmmm?) Hills. Along the route we were supported by Ronelle who cycled sedately next to us at various stages and Maryna who was asked to do some acrobatics and proceeded to do the splits on the bike as she whizzed past us. And then just as we though that we may be coming to the end of the hills we passed a sewage farm that made the Haitian storm damage problems (Hurricane Ivan had recently smashed up this island and caused huge devastation), smell like Jasmine in summer. This was at the 17kay marker, here we had also seen a Dung Beetle which was trying to sort out the sewage farm stench by rolling away golf ball size balls of dung one at a time.
From here the route lead to the beach. The sand was soft and really made the going tough. The sun was bright at this stage and I began to heat up. Mercifully this stretch is only about 2 kays before entering back to the tar road and then the race ends with an uphill and the final kay on a slight incline. The feature of the last watering point was the Coon Carnival type band (sponsored by Friendly Grocer) that kept the runners and seconders in good spirits.
Baron had managed to catch Richard and finished just ahead of him in 1.44: Rob followed shortly after them and promptly ran back along the course to fetch Pat. What a gentleman! Then came the little group of Kobus (first GM and 3rd M), Benita, Andy and myself. Stuart, Doortjie, Tracey and the rest of the group followed soon thereafter. The pair of Andrew and Graham ambled in with a beer in hand provided by faithful seconding Cherryl & Kristin.
After the run we went back to the house where we were able to shower and relax. The prize-giving was at 11.45 and we arrived just in time to watch the Coons doing their song routine before the best and briefest prize-giving I have ever experienced. We had Money winners in Kobus and Pat from our group. We all expected them to invite us for drinks in the beer tent but were to be disappointed as they stashed the loot for their own enjoyment!
The prize-giving was held in the S, S & K Fees area. Here there were a number of activities; The ones that interested us the most were firstly the Bokdroll spitting competition where one could put the Bokdroll in your mouth and see if you could spit it further than the last person in the hope of winning a sheep! None of us entered this competition. Then there was the riding of the bull machine which Herman bravely entered and gave us a fair rendition of Yipee kay yeah! while waving his left hand in the air, before being dumped onto the air bag. After this we moved to the Ice cream vendor where Gerald managed to down two of these soft serves but was quite taken aback when he received no accolades nor did he win first prize for ice cream eating GM of the Fees!
I had received a message that Markus was waiting to take me on a roller coaster ride so I sped over to the Pink house where Markus pounced on me and just as the rain started to pelt down we launched his doubles paddle ski and began our quest for a new route to Australia. Maryna was also out there on a single ski looking for any friendly sharks to race. Fearless! Markus, Maryna and I went up in my list of the most intrepid people that I know. As we went further out I noticed that the swells were the size of a fairly large mountain. Markus then announced that we should paddle as fast as possible to avoid certain death. I complied. And we raced down this mountain of a wave while Markus started to tell me of the time that he had had to swim from about this spot back to shore. I looked up and found that I could not even see the shore. And paddled even faster. Exhilarating, Exhausting, Fun and Scary. Thanks Markus. I cannot wait for my next time out with you. Runners do not use their tummy muscles except for eating nor their upper body muscles except for drinking.
After this I had no energy for much except to sit and chat to the kitchen group. They were hard at work preparing for the braai that we were going to have at the Wilbur Smith home. Baron and I had purchased some goodies for the braai, Maryna was making a salad fit for a king and Sue & Tracey were creating a Lemon Meringue Pie that was to feed the masses. Later that afternoon we drove in convoy to the WS homestead which turned out to be a really beautiful farm located on both sides of the Goukou River. On the East side was the stud farm that we learnt also belonged to one of the Burri relatives (Alters. Who is reputed to be anything from an advocate to a supreme court judge). He gave us a really interesting few stories of how stud farmers can get really lucky. However it appears that he creates his own luck with some astute lineage management. Lookout for this years winner of the Breeders stakes. I think that this is an important horse race to be held in America which could help to make Alters even more famous. Alters bought the farm from Wilbur and has developed it further. He told us of how Wilbur used to row across the river to a house on the other side where he would spend his days in solitude and produce the wonderful novels that we all know so well.
Wilbur Smith
Born Zambia 1933. Educated Michaelhouse and Rhodes University
Living in London. Wilbur (after visiting his home I feel that I am on first name terms) has written 30 books.
His first book is The Lion Feeds (1964) and his latest continues with the Courtney Series, “Blue Horizon” (2003) and his next book to be released (early in 2005) is “The Triumph of the Sun”
We then followed Alters though a guided tour of the nearby valley in the farm where an aqua duct had been built from two different sources in the valley. A farmer many years ago had had the forethought to shore up the areas where the water flowed strongly from the mountain side. Alters explained that the mountain consisted of chalk and that there were huge underground dams of water deep in the mountain and that water flowed continuously from these dams. We then did a bit of Bundu bashing with the younger group amazing me how they were quite happy to run around barefoot. Leah reminded me a number of times that she was first of the girls as we made our way back eventually what Alters referred to as his “Folly”.
He has built an amphitheatre in the valley. It is an elaborate structure with ample seating for in excess of 50 people, a water feature, lighting and a stage with good acoustics as we then heard while firstly the children did a little show for us (a repeat performance was conducted later in the evening) and Maryna then entertained us with a rendition of Swan Lake that turned out to be the waterfall that flows into the Swan Lake rather than the swans swimming about. I though about giving the anxious audience a rendition of the well known folksong by Koos Kombuis: “Almal wil ‘n huisie by die see he” but Sue discouraged me. Again I felt a sense of melancholy as I missed the two girls in my life. They would have loved the evening.
Later that evening there was a huge amount of speculation regarding the potential relationship that could emerge from the Paula / Deon encounter that was in progress in Cape Town. It seems quite likely now that Kobus will soon have Peter and Adrienne Wilson as part of his family. The MPRG is waiting for the next episode of this gripping soapie.
The missing phone!
(For the original Missing Phone Story see the report on the Otter Trail written earlier this year.) When we got back to the braai area we were pleased to see that Richard was trying to redeem himself into the Chairman’s favour by lighting the fire. It was about this time that I realised that my phone was missing. First I looked around the braai area … nothing! Then I asked Andy for the keys to the car and searched the back seat. Again nothing. So I then had a brainwave and asked Gerald to phone me, but despite using his acute hearing ability to assist my search we were still unsuccessful. So back to the car I went and again tried to phone myself. I heard the ringing on Gerald’s phone but no sign of my phone anywhere. Must have left it in the room I thought to myself. But later when I searched the bedroom and the house I was to come up empty-handed. So the phone was lost I thought.
No! I decided to continue the search when we were back at the house, found my torch and searched my car, drove over to where Andy was staying and searched his car again. Also asked Gerald to phone me one more time but now the phone had been switched off. Mmmmm? I thought deeply to myself. The plot thickens. Richard became so caught up in my missing phone saga and (feeling that he was missing out on some of the limelight), announced that his wallet had been stolen. But when he realised that the wallet was supposed to be in a drawer where Angela had her cell phone he realised that his story was not going to capture the attention of the group like my missing phone story. He then quickly “found” his wallet in his tog bag and I was able to re-focus the attention of the group on the missing phone! Herman even set his look-alike phone to try to locate mine. Nothing worked.
Now you probably want to hear what really happened to the phone!! There are a couple of versions; and then there is the truth. You can decide for yourself.
Version one
Andy is my insurance broker. Some time ago and at my request he examined my policy and advised me to remove the phone from the list of specified items. Of course his lovely wife, Bev had no idea that Andy would not insist on insuring such a valuable item as a phone. And seeing the opportunity for a quick profit, slipped the phone into her handbag. On the way home she and Andy were talking about my lost phone and Andy told Bev of his advice to me. Oops thought Bev! And quietly “found” the phone. Guilt was all over her face when she returned the lost phone to me. Insurance scams of incredible magnitude have small beginnings.
Version two
Andy & I use the same car phone holder and so have to use the same phone. Andy’s phone has recently given him some trouble and seeing the easy and cheapest solution to the problem he found a moment when he thought that no one would notice (I was walking in the valley, Richard was lighting the fire, others were pouring drinks etc). He then picked up the phone and slipped it into poor, innocent Bevs handbag thinking that he would retrieve it later. Andy however had more than his regulation two glasses of wine and became quite disorientated due to the effect of the intoxicating nature of the alcohol. It was only the next day as they were driving home and Bev discovered the offending item in her handbag that Andy remembered his foolish action and asked Bev to say that it was her mistake. This would explain the look of guilt on her face. Mmmm I thought to myself for the umpteenth time.
Version three
Someone does not like me (impossible!) and thought to play a prank (very unlikely). Slipped the phone into Bevs handbag knowing that it would cause me to have a sleepless night (although everyone knows that I sleep like a “Peter”). And that it would be found the next day. Most improbable version.
Version four
On Monday morning, on the run, Kobus informed me that Bev had mentioned to Carol (during the Friday night supper) that it was now in vogue to have two cell phones. In particular Bev had been eyeing mine as a fashion statement.
You decide which is the truthful version. But I did receive the phone back from a very sheepish and guilty looking Bev on Sunday afternoon.
Well we had that braai going at quite a lick when we were invited for a second look at the amphitheatre this was the chance for those who had not yet been able to start the grilling process to do so. Baron & I soon had those filet steaks cooked to a perfect medium rare. A little later when everyone there felt that they were completely stuffed and could not force another morsel into their already dilated tummy’s, Tracey emerged with the most delicious Lemon Meringue Tart that we have ever had. That was about it for most of us. Gerlad assured me that the Burri’s liked to “Kuier” and would be long before returning home. The rest of us made our weary way home and sat in the lounge chatting. It was here that I felt a sense of sadness as we thought of the Bartons leaving us. Life will just not be the same without the quick wit of Andrew and the terms of endearment from Benita. Don’t forget us. And try to visit often please.
On the way home from Stilbaai the Bartons were about 50kays into the drive when they discovered that they had Gerald’s car keys. So they had to turn round and added an extra bit of sightseeing to their trip.
And that was about the end of our 21kay run at Stilbaai. On our way home we again stopped off at Ena in Plett for coffee and a muffin and were home at 12.00. We had passed a cycle tour that started in Plett. The poor cyclists were in the rain and cold and many of the back markers were totally on their own. It seems to be a tough course with the return route taking the cyclists through both the Groot Rivier and the Bloukrans passes.
From all of us: to the Burri family:
Thank you, Dankie, Thank you!
Peter
Sunday 26 September 2004.
26 SEPTEMBER 2004.
In September 2003, Susan Burri and her family went to Stilbaai to join their family. Susan then decided to run the 21kay race that is held annually during the local S, S & K Fees. I think that Sue said this stands for Strand, Sand and Kultuur. But could be wrong. I am not sure that we were exposed to any Kultuur except maybe the Bokdrol competition that you can read about on page 4. Anyway this lead to her organising the MPRG to run the event in September of 2004.
The Mill Park Running Group (MPRG), for the uninformed, is a small group of people who meet in the mornings on the corner of Wares and Salisbury road (next to Grey school) in Port Elizabeth. The group includes members of a number of running clubs plus those who belong to no club at all and has a variety of country members (the Fears, the Elfiks, the Richards’ & the Niebergs to name a few) ex members, ex runners, family and friends of members and anyone else who one of the current members feels will feel comfortable in the group (runners or not!). I think that there are some of the older (oops I mean more mature) members who would disagree with my summation of membership but the reality is that almost every one and any one is welcome to join the group. Membership is actually a really complicated issue that is understood by no one at all except Kobus. And that is only because he is advisor in chief to the chairman of the group. And because Andy seems to have elected Kobus as spokesman. And all decisions made in this group are determined by the chairman in his normal democratic way. Usually soon after he has re-elected himself to his position of chairman for a further ten years in office. I said complicated!
So back to Stilbaai; Those who heard of it and could make the weekend were:
Myself, (Barbara & Alli were in London to visit our family there),
Andy (the chairman in case you missed it) and Bev;
Caroliss (When Kobus is in love) or Carol and Kobus;
Benita and Andrew (Andrew has just been transferred to Botswana),
Pat, Gerald and their beautiful daughter Ronelle;
Tracey (official organiser, secretary, and communications expert) Herman (official Photographer), Leah and Kim;
Susan, Markus, MC and Emilio;
Angela and Richard (Angela is just recovering from an operation and stress fracture);
Dorothea (also know as Doortjie, lives in Sedgefield and was one of the main reasons why we agreed to this trip). Doortjie does not qualify for the status of “Jong Bokkie” because she does not engage in conversation on the run….see later commentary on Gerald’s run;
Maryna (who has never met with the group before and does little running but wears a Comrades T-Shirt and is a friend of Sue’s so immediately qualified for membership of the MPRG) Maryna had given Paula a lift to Mossel Baai where she was due to catch a bus to Cape Town for a bike fitting. On the way there the car battery had failed and so Maryna had to borrow a battery for the weekend;
Rob (Rob has only run with the group for one year and so is still a probationary visitor with no status at all!); Did I mention that membership of the MPRG is complicated?
Stuart and Rianna who kindly agreed to keep me company for the drive there and back;
Graham (known for his cheerful disposition), Cherryl and Kristin;
Baron who had travelled with the Bartons and who kept pining for Linda who had charged off to the Natal Midlands on a church mission.
Then there was Sue’s family (Sister Lora and Hennie Plus children). I cannot remember all the names of these people and was never sure which children belonged to who but just that they were a great family who loved Sue very much and seemed to enjoy the whole outing as much as we did.
This made a total of over 30 people who had to be accommodated and fed. Sue seemed to have done a marvellous job of setting up the whole weekend.
Stilbaai is a holiday town at the mouth of the Goukou River (spelling may be wrong). It is bigger than a village but not quite a town. It has a Spar, Friendly Grocer and an OK Foods if that is anything to go by. It is situated about 470 kays West of PE, 20kays off the N2 to Cape Town. The turn off is between the Gouritz bridge, where the Bungee jumping is done, and Riversdale.
We stayed in a variety of facilities from self catering, Bed and Breakfast to shared homes. The central venue was the Pink House which belongs to Sue’s sister and is right on the river / beach. 14 of us stayed in the blue house known as Bloubaasie. The travel arrangements were individually organised. Some went down on the Thursday as far a Greyton and Hermanus to see the whales. The main group seemed to arrive on the Friday which was Heritage Day and therefore a public holiday. Stuart, Mariana & I had stopped over at Ena in Plett for breakfast.
Once we had established our accommodation I saw how many children there were there I became quite sad that Alli was not there as she would have loved to be part of the group of fun loving children. I was able to finish off the Grisham book that I had been reading since Rhodes. That evening we met at a restaurant on the East Bank of the River where we occupied two long tables and proceeded to receive some of the best service that any first class restaurant could ever hope to offer such a big group. I was lucky enough to sit next to Kristin and Maryna. Graham had warned me to choose my company well as, at a table like this, the evening can be completely spoilt by the company that you have forced upon you. I also had Doortjie, Tracey and Markus opposite me so my evening was a great success and I was kept entertained.
The weekend had so many highlights and this was one of them. Kobus had decided that this was to be a slightly elitist reunion of the Greek marathon trip of 2003. Last year some of the MPRG had travelled to Athens to experience the original route from Marathon to Athens. It was also the route for the 2004 Olympics. The restaurant was decorated as Greek setting with murals that seemed almost like they had known we were coming. Kobus had a bottle of Ouzo which was opened and the cap immediately lost so the bottle had to be finished. We had a lot of laughs and a good meal as well.
The Saturday morning saw us ready to run at about 07.00am. We met where we thought the start would be and found there to be no one else there. We are so used to being at the start of a race in PE with ET blaring out all his useless information and a whole lot of runners milling around that we were quite lost for a while. At about 07.25 there seemed to be a fair number of runners at the start and at 07.30 we demanded that the race be started. The Organiser then began his announcements in Afrikaans. This town is entirely Afrikaans. And the race eventually got underway about 5 mins late. The group of runners consisted of myself, Andy, Kobus, Benita and Andrew, Susan, Richard, Doortjie, Pat & Gerald, Stuart, Baron, Rob and Graham (14 in all, although we were also joined for a short while by Alf Zemke). We had the usual photo shoot before the run with the (elitist) Greek group receiving special attention again.
We were to be supported by Ronelle and Maryna on Bicycles. Richard, ignoring all the rules and etiquette of the MPRG, went ahead with Doortjie. Doortjie soon realised that her mistake could seriously affect her continued acceptance in this group and hung back for the chairman and his cronies to pass. We stuck together for a while, Gerald searching out a Jong Bokkie decided that Sue would have to do. Graham had no training after 2 Oceans (not that he had done much running prior to Oceans) and paid the price. Pat found a friendly bunch of Outeniqua runners to take care of her and the rest of us pressed on to the turn on the East Bank. Soon thereafter Rob decided to see what the sand tasted like. He was, unfortunately, a little behind the main group and so no one was able to stomp over him or kick him when he was down. The fall seemed to anger Rob and so at 11kays, when Baron was totally bored with the 5.5min a kay pace and pushed off up the first of the hills, Rob tried to catch him.
The second half of the race consisted of hills, hills and (mmmm?) Hills. Along the route we were supported by Ronelle who cycled sedately next to us at various stages and Maryna who was asked to do some acrobatics and proceeded to do the splits on the bike as she whizzed past us. And then just as we though that we may be coming to the end of the hills we passed a sewage farm that made the Haitian storm damage problems (Hurricane Ivan had recently smashed up this island and caused huge devastation), smell like Jasmine in summer. This was at the 17kay marker, here we had also seen a Dung Beetle which was trying to sort out the sewage farm stench by rolling away golf ball size balls of dung one at a time.
