OUTENIQUA HIKING TRAIL
APRIL 2012
Fred Kohler
Andre Mulder
Matt Gibbs
Markus Herr
Ant Adler
Mike Perks
And me
Thursday 26 April 2012
Andre and I pack up and leave for Plett after work. We overnight in Plett where Ena serves us some soup and a dessert. An early night as we plan to be up and ready by around 6am.
Friday 27th.
We phone Fred who is now at Storms River having a breakfast. We arrange to meet him at Diepwalle (Deep Walls) forest station which is on the East Side of Kysna.
Fred arrives in his truck (Mattress in the back). We load our backpacks into the van leaving the provisions required for the second night at Diepwalle. Then we head off for Millwood which is quite a long drive from the N2 West of Knysna. As we drive up there we pass a MTB ride in progress. At Millwood we do some final adjustments and start walking. Fred did this hike last year and points us in the right direction. The MTB racers pass us.
There is a rope to assist us and there are no wet feet. We carry on up the other side (I go ahead and immediately take a wrong turn). Markus and Andre are with me when I step onto a slippery root and hit my head on a tree trunk. I must have been slightly concussed for a moment as I cannot remember the sensation of slipping. They help me up and while I am a bit shaky and unsteady I am able to carry on. Fortunately there is a swimming pool where we rest and I have a 30 minute recovery time. I seem to have lost my appetite and skip lunch.
From there we have a long climb which is mainly contouring along the side of the hill. Strangely I hear voices above me and below me. Mike is not feeling well. This is his worst day of the hike as his intense focus on work and lack of training catches up on him. Today most of us would have slipped and fallen at some stage. Even Fred took a tumble into the bushes with the wet and slipery roots and rocks.
AMAZING YELLOW WOOD TREES THAT WE SEE ON THE TRAIL
We finally make it up to the top of the hill where Fred, Matt and Ant are waiting. Ant has himself a power nap as we rest after this long section. From here there is a long jeep track before we head back into the forest for a reasonably long walk before finally emerging into the clearing at the Rondebossie Hut.
THE HIKE IS GENERALLY WELL MARKED. NOW WE HAVE JUST THREE KAYS TO THE RONDEBOSSIE HUT. THIS TAKES US NEARLY AN HOUR.
We meet another group of 6 hikers who are doing the same section of the hike as we are doing. These huts accommodate up to 30 hikers. We are a total of 13 hikers and I am happy that we are able to have bunks to ourselves. The rooms are not big and when you have nine hikers in one room it becomes uncomfortable and crowded.
Barbara had spent the past few weeks in Israel with Jacqui after the birth of Tom. She told me of some of the exciting and good family activities -- Living the Israeli life; working in the garden at Jacqui's now home; Annabelle's birthday party function; Tom's arrival celebration lunch in the garden and the Israeli Independence day celebrations in the parks and streets.
HERE ARE EXAMPLES OF SOME OF THE HEATHER; ERICA AND GRASSES THAT MAKE UP THE OUTENIQUA FYNBOS.
This evening the braai is in the Boma. This is a great facility with a circular braai and logs we use for chairs. We all enjoy the luxury of a shower and the flush toilets. Clean and refreshed we are ready for the evening. We enjoy some snacks and beverages before cooking up our supper. Andre and I have Braai'd Chicken with Couscous and vegetable. Filling and tasty. Markus gives an intersting view point on trading on the money market.Iit is an awesome starry night with clear sky's uninterrupted by the lights of the city. As usual I am first into bed and fall asleep within seconds. Andre thinks that I am having nightmares but I have a cramp in my right leg that causes me some discomfort until I take his advice and walk around for a bit.
Saturday morning;
A breakfast of Coffee; Rusks and Porrige sets us up for the day's hiking. The Gary / Marius / Swiss group goes ahead. They are from George and seem to be familiar with the trail.
OU MASJIEN SUZY. USED FOR TIMBER HAULING AND SAW MILLING: 1900 TO 1920.
