WILDCLIFF WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 2008

WILDCLIFF WEEKEND
Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th September

Michael had said that they would come along this time. But as it turned out they found a new house to live in and had to move over the weekend. They had been living in Westering and they found this to be a long drive each day to both work and school so looked for a house closer to where they had all their activities. They found a house in Target Kloof (River Road) belonging to a Nippers family and were able to secure it for a year.

We then offered to take their children with us to WC to give them the freedom to move. Wednesday was a public holiday and I was able to get a lot of stuff done. Started off with a 15kay around Moffet. It was blowing and I went through Walmer, Moffet and back via Newton Park. I ran on my own which is unusual for me but really enjoyed the exercise and gave myself plenty of time to think and plan. I went to Builders warehouse where they were having some kind of promotion and I bought a ladder plus some hardware. Richard was due to come that morning and we would be fitting the video door chime. That took us most of the day.

Thursday morning Barbara had school until 11.00am. Ally & Jessica had stayed out of school. I made up my list of things to do which started off with a letter to the insurance company, making an offer to purchase the Mazda Bakkie that had been stolen and that I had recently recovered in Uitenhage. It was in a garage (Owen’s) in Uitenhage for repair and roadworthy. When I recovered the bakkie it looked in terrible condition. The wheels were flat, the locks had been damaged, the canopy had been stolen and the alloy wheels exchanged for steel rims. I later heard, from the insurance company, that my offer of R5 000 had been accepted and I must now go back to Uitenhage to pay Owen, collect and licence the vehicle.

My next task was to go to see if I could get Ally’s little pink camera to work. I replaced batteries but am still not sure if I am taking pictures. I will have to download the software and then see if I am able to transfer the photo’s that I took this weekend onto the computer.

Then I had to buy Pinkies (newly born mice that are frozen) for Barbara’s snake. I then went to Pick’n Pay to stock up on provisions. I had a list and thought that I would be able to get through this quite quickly but as always I met up with people I know and each encounter takes time as we exchange stories and chat for a bit. Sonja Giddy (Wayne’s wife) runs a small jewellery shop from inside a chemist next to the entrance to the supermarket. I always stop for a chat there as well.

I drove down Moffet and saw that I was passing the Camping Warehouse shop and as Ally had been nagging me for Puttees I decided to see if they had any. While I was there I also looked at Two Man tents and ended up buying a tent (R700) and the gaiters (R200) (the sales lady refused to call them puttees). I then went to the Builders Warehouse where I bought the Paint for my painter, Clive Felix, to continue with the painting of the boundary wall and the school area.

Clive is an interesting man who had arrived a few days earlier asking for painting work. I had started with the job myself but had botched it up and was pleased to find a person who gave reasonable prices. I had asked him to do a small section of the boundary wall. This developed and I now have him working on all the walls except the house itself. Clive has a wonderful disposition and this makes him a likeable man. When we were at our “Cooking Class” on Monday night I mentioned to Derek Kibble that I had this painter, he immediately recognised my description of Clive from his limp and pleasant ways. Derek has also used him on occasions.

Finally, on my way home, I stopped in at the canvas place and gave them the trampoline mat to repair. By the time I had done all of this it was 11.00am and we had planned to leave at 12.00. We loaded the trailer (Gerald’s) and were on the road by midday. We now had Ally (11), Jessica (9), Joshua (5) and Daniel (3) in the car with us. We took the Gamtoos bypass and when we got to the road works at Storms River were the last in the queue and drove straight through without a stop. Amazing!

Our first stop was in Sedgefield. Nicci had said that she was not able to buy pyjamas and we found a Pep Stores where Barbara bought a set for each child. Then at the Mossel Bay Engen we bought some eats. Then it was a straight through drive to Heidelberg. Here we filled up with petrol and a final top up of groceries. Nicci and Stefan were at WC ahead of us and had phoned in to say that some of the stuff that we had left the last time had been used up.

We arrived at WC just as it was getting dark. Barbara took some stunning evening photos including one of a distant tornado that we saw on the horizon. There had been a fire on the mountains of Heidelberg and Bob plus his neighbours had spent nearly three days putting the fire out.

