APRIL 2007 TWO OCEANS MARATHON AND WILDCLIFF EASTER WEEKEND.

Two Oceans Marathon or “The Long Walk to UCT”

I bailed from the run last year and so really needed to prove to myself that I could still complete this event. Early in January I had been running with Mike Kingston and we made a pact that he would give up alcohol until after Ironman and I would do the same until after Two Oceans. This was an incentive to me as much as any medal at the finish. While I had not done many long runs of over 20kays, I had done regular running during the week and the Achilles 42 kay helpers run. I had also done a few of the big tree training runs.

Two Oceans is always held on the Saturday of the Easter weekend. This year it was Saturday 7th April. Our family had arranged to camp at Hermanus. Sadly on the day we were due to depart, Stefan’s Uncle, Willie, died. I borrowed Herman’s trailer and had to fit a new tyre as the spare was shredded during the last trip to Cape Town. I packed up the trailer with all our camping gear, tent stretchers, chairs and tables. We spent the Thursday night in Stellenberg with Nicci and family.

We had left PE at midday and had come across the exodus from Cape Town. We had again used the road leading from Swellendam to Worster, Robertson and through the Hugenot tunnel, past Paarl and into Belville. The traffic was quite horrendous and I arrived in Cape town quite shattered that night. The new tyre that I had fitted to the trailer was flat so we had to fit the spare. Barbara would have to take the tyre in for repair on Saturday morning.

On Friday afternoon I met up with Cathy’s boyfriend, Saul. The two of us drove to the Good hope Centre for registration. Barbara and Cathy had entered the 21kay but had decided that they were not fit enough and I gave their numbers away. That evening we slept over at Saul and Cathy’s house in Woodstock. We were up at 04.00am, left at 05.00 to collect a friend of Saul’s, Almarie, and yet still hit a major traffic jam as runners tried to find parking in the UCT grounds. Fortunately for us Barbara and Cathy would drop us off at the start.

I left Saul and Almarie as they made their way to the start of the 21. It was her second 21 and Saul’s first. I dropped off my tog bag with the Biddulphs tag bag service and waited in the area allocated for those runners who have completed Ten Two Oceans.

Here I came across Bob, Tremaine, Graham, Christoph, Ian Ross and other familiar faces. The start of the 21 was scheduled for 06.00am but there were large numbers of runners who seemed to be late for the start of their race. I am pretty sure that they were caught up in traffic and a search for parking. Twenty minutes later our event got under way and I enjoyed a reasonably easy start as we were within meters of the start banner.

I think that there were something like ten thousand runners for the 21 and eight thousand for the 56kay. Strangely enough amid all those thousands of runners I found myself meeting up with many of the PE people. Both Bob and Andy were doing their 25th. Due to work and other pressures, Bob battles with putting in the required training. Andy runs with the MPRG in the mornings. He had a calf injury that had worried him for some time and he had really not done much training at all during the past month.

Gerald was up to number 24 and worried that he would not be able to complete the run in time for the bronze medal. Kobus would lead the MPRG this year. I had determined to go slow and steady just for a finish. I went through the 10kay in just under an hour and jogged on towards Fish Hoek. As we passed through Muizenberg I heard Margie Brightman and Allan Taylor shouting encouragement. Joy passed me. We rounded the corner in Fish Hoek and had a brisk East Wind behind us. I was on time with just over two hours to the 21kay mark. I was able to give Liz’s husband Jock an interview in Fish Hoek. We ran through Sun Valley and began the climb up to the start of Little Chappies. Christa and Chantelle passed me. This is where the 28kay half way mark is located and I ran over the timing mat in 2H43min. The first half of Two Oceans is incredibly easy. It would take me exactly four hours to do the second half of this run.

I began the walk/run to try to get through the Chapmans Peak section of the run. Half way up Chapmans Peak at about the 32kay mark I passed the place where I had bailed last year. I was tempted to dot he same again. My brain became soft and I began the argument with myself as to what I was doing there anyway and why was I putting myself through this agony. I was extremely tired, my feet were aching and my legs sore! Earl passed me. I pressed on and finally made it to the 34kay mark at the top of Chappies.

At this stage I should have been looking down on the magnificent bay below and wondering at the incredible views. In reality I was suffering and really not enjoying life at all. I remember telling Lesley that this would be my last marathon ever. A 21kay sounds absolutely wonderful. Finish in just over 2 hours! I really dislike the 5kay downhill to Hout Bay. The camber is difficult and my legs ache through the jarring. We, athletes, are expected to run but this is one of the toughest sections for me and I do a lot of walking. Kosima passed me.