THIS STEAM ENGINE WAS USED BY WOODCUTTERS FROM ABOUT 1900. FOR THE EXTRACTION AND CONVERSION OF INDIGENOUS TIMBER. KNOWN AFFECTIONALLY AS SUZY THE ENGINE WAS USED TWO DAYS A WEEK TO SUPPLY POWER FOR THE SAWING OF TIMBER. AND FOR THE REST OF THE TIME TO WINCH LOGS FROM THE FOREST.
FOR THE PROVISION OF POWER FOR SAWING THE STEAM WAS CONVEYED TO THE SAWBENCH THROUGH CONNECTING BREAKING DOWN THE LOGS WAS BY MEANS OF A .. TEN FEET IN DIAMETER THROUGH WHICH THE LOGS WERE DRAGGED BY OXEN. THE BAULKS AND PLANKS WERE PROCESSED FURTHER BY BEING PUSHED THROUGH THE SAW BY HAND. A BAND SAW WAS USED TO SHAPE FELLEOWS AND OTHER ARTICLES.
THE WINCH ON THE STEAM ENGINE WAS USED FOR SLIPPING LOGS, FROM THE FOREST TO THE SAWMILL IN CONJUNCTION WITH A CABLE WORKING THROUGH A COMPLICATED SYSTEM OF PULLEYS CONTROLLED BY FLAG WAVING SIGNALLERS.
SUZY BROKE DOWN IRREPARABLY IN 1920 AND WAS REPLACED BY ANOTHER STEAM ENGINE - QUEEN MARY -- WHICH WAS DRAGGED ON A SLEDGE FROM KNYSNA TO GOUNA BY 40 OXEN. IT WORKED AT GOUNA UNTIL ABOUT 1930.
We set off at around 8;30am. The hike today starts with a Jeep Track up to the Steam Engine (Suzy). From there it is a straight up climb for around 2km. For this section you need to have some kind of aerobic and strength fitness. The hill goes on and on forever. But as all hills there is finally a top where the view is of the entire Knysna Village, the Lagoon and the Heads. We caught up with Gary and his team who were finishing their break. I tried to dry my wet shirt but there was not enough sun so when we packed up I had to put on a cold damp shirt.
MIKE; MARKUS AND ANDRE REGROUPING ON AN EASIER CLIMB.
From the top of the hill we descended on the West side of the hill and in sunshine which made the pathway a bit firmer. After the hill there was still a fair distance to hike before we arrived at the Fern Forest.
THE VIEW FROM HERE IS ACROSS THE VILLAGE OF KNYSNA AND THE HEADS IN THE DISTANCE. LAST TIME THAT FRED WAS HERE HE HAD NOT SEEN THIS DUE TO THE MIST IN THE VALLEY.
At the bottom of the hill was one of the most magnificent sights of a canopy within the forest. We walked past the other group who had stopped at the stream. It was a bit small to accommodate both groups and was damp as well. Eventually Fred found a dry opening with a bit of sun where we stopped for lunch.
INSECT EATING PLANT THAT SMELLS OF POO, IT HAS A STICKY LEAF AND ABSORBS NUTRIENTS FROM INSECTS THAT LIGHT UPON THE LEAVES.
After lunch we walked on a wide path with logs accross the path to prevent the erosion. I stepped on one of these logs and slipped, falling in an akward way that hurt my knee. As I fell I had a feeling of panic as I thought that I had done some damage. It turned out okay and I was up and hiking again. I was a little concerned as I was running out of water but thankful when we crossed the stream again and I was able to fill up. The final section of the day takes you up the road to the Diepwalle camp. We bid farewell to Ant and Matt who are not going to be with us for the last section. Ant is talking about doing some water ski-ing while we are just too happy to take the afternoon off.
We are all pretty tired and enjoy a hot shower. The shower makes us feel revived and refreshed. Fred and I drive back to the Millwood camp where we look at the Museum which doubles up as a restaurant. I leave Fred to drive back in his truck. What I only learn later is that he is unable to reverse on the gravel and has to get help from the local people to push his truck. I stop in Knysna where there is a Gay Festival (Pink). The village is busy with people all over the streets and restaurants. I buy a couple of Beers and some Pain Killers for Mike.