It had been about a 6.30hours drive. We put on a fire and braaied some chops and sausage. They children seemed to go wild making a huge racket and laughing and playing around. But it was not long after supper that we were all fast asleep. They wind blew all night threatening to blow the roof off.

It was raining as well and on Friday morning it was freezing cold, the wind was howling and the rain falling. It would be a mainly indoor day. Bob came for his mandatory visit and coffee. It is always good to see Bob and hear the local farming woes. The next visitor we had was Freek. He came to discuss the work that he had completed and the payment due to him. I was not able to inspect the work outside as the weather was just too miserable.

Then Mike and Basil arrived. And as it happened just as they arrived the roof in the kitchen and the lounge area started to leak. Mike blamed it on the baboons for removing the caps over the roof nails. Each time a visitor arrives we boil another kettle for coffee and tea. I was able to discuss all of Mikes work list as I had prepared for this; including payments and work still to be done.

There is very little to be completed in Talari. The White House (Casa Bianca) is now to be the focus of his attention. We walked down to the CB and looked, first off, at the store room which has a sky light and this makes it quite bright. He has started the inside work but will leave this to last as it now serves as a bedroom for his labourers. In the main house he has now painted a first coat of white paint and finished the roof (no ceiling).

He still has to build the bathroom and put in the fittings (shower, toilet, bath, basin and light). Then he has to build the mezzanine which will serve as an additional sleeping area for Keith’s children. Against the south wall he must build a counter leaving place for a fridge and must run electricity to that side of the house. He then has to finish off the front of the house with a stoep and roof and then lead a brick pathway.

Finally when we had finished our talks with both Mike & Freek they had to call Bob to come and assist them to drive back to the Gysmanshoek pass road. Bob drove through from his farm in his tractor. When he arrived at Talari his hands were freezing and he had to soak them in hot water to try to get the circulation going again. A good helping of sherry also helped. The roads were by now so muddy and slippery that it would have been impossible to drive through with a normal vehicle. I think that even the 4 X 4 would have battled. Bob put a chain to the front of the tractor and the back of Mike’s bakkie to drive down the hill and then had to tow them up on the other side of the stream.

A little later it stopped raining and we were able to walk down to the pond. The children had a great time. They all had Wellington boots but still became so muddy that the new corner in the front porch area for boots and washing was put to the test. Unfortunately the drain pipe is a bit too small and soon became clogged with mud.

Stefan & I found a gap in the rain and walked down the Talari road to the stream. It is a concern that the WFW people have left branches and tree trunks lying either in the stream or so close that a big rain will cause damming and flooding. We had a long afternoon which included collecting firewood from the meadow as the wood in the braai had been demolished and the wood in the inside fireplace was almost finished. The WFW people have been cutting on the West side of WC so the approach to WC is now more visible. Then they have also cut along the Wilderkrans Stream and both above Heron and Talari. Unfortunately the felling of trees leaves a mess and makes walking quite difficult. I am sure that the long term benefits will make it worthwhile.


We lit the newly fitted indoor stove in the kitchen. It seems to work very well as I was able to heat water and Stefan baked bread in the oven area. I think that it might work well as a slow cooker for a stew but may not be hot enough for frying or boiling rice etc. We did not try to load the fire burning area with more than a few then pieces of wood. A really strong fire in the stove may have made the stove hot enough to get the water really boiling. I had bought some Tiger Prawns and we had those for an afternoon snack. Stefan made a Pootjie in the indoor fireplace. It turned out very well. He does not mix the ingredients but starts with the meat and then adds vegetables to the top.

Our night was a bit better as Barbara had put the single bed next to hers but still there was a lot of restlessness from the children as one fell off and blankets were dragged off the beds or from one body to the next.
Saturday morning looked like it was going to be a great day. The sky was clearing and the wind had dropped so Stefan and I were able to get and early start on our planned hike. If the weather had been really good we had planned to walk up the Hidden Valley and to sleep out there. This did not work out but we still planned a long days walking. We packed back packs for the worst including wet suites, jackets, stove and torches.