Twice on the way down I found a ledge and lay down for a short rest in the morning sun. Both times I was able to force myself up to get going again. The East Wind seemed to be gusting against us and we battled going down Chappies. Kobus’ friend Anne passed me. Lesley passed me. Ian Ross encouraged me to get going and I finally made it down into Hout Bay.

Now I was sore and tired and looked out for a place to relax. This is where I had met with Susan and Keith Bayliss in the bus last year. It looked like a good place to bail again this year. I found a good looking ledge and sat down. Dave Gassner (doing his 20th) passed me. Tall Doc Peter Samuel passed me. I called out to them explaining that I was finished! But after a while I felt relaxed enough to start walking again.

The section between the 39kay at Hout Bay and the 43kay start of Constantia Nek is hot and dusty. There was a bit of relief as we were given a most delicious Ice Lolly. I had done a little running and lots of walking over this section. I stopped to chat to Peter S for a while. I am not sure if he remembered me so I advised him that we would be hiking together in Namibia next year. Then we began the long walk to the top of the Nek. Gesina is an amazing runner as she was virtually the only person running up Constantia. Liz passed me.

Finally we reached the top and had ten kays to go. We had 90 minutes to the 7 hour cut off and I reckoned that this was do-able at 9 minutes a kay. I met up with Ian Thompson, Natasha, Ian Ross and Lesley Maggot and the four of us jogged and walked to the finish. We passed Dave & Chel with half a kay to go. They had decided that a gentle stroll was in order. We finished with 18 minutes to spare.

I later established that I had passed the 28kay in 2.43H and the 42kay in 4.51H. My average speed was 7.2 minutes per Kay or 8.4 kays per hour. I was ecstatic! I found my tog bag and walked over to the Achilles Tent where I relaxed with my first Beer in three months. Gerald was waiting for me as he had offered to give me lift home. Reg had done his tenth and looked satisfied. Chris looked pretty exhausted as he lay on the grass next to the tent. Shane must have really battled as we had finished almost together. Bruce and Paulette looked like they had been there for ages. They had showered and looked all neat and dressed next to the rest of us. Joy looked as fresh and beautiful as she always does. Johan bounded next to her. Kosima and Husband were there. Kosima looked like she was absolutely delighted to have Achilleans around to chat to and she was very happy to have completed this amazing event.

Graham N had passed me on the route and he looked pretty satisfied with his finish. Moff turned up a few minutes after us with his medal around his neck. Well done Moff! Liz looked like she had had an afternoon stroll. It had been a tough day and was great to be able to share the moment with club mates. These are people who know and understand how you are feeling and the pain that you had to endure to get there. I phoned Barbara and she told me that plans had changed and that she would be collecting me.

I had changed to clean clothes and walked to our meeting place. On the way I met up with Lekker Lekker Hennie and Rob Scott. Hennie looked okay but amazingly Rob said he had not finished in time. Cathy & Barbara collected me and we loaded up for our camping trip.

Hermanus Camping.
We had arranged to camp at Hermanus. Stefan had a wedding to photograph and we took his young assistant, Gerard with us. Barbara had had the tyre of Herman’s trailer repaired. It seems that there was a problem with the rim and this is what had caused the first tyre to shred and the replacement to go flat so soon. We took the road over Sir Lowries Pass and right at Bot River. The campsite was at Onrus Bay.

We had a great little sheltered cove for our camping and pitched three tents. Barbara, Ally & I shared a tent with Nicci’s family. Cathy and Saul used our tent and Gerard used a pup tent belonging to Stefan. We bought some rolls and made Wors rolls for the evening supper. I was in bed really early and I think that others followed suite fairly soon after me.

The night was cold and windy and I was up early when I heard Nicci talking to one of the children. We sat in the early morning dawn chatting and drinking coffee. Slowly the rest of our crew woke up and joined us. Stefan and Gerard soon had the scottle going and they made some delicious eggs, bacon, onion and mushrooms for breakfast. After we had cleaned up and showered we walked down to the rock pools in the little bay. The water was pretty cold and there were no takers for a swim.

I had started to read the Innocent Man by John Grisham and was quite happy to relax back at the camp for the rest of the day. Marius and his wife Melanie, brought some equipment for Stefan to use that evening. I had met Marius and Melanie in London many years ago. Stefan and Gerard left for the wedding and we stayed to braai the supper. I was in bed early again while Barbara, Ally, Saul and Cathy stayed up playing SA Monopoly till late.

Easter Monday
Monday morning was Easter day. The children had a whole bunch of Easter eggs to seek out. Marius & Melanie were there again with child Lucas. They invited us to their home in the afternoon. Marius wanted to try some Crayfish catching. We had a late breakfast and then headed over to their home where Marius and his father in law have a paint contracting business. The weather was quite different this morning as the mist came across from the cold west coast. Cathy, Saul and Gerard left for Cape Town. They would have to be at work the next morning.