From here the route lead to the beach. The sand was soft and really made the going tough. The sun was bright at this stage and I began to heat up. Mercifully this stretch is only about 2 kays before entering back to the tar road and then the race ends with an uphill and the final kay on a slight incline. The feature of the last watering point was the Coon Carnival type band (sponsored by Friendly Grocer) that kept the runners and seconders in good spirits.
Baron had managed to catch Richard and finished just ahead of him in 1.44: Rob followed shortly after them and promptly ran back along the course to fetch Pat. What a gentleman! Then came the little group of Kobus (first GM and 3rd M), Benita, Andy and myself. Stuart, Doortjie, Tracey and the rest of the group followed soon thereafter. The pair of Andrew and Graham ambled in with a beer in hand provided by faithful seconding Cherryl & Kristin.
After the run we went back to the house where we were able to shower and relax. The prize-giving was at 11.45 and we arrived just in time to watch the Coons doing their song routine before the best and briefest prize-giving I have ever experienced. We had Money winners in Kobus and Pat from our group. We all expected them to invite us for drinks in the beer tent but were to be disappointed as they stashed the loot for their own enjoyment!
The prize-giving was held in the S, S & K Fees area. Here there were a number of activities; The ones that interested us the most were firstly the Bokdroll spitting competition where one could put the Bokdroll in your mouth and see if you could spit it further than the last person in the hope of winning a sheep! None of us entered this competition. Then there was the riding of the bull machine which Herman bravely entered and gave us a fair rendition of Yipee kay yeah! while waving his left hand in the air, before being dumped onto the air bag. After this we moved to the Ice cream vendor where Gerald managed to down two of these soft serves but was quite taken aback when he received no accolades nor did he win first prize for ice cream eating GM of the Fees!
I had received a message that Markus was waiting to take me on a roller coaster ride so I sped over to the Pink house where Markus pounced on me and just as the rain started to pelt down we launched his doubles paddle ski and began our quest for a new route to Australia. Maryna was also out there on a single ski looking for any friendly sharks to race. Fearless! Markus, Maryna and I went up in my list of the most intrepid people that I know. As we went further out I noticed that the swells were the size of a fairly large mountain. Markus then announced that we should paddle as fast as possible to avoid certain death. I complied. And we raced down this mountain of a wave while Markus started to tell me of the time that he had had to swim from about this spot back to shore. I looked up and found that I could not even see the shore. And paddled even faster. Exhilarating, Exhausting, Fun and Scary. Thanks Markus. I cannot wait for my next time out with you. Runners do not use their tummy muscles except for eating nor their upper body muscles except for drinking.
After this I had no energy for much except to sit and chat to the kitchen group. They were hard at work preparing for the braai that we were going to have at the Wilbur Smith home. Baron and I had purchased some goodies for the braai, Maryna was making a salad fit for a king and Sue & Tracey were creating a Lemon Meringue Pie that was to feed the masses. Later that afternoon we drove in convoy to the WS homestead which turned out to be a really beautiful farm located on both sides of the Goukou River. On the East side was the stud farm that we learnt also belonged to one of the Burri relatives (Alters. Who is reputed to be anything from an advocate to a supreme court judge). He gave us a really interesting few stories of how stud farmers can get really lucky. However it appears that he creates his own luck with some astute lineage management. Lookout for this years winner of the Breeders stakes. I think that this is an important horse race to be held in America which could help to make Alters even more famous. Alters bought the farm from Wilbur and has developed it further. He told us of how Wilbur used to row across the river to a house on the other side where he would spend his days in solitude and produce the wonderful novels that we all know so well.
Wilbur Smith
Born Zambia 1933. Educated Michaelhouse and Rhodes University
Living in London. Wilbur (after visiting his home I feel that I am on first name terms) has written 30 books.
His first book is The Lion Feeds (1964) and his latest continues with the Courtney Series, “Blue Horizon” (2003) and his next book to be released (early in 2005) is “The Triumph of the Sun”
We then followed Alters though a guided tour of the nearby valley in the farm where an aqua duct had been built from two different sources in the valley. A farmer many years ago had had the forethought to shore up the areas where the water flowed strongly from the mountain side. Alters explained that the mountain consisted of chalk and that there were huge underground dams of water deep in the mountain and that water flowed continuously from these dams. We then did a bit of Bundu bashing with the younger group amazing me how they were quite happy to run around barefoot. Leah reminded me a number of times that she was first of the girls as we made our way back eventually what Alters referred to as his “Folly”.
He has built an amphitheatre in the valley. It is an elaborate structure with ample seating for in excess of 50 people, a water feature, lighting and a stage with good acoustics as we then heard while firstly the children did a little show for us (a repeat performance was conducted later in the evening) and Maryna then entertained us with a rendition of Swan Lake that turned out to be the waterfall that flows into the Swan Lake rather than the swans swimming about. I though about giving the anxious audience a rendition of the well known folksong by Koos Kombuis: “Almal wil ‘n huisie by die see he” but Sue discouraged me. Again I felt a sense of melancholy as I missed the two girls in my life. They would have loved the evening.
Later that evening there was a huge amount of speculation regarding the potential relationship that could emerge from the Paula / Deon encounter that was in progress in Cape Town. It seems quite likely now that Kobus will soon have Peter and Adrienne Wilson as part of his family. The MPRG is waiting for the next episode of this gripping soapie.
The missing phone!
(For the original Missing Phone Story see the report on the Otter Trail written earlier this year.) When we got back to the braai area we were pleased to see that Richard was trying to redeem himself into the Chairman’s favour by lighting the fire. It was about this time that I realised that my phone was missing. First I looked around the braai area … nothing! Then I asked Andy for the keys to the car and searched the back seat. Again nothing. So I then had a brainwave and asked Gerald to phone me, but despite using his acute hearing ability to assist my search we were still unsuccessful. So back to the car I went and again tried to phone myself. I heard the ringing on Gerald’s phone but no sign of my phone anywhere. Must have left it in the room I thought to myself. But later when I searched the bedroom and the house I was to come up empty-handed. So the phone was lost I thought.
No! I decided to continue the search when we were back at the house, found my torch and searched my car, drove over to where Andy was staying and searched his car again. Also asked Gerald to phone me one more time but now the phone had been switched off. Mmmmm? I thought deeply to myself. The plot thickens. Richard became so caught up in my missing phone saga and (feeling that he was missing out on some of the limelight), announced that his wallet had been stolen. But when he realised that the wallet was supposed to be in a drawer where Angela had her cell phone he realised that his story was not going to capture the attention of the group like my missing phone story. He then quickly “found” his wallet in his tog bag and I was able to re-focus the attention of the group on the missing phone! Herman even set his look-alike phone to try to locate mine. Nothing worked.
Now you probably want to hear what really happened to the phone!! There are a couple of versions; and then there is the truth. You can decide for yourself.
Version one
Andy is my insurance broker. Some time ago and at my request he examined my policy and advised me to remove the phone from the list of specified items. Of course his lovely wife, Bev had no idea that Andy would not insist on insuring such a valuable item as a phone. And seeing the opportunity for a quick profit, slipped the phone into her handbag. On the way home she and Andy were talking about my lost phone and Andy told Bev of his advice to me. Oops thought Bev! And quietly “found” the phone. Guilt was all over her face when she returned the lost phone to me. Insurance scams of incredible magnitude have small beginnings.
Version two
Andy & I use the same car phone holder and so have to use the same phone. Andy’s phone has recently given him some trouble and seeing the easy and cheapest solution to the problem he found a moment when he thought that no one would notice (I was walking in the valley, Richard was lighting the fire, others were pouring drinks etc). He then picked up the phone and slipped it into poor, innocent Bevs handbag thinking that he would retrieve it later. Andy however had more than his regulation two glasses of wine and became quite disorientated due to the effect of the intoxicating nature of the alcohol. It was only the next day as they were driving home and Bev discovered the offending item in her handbag that Andy remembered his foolish action and asked Bev to say that it was her mistake. This would explain the look of guilt on her face. Mmmm I thought to myself for the umpteenth time.
Version three
Someone does not like me (impossible!) and thought to play a prank (very unlikely). Slipped the phone into Bevs handbag knowing that it would cause me to have a sleepless night (although everyone knows that I sleep like a “Peter”). And that it would be found the next day. Most improbable version.
Version four
On Monday morning, on the run, Kobus informed me that Bev had mentioned to Carol (during the Friday night supper) that it was now in vogue to have two cell phones. In particular Bev had been eyeing mine as a fashion statement.
You decide which is the truthful version. But I did receive the phone back from a very sheepish and guilty looking Bev on Sunday afternoon.
Well we had that braai going at quite a lick when we were invited for a second look at the amphitheatre this was the chance for those who had not yet been able to start the grilling process to do so. Baron & I soon had those filet steaks cooked to a perfect medium rare. A little later when everyone there felt that they were completely stuffed and could not force another morsel into their already dilated tummy’s, Tracey emerged with the most delicious Lemon Meringue Tart that we have ever had. That was about it for most of us. Gerlad assured me that the Burri’s liked to “Kuier” and would be long before returning home. The rest of us made our weary way home and sat in the lounge chatting. It was here that I felt a sense of sadness as we thought of the Bartons leaving us. Life will just not be the same without the quick wit of Andrew and the terms of endearment from Benita. Don’t forget us. And try to visit often please.
On the way home from Stilbaai the Bartons were about 50kays into the drive when they discovered that they had Gerald’s car keys. So they had to turn round and added an extra bit of sightseeing to their trip.
And that was about the end of our 21kay run at Stilbaai. On our way home we again stopped off at Ena in Plett for coffee and a muffin and were home at 12.00. We had passed a cycle tour that started in Plett. The poor cyclists were in the rain and cold and many of the back markers were totally on their own. It seems to be a tough course with the return route taking the cyclists through both the Groot Rivier and the Bloukrans passes.
From all of us: to the Burri family:
Thank you, Dankie, Thank you!
Peter
Sunday 26 September 2004.
MILL PARK RUNNING GROUP RUN THE STILBAAI 21KAY SEPTEMBER 2006
STILBAAI REPORT
26 SEPTEMBER 2004.
In September 2003, Susan Burri and her family went to Stilbaai to join their family. Susan then decided to run the 21kay race that is held annually during the local S, S & K Fees. I think that Sue said this stands for Strand, Sand and Kultuur. But could be wrong. I am not sure that we were exposed to any Kultuur except maybe the Bokdrol competition that you can read about on page 4. Anyway this lead to her organising the MPRG to run the event in September of 2004.
The Mill Park Running Group (MPRG), for the uninformed, is a small group of people who meet in the mornings on the corner of Wares and Salisbury road (next to Grey school) in Port Elizabeth. The group includes members of a number of running clubs plus those who belong to no club at all and has a variety of country members (the Fears, the Elfiks, the Richards’ & the Niebergs to name a few) ex members, ex runners, family and friends of members and anyone else who one of the current members feels will feel comfortable in the group (runners or not!). I think that there are some of the older (oops I mean more mature) members who would disagree with my summation of membership but the reality is that almost every one and any one is welcome to join the group. Membership is actually a really complicated issue that is understood by no one at all except Kobus. And that is only because he is advisor in chief to the chairman of the group. And because Andy seems to have elected Kobus as spokesman. And all decisions made in this group are determined by the chairman in his normal democratic way. Usually soon after he has re-elected himself to his position of chairman for a further ten years in office. I said complicated!
So back to Stilbaai; Those who heard of it and could make the weekend were:
Myself, (Barbara & Alli were in London to visit our family there),
Andy (the chairman in case you missed it) and Bev;
Caroliss (When Kobus is in love) or Carol and Kobus;
Benita and Andrew (Andrew has just been transferred to Botswana),
Pat, Gerald and their beautiful daughter Ronelle;
Tracey (official organiser, secretary, and communications expert) Herman (official Photographer), Leah and Kim;
Susan, Markus, MC and Emilio;
Angela and Richard (Angela is just recovering from an operation and stress fracture);
Dorothea (also know as Doortjie, lives in Sedgefield and was one of the main reasons why we agreed to this trip). Doortjie does not qualify for the status of “Jong Bokkie” because she does not engage in conversation on the run….see later commentary on Gerald’s run;
Maryna (who has never met with the group before and does little running but wears a Comrades T-Shirt and is a friend of Sue’s so immediately qualified for membership of the MPRG) Maryna had given Paula a lift to Mossel Baai where she was due to catch a bus to Cape Town for a bike fitting. On the way there the car battery had failed and so Maryna had to borrow a battery for the weekend;
Rob (Rob has only run with the group for one year and so is still a probationary visitor with no status at all!); Did I mention that membership of the MPRG is complicated?
Stuart and Rianna who kindly agreed to keep me company for the drive there and back;
Graham (known for his cheerful disposition), Cherryl and Kristin;
Baron who had travelled with the Bartons and who kept pining for Linda who had charged off to the Natal Midlands on a church mission.
Then there was Sue’s family (Sister Lora and Hennie Plus children). I cannot remember all the names of these people and was never sure which children belonged to who but just that they were a great family who loved Sue very much and seemed to enjoy the whole outing as much as we did.
This made a total of over 30 people who had to be accommodated and fed. Sue seemed to have done a marvellous job of setting up the whole weekend.
Stilbaai is a holiday town at the mouth of the Goukou River (spelling may be wrong). It is bigger than a village but not quite a town. It has a Spar, Friendly Grocer and an OK Foods if that is anything to go by. It is situated about 470 kays West of PE, 20kays off the N2 to Cape Town. The turn off is between the Gouritz bridge, where the Bungee jumping is done, and Riversdale.
We stayed in a variety of facilities from self catering, Bed and Breakfast to shared homes. The central venue was the Pink House which belongs to Sue’s sister and is right on the river / beach. 14 of us stayed in the blue house known as Bloubaasie. The travel arrangements were individually organised. Some went down on the Thursday as far a Greyton and Hermanus to see the whales. The main group seemed to arrive on the Friday which was Heritage Day and therefore a public holiday. Stuart, Mariana & I had stopped over at Ena in Plett for breakfast.
Once we had established our accommodation I saw how many children there were there I became quite sad that Alli was not there as she would have loved to be part of the group of fun loving children. I was able to finish off the Grisham book that I had been reading since Rhodes. That evening we met at a restaurant on the East Bank of the River where we occupied two long tables and proceeded to receive some of the best service that any first class restaurant could ever hope to offer such a big group. I was lucky enough to sit next to Kristin and Maryna. Graham had warned me to choose my company well as, at a table like this, the evening can be completely spoilt by the company that you have forced upon you. I also had Doortjie, Tracey and Markus opposite me so my evening was a great success and I was kept entertained.
The weekend had so many highlights and this was one of them. Kobus had decided that this was to be a slightly elitist reunion of the Greek marathon trip of 2003. Last year some of the MPRG had travelled to Athens to experience the original route from Marathon to Athens. It was also the route for the 2004 Olympics. The restaurant was decorated as Greek setting with murals that seemed almost like they had known we were coming. Kobus had a bottle of Ouzo which was opened and the cap immediately lost so the bottle had to be finished. We had a lot of laughs and a good meal as well.
The Saturday morning saw us ready to run at about 07.00am. We met where we thought the start would be and found there to be no one else there. We are so used to being at the start of a race in PE with ET blaring out all his useless information and a whole lot of runners milling around that we were quite lost for a while. At about 07.25 there seemed to be a fair number of runners at the start and at 07.30 we demanded that the race be started. The Organiser then began his announcements in Afrikaans. This town is entirely Afrikaans. And the race eventually got underway about 5 mins late. The group of runners consisted of myself, Andy, Kobus, Benita and Andrew, Susan, Richard, Doortjie, Pat & Gerald, Stuart, Baron, Rob and Graham (14 in all, although we were also joined for a short while by Alf Zemke). We had the usual photo shoot before the run with the (elitist) Greek group receiving special attention again.
We were to be supported by Ronelle and Maryna on Bicycles. Richard, ignoring all the rules and etiquette of the MPRG, went ahead with Doortjie. Doortjie soon realised that her mistake could seriously affect her continued acceptance in this group and hung back for the chairman and his cronies to pass. We stuck together for a while, Gerald searching out a Jong Bokkie decided that Sue would have to do. Graham had no training after 2 Oceans (not that he had done much running prior to Oceans) and paid the price. Pat found a friendly bunch of Outeniqua runners to take care of her and the rest of us pressed on to the turn on the East Bank. Soon thereafter Rob decided to see what the sand tasted like. He was, unfortunately, a little behind the main group and so no one was able to stomp over him or kick him when he was down. The fall seemed to anger Rob and so at 11kays, when Baron was totally bored with the 5.5min a kay pace and pushed off up the first of the hills, Rob tried to catch him.
The second half of the race consisted of hills, hills and (mmmm?) Hills. Along the route we were supported by Ronelle who cycled sedately next to us at various stages and Maryna who was asked to do some acrobatics and proceeded to do the splits on the bike as she whizzed past us. And then just as we though that we may be coming to the end of the hills we passed a sewage farm that made the Haitian storm damage problems (Hurricane Ivan had recently smashed up this island and caused huge devastation), smell like Jasmine in summer. This was at the 17kay marker, here we had also seen a Dung Beetle which was trying to sort out the sewage farm stench by rolling away golf ball size balls of dung one at a time.
From here the route lead to the beach. The sand was soft and really made the going tough. The sun was bright at this stage and I began to heat up. Mercifully this stretch is only about 2 kays before entering back to the tar road and then the race ends with an uphill and the final kay on a slight incline. The feature of the last watering point was the Coon Carnival type band (sponsored by Friendly Grocer) that kept the runners and seconders in good spirits.