We started off past the Rain Frog dam and it was here that we remembered that we had not brought the lopper. Stefan walked back to fetch it while I tried to phone for someone to bring it up the hill a way. But by the time I was able to phone, Stefan was already back at Talari. We bashed our way up the hill, past all the fallen pine that Tom had recently cut. And up to Fynbos Road. From there we walked past the area that Freek was supposed to fill with rocks. The clay washes away and what we really need is some kind of permanent solution but in the meantime rocks will at least shore the road up a bit.

Our marker for the trail down to the kloof was still there. As we walked closer to Ena’s falls the wind picked up and it became quite chilly again. But over the hill and in the valley we were sheltered from the wind and as soon as the sun emerged from the clouds it was pleasantly warm. We crossed the stream and were pleased to find a pathway had been established and marked with ribbon. Trail Marking Ribbon should be a permanent fixture in a day pack at WC.

We followed the trail for a while but it seemed to peter out and we then decided, for no real reason, to deviate from our original plan and walked up the hill on our left. Here we saw a Klipspringer silhouetted on the top of the ridge. Stefan had brought his new camera which takes up to 26minutes of video. He took a picture of this Klipspringer and then it gave us a display of why it has the name Klipspringer as it bounded from rock to rock with incredible agility and made us look like real fish out of water as we lumbered up the rocks.

Right now we were very pleased to have the puttees. The bush is thick and the sticks are quite vicious as they scrape your legs and knees. Each step is quite tiring as you need to step up and push your way through the bush. At the top of the mountain we looked down onto Ena’s Falls from the West side for the first time. It gives one a different perspective and we were able to see the water pipe that feeds the rest of the reserve. We had seen a Dassie Midden but then Stefan saw a live dassie (Rock Hyrax).

We then decided to head down to the Kloof that Stefan had tried to reach once before but had been unable to climb down an apparently high waterfall. Ahead of us we could see the end of the horse shoe ridge that jutted out to the west of Fynbos Road. It seemed like a reasonably gradual slope that could be negotiated from that side. On our side of the kloof we came across a number of interesting features. The most noticeable was the number of King Protea. While they are still sparse they were more in evidence than we had seen anywhere else on the slopes of the reserve. None of the Protea were flowering at this time of year. The King Protea had buds or young closed flowers. This was the only Protea we saw on this side of the mountain. There were a variety of heather and everlastings that provided colour to the veld.

We saw two other interesting plants. One was quite unique and only found on the top of a rock in a crevice. It looked like a pine leaf that we have seen before but was in the form of a small shrub. Then the other was a plant with a bean like seed. It must have flowered earlier in the winter and its seeds now formed miniature beans or pods. I picked samples of both. The beans unfortunately became black. Both of these two specimens I have posted to Gael and Roger to see if they can identify them.

We headed down towards the Wilderkrans kloof. On our way we saw a lone pine tree and decided that we did not like this invader and headed towards it. The going was quite rough through some high reeds and thick bush. But we finally reached it and attacked it with our Leatherman knives. The idea was that we would ring bark it.

The outer layer of bark and the soft part of the trunk was reasonably easy to cut through but as we reached the thick solid part of the trunk we gave up cutting. We thought that the tree would now die through lack of moisture as nutrients are drawn up the tree trunk through the outer soft layers of the trunk while the thick hard inner layers of the trunk provide the stability and strength for the tree. This little tree is visible from Fynbos road as it is just below a flat section of rock and is the only Pine in that area and on that side of the mountain.

From here we headed straight down hill. It was reasonably easy going as we did a lot of slipping and sliding through the reeds and bush. Finally we reached a point where we could no longer see where we were going and then headed to the right to a sloot where we thought we may be able to see a pathway down. But even here we could see nothing ahead of us. For a short while we thought of using the rope that I had brought but it would have been hopelessly too short and we could still not see more than three meters ahead of us.