THE MILLWOOD MUSEUM IS MOSTLY A RESTAURANT WITH A ROOM FULL OF PICTURES AND STORIES. INCLUDED IS ONE OF THE ELEPHANTS. THE LAST KNOWN PIC OF AN ELEPHANT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN 2007. DURING THE 1800'S THERE WERE 400 TO 500 ELEPHANTS IN THIS FOREST. HUNTING PARTIES INCLUDED THE ROYAL PARTY. BY 1904 THERE WERE JUST 12 LEFT WHEN A BAN ON HUNTING WAS IMPOSED.
Back at Diepwalle we relax for a while with drinks and snacks before having supper. Again the conversation is really interesting and our neighbours play cards. I tuck into bed and try to read but dont last long before I cannot keep my eyes open.
Sunday 29th morning.
We are up and about early. We want to leave at 7am to be able to complete the walk in good time and also to be able to get home in the light. Again a breakfast of porrige and rusks sets me up for the morning. Fred is on a Mission. Within a minute of starting I realise that this morning there is not going to be time for taking of Pictures.
Mike has already worn his camera out trying to take every possible angle of the amazing sunrise. Today there will be no major climbs nor any really strenuous descents. However my legs are tired and my feet feeling the extent of the past two days of hiking. In total we have already hiked almost the distance of 4 days of the Otter Trail which is in itself not an easy walk. I take it easy on the downhills with shaky and unsteady legs.
After 4kays we catch up to Markus and Fred. They are waiting for us at an intersection and have a plan to propose: they are going to walk at a faster pace and do the full hike to Garden of Eden while we will walk to Fisantehoek where we will ask Brenda to pick us up. They want to know if we are agreeable to breaking up into two groups for this last bit. They invite Andre to join them (they dont bother asking Mike or myself) but he declines.
Today we will walk nearly 17km of forest pathways which may not be spectaculary tough but (especially the down hills) will let us know we have had a day of walking. As we approach the final bit we hear some screaming noise below us. It turns out to be two children of around 6 and the mother. They live close by. The retired father passes us shortly thereafter. We reach a dirt road and a fork to the left with a sign saying 500m to Fisantehoek Hut. I phone Brenda and explain that we will be at the hut shortly and can she collect us there. Mike phones Fred to find out where they are -- having their lunch at the hut. We take the trail which says: "Harkerville 12km" and it is only after we have walked for a further km that we realise that this was a mistake and that we should have continued down the Dirt Road. We do an about turn and soon find Fred and Markus as they are now on their way to Garden of Eden.
PETER LOOKING QUITE TIRED NEAR TO THE END OF DAY THREE
We stop at a stream for a short break before tackling the last bit of the hike.
At Fisantehoek we sit and wait for a few minutes before Brenda arrives with cold drinks and chips. Brenda drives us back to Diepwalle, Missing her lunch date and drops us there. We hobble our way to the showers where we have a welcome warm water wash. Clean bodies and clean clothes makes for a much more pleasant drive home. Mike drives Fred's van and plans to collect them at Garden of Eden but finds that they are now past this point and on their way to Harkerville. A little later they meet up with Mike having now done two days of hiking on one day. Nearly 30kays in total.
Andre and I stop for coffee and Slap Chips at Storms River. I make some phone calls to family. Nicky and Stefan were in Graaff Reinet in a Hyundai that they recently bought. They were at a wedding and on their way home had become stuck in a muddy road and had to sleep in the vehicle until morning when they were able to free up the car. Then on their way out of the reserve they had seen a Rhino. They stopped to take a look and were alerted by Zara that the animal was charging them. Nicky reacted and shouted for Stefan to speed up. The Rhino rammed the bumper and did not do too much damage. Since then I have heard of a number of incidences of Rhinos attacking vehicles including one which Andre experienced in the Kragga Kamma park. Barbara and I have been chased by one of these enormous animals when we were in the Shushlue game park many years ago.
We had a relaxed drive home and arrived in PE around 5pm.
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