Crayfishing.
We loaded up for the beach and soon had Marius leading us across the rocks to the furthest point of the pool. He seemed to not worry about the icy cold water and jumped in. He gave us quite a scare as he disappeared beneath the Kelp but a minute later reappeared with a crayfish in his hand. He had a measuring tool and we adjudged the size to be acceptable. There was a man in an adjoining pool with full kit for being in the water for a long period and he generously gave us two of his crayfish. Stefan also braved the water and quickly erupted from the depths with a Crayfish but this one was too small to keep and we tossed it back.

Paddling through the Kelp.
We decided that three would have to be enough and headed back to the beach area. Here I was able to use their paddle ski for a short paddle in the pools. The tide was low but just beginning to turn. It was a real strange sensation paddling through the Kelp. A swell would raise the level of the water and all the tops of the Kelp would disappear. Then as the swell passed it was as though there were these thousands of creatures emerging from the sea to have a look at me. After our time on the beach we returned to Marius and Melanie’s home that they shared with Melanie’s parents. We had some tea and then they showed us the home that they had bought while in the UK and were now busy renovating for themselves.

Back at the campsite we lit the fire and put our two Crayfish on the grid. They were very tasty. Saul and Cathy had half cooked the flat chicken the previous evening and we put that and the ribs on the grill in the roasting pan. I think that someone showed interest in making rolls but mainly our supper that evening was chicken first and ribs later.

We had finished the last of the beer and had a little wine left over. The Western Cape is very different to PE with respect to when Alcohol is available for sale. IN Port Elizabeth we are able to purchase wines at any time from a supermarket while we are able to purchase beer and spirits from specialised liquor shops until late in the evening. These shops are usually open on holidays and Sundays. Where we now were there would be no alcohol available from Saturday afternoon until Tuesday at midday. We had a wonderful few days at Onrus and this would be our last evening.

The following morning we packed up early and once we had the trailer and boot full we headed off to Heidelberg. Ian and Jenny had bought a farm near to Heidelberg and we wanted a first hand look at the house and to establish exactly where it is located. We left the trailer at a little shop next to the BP garage and took the following route:

Drive past the BP filling station on your left to the first stop street. Turn right and then at van Riebeck street right again. Drive along this road and cross the Duivenhoks River. (If coming from the PE side you would turn right at the Tradouw Pass Turn-off and then right to the golf course.) Turn left towards the golf course and the Bowling club.

The Golf and Bowling club is on your left. This is a tar road which soon becomes a gravel road. Up ahead you are now able to identify the Zig Zag (Zorro) Road on the mountain ahead. Do not take the Jonkersfontein turn to the right but do take second the right fork to Eden Country T1 and up Zorro Road. Here you see a sign saying: Wadrift, Zeekoeigat and Gysmanshoek.

Follow this road up and down the other side and then up again. Pass the turnoff to the farm of Bob and Wilma Brown – Zeegat. At 19kays from the golf course you reach the top of the second hill and there is a gate on the Left hand side with a red and white plate and a sign that shows the Duivenhoks alien plant removal project. Open this gate and carry on along this ridge for a short while before heading steep downhill through wattle bush. Cross the river and up the other side leads you to the homestead of Wildcliff. The house is 2.4kays from first gate you had to open.

Ian offers this as directions:
Wildcliff is northeast of Heidelberg, 22km by road from the N2.

1. The turnoff from the N2 is just east of Heidelberg (see map). Start your odometer. Turn north then soon turn right onto the road heading north, shown in green on the map. Continue for about 7.7km.
2. Turn right at the road marked "Gysmanshoek Pass." Follow the winding dirt road northeast. This becomes the Gysmanshoek Pass. After about 11.4km, turn left at the gate (Gate 1) as shown. There's a telephone pole with a bird's nest.
3. Cross through the neighbor's farm 1.7km through a second gate, then a third one at the river. This is the entry to Wildcliff. Follow the dirt road 800m uphill to the house.

Telephone number of Gordon & Jeanne Hewland is 028 722 2049.

Ian


Wildcliff or Seven Falls.
We were greeted by Gordon and Jean Culland, the present owners, who live on the farm. We did not have long to wander around but enjoyed tea and scones as they told us of their difficulty in selling the farm firstly to some unscrupulous developers who offered them something like R1.5mil and then advertised the farm at R6mil in a property development scheme. This development company kept them hanging on for over 18months. I think that they were delighted to have a serious buyer and one who would be using the farm for nature conservation rather than housing estates.

Gordon sold his cattle and was now leasing grazing to his neighbour Bob Brown at R500pm. He also receives an income (R6000.00) from Heather Gatherers. Gordon showed us pictures of the seven waterfalls. He told us that while he had lived there for 15 years it had taken him 8 years before he was able to get to the top of the last waterfall. The dense bush and difficult terrain had prevented them from exploring further. They are able to reach the top with a vehicle but is seems to be very difficult to hike up the river and valley.