So reluctantly we decided to head back up hill. At this stage we were only about twenty meters away from being right down in the kloof. We could now see up to the falls that had frustrated Stefan the previous time. This set of falls may be the most spectacular of the entire kloof. There is a long fall probably the same height as Ena’s Falls and then a number of falls after that, each creating pools, before cascading down again. But it was just not safe for us to attempt this without adequate strong ropes, helmets, harnesses and probably guidance from the other side of the kloof.

But what we were able to see from this angle, is that if we made our way from the Fynbos road straight across to the end of the horse shoe bend. And by keeping more to our left, we probably will be able to hike down to the Kloof below these falls by this route from Fynbos Road. Going back up the way we had come was exhausting. We had to trample our way through dense bush with each step being a burden as we pushed our way up. We found our pathway that we had established on the way down. The pine tree was a bit of a marker. From there we battled up the big rock faces and finally ridged over the top where we now could again see the pipes leading from Ena’s Falls. We saw, what we thought was a Rock Kestrel. Quite unusual and interesting to see the bird from above.

We sat down for a snack and it was here that Stefan lost his wide brimmed hat. We went back to find it but all the rocks looked alike and we could not find it. The way down on the north side was tough for me. I was, by now, becoming quite leg weary. A combination of the sharp sticks digging into my knees and legs as well as the climbing down was extremely tiring. We spotted some of the trail markers and this lifted our sprits as we looked forward to walking on a path again. We had underestimated our need for water. The apples and oranges that we had brought were a good substitute but we should have brought a spare water bottle.

Back onto Fynbos road the going was easy and we even had time to pick a few flowers to take home with us. As we made our way across from where we had been earlier we were able to see the terrain. When we had decided to make our way up from the dangerous section we now realised that we could have walked diagonally across to what we refer to as bum slide pools and then from there back up to Fynbos road. We finally reached Talari at about 16.30 having walked for over eight hours. I was really exhausted but a shower, warm tracksuit and a beer was enough to make me start feeling human again. Fortunately there was a rugby game on TV and we used that as an excuse to sit and do nothing for a while.

Barbara, Nicci and the 7 children had gone on a “Bear Hunt”. Barbara has a book that she reads to children about a bear hunt as you squish and tramp through a forest. The bear hunt took them up to Rain Frog Dam where the group of children had a great time enjoying each other’s company and playing in the sloot that Freek had built. The report we received later was that they had walked well together. When we returned to Talari the children were all down at the pond having a great time exploring.

We built a small fire in the lounge where they spent an hour with marshmallows on sticks. This evening we were all pretty tired and people seemed to fade off to bed rather than a deliberate intent to sleep. Zara and I were last to leave the couch and she came with me to our bed which already contained Barbara and four children. But after a short while she toddled off to her bedroom.

Sunday morning we spent most of the morning packing, cleaning, having breakfast and chatting to Mike and to Bob. Bob came for a visit with his grandson (Ashley) and confirmed that the road had now dried sufficiently for us to be able to drive out without his assistance. Mike came with a fishing buddy of his (Gordon) and I was able to talk to him about some of the places he still needed to spend some time.

We left Talari at about 12.00pm. The drive out was not without event and we had to stop and fill the hole at the gate with stones before driving through. We then decided to follow Nicci and Stefan through the Gysmanshoek pass road. As we turned left Stefan stopped to point out Wildcliff from an angle that we had not seen before. It was very interesting to look at WC from the East. We could see Plattekloof, Peter’s Kloof and the waterfalls that continued up the Plattekloof. This is a worthwhile drive as it gives one a different perspective of the reserve.

From there we headed up and over the pass. It was quite tough going and at one stage we had to off load all the passengers and Barbara & Stefan pushed the trailer while I drove it up and over the ridge. Over the north east side of the mountain range we were now in the Klein Karoo. The change in vegetation is quite dramatic. At the end of the pass Nicci turned left and we turned right. They went as far as Ceres that night where they stayed with Stefan’s sister, Lynette.