Baron had managed to catch Richard and finished just ahead of him in 1.44: Rob followed shortly after them and promptly ran back along the course to fetch Pat. What a gentleman! Then came the little group of Kobus (first GM and 3rd M), Benita, Andy and myself. Stuart, Doortjie, Tracey and the rest of the group followed soon thereafter. The pair of Andrew and Graham ambled in with a beer in hand provided by faithful seconding Cherryl & Kristin.
After the run we went back to the house where we were able to shower and relax. The prize-giving was at 11.45 and we arrived just in time to watch the Coons doing their song routine before the best and briefest prize-giving I have ever experienced. We had Money winners in Kobus and Pat from our group. We all expected them to invite us for drinks in the beer tent but were to be disappointed as they stashed the loot for their own enjoyment!
The prize-giving was held in the S, S & K Fees area. Here there were a number of activities; The ones that interested us the most were firstly the Bokdroll spitting competition where one could put the Bokdroll in your mouth and see if you could spit it further than the last person in the hope of winning a sheep! None of us entered this competition. Then there was the riding of the bull machine which Herman bravely entered and gave us a fair rendition of Yipee kay yeah! while waving his left hand in the air, before being dumped onto the air bag. After this we moved to the Ice cream vendor where Gerald managed to down two of these soft serves but was quite taken aback when he received no accolades nor did he win first prize for ice cream eating GM of the Fees!
I had received a message that Markus was waiting to take me on a roller coaster ride so I sped over to the Pink house where Markus pounced on me and just as the rain started to pelt down we launched his doubles paddle ski and began our quest for a new route to Australia. Maryna was also out there on a single ski looking for any friendly sharks to race. Fearless! Markus, Maryna and I went up in my list of the most intrepid people that I know. As we went further out I noticed that the swells were the size of a fairly large mountain. Markus then announced that we should paddle as fast as possible to avoid certain death. I complied. And we raced down this mountain of a wave while Markus started to tell me of the time that he had had to swim from about this spot back to shore. I looked up and found that I could not even see the shore. And paddled even faster. Exhilarating, Exhausting, Fun and Scary. Thanks Markus. I cannot wait for my next time out with you. Runners do not use their tummy muscles except for eating nor their upper body muscles except for drinking.
After this I had no energy for much except to sit and chat to the kitchen group. They were hard at work preparing for the braai that we were going to have at the Wilbur Smith home. Baron and I had purchased some goodies for the braai, Maryna was making a salad fit for a king and Sue & Tracey were creating a Lemon Meringue Pie that was to feed the masses. Later that afternoon we drove in convoy to the WS homestead which turned out to be a really beautiful farm located on both sides of the Goukou River. On the East side was the stud farm that we learnt also belonged to one of the Burri relatives (Alters. Who is reputed to be anything from an advocate to a supreme court judge). He gave us a really interesting few stories of how stud farmers can get really lucky. However it appears that he creates his own luck with some astute lineage management. Lookout for this years winner of the Breeders stakes. I think that this is an important horse race to be held in America which could help to make Alters even more famous. Alters bought the farm from Wilbur and has developed it further. He told us of how Wilbur used to row across the river to a house on the other side where he would spend his days in solitude and produce the wonderful novels that we all know so well.
Wilbur Smith
Born Zambia 1933. Educated Michaelhouse and Rhodes University
Living in London. Wilbur (after visiting his home I feel that I am on first name terms) has written 30 books.
His first book is The Lion Feeds (1964) and his latest continues with the Courtney Series, “Blue Horizon” (2003) and his next book to be released (early in 2005) is “The Triumph of the Sun”
We then followed Alters though a guided tour of the nearby valley in the farm where an aqua duct had been built from two different sources in the valley. A farmer many years ago had had the forethought to shore up the areas where the water flowed strongly from the mountain side. Alters explained that the mountain consisted of chalk and that there were huge underground dams of water deep in the mountain and that water flowed continuously from these dams. We then did a bit of Bundu bashing with the younger group amazing me how they were quite happy to run around barefoot. Leah reminded me a number of times that she was first of the girls as we made our way back eventually what Alters referred to as his “Folly”.
He has built an amphitheatre in the valley. It is an elaborate structure with ample seating for in excess of 50 people, a water feature, lighting and a stage with good acoustics as we then heard while firstly the children did a little show for us (a repeat performance was conducted later in the evening) and Maryna then entertained us with a rendition of Swan Lake that turned out to be the waterfall that flows into the Swan Lake rather than the swans swimming about. I though about giving the anxious audience a rendition of the well known folksong by Koos Kombuis: “Almal wil ‘n huisie by die see he” but Sue discouraged me. Again I felt a sense of melancholy as I missed the two girls in my life. They would have loved the evening.
Later that evening there was a huge amount of speculation regarding the potential relationship that could emerge from the Paula / Deon encounter that was in progress in Cape Town. It seems quite likely now that Kobus will soon have Peter and Adrienne Wilson as part of his family. The MPRG is waiting for the next episode of this gripping soapie.
The missing phone!
(For the original Missing Phone Story see the report on the Otter Trail written earlier this year.) When we got back to the braai area we were pleased to see that Richard was trying to redeem himself into the Chairman’s favour by lighting the fire. It was about this time that I realised that my phone was missing. First I looked around the braai area … nothing! Then I asked Andy for the keys to the car and searched the back seat. Again nothing. So I then had a brainwave and asked Gerald to phone me, but despite using his acute hearing ability to assist my search we were still unsuccessful. So back to the car I went and again tried to phone myself. I heard the ringing on Gerald’s phone but no sign of my phone anywhere. Must have left it in the room I thought to myself. But later when I searched the bedroom and the house I was to come up empty-handed. So the phone was lost I thought.
No! I decided to continue the search when we were back at the house, found my torch and searched my car, drove over to where Andy was staying and searched his car again. Also asked Gerald to phone me one more time but now the phone had been switched off. Mmmmm? I thought deeply to myself. The plot thickens. Richard became so caught up in my missing phone saga and (feeling that he was missing out on some of the limelight), announced that his wallet had been stolen. But when he realised that the wallet was supposed to be in a drawer where Angela had her cell phone he realised that his story was not going to capture the attention of the group like my missing phone story. He then quickly “found” his wallet in his tog bag and I was able to re-focus the attention of the group on the missing phone! Herman even set his look-alike phone to try to locate mine. Nothing worked.
Now you probably want to hear what really happened to the phone!! There are a couple of versions; and then there is the truth. You can decide for yourself.
Version one
Andy is my insurance broker. Some time ago and at my request he examined my policy and advised me to remove the phone from the list of specified items. Of course his lovely wife, Bev had no idea that Andy would not insist on insuring such a valuable item as a phone. And seeing the opportunity for a quick profit, slipped the phone into her handbag. On the way home she and Andy were talking about my lost phone and Andy told Bev of his advice to me. Oops thought Bev! And quietly “found” the phone. Guilt was all over her face when she returned the lost phone to me. Insurance scams of incredible magnitude have small beginnings.
Version two
Andy & I use the same car phone holder and so have to use the same phone. Andy’s phone has recently given him some trouble and seeing the easy and cheapest solution to the problem he found a moment when he thought that no one would notice (I was walking in the valley, Richard was lighting the fire, others were pouring drinks etc). He then picked up the phone and slipped it into poor, innocent Bevs handbag thinking that he would retrieve it later. Andy however had more than his regulation two glasses of wine and became quite disorientated due to the effect of the intoxicating nature of the alcohol. It was only the next day as they were driving home and Bev discovered the offending item in her handbag that Andy remembered his foolish action and asked Bev to say that it was her mistake. This would explain the look of guilt on her face. Mmmm I thought to myself for the umpteenth time.
Version three
Someone does not like me (impossible!) and thought to play a prank (very unlikely). Slipped the phone into Bevs handbag knowing that it would cause me to have a sleepless night (although everyone knows that I sleep like a “Peter”). And that it would be found the next day. Most improbable version.
Version four
On Monday morning, on the run, Kobus informed me that Bev had mentioned to Carol (during the Friday night supper) that it was now in vogue to have two cell phones. In particular Bev had been eyeing mine as a fashion statement.
You decide which is the truthful version. But I did receive the phone back from a very sheepish and guilty looking Bev on Sunday afternoon.
Well we had that braai going at quite a lick when we were invited for a second look at the amphitheatre this was the chance for those who had not yet been able to start the grilling process to do so. Baron & I soon had those filet steaks cooked to a perfect medium rare. A little later when everyone there felt that they were completely stuffed and could not force another morsel into their already dilated tummy’s, Tracey emerged with the most delicious Lemon Meringue Tart that we have ever had. That was about it for most of us. Gerlad assured me that the Burri’s liked to “Kuier” and would be long before returning home. The rest of us made our weary way home and sat in the lounge chatting. It was here that I felt a sense of sadness as we thought of the Bartons leaving us. Life will just not be the same without the quick wit of Andrew and the terms of endearment from Benita. Don’t forget us. And try to visit often please.
On the way home from Stilbaai the Bartons were about 50kays into the drive when they discovered that they had Gerald’s car keys. So they had to turn round and added an extra bit of sightseeing to their trip.
And that was about the end of our 21kay run at Stilbaai. On our way home we again stopped off at Ena in Plett for coffee and a muffin and were home at 12.00. We had passed a cycle tour that started in Plett. The poor cyclists were in the rain and cold and many of the back markers were totally on their own. It seems to be a tough course with the return route taking the cyclists through both the Groot Rivier and the Bloukrans passes.
From all of us: to the Burri family:
Thank you, Dankie, Thank you!
Peter
Sunday 26 September 2004.
26 SEPTEMBER 2004.
In September 2003, Susan Burri and her family went to Stilbaai to join their family. Susan then decided to run the 21kay race that is held annually during the local S, S & K Fees. I think that Sue said this stands for Strand, Sand and Kultuur. But could be wrong. I am not sure that we were exposed to any Kultuur except maybe the Bokdrol competition that you can read about on page 4. Anyway this lead to her organising the MPRG to run the event in September of 2004.
The Mill Park Running Group (MPRG), for the uninformed, is a small group of people who meet in the mornings on the corner of Wares and Salisbury road (next to Grey school) in Port Elizabeth. The group includes members of a number of running clubs plus those who belong to no club at all and has a variety of country members (the Fears, the Elfiks, the Richards’ & the Niebergs to name a few) ex members, ex runners, family and friends of members and anyone else who one of the current members feels will feel comfortable in the group (runners or not!). I think that there are some of the older (oops I mean more mature) members who would disagree with my summation of membership but the reality is that almost every one and any one is welcome to join the group. Membership is actually a really complicated issue that is understood by no one at all except Kobus. And that is only because he is advisor in chief to the chairman of the group. And because Andy seems to have elected Kobus as spokesman. And all decisions made in this group are determined by the chairman in his normal democratic way. Usually soon after he has re-elected himself to his position of chairman for a further ten years in office. I said complicated!
So back to Stilbaai; Those who heard of it and could make the weekend were:
Myself, (Barbara & Alli were in London to visit our family there),
Andy (the chairman in case you missed it) and Bev;
Caroliss (When Kobus is in love) or Carol and Kobus;
Benita and Andrew (Andrew has just been transferred to Botswana),
Pat, Gerald and their beautiful daughter Ronelle;
Tracey (official organiser, secretary, and communications expert) Herman (official Photographer), Leah and Kim;
Susan, Markus, MC and Emilio;
Angela and Richard (Angela is just recovering from an operation and stress fracture);
Dorothea (also know as Doortjie, lives in Sedgefield and was one of the main reasons why we agreed to this trip). Doortjie does not qualify for the status of “Jong Bokkie” because she does not engage in conversation on the run….see later commentary on Gerald’s run;
Maryna (who has never met with the group before and does little running but wears a Comrades T-Shirt and is a friend of Sue’s so immediately qualified for membership of the MPRG) Maryna had given Paula a lift to Mossel Baai where she was due to catch a bus to Cape Town for a bike fitting. On the way there the car battery had failed and so Maryna had to borrow a battery for the weekend;
Rob (Rob has only run with the group for one year and so is still a probationary visitor with no status at all!); Did I mention that membership of the MPRG is complicated?
Stuart and Rianna who kindly agreed to keep me company for the drive there and back;
Graham (known for his cheerful disposition), Cherryl and Kristin;
Baron who had travelled with the Bartons and who kept pining for Linda who had charged off to the Natal Midlands on a church mission.
Then there was Sue’s family (Sister Lora and Hennie Plus children). I cannot remember all the names of these people and was never sure which children belonged to who but just that they were a great family who loved Sue very much and seemed to enjoy the whole outing as much as we did.
This made a total of over 30 people who had to be accommodated and fed. Sue seemed to have done a marvellous job of setting up the whole weekend.
Stilbaai is a holiday town at the mouth of the Goukou River (spelling may be wrong). It is bigger than a village but not quite a town. It has a Spar, Friendly Grocer and an OK Foods if that is anything to go by. It is situated about 470 kays West of PE, 20kays off the N2 to Cape Town. The turn off is between the Gouritz bridge, where the Bungee jumping is done, and Riversdale.
We stayed in a variety of facilities from self catering, Bed and Breakfast to shared homes. The central venue was the Pink House which belongs to Sue’s sister and is right on the river / beach. 14 of us stayed in the blue house known as Bloubaasie. The travel arrangements were individually organised. Some went down on the Thursday as far a Greyton and Hermanus to see the whales. The main group seemed to arrive on the Friday which was Heritage Day and therefore a public holiday. Stuart, Mariana & I had stopped over at Ena in Plett for breakfast.
Once we had established our accommodation I saw how many children there were there I became quite sad that Alli was not there as she would have loved to be part of the group of fun loving children. I was able to finish off the Grisham book that I had been reading since Rhodes. That evening we met at a restaurant on the East Bank of the River where we occupied two long tables and proceeded to receive some of the best service that any first class restaurant could ever hope to offer such a big group. I was lucky enough to sit next to Kristin and Maryna. Graham had warned me to choose my company well as, at a table like this, the evening can be completely spoilt by the company that you have forced upon you. I also had Doortjie, Tracey and Markus opposite me so my evening was a great success and I was kept entertained.
The weekend had so many highlights and this was one of them. Kobus had decided that this was to be a slightly elitist reunion of the Greek marathon trip of 2003. Last year some of the MPRG had travelled to Athens to experience the original route from Marathon to Athens. It was also the route for the 2004 Olympics. The restaurant was decorated as Greek setting with murals that seemed almost like they had known we were coming. Kobus had a bottle of Ouzo which was opened and the cap immediately lost so the bottle had to be finished. We had a lot of laughs and a good meal as well.
The Saturday morning saw us ready to run at about 07.00am. We met where we thought the start would be and found there to be no one else there. We are so used to being at the start of a race in PE with ET blaring out all his useless information and a whole lot of runners milling around that we were quite lost for a while. At about 07.25 there seemed to be a fair number of runners at the start and at 07.30 we demanded that the race be started. The Organiser then began his announcements in Afrikaans. This town is entirely Afrikaans. And the race eventually got underway about 5 mins late. The group of runners consisted of myself, Andy, Kobus, Benita and Andrew, Susan, Richard, Doortjie, Pat & Gerald, Stuart, Baron, Rob and Graham (14 in all, although we were also joined for a short while by Alf Zemke). We had the usual photo shoot before the run with the (elitist) Greek group receiving special attention again.
We were to be supported by Ronelle and Maryna on Bicycles. Richard, ignoring all the rules and etiquette of the MPRG, went ahead with Doortjie. Doortjie soon realised that her mistake could seriously affect her continued acceptance in this group and hung back for the chairman and his cronies to pass. We stuck together for a while, Gerald searching out a Jong Bokkie decided that Sue would have to do. Graham had no training after 2 Oceans (not that he had done much running prior to Oceans) and paid the price. Pat found a friendly bunch of Outeniqua runners to take care of her and the rest of us pressed on to the turn on the East Bank. Soon thereafter Rob decided to see what the sand tasted like. He was, unfortunately, a little behind the main group and so no one was able to stomp over him or kick him when he was down. The fall seemed to anger Rob and so at 11kays, when Baron was totally bored with the 5.5min a kay pace and pushed off up the first of the hills, Rob tried to catch him.
The second half of the race consisted of hills, hills and (mmmm?) Hills. Along the route we were supported by Ronelle who cycled sedately next to us at various stages and Maryna who was asked to do some acrobatics and proceeded to do the splits on the bike as she whizzed past us. And then just as we though that we may be coming to the end of the hills we passed a sewage farm that made the Haitian storm damage problems (Hurricane Ivan had recently smashed up this island and caused huge devastation), smell like Jasmine in summer. This was at the 17kay marker, here we had also seen a Dung Beetle which was trying to sort out the sewage farm stench by rolling away golf ball size balls of dung one at a time.
From here the route lead to the beach. The sand was soft and really made the going tough. The sun was bright at this stage and I began to heat up. Mercifully this stretch is only about 2 kays before entering back to the tar road and then the race ends with an uphill and the final kay on a slight incline. The feature of the last watering point was the Coon Carnival type band (sponsored by Friendly Grocer) that kept the runners and seconders in good spirits.
Baron had managed to catch Richard and finished just ahead of him in 1.44: Rob followed shortly after them and promptly ran back along the course to fetch Pat. What a gentleman! Then came the little group of Kobus (first GM and 3rd M), Benita, Andy and myself. Stuart, Doortjie, Tracey and the rest of the group followed soon thereafter. The pair of Andrew and Graham ambled in with a beer in hand provided by faithful seconding Cherryl & Kristin.