Wildcliff House.
The house consists of a fair sized Kitchen where they have meals, a large lounge where they light fires in the fireplace to warm them in winter. They tell us that the wind howls up and down the valley during winter. There are three rooms on the right side of the passage and two to the left. There is one bathroom with a separate loo. The floor is uneven, the ceiling looks like it will collapse at any time and the bathroom and kitchen fittings need lots of attention. The back entrance to the house is where the vehicles are parked. This patch of grass is where the Geese live and the grass is trimmed. The front of the house is overgrown both on the porch and the grassy lawns in front of the house. The house has Eskom electricity and a telephone line. While they lock doors when they are away the windows do not have any burglar proofing and are left open.

Danger at Wildcliff.
I commented on the weaver nests and Jean went on to tell us how she had shooed away a Boomslang eating the chicks. They then told us of the resident Porcupine who likes to sleep in the garage and they have to coax it out in to the bush with a pitch fork. It has a bad attitude when disturbed and waddles away quite reluctantly.

The biggest problem that they seem to have is the Baboon. These animals are bold and rob the peaches and tomatoes from their garden. Gordon had a wonderful field of Potatoes which he had cultivated and after a trip to town came home to find the field destroyed by baboon. We were witness to a troop of between 20 to 30 Baboon in the fields below as we left the farm. Gordon was not too concerned about the fact that a Leopard had killed a sheep not far from the house.

It seems that there is always water. The house is fed by a spring. Gordon has a large tank where water is stored but has problems from time to time as the Baboon rip the pipes apart. There is also plenty of water that can be used for irrigation. It seems to me that this house will not last unless it is cared for. I suggest that there should be a permanent caretaker living in one of the residences. Maybe even allow/ask this couple to continue to use the farm as their home. Gordon and Jean offered that we could spend some time with them to advise us on the idiosyncrasies of the house and the farm in general. We may be able to do this at the end of April when there is the possibility of a long weekend again.

There is a disused house (the white house) that is used for shelter by Bob Brown’s cattle. We ushered them out of the house and took measurements. The house faces West over the valley. From behind there is a small room of 3X5m which is locked and appears to house some farm equipment. The main building is 12X5M and about 3m tall. The brickwork, roofing and internal walls would need a huge amount of renovation and cleaning.

We heard that there was another house (Downing street) but never saw this building. I spoke to a builder, bricklayer, painter handyman who I have employed at my home. Thomas says he will be very willing to move to the farm for an extended period and take on the renovations and alterations. Thomas is a Venda who has two brothers who work with him. While he is probably not the most skilled person Thomas has a wonderful nature and a friendly disposition. He seems to be willing and able to tackle any part of a building from plumbing to roofing.

On our way back to Heidelberg we stopped a man on a tractor and introduced ourselves to our new neighbour: Bob Brown. He invited me to start farming. When I told him that I did not know how to plant a carrot he quickly offered to coach and train me. Seriously he also offered us hospitality the next time we came. It appears that Bob has a huge problem with both Leopard and the troops of Baboon.

A short while later we came across a Puffadder (Bitis Arietans) on the road. The snake was about a meter in length, had beautiful yellow and black colouring, a triangular diamond shaped head and looked fat and healthy. These venomous snakes are sluggish and appear to move slowly during the day. If you come across a Puffadder in the day they will not attack unless threatened. They hunt rats and rodents at night, tracking their scent and have a lightening fast strike.

Back in Heidelberg we collected our trailer and headed off to Plettenbergbay. Patrick and his friend Marianne were there for a visit. They had spent Easter with her grandmother on the Bredaasdorp estate. We had a brief visit and a cup of tea before heading home for Port Elizabeth. It had been a long day as we were up at dawn, left Hermanus at 08.45 and would reach home just after 20.00pm.

An email from Nicci after the weekend:
Hi

Thanks again guys for joining us for the camping. Thanks for being to flexible and fitting in with the ever changing plans. I'm going to try book two sites next to or opposite each other for next year.

We joined the gym today and I have my induction tomorrow morning. They have free child care and children’s pool as well as a main pool. I think we'll really get lots out of becoming members. It's also really affordable! We each pay R700 once off for life and I pay R50 a month for as long as I'm a member, that's it!

So are you guys definitely going to go through the last weekend of April to the farm? Stefan wants to know if they keep anti venom at the farm or if not how do you get it?

The funeral is on Friday and Stefan put together a nice collage of photos of Willie and his family. I hope it's not too NG like.

I'm really looking forward to the gym tomorrow. Love you all!!

Niki @