The dirt road from Talari to the Riversdale / Ladismith tar road is about 35kay and took us just over an hour. The road to Oudtshoorn is spectacular with deep gorges and valleys as we drove through passes. We drove past the now familiar Sewe Weeks Poort pass, Calitzdorp and on to Oudtshoorn. In Oudtshoorn we stopped to buy cold drinks, KFC and to fill up with petrol. This route is about 35kays longer than the coastal route and took us about 30 minutes longer than the journey down to WC. But it is an interesting alternative and it misses out the slow section from Storms River to George where we have to drive through Plett, Knysna, Sedgefield & Wilderness. The return trip took us about 7 hours as we arrived home at 19.00. Michael and Lene were there to collect their children and pile of clothing.

MT MERA HIMALAYAS SEPTEMBER 2008 CLIMBED BY KEITH BRAATVEDT

"EVERSHEDS ON EVEREST"

KEITH BRAATVEDT
My trip to climb Mt Mera (6 476m or 21 247ft above sea level) in the Himalayas

I have, for many years, dreamed about climbing Mt Everest (8 844m above sea level) and reaching the highest point on earth. This dream will probably never be fulfilled. However, the dream has most certainly been satisfied by my climb of Mt Mera. This mountain is situated about 25km from Mt Everest and Mt Mera is the highest trekking peak in the Himalayas.

When I summited at approximately 07h00 on Monday, 13th October 2008, I had a magnificent view of five of the world's highest peaks, all above 8 000m. These peaks are :-
• Everest – 8 844m – the highest in the world
• Kangchenjunga – 8 586m – this mountain is situated in the East of Nepal and is the third highest in the world. Interestingly enough the summit of this mountain is "off limits".
• Lhotse – 8 511m – this mountain is the fourth highest in the world.
• Makalu – this is the fifth highest in the world.
• Cho-ouy – 8 201m – this mountain is situated in the West of Nepal and is the sixth highest in the world

There are 14 recognised peaks above the 8 000m level in the world. Of these, eight are situated in the Himalayan region of Nepal of which I was fortunate enough to see five from the summit of Mt Mera.

The Himalayan region is a fascinating and wonderful part of the earth deriving its name from the Sanskrit term of hima meaning snow and alaya meaning abode. The region is a zone of approximately 2 400km stretching across the Asian continent. In this area there are many peaks above 7 000m, many of which are as difficult and is some cases more difficult to climb than the "magic 8 000m peaks". The other six peaks above 8000m are situated in Pakistan (five) and one in Tibet.

Nepal is an extremely poor country, listed as the fourth poorest country in the world. The average income per capita of a person in Nepal is approximately US$200 per annum. 77% of the area in Nepal is taken up by mountains. Our expedition began with extremely strenuous hikes through the Hinku Valley. The hike began at a tiny village called Lukla, which is situated in the mountains and is an hour's flight from Katmandu. The flight itself is rather scary because Lukla is known to have one of the shortest runways in the world. Regrettably a week after we flew into Lukla one of the Yeti Airline aeroplanes crashed killing fourteen tourists and four Nepalese. The week or so of hiking through the Hinku Valley, prior to us even approaching Mera, helped the group with fitness and confidence. The old rule of "climb high and sleep low" in order to acclimatize was strictly applied. Lukla's altitude is 2 840m. After a week or so of hiking, doing between 5 to 7 hours per day we climbed to 5 000m in order to start the serious acclimatization process.

When camping at the Tangmang camping site (4 295m) we experienced a number of spectacular snow avalanches. The last avalanche was actually too close for comfort, about 100m from the campsite. I was, however, assured by a member of our group that this is a form of avalanche (a "powder snow avalanche) that is not that dangerous.

I need to say a little bit about the logistics and what made our group tick. The group consisted of fourteen climbers. The trip was arranged through a London based tour organization, Exodus. Our support team consisted of about twelve Nepalese porters who would carry tents, food and equipment. In addition, we had five kitchen staff under the strict control of the super efficient head of staff, "Mr Bim", who would make three wholesome meals per day (lots of soup, vegetables, porridge in the morning and the odd bit of Yak meat) for the hungry climbers. Needless to say, I still lost a few kilograms due to the intense exercise.