After the run we went back to the house where we were able to shower and relax. The prize-giving was at 11.45 and we arrived just in time to watch the Coons doing their song routine before the best and briefest prize-giving I have ever experienced. We had Money winners in Kobus and Pat from our group. We all expected them to invite us for drinks in the beer tent but were to be disappointed as they stashed the loot for their own enjoyment!
The prize-giving was held in the S, S & K Fees area. Here there were a number of activities; The ones that interested us the most were firstly the Bokdroll spitting competition where one could put the Bokdroll in your mouth and see if you could spit it further than the last person in the hope of winning a sheep! None of us entered this competition. Then there was the riding of the bull machine which Herman bravely entered and gave us a fair rendition of Yipee kay yeah! while waving his left hand in the air, before being dumped onto the air bag. After this we moved to the Ice cream vendor where Gerald managed to down two of these soft serves but was quite taken aback when he received no accolades nor did he win first prize for ice cream eating GM of the Fees!
I had received a message that Markus was waiting to take me on a roller coaster ride so I sped over to the Pink house where Markus pounced on me and just as the rain started to pelt down we launched his doubles paddle ski and began our quest for a new route to Australia. Maryna was also out there on a single ski looking for any friendly sharks to race. Fearless! Markus, Maryna and I went up in my list of the most intrepid people that I know. As we went further out I noticed that the swells were the size of a fairly large mountain. Markus then announced that we should paddle as fast as possible to avoid certain death. I complied. And we raced down this mountain of a wave while Markus started to tell me of the time that he had had to swim from about this spot back to shore. I looked up and found that I could not even see the shore. And paddled even faster. Exhilarating, Exhausting, Fun and Scary. Thanks Markus. I cannot wait for my next time out with you. Runners do not use their tummy muscles except for eating nor their upper body muscles except for drinking.
After this I had no energy for much except to sit and chat to the kitchen group. They were hard at work preparing for the braai that we were going to have at the Wilbur Smith home. Baron and I had purchased some goodies for the braai, Maryna was making a salad fit for a king and Sue & Tracey were creating a Lemon Meringue Pie that was to feed the masses. Later that afternoon we drove in convoy to the WS homestead which turned out to be a really beautiful farm located on both sides of the Goukou River. On the East side was the stud farm that we learnt also belonged to one of the Burri relatives (Alters. Who is reputed to be anything from an advocate to a supreme court judge). He gave us a really interesting few stories of how stud farmers can get really lucky. However it appears that he creates his own luck with some astute lineage management. Lookout for this years winner of the Breeders stakes. I think that this is an important horse race to be held in America which could help to make Alters even more famous. Alters bought the farm from Wilbur and has developed it further. He told us of how Wilbur used to row across the river to a house on the other side where he would spend his days in solitude and produce the wonderful novels that we all know so well.
Wilbur Smith
Born Zambia 1933. Educated Michaelhouse and Rhodes University
Living in London. Wilbur (after visiting his home I feel that I am on first name terms) has written 30 books.
His first book is The Lion Feeds (1964) and his latest continues with the Courtney Series, “Blue Horizon” (2003) and his next book to be released (early in 2005) is “The Triumph of the Sun”
We then followed Alters though a guided tour of the nearby valley in the farm where an aqua duct had been built from two different sources in the valley. A farmer many years ago had had the forethought to shore up the areas where the water flowed strongly from the mountain side. Alters explained that the mountain consisted of chalk and that there were huge underground dams of water deep in the mountain and that water flowed continuously from these dams. We then did a bit of Bundu bashing with the younger group amazing me how they were quite happy to run around barefoot. Leah reminded me a number of times that she was first of the girls as we made our way back eventually what Alters referred to as his “Folly”.
He has built an amphitheatre in the valley. It is an elaborate structure with ample seating for in excess of 50 people, a water feature, lighting and a stage with good acoustics as we then heard while firstly the children did a little show for us (a repeat performance was conducted later in the evening) and Maryna then entertained us with a rendition of Swan Lake that turned out to be the waterfall that flows into the Swan Lake rather than the swans swimming about. I though about giving the anxious audience a rendition of the well known folksong by Koos Kombuis: “Almal wil ‘n huisie by die see he” but Sue discouraged me. Again I felt a sense of melancholy as I missed the two girls in my life. They would have loved the evening.
Later that evening there was a huge amount of speculation regarding the potential relationship that could emerge from the Paula / Deon encounter that was in progress in Cape Town. It seems quite likely now that Kobus will soon have Peter and Adrienne Wilson as part of his family. The MPRG is waiting for the next episode of this gripping soapie.
The missing phone!
(For the original Missing Phone Story see the report on the Otter Trail written earlier this year.) When we got back to the braai area we were pleased to see that Richard was trying to redeem himself into the Chairman’s favour by lighting the fire. It was about this time that I realised that my phone was missing. First I looked around the braai area … nothing! Then I asked Andy for the keys to the car and searched the back seat. Again nothing. So I then had a brainwave and asked Gerald to phone me, but despite using his acute hearing ability to assist my search we were still unsuccessful. So back to the car I went and again tried to phone myself. I heard the ringing on Gerald’s phone but no sign of my phone anywhere. Must have left it in the room I thought to myself. But later when I searched the bedroom and the house I was to come up empty-handed. So the phone was lost I thought.
No! I decided to continue the search when we were back at the house, found my torch and searched my car, drove over to where Andy was staying and searched his car again. Also asked Gerald to phone me one more time but now the phone had been switched off. Mmmmm? I thought deeply to myself. The plot thickens. Richard became so caught up in my missing phone saga and (feeling that he was missing out on some of the limelight), announced that his wallet had been stolen. But when he realised that the wallet was supposed to be in a drawer where Angela had her cell phone he realised that his story was not going to capture the attention of the group like my missing phone story. He then quickly “found” his wallet in his tog bag and I was able to re-focus the attention of the group on the missing phone! Herman even set his look-alike phone to try to locate mine. Nothing worked.
Now you probably want to hear what really happened to the phone!! There are a couple of versions; and then there is the truth. You can decide for yourself.
Version one
Andy is my insurance broker. Some time ago and at my request he examined my policy and advised me to remove the phone from the list of specified items. Of course his lovely wife, Bev had no idea that Andy would not insist on insuring such a valuable item as a phone. And seeing the opportunity for a quick profit, slipped the phone into her handbag. On the way home she and Andy were talking about my lost phone and Andy told Bev of his advice to me. Oops thought Bev! And quietly “found” the phone. Guilt was all over her face when she returned the lost phone to me. Insurance scams of incredible magnitude have small beginnings.
Version two
Andy & I use the same car phone holder and so have to use the same phone. Andy’s phone has recently given him some trouble and seeing the easy and cheapest solution to the problem he found a moment when he thought that no one would notice (I was walking in the valley, Richard was lighting the fire, others were pouring drinks etc). He then picked up the phone and slipped it into poor, innocent Bevs handbag thinking that he would retrieve it later. Andy however had more than his regulation two glasses of wine and became quite disorientated due to the effect of the intoxicating nature of the alcohol. It was only the next day as they were driving home and Bev discovered the offending item in her handbag that Andy remembered his foolish action and asked Bev to say that it was her mistake. This would explain the look of guilt on her face. Mmmm I thought to myself for the umpteenth time.
Version three
Someone does not like me (impossible!) and thought to play a prank (very unlikely). Slipped the phone into Bevs handbag knowing that it would cause me to have a sleepless night (although everyone knows that I sleep like a “Peter”). And that it would be found the next day. Most improbable version.
Version four
On Monday morning, on the run, Kobus informed me that Bev had mentioned to Carol (during the Friday night supper) that it was now in vogue to have two cell phones. In particular Bev had been eyeing mine as a fashion statement.
You decide which is the truthful version. But I did receive the phone back from a very sheepish and guilty looking Bev on Sunday afternoon.
Well we had that braai going at quite a lick when we were invited for a second look at the amphitheatre this was the chance for those who had not yet been able to start the grilling process to do so. Baron & I soon had those filet steaks cooked to a perfect medium rare. A little later when everyone there felt that they were completely stuffed and could not force another morsel into their already dilated tummy’s, Tracey emerged with the most delicious Lemon Meringue Tart that we have ever had. That was about it for most of us. Gerlad assured me that the Burri’s liked to “Kuier” and would be long before returning home. The rest of us made our weary way home and sat in the lounge chatting. It was here that I felt a sense of sadness as we thought of the Bartons leaving us. Life will just not be the same without the quick wit of Andrew and the terms of endearment from Benita. Don’t forget us. And try to visit often please.
On the way home from Stilbaai the Bartons were about 50kays into the drive when they discovered that they had Gerald’s car keys. So they had to turn round and added an extra bit of sightseeing to their trip.
And that was about the end of our 21kay run at Stilbaai. On our way home we again stopped off at Ena in Plett for coffee and a muffin and were home at 12.00. We had passed a cycle tour that started in Plett. The poor cyclists were in the rain and cold and many of the back markers were totally on their own. It seems to be a tough course with the return route taking the cyclists through both the Groot Rivier and the Bloukrans passes.
From all of us: to the Burri family:
Thank you, Dankie, Thank you!
Peter
Sunday 26 September 2004.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
OTTER TRAIL
WEDNESDAY 25 TO SUNDAY 29 AUGUST 2004.
Barbara & Peter Giddy
Tim, Sue and Jessica Gendall
Pat & Gerald Scheepers
Nick Prinsloo
Engela Wyatt
Lucie Runnels
Cathy Lucie’s friend from the Vet.
We had planned this hike for a year as we had had to book one year in advance for the Otter Trail. The Otter takes a maximum of 12 people. We had eleven. The cost of the hike at this time is R450 Plus a R80 entrance fee to the Park. You can also buy a Wild Card which entitles you to entrance to all the National Parks for one year, Some of the original team had pulled out. So some of the hikers were on a first time hike. Tim had hiked the Otter many years ago. Peter & Barbara had hiked this trail twice before.
We had a pre-hike get together where we discussed logistics and meals. Lucie was to take her bakkie and the rest would be in our Combi. We arranged to meet at 06.00am in Cape Road on the Wednesday morning.
Day one
On the morning as we waited we realised that something was amiss when Lucie and Engela were late. Well a phone call sorted that out as Lucie had overslept and Engela was so happy as she was still busy with packing.
We left PE at 07.00. The drive to Storms River Mouth is just about 2 hours. There was quite a line of people at the registration office which is now located at the gate. We checked the tide for Saturday, which was going to be our Bloukrans crossing day. Low tide was expected at 09.00am. Armed with our permits and maps we parked at the start of the hike, off loaded the trailer and Lucie and I drove through to Natures Valley where we left the Combi in the caravan park. This transfer takes about an hour. So we were able to begin the actual hike at about 11.00am. I had come with my video camera. So I was able to film most of the interesting bits of the hike.
The first part of this hike is fairly tough going as the bags are at their heaviest and there is quite a bit of boulder hopping and rock-face to negotiate. This kind of terrain makes for very slow going as we had discovered the previous month in the Fish River Canyon. The pace is at about 1 to 2 kays an hour. We stopped at the cave where we did a bit of exploring. Unfortunately this cave has been used as a toilet by a number of hikers. It may be an idea for the Parks board to site a toilet along the trail for the day hikers. Today we encountered a number of day hikers. Many of them foreigners.
The front walkers set up a good pace and after about two hours we were at the Waterfall. Out came the cookers and dixies and we were now truly in the way of all hikers making a warm drink. Some of us had a swim. For myself it was very quick. Tim and Jessica were bolder as they swam all the way to the falls.
From here it is not more than an hour to the first huts. As we had arrived early we were able to have a swim and set up a relaxed camp. Setting up camp is quite an interesting activity as people claim their own favourite bed, cooking and storage areas. This afternoon we were able to enjoy a swim in the tidal pools just in front of the huts. At this hut there is no stream nor a shower for washing. The walk between huts is about 50m and the loo is situated in a convenient position between the two huts and with a magnificent view. In fact it is a feature of the Otter Trail to be able to sit on the loo and enjoy one of the most scenic views in Africa. Another feature of this afternoon was the Bushbuck that seemed to be quite happy to graze on the foliage as we walked past. It is an idea to bring a pair of good water resistant sandals for the evenings as the sea water has all kinds of spiky creatures and the rocks themselves are quite sharp to walk on. Also I discovered this evening that “stokies” are not acceptable as attire for “Real Men”. Lucie admitted that they were okay for grandfathers like myself though.
Most of the campers had brought fresh meat for the first night or two so we lit the fire and had ourselves a braai. The first two huts on the Otter have “bins” for fire wood. They allocate one per evening and if everyone sticks to their allocation there is quite sufficient for everyone. It was this evening that we discovered that Engela had packed toiletries and creams that would have done a beautician proud. She had also brought a pile of fruit juices and by her own admission…No Beers! The only problem was that this added quite a bit of weight to the pack. And unlike the rest of us whose packs weight reduced daily, Engela’s pack weight seemed to remain constant. But no moans from Engela who seemed to cope particularly well on this hike.
Hiking is a strange activity which makes people very sleepy very early. So many of us were asleep fairly early in the evenings. Our hut slept with the door open to be able to enjoy the fresh air. This meant that we had the full moon shining in the hut at some stage of the evening and only in the early morning would we have actual darkness. I have tried to read by torch and candle light but I am not normally successful.
Day two
We had decided that we were on holiday and had a relatively easy day of 8 kays ahead of us so we agreed to leave at 09.00. Many were ready earlier but as we had basically agreed to stay together as a team the earlier group had to wait for the procrastinators. This morning we met two men who had the job of bringing wood down to the huts, (Rowland and Jan) We thought that they had brought the wood from way up the hill but found out that there was a substantial pile of wood not far from the huts on the trail of the second day.
Each day starts with an uphill. Be warned! It only takes a few minutes before those with a second layer of clothing were peeling off. The hills are quite tough and should be walked at your own pace. The front walkers were instructed to re-group as soon as they reached the top of any hill. This way we were able to stay together and still allow everyone to walk the hills at a pace that was within their capability.
Today we had plenty of stops and any stream was an excuse to remove the backpacks and relax for a while. The second stream turned out to be quite a nasty river crossing that required us to take off back-packs and shoes and socks. We had to assist one another across the fairly fast flowing water. Nick was always a willing helper as we crossed these rivers. Up to this stage Jessica had held back a little as she found her place in the group. However it was not long before she was one of the people willing and able to assist others up rocky climbs and across rivers.
The main feature of the second day is Blou Baai. This is a lovely beach that is found at about the 5 kay mark. We had seen the bay from a rocky outcrop and viewpoint that we had explored earlier. The best way to get to Bloubaai is to leave the pack on the path and take a snack and water down to the beach. The walk down to Blue bay is very welcome as we had seen blue bay from a rock outcrop early on in the hike and had anticipated the beach for the past hour or more. The swimming is not safe at this beach and care should be taken. But what there is however is a lovely place to park out and have a mid-morning nap. Today we saw a number of whales fairly close off the shoreline.
The Scott huts at the end of the second day are situated near a stream and on the beach. The stream allows for the first real “bath”. The water was cold but for me really refreshing and welcome. We had taken the full day to reach the overnight huts as we had made use of every opportunity for a sit down during the day. Tim had had a rough day and I recall that he was in no mood for much at all. Nick was in high spirits as was Gerald who I believe also had to bath in the freezing clod water (on instructions from Pat). The wash certainly cheered me up and as I had decided to pack 6 beers I was able to enjoy one early in the evening. Tim had brought so many cokes that he was always glad to be able to reduce the pack weight by drinking as many as possible.
The snacks in the evening are something to look forward to at the end of a day of activity. Barbara and I had brought some fresh veggies and dip for the evenings. As well as chips, biltong, crackers and cheese to add to each evening’s sundowners.
Barbara and I had brought steaks, potato and veggies in foil for the first three nights so were keen to get the fire going. Some of the others used the fire for cooking as well. The evening meal is always an important event on a camping trip. Barbara & I do not believe in being too Spartan. This is a time for really enjoying the outdoors but with as much culinary luxury as possible. Some of the group also enjoyed a pudding of fruit and custard or just a chocolate for dessert.
Day three.
Again today we decided that there was no reason to rush off at the crack of dawn. So it was a 09.00am start. Today the hike is much the same as the previous day. Many long hills, stream crossings and walking the ridges looking down to the ocean. After about an hours hike the trail leads to the Elandsbos river mouth. This is a great place to stop for a snack and a swim for the more adventurous (especially in the summer months). Today we experienced the longest hill of the whole hike. This is a hill that takes one past the “balancing rock”. This rock can be seen from the beach below and it is probably advisable to have a rest somewhere on this beach. When you reach the top of this hill you will be fairly close to the Lottering (Oakhurst ) huts and will want to press on.
It was at the top of this hill that we saw more whales. Some of the group decided to stay and watch for whales and others pressed on to the Lottering river. This is quite an awesome sight from the top of the hill. The waves come pounding into the mouth of the river and it looks like an impossible crossing. However at the bottom the path leads to a section of river upstream where the crossing is not so difficult. The crossing still requires the hiker to remove sock and shoes as well as backpacks. And expect to get your pants wet. Here we also enjoyed a swim before walking the last half hour to the huts. As Tim and I walked to the huts we saw Jessica crossing the river back again. This was strange as the tide was coming quite fast. But we realized that Suzan must have left her trusty stick on the other side and Jessica (faithful daughter) was kind enough to fetch it for her Mom.
The Oakhurst huts have a shower with a view. And although we got here by about 2 in the afternoon, there was soon after we arrived, a Q for the shower, then we laid our clothes and ourselves out on the rocks to enjoy the afternoon sun with coffee and snacks to warm our insides. Barbara spotted a whale crossing the river mouth. We then saw a few of them as they swam around the area in front of the huts for a while. This evening we had had to carry the wood a short way from a fork in the path to the huts. Only a few of us still had meat to braai but a fire has such a warming and soothing effect that we always lit one in the evenings.
We had worked out that Low Tide was at 09.00 the next day and as it is best to cross Bloukrans river mouth at low tide we decided to leave at 06.00am the next day. Crossing the Bloukrans River Mouth at high tide can be quite dangerous as this entails a swim across the river mouth with the waves making the going even tougher, floating back packs, and scrambling up jagged rocks on the other side. So it was early to bed. Tim had an eventful night as he was woken by the scratching of a little creature (probably a Genet or similar animal) in one of the packs. I am not sure who got the biggest fright but the little creature took off when Tim slapped the floor with his hand.
Day four
As planned, we were up very early and set off in the dark at 05.45am. This was one of the highlights of the hike as we walked by torch light. The full moon seemed to leave us at that time and we were under bushes and shrubs during the early part of the mornings hike. However the walk went past without too much problems and the early start set us up for a good mornings walk. This morning we walked with few stops and none for more than a few minutes to regroup and to catch our breath. It was a welcome sight to see the Bloukrans River mouth as the tide was just beginning to turn. The walk had taken us about 4.5 hours. The walk to the Bloukrans is fairly well marked with Kilo markers. Just before the descent to the river is an escape route that can be used if the hiker has not timed the walk correctly.
We reached the bottom in good time, took off our socks and boots and waded across the (very cold) river. We noticed how the temperature of the ocean water was considerably warmer that of the river. Once we had crossed the river we unbundled and set up for a good long break We filled water bottles, made lunch and some of us had time to catch up on some sleep. Those who went to do a bit of exploring found an old rusted cell phone.
After an hour of baking in the morning sun we set off for the last huts of the hike. There is quite a bit of boulder climbing to be done after the Bloukrans and again a climb to the top of the ridge. Just before arriving at the Andre huts there is a steep descent where the hiker is asked to carry wood down to the huts. And here begins the story of the “Lost Phone”!
“The Lost Phone”
Tim and Sue were bringing up the rear. Jessica was up front with us. And, on seeing the pile of wood they had loaded themselves and set off down the fairly steep and long climb down to the huts. Sue had gone off ahead and when Tim seemed to take forever Sue off loaded the wood and set off back up to look for him, calling his name repeatedly. Eventually getting back up to the top she enquired what the hold up was. “I lost my Phone” says Tim. “Well, lets go and find it” says Sue.
Tim seemed strangely reluctant to go back and offhand about the expensive cell-phone that he has lost. But being the good and faithful wife that she is Sue sets off (on her own) up the path, past the pile of wood again, scratches through the snake infested wood-pile for the phone, finds nothing and walks back a long way searching the pathway. It is hot and after a long days hike Sue is quite exhausted and so finally turns back unsuccessful. Along the pathway she has found an animal bone that looked familiar (Tim had picked it on the beach earlier and carried it as a small keepsake). Anyway Sue finally gets back to where Tim is sitting and waiting on the top of the descent to the huts and announces that she too has been unsuccessful in the search for the phone. “What’s that in your hand?” asks Tim. “What?” says Sue. “That” says Tim. “ Huh” Sue looks perplexed. “My Bone!” says Tim triumphantly. The penny dropped! Tim had let Sue go back, bone tired (Excuse the pun) to look for his stupid bone that he had been carrying.
Well folks. That just goes to show that hiking is an incredible marriage builder. If you can survive something like that and still laugh when you look back, then your marriage looks good for the future.
Anyway back at the huts Jessica had been concerned for them and had walked back up the hill to find them. And saw them slogging it down the hill laden with firewood which is extremely difficult to carry and put the past straw onto Sue’s back when she announced that there was already enough wood at the camp!
This evening was our last. We were all a little sorry that the adventure was soon to be at an end. But we had had a rich time and been incredibly lucky with the weather, the walk itself and no injuries to talk about. Well maybe I had better acknowledge that Nick fell at Bloubaai and hurt his rear, Engela had grazed her knee, Gerald moaned and groaned constantly and vowed that this was his first and last Otter until I told him to “Shut up and walk” and I am sure that there were some other injuries but none that a plaster and Panado could not heal.
We had one of those incredible moonlit evenings again. At the Andre huts there is a swimming area in the pools in front of the hut area. Here there is also a shower with a view. So having swum, showered and relaxed for the afternoon the evening fire was a mixture of a fun time of story telling and melancholy of the end of a really great holiday. There were promises made to get together again for another hike in the not too distant future.
Day five
It seemed that there was a general consensus to get home as early as possible. We set off at about 07.00am and hiked the relatively easy section along the ridge of the coastline to the beach of nature’s valley. Here we took off our boots and walked along the beach barefoot enjoying the feel of the sand and the water on our feet. The last stretch is past the village of Natures Valley and along the old N2 to the campsite. Here we showered, borrowed a “start’ from one of the people staying there as the Combi had a flat battery and after picking up Lucie’s car at Storms River Mouth and a quick visit to the curio shop for souvenirs we stopped at the Tsitsikamma village hotel for a Pub Lunch and then headed home. We were home by about three in the afternoon.
And that was the Otter trail 2004.
Peter Giddy.
WEDNESDAY 25 TO SUNDAY 29 AUGUST 2004.
Barbara & Peter Giddy
Tim, Sue and Jessica Gendall
Pat & Gerald Scheepers
Nick Prinsloo
Engela Wyatt
Lucie Runnels
Cathy Lucie’s friend from the Vet.
We had planned this hike for a year as we had had to book one year in advance for the Otter Trail. The Otter takes a maximum of 12 people. We had eleven. The cost of the hike at this time is R450 Plus a R80 entrance fee to the Park. You can also buy a Wild Card which entitles you to entrance to all the National Parks for one year, Some of the original team had pulled out. So some of the hikers were on a first time hike. Tim had hiked the Otter many years ago. Peter & Barbara had hiked this trail twice before.
We had a pre-hike get together where we discussed logistics and meals. Lucie was to take her bakkie and the rest would be in our Combi. We arranged to meet at 06.00am in Cape Road on the Wednesday morning.
Day one
On the morning as we waited we realised that something was amiss when Lucie and Engela were late. Well a phone call sorted that out as Lucie had overslept and Engela was so happy as she was still busy with packing.
We left PE at 07.00. The drive to Storms River Mouth is just about 2 hours. There was quite a line of people at the registration office which is now located at the gate. We checked the tide for Saturday, which was going to be our Bloukrans crossing day. Low tide was expected at 09.00am. Armed with our permits and maps we parked at the start of the hike, off loaded the trailer and Lucie and I drove through to Natures Valley where we left the Combi in the caravan park. This transfer takes about an hour. So we were able to begin the actual hike at about 11.00am. I had come with my video camera. So I was able to film most of the interesting bits of the hike.
The first part of this hike is fairly tough going as the bags are at their heaviest and there is quite a bit of boulder hopping and rock-face to negotiate. This kind of terrain makes for very slow going as we had discovered the previous month in the Fish River Canyon. The pace is at about 1 to 2 kays an hour. We stopped at the cave where we did a bit of exploring. Unfortunately this cave has been used as a toilet by a number of hikers. It may be an idea for the Parks board to site a toilet along the trail for the day hikers. Today we encountered a number of day hikers. Many of them foreigners.
The front walkers set up a good pace and after about two hours we were at the Waterfall. Out came the cookers and dixies and we were now truly in the way of all hikers making a warm drink. Some of us had a swim. For myself it was very quick. Tim and Jessica were bolder as they swam all the way to the falls.
From here it is not more than an hour to the first huts. As we had arrived early we were able to have a swim and set up a relaxed camp. Setting up camp is quite an interesting activity as people claim their own favourite bed, cooking and storage areas. This afternoon we were able to enjoy a swim in the tidal pools just in front of the huts. At this hut there is no stream nor a shower for washing. The walk between huts is about 50m and the loo is situated in a convenient position between the two huts and with a magnificent view. In fact it is a feature of the Otter Trail to be able to sit on the loo and enjoy one of the most scenic views in Africa. Another feature of this afternoon was the Bushbuck that seemed to be quite happy to graze on the foliage as we walked past. It is an idea to bring a pair of good water resistant sandals for the evenings as the sea water has all kinds of spiky creatures and the rocks themselves are quite sharp to walk on. Also I discovered this evening that “stokies” are not acceptable as attire for “Real Men”. Lucie admitted that they were okay for grandfathers like myself though.
Most of the campers had brought fresh meat for the first night or two so we lit the fire and had ourselves a braai. The first two huts on the Otter have “bins” for fire wood. They allocate one per evening and if everyone sticks to their allocation there is quite sufficient for everyone. It was this evening that we discovered that Engela had packed toiletries and creams that would have done a beautician proud. She had also brought a pile of fruit juices and by her own admission…No Beers! The only problem was that this added quite a bit of weight to the pack. And unlike the rest of us whose packs weight reduced daily, Engela’s pack weight seemed to remain constant. But no moans from Engela who seemed to cope particularly well on this hike.
Hiking is a strange activity which makes people very sleepy very early. So many of us were asleep fairly early in the evenings. Our hut slept with the door open to be able to enjoy the fresh air. This meant that we had the full moon shining in the hut at some stage of the evening and only in the early morning would we have actual darkness. I have tried to read by torch and candle light but I am not normally successful.
Day two
We had decided that we were on holiday and had a relatively easy day of 8 kays ahead of us so we agreed to leave at 09.00. Many were ready earlier but as we had basically agreed to stay together as a team the earlier group had to wait for the procrastinators. This morning we met two men who had the job of bringing wood down to the huts, (Rowland and Jan) We thought that they had brought the wood from way up the hill but found out that there was a substantial pile of wood not far from the huts on the trail of the second day.
Each day starts with an uphill. Be warned! It only takes a few minutes before those with a second layer of clothing were peeling off. The hills are quite tough and should be walked at your own pace. The front walkers were instructed to re-group as soon as they reached the top of any hill. This way we were able to stay together and still allow everyone to walk the hills at a pace that was within their capability.
Today we had plenty of stops and any stream was an excuse to remove the backpacks and relax for a while. The second stream turned out to be quite a nasty river crossing that required us to take off back-packs and shoes and socks. We had to assist one another across the fairly fast flowing water. Nick was always a willing helper as we crossed these rivers. Up to this stage Jessica had held back a little as she found her place in the group. However it was not long before she was one of the people willing and able to assist others up rocky climbs and across rivers.
The main feature of the second day is Blou Baai. This is a lovely beach that is found at about the 5 kay mark. We had seen the bay from a rocky outcrop and viewpoint that we had explored earlier. The best way to get to Bloubaai is to leave the pack on the path and take a snack and water down to the beach. The walk down to Blue bay is very welcome as we had seen blue bay from a rock outcrop early on in the hike and had anticipated the beach for the past hour or more. The swimming is not safe at this beach and care should be taken. But what there is however is a lovely place to park out and have a mid-morning nap. Today we saw a number of whales fairly close off the shoreline.
The Scott huts at the end of the second day are situated near a stream and on the beach. The stream allows for the first real “bath”. The water was cold but for me really refreshing and welcome. We had taken the full day to reach the overnight huts as we had made use of every opportunity for a sit down during the day. Tim had had a rough day and I recall that he was in no mood for much at all. Nick was in high spirits as was Gerald who I believe also had to bath in the freezing clod water (on instructions from Pat). The wash certainly cheered me up and as I had decided to pack 6 beers I was able to enjoy one early in the evening. Tim had brought so many cokes that he was always glad to be able to reduce the pack weight by drinking as many as possible.
The snacks in the evening are something to look forward to at the end of a day of activity. Barbara and I had brought some fresh veggies and dip for the evenings. As well as chips, biltong, crackers and cheese to add to each evening’s sundowners.
Barbara and I had brought steaks, potato and veggies in foil for the first three nights so were keen to get the fire going. Some of the others used the fire for cooking as well. The evening meal is always an important event on a camping trip. Barbara & I do not believe in being too Spartan. This is a time for really enjoying the outdoors but with as much culinary luxury as possible. Some of the group also enjoyed a pudding of fruit and custard or just a chocolate for dessert.
Day three.
Again today we decided that there was no reason to rush off at the crack of dawn. So it was a 09.00am start. Today the hike is much the same as the previous day. Many long hills, stream crossings and walking the ridges looking down to the ocean. After about an hours hike the trail leads to the Elandsbos river mouth. This is a great place to stop for a snack and a swim for the more adventurous (especially in the summer months). Today we experienced the longest hill of the whole hike. This is a hill that takes one past the “balancing rock”. This rock can be seen from the beach below and it is probably advisable to have a rest somewhere on this beach. When you reach the top of this hill you will be fairly close to the Lottering (Oakhurst ) huts and will want to press on.
It was at the top of this hill that we saw more whales. Some of the group decided to stay and watch for whales and others pressed on to the Lottering river. This is quite an awesome sight from the top of the hill. The waves come pounding into the mouth of the river and it looks like an impossible crossing. However at the bottom the path leads to a section of river upstream where the crossing is not so difficult. The crossing still requires the hiker to remove sock and shoes as well as backpacks. And expect to get your pants wet. Here we also enjoyed a swim before walking the last half hour to the huts. As Tim and I walked to the huts we saw Jessica crossing the river back again. This was strange as the tide was coming quite fast. But we realized that Suzan must have left her trusty stick on the other side and Jessica (faithful daughter) was kind enough to fetch it for her Mom.
The Oakhurst huts have a shower with a view. And although we got here by about 2 in the afternoon, there was soon after we arrived, a Q for the shower, then we laid our clothes and ourselves out on the rocks to enjoy the afternoon sun with coffee and snacks to warm our insides. Barbara spotted a whale crossing the river mouth. We then saw a few of them as they swam around the area in front of the huts for a while. This evening we had had to carry the wood a short way from a fork in the path to the huts. Only a few of us still had meat to braai but a fire has such a warming and soothing effect that we always lit one in the evenings.
We had worked out that Low Tide was at 09.00 the next day and as it is best to cross Bloukrans river mouth at low tide we decided to leave at 06.00am the next day. Crossing the Bloukrans River Mouth at high tide can be quite dangerous as this entails a swim across the river mouth with the waves making the going even tougher, floating back packs, and scrambling up jagged rocks on the other side. So it was early to bed. Tim had an eventful night as he was woken by the scratching of a little creature (probably a Genet or similar animal) in one of the packs. I am not sure who got the biggest fright but the little creature took off when Tim slapped the floor with his hand.
Day four
As planned, we were up very early and set off in the dark at 05.45am. This was one of the highlights of the hike as we walked by torch light. The full moon seemed to leave us at that time and we were under bushes and shrubs during the early part of the mornings hike. However the walk went past without too much problems and the early start set us up for a good mornings walk. This morning we walked with few stops and none for more than a few minutes to regroup and to catch our breath. It was a welcome sight to see the Bloukrans River mouth as the tide was just beginning to turn. The walk had taken us about 4.5 hours. The walk to the Bloukrans is fairly well marked with Kilo markers. Just before the descent to the river is an escape route that can be used if the hiker has not timed the walk correctly.
We reached the bottom in good time, took off our socks and boots and waded across the (very cold) river. We noticed how the temperature of the ocean water was considerably warmer that of the river. Once we had crossed the river we unbundled and set up for a good long break We filled water bottles, made lunch and some of us had time to catch up on some sleep. Those who went to do a bit of exploring found an old rusted cell phone.
After an hour of baking in the morning sun we set off for the last huts of the hike. There is quite a bit of boulder climbing to be done after the Bloukrans and again a climb to the top of the ridge. Just before arriving at the Andre huts there is a steep descent where the hiker is asked to carry wood down to the huts. And here begins the story of the “Lost Phone”!
“The Lost Phone”
Tim and Sue were bringing up the rear. Jessica was up front with us. And, on seeing the pile of wood they had loaded themselves and set off down the fairly steep and long climb down to the huts. Sue had gone off ahead and when Tim seemed to take forever Sue off loaded the wood and set off back up to look for him, calling his name repeatedly. Eventually getting back up to the top she enquired what the hold up was. “I lost my Phone” says Tim. “Well, lets go and find it” says Sue.
Tim seemed strangely reluctant to go back and offhand about the expensive cell-phone that he has lost. But being the good and faithful wife that she is Sue sets off (on her own) up the path, past the pile of wood again, scratches through the snake infested wood-pile for the phone, finds nothing and walks back a long way searching the pathway. It is hot and after a long days hike Sue is quite exhausted and so finally turns back unsuccessful. Along the pathway she has found an animal bone that looked familiar (Tim had picked it on the beach earlier and carried it as a small keepsake). Anyway Sue finally gets back to where Tim is sitting and waiting on the top of the descent to the huts and announces that she too has been unsuccessful in the search for the phone. “What’s that in your hand?” asks Tim. “What?” says Sue. “That” says Tim. “ Huh” Sue looks perplexed. “My Bone!” says Tim triumphantly. The penny dropped! Tim had let Sue go back, bone tired (Excuse the pun) to look for his stupid bone that he had been carrying.
Well folks. That just goes to show that hiking is an incredible marriage builder. If you can survive something like that and still laugh when you look back, then your marriage looks good for the future.
Anyway back at the huts Jessica had been concerned for them and had walked back up the hill to find them. And saw them slogging it down the hill laden with firewood which is extremely difficult to carry and put the past straw onto Sue’s back when she announced that there was already enough wood at the camp!