Our climbing staff comprised of the expedition leader, Krishna Gurung, and the Sherpas being Kajee Sherpa, Big Mingma Scherpa, Little Mingma Sherpa and Wang Chu Sherpa. These climbing Sherpas are amazing people. They will catch you if you fall, adjust your climbing harness and rope in the dark and give you Sherpa brewed tea when you feel close to exhaustion which, I guarantee you, will keep you going. It is interesting to note the fascinating combination of religions between the Nepalese coming from India and those coming from Tibet and Mongolia. On the mountains one can see simple prayer flags, altars made of rock and religious statues and offerings. Early on we were advised to walk clockwise around a monument because according to Buddhist theory it is not good Kharma to walk anti-clockwise around a monument.

I was always concerned about altitude sickness and this can be avoided by eating a lot of good wholesome food. Of course, we had to drink a minimum of three litres of water per day. As an added extra to prevent HAPE or HACE (high altitude pulmonary or cerebral edema) I took one Diamox per day. My very good friend, Peter Hey, and I called our Diamox tablets "the Big D". Thankfully I did not get altitude sickness but I must say that half a Big D twice a day most certainly helped. I am firmly of the view that there is no need to rely on these fancy vitamin shakes or energy supplements and it is really a question of lots of good food, water and sleep.

The golden rule in high altitude trekking and climbing is to maintain a constant body temperature. This is always difficult because in the early hours of the morning before dawn it is bitterly cold at sub-zero temperatures. However, after dawn, temperatures can rise fairly quickly and the secret is to take off the various layers of clothing in order to maintain one's body temperature. If the body temperature becomes too high then exhaustion will set in and likewise if you are too cold then the body will not generate sufficient energy to climb. I summited with two pairs of socks, outer plastic boots and inner boots. My legs were kept warm by two layers of inner thermals, a pair of trousers and gortex outer trousers. The upper body was covered by inner thermal shirts, a 100 fleece, 300 fleece, gortex jacket and outer down jacket. Little issues are important line suntan lotion and glacier sunglasses to protect oneself by the blinding sun made even worse by the snow and ice. A great feeling of comfort is the very heavy, but necessary, crampons clipped to the outer boots which prevent falling on the snow and ice. Fortunately, I didn’t experience any great difficulty with clothing and equipment but this is certainly always a big worry for climbers.

For the last two days of the climb we were roped up in teams of four with eight or ten meters between each climber. This is done for safety purposes and for the easy retrieval of a fallen climber.

The three days before summit day were the most nerve-wracking. The problem was the difficulty in sleeping well because of the high altitude.

Summit day finally arrived. We were woken at 01h00 to commence our six hour climb at temperatures of between -10o and -15o C to the summit. The last camp was known as High Camp at 5 800m, the summit at 6 476m above sea level. The majority of the group summited and there is nothing better than scrambling up snow, with Wang Chu Sherpa roped to me telling me that I had only 10m of flat ground to cover to reach the summit. The moment of the summit, as I have said, was probably one of the best in my life. I can really recommend the trip and the experience to anybody.

Generally, the weather was not that good. The normal pattern would be that it was clear in the morning and very cloudy and misty in the afternoon. It rained for a number of days which made camping at very cold temperatures even more uncomfortable. The earlier parts of the hike were most spectacular in the lower regions walking through the rhodedendrum forests and other wonderful flora indigenous to Nepal. A lot of the early morning mists and fog were brought on by the remnants of the latest monsoon rains in the area.

We returned safely to Katmandu to celebrate our success at the Rum Doodle Restaurant. This is a famous landmark in Katmandu and is a haunt of the Everest summiteers. As a member of the Everest Summiteers Club, your main course at the Rum Doodle Restaurant is free for the rest of your life on production of your Everest summiteers card.

I am attaching a picture of Peter Hey and myself on the summit with our firm's flag with the great mountain of Everest behind the flag and Lhotse on the eastern side.