This evening was our last. We were all a little sorry that the adventure was soon to be at an end. But we had had a rich time and been incredibly lucky with the weather, the walk itself and no injuries to talk about. Well maybe I had better acknowledge that Nick fell at Bloubaai and hurt his rear, Engela had grazed her knee, Gerald moaned and groaned constantly and vowed that this was his first and last Otter until I told him to “Shut up and walk” and I am sure that there were some other injuries but none that a plaster and Panado could not heal.
We had one of those incredible moonlit evenings again. At the Andre huts there is a swimming area in the pools in front of the hut area. Here there is also a shower with a view. So having swum, showered and relaxed for the afternoon the evening fire was a mixture of a fun time of story telling and melancholy of the end of a really great holiday. There were promises made to get together again for another hike in the not too distant future.
Day five
It seemed that there was a general consensus to get home as early as possible. We set off at about 07.00am and hiked the relatively easy section along the ridge of the coastline to the beach of nature’s valley. Here we took off our boots and walked along the beach barefoot enjoying the feel of the sand and the water on our feet. The last stretch is past the village of Natures Valley and along the old N2 to the campsite. Here we showered, borrowed a “start’ from one of the people staying there as the Combi had a flat battery and after picking up Lucie’s car at Storms River Mouth and a quick visit to the curio shop for souvenirs we stopped at the Tsitsikamma village hotel for a Pub Lunch and then headed home. We were home by about three in the afternoon.
And that was the Otter trail 2004.
Peter Giddy.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
RHODES MARATHON 17 JULY 2004
RHODES MARATHON
17 JULY 2004.
I entered this race as soon as I received the entry form. I had so enjoyed the race last year that I decided that it was a must for the 2004. Also if I finished, I was due to earn a permanent number. Rhodes is a 52km event that takes the runner through some of the toughest marathon running conditions including possible snow and extreme cold. Much of the running is along farm roads and about 8km is through farmlands. The route goes past the only ski resort in SA … Tiffandel. The race organisers allow a certain number of runners as seconding and evacuation could prove difficult if conditions deteriorated suddenly. So entry is by invitation only.
Running with Tim, I talked to him about the race and he asked that I look out for a number for him. Well as it turned out, both Kobus and Andy were not running and so Tim and Graham took their numbers.
Knysna Forest marathon is Grahams race that he does annually and both Tim and I had also ran Knysna last year so decided to do it again. So it was that the three of us ran both events.
I had just returned from the Fish River Canyon hike in Namibia and so was well rested from running for the Forest and managed a 4H.06 which was my fastest marathon in years. Stuart, Tim and Graham came in a few minutes later. Tim with Justin.
Rhodes
We left for Rhodes in two cars with Pat and Gerald in Tim’s car and we had Alli and Jessie. We left at 05.00 on Friday morning. We took our time with plenty of stops. Our breakfast stop was at the top of the Nico Malan pass about 40kays from Fort Beaufort. Here we had a picnic while the children played barefoot breaking ice in the parking area. Jessica was a little car sick as this was the furthest that she had ever travelled in a car and the first time away from her parents. From there we went past Queenstown, Dordrecht and Elliot. We seemed to split up on the Barclay pass where Gerald told Tim to turn. Big mistake (which we had made the previous year and had two punctures as reward)! Anyway they went through safely as did Basil and Yolande later on that evening. Barbara and I took the road to Barclay East and stopped on the way to Rhodes to visit Dennis aned Melony Giddy at Kelvin Grove. Dennis was suffering with flu and was not in the mood for visitors. We regrouped at Rhodes at about 14.00 making the trip a 9 hour drive. We settled into the Pastorie together with the rest of the runners and supporters. Doortjie from Sedgefield had driven from Bloemfontein (4 hours) and Graham from EL. They arrived a little later. Gerald, Pat and Doortjie were booked into accommodation about a Kay from the village. Peter and Barbara were in the stoep again and after Brian arranged a dressing table and chair and we set up the beds to suit ourselves we were quite content and immediately booked the room for 2005. Tim and Sue had the room next to the dining room. This turned out to be a bad choice as the occupants of this room are unable to have a good nights rest until the last of the late nighters have left the Kitchen. What we suggest for future is that those who are likely to be going to bed later than the Woosies like me should have this room and that the early to bed group should have the rooms in the passageway.
We registered and went back to the house for supper which consisted (to the envy of many in the house) of Macaroni Cheese supplied by Baubie and Bean soup made by Tim. After this we enjoyed coffee and the banana muffins which Baubie had given to Graham to bring along. We were not going to be hungry this weekend!
In the house this year were: Brian, Danielle, Briden, Craig and Sharon, Peter, Barbara, Alli and Jessica; Graham; Tim and Sue; Kay, Basil and Yolande; Duane from Despatch; Marie Louise; Andrew; Theresa and Savanna,; Casie. Martin and Kommein. 19 Adults and three children. Also as semi permanent members were Gerald, Pat, Doortjie, Lewellan and son (Jerrad?). This group of youngsters seemed to have a great time together and I am sure are already looking forward to meeting up again at the 2005 event.
Saturday Morning;
This morning we set alarms for 06.00am. Some even showered before the race. Brian checked the temp. Minus 6 and declared this to be a warm morning as last year it had registered minus 10. He cautioned us that the temp tended to drop even further around dawn. We enjoyed various forms of breakfast including Baubie’s bran muffins and coffee. At 5 to 7 were gathered outside for the compulsory Photo shoots. Then to the start we went in various levels of attire. Gerald was weighed down with the following: Thermal underpants and vest, Moffie pants, Two pairs of socks, I thinks about three more layers of tops, two pairs of gloves and a Beanie. Then came Graham with an array of hi-tech running gear that weighed an ounce but was destined to keep him warm. Tim and I went for shorts, a short sleeve & long sleeve T-shirt, Gloves and Beanie. The race started off to what seemed to be a false start with the gun going off after we left, No one was about to turn round and go back to restart.
The first impression of this race is that I would never survive. It was simply too cold. My nose ached from the cold. Today my nose did not stop running at all. My feet felt as though I had forgotten to include my toes when I put on my running shoes. I was cold cold cold. And if the comments that I was hearing from others around me was anything to go by; so was everyone else. Tim in particular complained of aching hands and fingertips. But as we all know we warm up pretty soon after the start especially when the sun came up. The first 14kays saw the team stick together. We even made sure that we were photographed together as proof. This section of gravel farm roads took us 90 mins. Then we went into the farmlands. Across the streams and along the valley that leads to the Mavis Bank hill. It was about here we met Rowland van der Merwe from Irene club in Pretoia and who invited Graham to contact him when he moved there. This section of the run is 7 to 8 kays of tough tracks, rocks, grass tufts. Up hills and along the contours of the hillside along the river that flows in icy patches below us. It was here that I lost my footing (as did many others) and would have landed down in the river if Tim had not grabbed me. I had a grazed thigh and banged shin bone as evidence. The delay of me catching my breath was too much for Graham and Doortjie who used the opportunity to race on ahead. (at least that is my version of the events). That left Peter, Tim and Gerald to slog on to Mavis. Here a group of Priory schoolers had camped overnight and provided excellent seconding to the runners. They have to hike there the previous evening, carrying all the seconding foods, their tents and own food and equipment, feed the runners and then hike back to the farm road for a lift back to Rhodes. As runners we have to salute this group of youngsters and their hardy teachers. We reached the bottom of Mavis in Three hours and took a further 30 mins to reach the 21kay at the top of Mavis Bank.
By now Tim and I were a little ahead of Gerald who was taking an morning stroll with his hands behind his back up the hill. The Mavis Bank climb of about 800metres had completely drained all strength out of Peter and Tim. Graham had waited for us at the top. Doortjie had (heartlessly) gone on. Graham then pushed on as he was getting cold. Tim and Peter had a good breakfast of tea, Hot choc and sandwiches. By 10.40 Gerald reached the top and we pressed on together. But only a kay further on Gerald announced that he had a hamstring problem. By now Peter and Tim were tired of his winging so we decided to press on and leave him to die on his own.
The next 8 or 9 kays is mainly uphill to where Mr. Sephton waits for the runners at the highest point (26kays) to show the runners the Lesotho border and where pancakes with cinnamon were on offer. And then down to where the road forks off to Tiffandel. This section of 8kays had taken us a further 90 mins. So with about 22kays to go we had been running (with lots of walking) for about 5H.10.
By now we had picked up a chick from Pretoria (Rita). And between the three of us we decided that an 8hour run would be respectable. Rita was in a hurry to see if she could catch her wandering husband who had left her for dead. So we picked up the pace and continuously worked out how many minutes a kay we required to finish under 8 hours. We soon realised that our maths was not that good and that we could now aim for a sub 7H30. The amazing thing about this run is how you begin to recover as you descend.
On our way down the steep concrete section of road we came across a combi that had ambitiously thought that they could drive this road. Ha Ha! They were in the process of backing down to try to turn. We never found out if they made it. Foreigners! We reached the 42kay mark where David Goldberg was with his mother-in-law (Jessie Gush). David had run about a 5 hour race for a 24th position overall. Here we had a hasty reunion and pressed on. We also met a few of the Edgemead runners who graciously acknowledged Patrick Fear as a founder member. I had also met Rod Kent at Knysna the previous weekend. He asked me to pass on greetings to you Patrick. At about the 45 kay marker we saw a yellow and black apparition ahead of us which turned out to be a Graham. Red flag to a bull! Tim made a charge. Peter pressed on valiantly. And soon we caught him. We felt a little guilty for leaving comrade Rita. But the guilt was dissipated by the triumph of catching Graham. Graham announced that he was finished. We pretended to feel some compassion but were delighted! And off we went with a 7.15 now in sight. The last ten kays of this run is a vasbyt section. It is boring, undulating, dusty from the passing traffic and, as always at the end of a run, the kay markers seem to be spread further and further apart.
But when we got to the 3 kay to go seconding table we were completely surprised (and secretly delighted) to find Doortjie sitting looking very sorry for herself. We made a few feeble attempts to encourage her to keep up with us and pressed on to the intersection of what we called Govan Mbeki Avenue. And now with a little over a Kay to go and with spouses and children there to encourage us we pretended that we had been running all along, ran past them with heads held high and big smiles for the camera’s. Lewellan had also walked down the road to meet the arriving finishers. We finally finished in just under 7H20. Later on I had to explain to Justin that this was an entirely respectable time for this event.
After the run we walked down to the house to find a showered and relaxed Craig (who had already been for a horse ride after his wonderful race of about 4H35 and a 9th position overall) and Theresa who (it turned out later) was third vet. Duane had also come in by this time but was not there at the time. Tim and I were able to shower and use up as much of the Hot water as we could so that none of the others would be able to have hot showers.
Barbara had arranged for Alli and Jessica to go horse riding but I had no energy for anything and just sat. Tim did his good deed for the weekend and went for a walk with Sue. If any of you drive Target Kloof in the mornings you will know that walking with Sue is enough to tire that fittest of runners. They later met up at the Hotel. Lewellan told me that they were waiting for me but I had no energy for anything.
One by one the rest of the housemates came in. Doorthie, Graham, then the big Brian James bus of Basil, Casie, Kay & Andrew. Marie Louise had tired but finished her first Rhodes with about 15 mins to spare. Gerald had done about 8H06 and he was first G/Master and gold medallist. Peter, Kay and Martin received permanent number status.
At this stage a number of the group went off to watch WP get beaten but some other weak team. What a let down after the high of the race.
Then it was supper time. Peter had prepared a Lasagne supper. A bit of a difference from the traditional Curry and Rice but seemed to be enjoyed by those present. Others who went out to party had a good helping when they staggered in later. Again this evening we enjoyed the muffins that Baubie had made with our evening coffee.
Sunday morning.
We had decided to be on our way by 07.00 and so alarms were set for 06.00 and we were soon making a big noise as we pretended to be packing etc but were actually getting our revenge on those who had come in late and woken us up at midnight. He He He… Revenge is sweet!
Ice on the cars did not seem to bother the cars and we were packed and ready to go by 07.00. We had an easy drive back home with a long stop in Queenstown for breakfast. While we were there Graham phoned to say that he was already home. The drive home took us 8.30 to 9.00 hours.
It was a great weekend. And we are committed for 2005. Justin will also bee looking for a number so if you know of one please let him know. He will also ask to be included in the house. Tim intends to Ask Kobus for his number again. Graham is moving to Pretoria and so may not be able to make it again. Gerald has asked if he and Pat could be included in the Achilles house for 2005. Brian is moving to Durban as Danielle has accepted a transfer so he tells us that Craig will be taking over the management of the house for the next period.
Finally:
Well done to all who completed the 2004 Rhodes marathon. And a very special thank you to the organisers of the event. Especially to Evie who is the backbone of the whole event. See you next year.
Peter Giddy
18 July 2004.
pgiddy@hinet.co.za
082 550 3174
17 JULY 2004.
I entered this race as soon as I received the entry form. I had so enjoyed the race last year that I decided that it was a must for the 2004. Also if I finished, I was due to earn a permanent number. Rhodes is a 52km event that takes the runner through some of the toughest marathon running conditions including possible snow and extreme cold. Much of the running is along farm roads and about 8km is through farmlands. The route goes past the only ski resort in SA … Tiffandel. The race organisers allow a certain number of runners as seconding and evacuation could prove difficult if conditions deteriorated suddenly. So entry is by invitation only.
Running with Tim, I talked to him about the race and he asked that I look out for a number for him. Well as it turned out, both Kobus and Andy were not running and so Tim and Graham took their numbers.
Knysna Forest marathon is Grahams race that he does annually and both Tim and I had also ran Knysna last year so decided to do it again. So it was that the three of us ran both events.
I had just returned from the Fish River Canyon hike in Namibia and so was well rested from running for the Forest and managed a 4H.06 which was my fastest marathon in years. Stuart, Tim and Graham came in a few minutes later. Tim with Justin.
Rhodes
We left for Rhodes in two cars with Pat and Gerald in Tim’s car and we had Alli and Jessie. We left at 05.00 on Friday morning. We took our time with plenty of stops. Our breakfast stop was at the top of the Nico Malan pass about 40kays from Fort Beaufort. Here we had a picnic while the children played barefoot breaking ice in the parking area. Jessica was a little car sick as this was the furthest that she had ever travelled in a car and the first time away from her parents. From there we went past Queenstown, Dordrecht and Elliot. We seemed to split up on the Barclay pass where Gerald told Tim to turn. Big mistake (which we had made the previous year and had two punctures as reward)! Anyway they went through safely as did Basil and Yolande later on that evening. Barbara and I took the road to Barclay East and stopped on the way to Rhodes to visit Dennis aned Melony Giddy at Kelvin Grove. Dennis was suffering with flu and was not in the mood for visitors. We regrouped at Rhodes at about 14.00 making the trip a 9 hour drive. We settled into the Pastorie together with the rest of the runners and supporters. Doortjie from Sedgefield had driven from Bloemfontein (4 hours) and Graham from EL. They arrived a little later. Gerald, Pat and Doortjie were booked into accommodation about a Kay from the village. Peter and Barbara were in the stoep again and after Brian arranged a dressing table and chair and we set up the beds to suit ourselves we were quite content and immediately booked the room for 2005. Tim and Sue had the room next to the dining room. This turned out to be a bad choice as the occupants of this room are unable to have a good nights rest until the last of the late nighters have left the Kitchen. What we suggest for future is that those who are likely to be going to bed later than the Woosies like me should have this room and that the early to bed group should have the rooms in the passageway.
We registered and went back to the house for supper which consisted (to the envy of many in the house) of Macaroni Cheese supplied by Baubie and Bean soup made by Tim. After this we enjoyed coffee and the banana muffins which Baubie had given to Graham to bring along. We were not going to be hungry this weekend!
In the house this year were: Brian, Danielle, Briden, Craig and Sharon, Peter, Barbara, Alli and Jessica; Graham; Tim and Sue; Kay, Basil and Yolande; Duane from Despatch; Marie Louise; Andrew; Theresa and Savanna,; Casie. Martin and Kommein. 19 Adults and three children. Also as semi permanent members were Gerald, Pat, Doortjie, Lewellan and son (Jerrad?). This group of youngsters seemed to have a great time together and I am sure are already looking forward to meeting up again at the 2005 event.
Saturday Morning;
This morning we set alarms for 06.00am. Some even showered before the race. Brian checked the temp. Minus 6 and declared this to be a warm morning as last year it had registered minus 10. He cautioned us that the temp tended to drop even further around dawn. We enjoyed various forms of breakfast including Baubie’s bran muffins and coffee. At 5 to 7 were gathered outside for the compulsory Photo shoots. Then to the start we went in various levels of attire. Gerald was weighed down with the following: Thermal underpants and vest, Moffie pants, Two pairs of socks, I thinks about three more layers of tops, two pairs of gloves and a Beanie. Then came Graham with an array of hi-tech running gear that weighed an ounce but was destined to keep him warm. Tim and I went for shorts, a short sleeve & long sleeve T-shirt, Gloves and Beanie. The race started off to what seemed to be a false start with the gun going off after we left, No one was about to turn round and go back to restart.
The first impression of this race is that I would never survive. It was simply too cold. My nose ached from the cold. Today my nose did not stop running at all. My feet felt as though I had forgotten to include my toes when I put on my running shoes. I was cold cold cold. And if the comments that I was hearing from others around me was anything to go by; so was everyone else. Tim in particular complained of aching hands and fingertips. But as we all know we warm up pretty soon after the start especially when the sun came up. The first 14kays saw the team stick together. We even made sure that we were photographed together as proof. This section of gravel farm roads took us 90 mins. Then we went into the farmlands. Across the streams and along the valley that leads to the Mavis Bank hill. It was about here we met Rowland van der Merwe from Irene club in Pretoia and who invited Graham to contact him when he moved there. This section of the run is 7 to 8 kays of tough tracks, rocks, grass tufts. Up hills and along the contours of the hillside along the river that flows in icy patches below us. It was here that I lost my footing (as did many others) and would have landed down in the river if Tim had not grabbed me. I had a grazed thigh and banged shin bone as evidence. The delay of me catching my breath was too much for Graham and Doortjie who used the opportunity to race on ahead. (at least that is my version of the events). That left Peter, Tim and Gerald to slog on to Mavis. Here a group of Priory schoolers had camped overnight and provided excellent seconding to the runners. They have to hike there the previous evening, carrying all the seconding foods, their tents and own food and equipment, feed the runners and then hike back to the farm road for a lift back to Rhodes. As runners we have to salute this group of youngsters and their hardy teachers. We reached the bottom of Mavis in Three hours and took a further 30 mins to reach the 21kay at the top of Mavis Bank.
By now Tim and I were a little ahead of Gerald who was taking an morning stroll with his hands behind his back up the hill. The Mavis Bank climb of about 800metres had completely drained all strength out of Peter and Tim. Graham had waited for us at the top. Doortjie had (heartlessly) gone on. Graham then pushed on as he was getting cold. Tim and Peter had a good breakfast of tea, Hot choc and sandwiches. By 10.40 Gerald reached the top and we pressed on together. But only a kay further on Gerald announced that he had a hamstring problem. By now Peter and Tim were tired of his winging so we decided to press on and leave him to die on his own.
The next 8 or 9 kays is mainly uphill to where Mr. Sephton waits for the runners at the highest point (26kays) to show the runners the Lesotho border and where pancakes with cinnamon were on offer. And then down to where the road forks off to Tiffandel. This section of 8kays had taken us a further 90 mins. So with about 22kays to go we had been running (with lots of walking) for about 5H.10.
By now we had picked up a chick from Pretoria (Rita). And between the three of us we decided that an 8hour run would be respectable. Rita was in a hurry to see if she could catch her wandering husband who had left her for dead. So we picked up the pace and continuously worked out how many minutes a kay we required to finish under 8 hours. We soon realised that our maths was not that good and that we could now aim for a sub 7H30. The amazing thing about this run is how you begin to recover as you descend.
On our way down the steep concrete section of road we came across a combi that had ambitiously thought that they could drive this road. Ha Ha! They were in the process of backing down to try to turn. We never found out if they made it. Foreigners! We reached the 42kay mark where David Goldberg was with his mother-in-law (Jessie Gush). David had run about a 5 hour race for a 24th position overall. Here we had a hasty reunion and pressed on. We also met a few of the Edgemead runners who graciously acknowledged Patrick Fear as a founder member. I had also met Rod Kent at Knysna the previous weekend. He asked me to pass on greetings to you Patrick. At about the 45 kay marker we saw a yellow and black apparition ahead of us which turned out to be a Graham. Red flag to a bull! Tim made a charge. Peter pressed on valiantly. And soon we caught him. We felt a little guilty for leaving comrade Rita. But the guilt was dissipated by the triumph of catching Graham. Graham announced that he was finished. We pretended to feel some compassion but were delighted! And off we went with a 7.15 now in sight. The last ten kays of this run is a vasbyt section. It is boring, undulating, dusty from the passing traffic and, as always at the end of a run, the kay markers seem to be spread further and further apart.
But when we got to the 3 kay to go seconding table we were completely surprised (and secretly delighted) to find Doortjie sitting looking very sorry for herself. We made a few feeble attempts to encourage her to keep up with us and pressed on to the intersection of what we called Govan Mbeki Avenue. And now with a little over a Kay to go and with spouses and children there to encourage us we pretended that we had been running all along, ran past them with heads held high and big smiles for the camera’s. Lewellan had also walked down the road to meet the arriving finishers. We finally finished in just under 7H20. Later on I had to explain to Justin that this was an entirely respectable time for this event.
After the run we walked down to the house to find a showered and relaxed Craig (who had already been for a horse ride after his wonderful race of about 4H35 and a 9th position overall) and Theresa who (it turned out later) was third vet. Duane had also come in by this time but was not there at the time. Tim and I were able to shower and use up as much of the Hot water as we could so that none of the others would be able to have hot showers.
Barbara had arranged for Alli and Jessica to go horse riding but I had no energy for anything and just sat. Tim did his good deed for the weekend and went for a walk with Sue. If any of you drive Target Kloof in the mornings you will know that walking with Sue is enough to tire that fittest of runners. They later met up at the Hotel. Lewellan told me that they were waiting for me but I had no energy for anything.
One by one the rest of the housemates came in. Doorthie, Graham, then the big Brian James bus of Basil, Casie, Kay & Andrew. Marie Louise had tired but finished her first Rhodes with about 15 mins to spare. Gerald had done about 8H06 and he was first G/Master and gold medallist. Peter, Kay and Martin received permanent number status.
At this stage a number of the group went off to watch WP get beaten but some other weak team. What a let down after the high of the race.
Then it was supper time. Peter had prepared a Lasagne supper. A bit of a difference from the traditional Curry and Rice but seemed to be enjoyed by those present. Others who went out to party had a good helping when they staggered in later. Again this evening we enjoyed the muffins that Baubie had made with our evening coffee.
Sunday morning.
We had decided to be on our way by 07.00 and so alarms were set for 06.00 and we were soon making a big noise as we pretended to be packing etc but were actually getting our revenge on those who had come in late and woken us up at midnight. He He He… Revenge is sweet!
Ice on the cars did not seem to bother the cars and we were packed and ready to go by 07.00. We had an easy drive back home with a long stop in Queenstown for breakfast. While we were there Graham phoned to say that he was already home. The drive home took us 8.30 to 9.00 hours.
It was a great weekend. And we are committed for 2005. Justin will also bee looking for a number so if you know of one please let him know. He will also ask to be included in the house. Tim intends to Ask Kobus for his number again. Graham is moving to Pretoria and so may not be able to make it again. Gerald has asked if he and Pat could be included in the Achilles house for 2005. Brian is moving to Durban as Danielle has accepted a transfer so he tells us that Craig will be taking over the management of the house for the next period.
Finally:
Well done to all who completed the 2004 Rhodes marathon. And a very special thank you to the organisers of the event. Especially to Evie who is the backbone of the whole event. See you next year.
Peter Giddy
18 July 2004.
pgiddy@hinet.co.za
082 550 3174
Sunday, July 4, 2004
FISH RIVER CANYON HIKING TRAIL NAMIBIA JULY 2004
FISH RIVER CANYON
JULY 2004.
Peter & Barbara Giddy
Gerald and Pat Scheepers
Hannes & Jacqui Zeelie
Chris Thiart
Tony Boardman
Robin Holmes. (Hike Administrator)
James Malan (East London)
Dawn Kumm (East London)
Deryk Le Roux
This is planned to be a 9 day (Eight nights) outing including travel and time in the canyon. Cost R700pp and about R500 for Petrol. Plus Equipment, meals, provisions and souvenirs. I do not think that a well equipped hiker will have to spend no more than about R2000 for this outing. However to purchase a good backpack, sleeping bag, mattress, boots, stove etc may cost as much as R3000 to R5000. You will also need a valid passport and a certificate of fitness. A further certificate assuring the park that you will not litter has to be completed.
Day One. Friday 25th June 2004.
We left in two combis from PE at 03.00am on Friday 25th June 2004. We drove at a moderate speed of 110kmph and made 3 stops including a long breakfast in De Aar. Distances are about 250km to Graaf Reinett, 250km to De Aar, 250 to Prieska and a final 200 to Uppington. We overnight stopped at Die Eiland in Uppington. Shared three bungalows. Did some final shopping here, Supper at O’Hagan’s for R50pp.
Day Two.
Started off at 07.00am for the border post. The road from Graaf Reinett is the N10 right to Airamsvlei (About 130km) where the Border Post is located. Formalities here include completing a departure form; you need the registration number of trailers and cars as well as a declaration of all camera equipment, serial numbers etc and any other equipment such as binoculars that may be construed as imports. There is a charge of R180 per vehicle. Remember to have a pen for each person.
The drive between the SA and Namibian border posts is unusually long. About 5kays. From Airamsvlei to Karasburg is about 130km. Karasburg has a few filling stations and a well stocked Spar. From Karasburg there is a drive of 55km to a T-Junction. Once here it is a further 105km to Ai-Ais of which 60Kays is a dirt road. So the total distance from Uppington to Ai-Ais is about 430km. Do not take the Canyon turn off unless you are going directly to Hobas (the start of the Hike). The road to Ai-Ais is clearly marked and is a good quality dirt road. We reached Ai-Ais by 12.30pm. We booked into shared bungalows again. Here there is a further cost of about R20pp plus a vehicle fee to enter the reserve. This afternoon we made our final preparations, had a swim in the hot springs pool and made our way to the veranda where we watched the Springboks Play Wales. The final score was 53 to 18 with tries scored by Breyton Paulse, John Smith (the captain), Wayne Julies, Brent Russell and Bolla Conradie. With Wayne Peel and Shane Williams scoring at the last minute for Wales. Percy Montgomery had one of his better matches, scoring 8/9 attempts at goal. We had bought braai meat for this evening from Uppington and had ourselves a braai. Barbara & I saved left overs for the trail. It is possible to arrange for a Venture to take your party to Hobas at a cost of R60pp and a further R20pp from Hobas to the start of the hike in the Canyon. NB the Namibian $ is R1.00. It is not necessary to buy any of the local currency as Rands are welcomed.
Day Three (Sunday)
This morning we were up at 05.00am and on our way to Hobas by 06.00am. All 12 of us crammed in the combi with bags in the big trailer. The drive took us about an hour but when we got there we realised that Namibian time was now only 06.00am and the office opened at 07.00am Nam time. Namibia is one hour behind SA in winter. We still had to register the hike with names and ages of all participants. We had been advised of a possible way of getting our combi back to Ai-Ais. And asked for Vincent. He was summonsed and offered to take us to the start and the combi back to Ai-Ais for R100. The distance from Hobas camping site to the actual descent and start of the hike is between 10 to 13kays. Vincent would leave the Keys at reception. (In the end this worked out perfectly for us). While waiting for the office to open we realised that we had a flat tyre and I was surrounded by willing people who did the necessary. Thanks chaps!! Wrong jack and all! Well eventually we loaded (now 13 people) and were able to start the hike at 09.00am (SA Time … All times given from here on are SA time.). From the very start Dawn was going to have Knee problems and this meant that her hike was going to be the toughest of all! The descent took us about 2.30 hours. The weather was predicted to be cold and windy. This was true at the top of the canyon but as soon as we began the descent the weather improved and we were soon all in our matching shirts that we had embroidered especially for the hike. They were made of Dry-Fit material and minimised water retention. This kept us relatively dry while carrying backpacks.
Backpacks.
We had a variety of backpacks. From Hannes carrying a tent, self inflating mattresses and tinned food including luxuries such as Oysters (total weight of about 30kilograms) to Tony (the chair-man) and Chris not even carry mini stoves. They would survive on peanuts, raisins and energy bars. What was essential was to have a plastic ground sheet and some kind of mattress. A good sleeping bag was needed even though the temperatures in the evenings were mildly chilly. Early in the morning it seemed to grow colder. A tracksuit and Beanie with and additional warm top was adequate for the evenings. During the day we all wore shorts and the light T-Shirts. Most of us also needed a wide brimmed hat as the afternoon sun was quite fierce. The nature of the hike is that you walk in a Southerly direction meaning that the sun would tend to beat down on the back of your neck. I suggest one or two shorts and T-Shirts, Perhaps two pairs of thin and two pairs of thick socks. Don’t waste space in the bag with making a fashion statement. You will all be pretty smelly by day 5 however much you bath. Trail soap is essential. Remember: what you put into the river today you will drink tomorrow. I do not think that anyone used water-purifying tablets. They make the water taste terrible and you will need Game or Tang to cover the taste. And none of us needed Imodium. I like a few items of fruit and vegetables; they weigh more but are worth it to me. I also carried beers and Brandy (which I mix with Game when the beer is finished). Standard trail meals for us are: Snacker & Fruit for breakfast, Biscuits and Tuna or cheese for lunch. (We also had our left over steak rolls from the braai as Ai-Ais). And Supper consisted of Two Min noodles, Cup-a-soup, tuna or biltong mixed in with a chopped carrot. All boiled up together makes for a delicious and filling meal.
Day three continued.
Today (our first in the canyon) after the Descent we managed a total of about 3kays. The terrain is tough to cover any kind of distance, and the Canyon is at its deepest and should be enjoyed. We passed a group who had begun their descent the previous night. They were particularly slow and appeared unfit but in the end of the hike we only reached Ai-Ais about an hour before them. They would start earlier than us and walk to later. They used the coolest parts of the day to walk and meandered during the hotter part of the day. On this day we set up camp at about 15.00 in a sandy sheltered part of the canyon. The routine setting up of camp: Hannes would find a nook for the tent, build or create a Kitchen. I would set up an area for Barbara and Dawn to make it seem as cosy as possible when they got to camp. Some of the men would collect fire wood. Stoves would be lit and the evening meal cooked and eaten before sunset which was about 18.30. Happy hour was declared to be as soon as camp had been set up. However with limited stock this meant that the evening ration was soon consumed and the rest of the evening would be sitting around the campfire, chatting. Some of us were asleep as early as 20.00. The Full Moon meant that the campsite would be lit as if with an overhead spotlight and there was no stargazing until about 04.00am the next morning.
Day Four.
Today we began our trek to Palm Springs at about 08.00am. It was to be a long day filled with boulder clambering and river crossings. The river was flowing well and so water was never a problem. Just being able to consume enough water would be difficult as we had no idea quite how much we were losing in perspiration and heavy breathing. You can measure if you are drinking enough water by how often you have to urinate and the colour of your urine. Too dark means you are not drinking adequate water. Lunch time was brief; there was a following breeze and plenty of shade this early in the hike. The cliff sides are close to you and provide a cool area to walk for most of the day. We reached Sulphur springs again at about 15.00H and the men had first option in the hot bath with ladies following a little later. A group of 25 Welkom hikers joined us, the last of their group arriving after dark by torchlight. They had begun their hike at 16.00H the previous day and only managed to start from the base of the descent that morning. This meant a very long day for them to reach Sulphur Springs on one day. I personally found the hottest part of the day to be between about 14.00 to 16.00H. The sun is low and unless you are in shade the heat and glare is relentless. Palm Springs is about 15kays into the hike.
Day Five
This was now our third day in the canyon. The slower of us left Palm Springs at 07.00am as we anticipated a long day. From today we began to speed up the pace considerably and were able to take advantage of the river bends always taking the inside lane or as golfers say the “Tiger Line”. Often the path is clear, even and you are able to set a fast pace. But soon the boulders and river crossings catch up with you and the pace slows down again. You are soon able to look back and see Table Mountain in the next valley. We made our lunch stop soon after Table Mountain and had a nice long stop with stoves being brought out and all of us taking off our boots and having a swim of some sort. The water in the river is usually very cold, but does wonders for sore muscles. The part that seemed to be hurting all of us was the tops of our thighs. Of course feet are also tired after a morning of walking with a big pack. Boots are essential. I say again: essential! The last time I hiked this trail in an old pair of Saucony’s. I really don’t know how I did it. James had left his boots at home and his Tackies lasted only to the third day before completely falling apart. At lunch we decided that the fast men would go ahead and scout for a suitable campsite. The rest of us struggled over the “boulder crossing” before coming to the area known as “sand against the slope”. This is on the left hand side of the river and you need to move across to the left hand side for the easiest passage. We (wrongly) chose the shadier right hand side and were soon confronted with a tough boulder section to work our way through. We then come to Vasbyt Bend. We were fortunate that this was in the shade, so although long this was a relatively flat and easy section. As we neared the end of the bend, Tony had come back to make sure that we went over the ridge and we were at our evening campsite. Today we had covered 20 to 25kays and reached the camp only at 17.00. It was to be our longest day but by reaching the end of Vasbyt Bend we had broken the back of the hike. We were able to find good sites near to water and again had our campfire and sundowners to cheer us all up.
Day Six
Our Fourth day in the Canyon. Today we began at 08.00am. The faster men were beginning to find the pace too slow and so soon passed us at a racing speed. Robin realised that he would be no match for Tony, Chris and James. Hannes had been told by Jacqui that today he would be waking at her pace. Soon after the day began we came to the first official shortcut. Look out for the dense thorn bushes. Make sure that you are on the Right hand side of the river and look out for a steep climb up a cliff side. This is tough but short. There after the going is easy. Always fill water bottles before starting a short cut as they may be open and hot. The fourth day is riddled with short cuts. Remember to fill with water every time you reach the river. We lunched at the German Grave. Here we made a mistake of saying that we would allow the three men to go ahead and that we would meet them again at about 16.00H. Well we took it slow and reached the Causeway at about 14.00H. The first few at the causeway met a group of people who were going to be starting their 22 hike in a few days. They were in their 4X4’s and going to put out provisions. I have heard that it is possible to hide some provisions and beers for the final night but I think that you need a 4X4 vehicle to reach this spot. I have not had personal experience of this. This group of hikers were so friendly that they even gave us a few beers and cokes from their own stock. We also found a few men there who said that they were waiting for someone in a party that was still coming. In the end it turned out that they too had beers to sell (R6 for a Coke and R7 for a Beer) and sold us a few for our last night. Coke and beer on the last night of a 5 day hike has never happened to me before. Here there is a road and you pass a hut. Soon after the hut is an arrow pointing to the left. If you take this path you will come to a suitable camp site. We did not and walked up over the road straight on along the official path and ended up on a wide beach. This is where I had camped the last time I hiked the canyon so I knew that we had gone far enough for the fourth day and would have an easy last day. What we also discovered was an unmarked shortcut. So we camped at the base of this shortcut which would leave us about 12kays for the last day. Today we had covered about 20 to 25kays again. Do not let distances worry you especially early in the hike when there seems to be huge distances ahead. Even the unfittest in our group made the 5day hike comfortably within the 5 days. This turned out to be a perfect campsite and we were all able to have a bath and enjoy the beer! The problem was that the three men had gone on and found a campsite about 3kays further downriver. Hannes and Gerald went on to find them and tell them of our stock of beers. They came back for the beer but had decided to stay where they were. And so the group was split for the last evening.
Day Seven
Our Fifth and final day in the canyon. From where we had camped we went straight into the shortcut. On the other side of this path you need to stay left as going too far over to the right means having to double back to cross the river. Fools gold corner takes you to a bend or shortcut. This is fairly long. As you start this short cut stay on the left hand pathway, it will lead you back to the river and you will soon see the water pipes running on the left hand side of the river. When you see these you are nearly home. Today we had started at 08.00am and finished back at Ai-Ais at 13.30. My advice at this stage is that this is a reasonably tough hike. Do not undertake it lightly! It is advisable to have at least one in the group who has completed this hike before. At Ai-Ais the men were there waiting for us. It was here that we found out that they had had their beers the previous evening and then decided to walk in to Ai-Ais in the dark. The Moon assisted them but they missed some of the easier paths and the shortcut. They had to walk with one torch only as the second torch was useless as it reflected the dust off the boots in front. They had reached camp at 23.30H the previous evening and slept in the camp. The rest of the afternoon was spent washing, setting up for the next two days of travel and lazing in the hot water springs. My combi was safe and I was able to have the flat repaired. There is also a filling station in the camp. That evening we had a supper in the restaurant. During supper we had an awards ceremony and found that tired bodies were happy to head off to bed by 22.00H.
Day Eight
We left Ai-Ais at 06.00 and reached Uppington by 11.00. Instead of going into Uppington we went straight off to Augrabies to see the famous falls. Toady the flow of water through the Orange River was 23000 litres per second. Don’t fall in here as there is no chance of survival! After a short viewing walk we had some toasted sandwiches and headed off for one of the wine Farms at Kakamas. For a fee of R5 we enjoyed their wines and ended up with quite a sizeable collection in the combis. Robin really took advantage of the tour. It seems that he really enjoys good wines! I was later to find out that the prices that we paid for some excellent wines were about a half to two thirds of the price in the local supermarkets. This evening we went back to O’Hagan’s where we had enjoyed good food at good prices a few days earlier and found the same greeted us that evening. This was to be our last time together as a team.
Day Nine
Saturday 3 July 2004. We left at 03.00H and had brief stops along the way which enabled us to get to PE by 13.30H. The road we took was again: Prieska, De Aar, Graaf Reinett and home. Another time I would try the route to the West Coast Road crossing the border to Namibia at Vioolsdrif for either the up or home stretch.
Peter Giddy. Sunday 4th July 2004.
JULY 2004.
Peter & Barbara Giddy
Gerald and Pat Scheepers
Hannes & Jacqui Zeelie
Chris Thiart
Tony Boardman
Robin Holmes. (Hike Administrator)
James Malan (East London)
Dawn Kumm (East London)
Deryk Le Roux
This is planned to be a 9 day (Eight nights) outing including travel and time in the canyon. Cost R700pp and about R500 for Petrol. Plus Equipment, meals, provisions and souvenirs. I do not think that a well equipped hiker will have to spend no more than about R2000 for this outing. However to purchase a good backpack, sleeping bag, mattress, boots, stove etc may cost as much as R3000 to R5000. You will also need a valid passport and a certificate of fitness. A further certificate assuring the park that you will not litter has to be completed.
Day One. Friday 25th June 2004.
We left in two combis from PE at 03.00am on Friday 25th June 2004. We drove at a moderate speed of 110kmph and made 3 stops including a long breakfast in De Aar. Distances are about 250km to Graaf Reinett, 250km to De Aar, 250 to Prieska and a final 200 to Uppington. We overnight stopped at Die Eiland in Uppington. Shared three bungalows. Did some final shopping here, Supper at O’Hagan’s for R50pp.
Day Two.
Started off at 07.00am for the border post. The road from Graaf Reinett is the N10 right to Airamsvlei (About 130km) where the Border Post is located. Formalities here include completing a departure form; you need the registration number of trailers and cars as well as a declaration of all camera equipment, serial numbers etc and any other equipment such as binoculars that may be construed as imports. There is a charge of R180 per vehicle. Remember to have a pen for each person.
The drive between the SA and Namibian border posts is unusually long. About 5kays. From Airamsvlei to Karasburg is about 130km. Karasburg has a few filling stations and a well stocked Spar. From Karasburg there is a drive of 55km to a T-Junction. Once here it is a further 105km to Ai-Ais of which 60Kays is a dirt road. So the total distance from Uppington to Ai-Ais is about 430km. Do not take the Canyon turn off unless you are going directly to Hobas (the start of the Hike). The road to Ai-Ais is clearly marked and is a good quality dirt road. We reached Ai-Ais by 12.30pm. We booked into shared bungalows again. Here there is a further cost of about R20pp plus a vehicle fee to enter the reserve. This afternoon we made our final preparations, had a swim in the hot springs pool and made our way to the veranda where we watched the Springboks Play Wales. The final score was 53 to 18 with tries scored by Breyton Paulse, John Smith (the captain), Wayne Julies, Brent Russell and Bolla Conradie. With Wayne Peel and Shane Williams scoring at the last minute for Wales. Percy Montgomery had one of his better matches, scoring 8/9 attempts at goal. We had bought braai meat for this evening from Uppington and had ourselves a braai. Barbara & I saved left overs for the trail. It is possible to arrange for a Venture to take your party to Hobas at a cost of R60pp and a further R20pp from Hobas to the start of the hike in the Canyon. NB the Namibian $ is R1.00. It is not necessary to buy any of the local currency as Rands are welcomed.
Day Three (Sunday)
This morning we were up at 05.00am and on our way to Hobas by 06.00am. All 12 of us crammed in the combi with bags in the big trailer. The drive took us about an hour but when we got there we realised that Namibian time was now only 06.00am and the office opened at 07.00am Nam time. Namibia is one hour behind SA in winter. We still had to register the hike with names and ages of all participants. We had been advised of a possible way of getting our combi back to Ai-Ais. And asked for Vincent. He was summonsed and offered to take us to the start and the combi back to Ai-Ais for R100. The distance from Hobas camping site to the actual descent and start of the hike is between 10 to 13kays. Vincent would leave the Keys at reception. (In the end this worked out perfectly for us). While waiting for the office to open we realised that we had a flat tyre and I was surrounded by willing people who did the necessary. Thanks chaps!! Wrong jack and all! Well eventually we loaded (now 13 people) and were able to start the hike at 09.00am (SA Time … All times given from here on are SA time.). From the very start Dawn was going to have Knee problems and this meant that her hike was going to be the toughest of all! The descent took us about 2.30 hours. The weather was predicted to be cold and windy. This was true at the top of the canyon but as soon as we began the descent the weather improved and we were soon all in our matching shirts that we had embroidered especially for the hike. They were made of Dry-Fit material and minimised water retention. This kept us relatively dry while carrying backpacks.
Backpacks.
We had a variety of backpacks. From Hannes carrying a tent, self inflating mattresses and tinned food including luxuries such as Oysters (total weight of about 30kilograms) to Tony (the chair-man) and Chris not even carry mini stoves. They would survive on peanuts, raisins and energy bars. What was essential was to have a plastic ground sheet and some kind of mattress. A good sleeping bag was needed even though the temperatures in the evenings were mildly chilly. Early in the morning it seemed to grow colder. A tracksuit and Beanie with and additional warm top was adequate for the evenings. During the day we all wore shorts and the light T-Shirts. Most of us also needed a wide brimmed hat as the afternoon sun was quite fierce. The nature of the hike is that you walk in a Southerly direction meaning that the sun would tend to beat down on the back of your neck. I suggest one or two shorts and T-Shirts, Perhaps two pairs of thin and two pairs of thick socks. Don’t waste space in the bag with making a fashion statement. You will all be pretty smelly by day 5 however much you bath. Trail soap is essential. Remember: what you put into the river today you will drink tomorrow. I do not think that anyone used water-purifying tablets. They make the water taste terrible and you will need Game or Tang to cover the taste. And none of us needed Imodium. I like a few items of fruit and vegetables; they weigh more but are worth it to me. I also carried beers and Brandy (which I mix with Game when the beer is finished). Standard trail meals for us are: Snacker & Fruit for breakfast, Biscuits and Tuna or cheese for lunch. (We also had our left over steak rolls from the braai as Ai-Ais). And Supper consisted of Two Min noodles, Cup-a-soup, tuna or biltong mixed in with a chopped carrot. All boiled up together makes for a delicious and filling meal.
Day three continued.
Today (our first in the canyon) after the Descent we managed a total of about 3kays. The terrain is tough to cover any kind of distance, and the Canyon is at its deepest and should be enjoyed. We passed a group who had begun their descent the previous night. They were particularly slow and appeared unfit but in the end of the hike we only reached Ai-Ais about an hour before them. They would start earlier than us and walk to later. They used the coolest parts of the day to walk and meandered during the hotter part of the day. On this day we set up camp at about 15.00 in a sandy sheltered part of the canyon. The routine setting up of camp: Hannes would find a nook for the tent, build or create a Kitchen. I would set up an area for Barbara and Dawn to make it seem as cosy as possible when they got to camp. Some of the men would collect fire wood. Stoves would be lit and the evening meal cooked and eaten before sunset which was about 18.30. Happy hour was declared to be as soon as camp had been set up. However with limited stock this meant that the evening ration was soon consumed and the rest of the evening would be sitting around the campfire, chatting. Some of us were asleep as early as 20.00. The Full Moon meant that the campsite would be lit as if with an overhead spotlight and there was no stargazing until about 04.00am the next morning.
Day Four.
Today we began our trek to Palm Springs at about 08.00am. It was to be a long day filled with boulder clambering and river crossings. The river was flowing well and so water was never a problem. Just being able to consume enough water would be difficult as we had no idea quite how much we were losing in perspiration and heavy breathing. You can measure if you are drinking enough water by how often you have to urinate and the colour of your urine. Too dark means you are not drinking adequate water. Lunch time was brief; there was a following breeze and plenty of shade this early in the hike. The cliff sides are close to you and provide a cool area to walk for most of the day. We reached Sulphur springs again at about 15.00H and the men had first option in the hot bath with ladies following a little later. A group of 25 Welkom hikers joined us, the last of their group arriving after dark by torchlight. They had begun their hike at 16.00H the previous day and only managed to start from the base of the descent that morning. This meant a very long day for them to reach Sulphur Springs on one day. I personally found the hottest part of the day to be between about 14.00 to 16.00H. The sun is low and unless you are in shade the heat and glare is relentless. Palm Springs is about 15kays into the hike.
Day Five
This was now our third day in the canyon. The slower of us left Palm Springs at 07.00am as we anticipated a long day. From today we began to speed up the pace considerably and were able to take advantage of the river bends always taking the inside lane or as golfers say the “Tiger Line”. Often the path is clear, even and you are able to set a fast pace. But soon the boulders and river crossings catch up with you and the pace slows down again. You are soon able to look back and see Table Mountain in the next valley. We made our lunch stop soon after Table Mountain and had a nice long stop with stoves being brought out and all of us taking off our boots and having a swim of some sort. The water in the river is usually very cold, but does wonders for sore muscles. The part that seemed to be hurting all of us was the tops of our thighs. Of course feet are also tired after a morning of walking with a big pack. Boots are essential. I say again: essential! The last time I hiked this trail in an old pair of Saucony’s. I really don’t know how I did it. James had left his boots at home and his Tackies lasted only to the third day before completely falling apart. At lunch we decided that the fast men would go ahead and scout for a suitable campsite. The rest of us struggled over the “boulder crossing” before coming to the area known as “sand against the slope”. This is on the left hand side of the river and you need to move across to the left hand side for the easiest passage. We (wrongly) chose the shadier right hand side and were soon confronted with a tough boulder section to work our way through. We then come to Vasbyt Bend. We were fortunate that this was in the shade, so although long this was a relatively flat and easy section. As we neared the end of the bend, Tony had come back to make sure that we went over the ridge and we were at our evening campsite. Today we had covered 20 to 25kays and reached the camp only at 17.00. It was to be our longest day but by reaching the end of Vasbyt Bend we had broken the back of the hike. We were able to find good sites near to water and again had our campfire and sundowners to cheer us all up.
Day Six
Our Fourth day in the Canyon. Today we began at 08.00am. The faster men were beginning to find the pace too slow and so soon passed us at a racing speed. Robin realised that he would be no match for Tony, Chris and James. Hannes had been told by Jacqui that today he would be waking at her pace. Soon after the day began we came to the first official shortcut. Look out for the dense thorn bushes. Make sure that you are on the Right hand side of the river and look out for a steep climb up a cliff side. This is tough but short. There after the going is easy. Always fill water bottles before starting a short cut as they may be open and hot. The fourth day is riddled with short cuts. Remember to fill with water every time you reach the river. We lunched at the German Grave. Here we made a mistake of saying that we would allow the three men to go ahead and that we would meet them again at about 16.00H. Well we took it slow and reached the Causeway at about 14.00H. The first few at the causeway met a group of people who were going to be starting their 22 hike in a few days. They were in their 4X4’s and going to put out provisions. I have heard that it is possible to hide some provisions and beers for the final night but I think that you need a 4X4 vehicle to reach this spot. I have not had personal experience of this. This group of hikers were so friendly that they even gave us a few beers and cokes from their own stock. We also found a few men there who said that they were waiting for someone in a party that was still coming. In the end it turned out that they too had beers to sell (R6 for a Coke and R7 for a Beer) and sold us a few for our last night. Coke and beer on the last night of a 5 day hike has never happened to me before. Here there is a road and you pass a hut. Soon after the hut is an arrow pointing to the left. If you take this path you will come to a suitable camp site. We did not and walked up over the road straight on along the official path and ended up on a wide beach. This is where I had camped the last time I hiked the canyon so I knew that we had gone far enough for the fourth day and would have an easy last day. What we also discovered was an unmarked shortcut. So we camped at the base of this shortcut which would leave us about 12kays for the last day. Today we had covered about 20 to 25kays again. Do not let distances worry you especially early in the hike when there seems to be huge distances ahead. Even the unfittest in our group made the 5day hike comfortably within the 5 days. This turned out to be a perfect campsite and we were all able to have a bath and enjoy the beer! The problem was that the three men had gone on and found a campsite about 3kays further downriver. Hannes and Gerald went on to find them and tell them of our stock of beers. They came back for the beer but had decided to stay where they were. And so the group was split for the last evening.
Day Seven
Our Fifth and final day in the canyon. From where we had camped we went straight into the shortcut. On the other side of this path you need to stay left as going too far over to the right means having to double back to cross the river. Fools gold corner takes you to a bend or shortcut. This is fairly long. As you start this short cut stay on the left hand pathway, it will lead you back to the river and you will soon see the water pipes running on the left hand side of the river. When you see these you are nearly home. Today we had started at 08.00am and finished back at Ai-Ais at 13.30. My advice at this stage is that this is a reasonably tough hike. Do not undertake it lightly! It is advisable to have at least one in the group who has completed this hike before. At Ai-Ais the men were there waiting for us. It was here that we found out that they had had their beers the previous evening and then decided to walk in to Ai-Ais in the dark. The Moon assisted them but they missed some of the easier paths and the shortcut. They had to walk with one torch only as the second torch was useless as it reflected the dust off the boots in front. They had reached camp at 23.30H the previous evening and slept in the camp. The rest of the afternoon was spent washing, setting up for the next two days of travel and lazing in the hot water springs. My combi was safe and I was able to have the flat repaired. There is also a filling station in the camp. That evening we had a supper in the restaurant. During supper we had an awards ceremony and found that tired bodies were happy to head off to bed by 22.00H.
Day Eight
We left Ai-Ais at 06.00 and reached Uppington by 11.00. Instead of going into Uppington we went straight off to Augrabies to see the famous falls. Toady the flow of water through the Orange River was 23000 litres per second. Don’t fall in here as there is no chance of survival! After a short viewing walk we had some toasted sandwiches and headed off for one of the wine Farms at Kakamas. For a fee of R5 we enjoyed their wines and ended up with quite a sizeable collection in the combis. Robin really took advantage of the tour. It seems that he really enjoys good wines! I was later to find out that the prices that we paid for some excellent wines were about a half to two thirds of the price in the local supermarkets. This evening we went back to O’Hagan’s where we had enjoyed good food at good prices a few days earlier and found the same greeted us that evening. This was to be our last time together as a team.
Day Nine
Saturday 3 July 2004. We left at 03.00H and had brief stops along the way which enabled us to get to PE by 13.30H. The road we took was again: Prieska, De Aar, Graaf Reinett and home. Another time I would try the route to the West Coast Road crossing the border to Namibia at Vioolsdrif for either the up or home stretch.
Peter Giddy. Sunday 4th July 2004.
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