Alexandria Hiking trail . Langebos to Woody Cape. . 5th December 2020
Peter Giddy Guided Tours: Specialising in Hikes and Walks
SA Guided Tours and Peter Giddy Guided Tours -- Shore Excursions -- Addo Elephant and other Wildlife Reserves -- Garden Route. Flowers of Namaqualand --
0027 (0) 82 55 03 714 Whatsup
peter.giddy@gmail.com
Addo Elephant Park Day Visit and Night drive.
- Kragga Kamma Wildlife Reserve
- Daniel Cheetah Project
- Pumba; Shamwari; Amakhala; Kariega -- Day trips Private Reserves.
- Three day tour of Mountain Zebra Park. Graaff Reinet, Nieu Bethesda and Addo.
- City Historical and Cultural Tours,
- Horse riding for both experienced and inexperienced riders
- Hikes and Walks around Port Elizabeth (2 hour Nature and Coastal walks)
- Garden Route Adventure Tours (Zip Lines; Segway in the Forest; Adventure Quad Biking; Bridge Walks; Bungy Jump; Knysna Elephant Park; Monkey Land and Birds of Eden; Big Cats Sanctuary; Oudtshoorn Cango Caves and Ostrich farms)
- Shore Excursions from Passengers ships
- Transfers. Airport; Hotel and Wildlife Reserve.
- Flowers of Namaqualand. Seven days of adventure and exploring places and sights you never even knew existed. History and natural beauty of the South West of South Africa
- Karoo to Garden Route. Six days of fun and activities. Prince Albert; Swartberg Pass; Die Hell; Oudtshoorn; Prince Alfred pass; Plett and Tsitsikamma.
Website -- petergiddyguidedtours.wordpress.com
Contact me on Whatsup.... 0027 082 550 3174
Graham Richards has put together the Alexandria Hiking trail.
We start on Saturday 5th December afternoon with a drive to Alexandria and the Langebos huts.
On the trail this time is
- Graham Richards -- Hike leader
- Matt Gibbs who was on the last hike with us in 2014 and Billie McNaughton
- Anthony Adler was also on the trail with us last time.
- Pierre Bessinger
- Pieter Marias
- Roger Hogben who joined me on the Storms River waterfall trail in November
- Shelby and Eugene
These hikes take effort and time to arrange. Thanks to Graham for taking the time to do all the admin. He will also make sure that he has it all set up before the group arrives at the Langebos forest station.
Alexandria Two day hiking trail from Langebos to Woody Cape and back to the Forest Station.
Arrive on Saturday 5th December 2020 afternoon at about 3pm.
No power so we try, unsucsessfully to establish electricity but it appears that SAN Parks is in arrears with Eskom.
This evening at Langebos is Graham Richards who has set the hike up; Anthony Adler; Robert Hogben; Matt Gibbs; Billie (Elizabeth) Mc Naughton and myself. There are two huts and a total of 4 bedrooms of which 2 have single beds.
We braai and chat. Sleep comes easy for me.
Sunday 6th. We are up early and set to go when we realise that Matt and Billie are still asleep. Packed and ready to go we drive across to the Forest Station where we meet up with Eugene and Shelby; Pierre and Pieter.
We sign all the required forms and with a light drizzle we set off at about 8.00am. The trail starts with hills. Then there is a descent to the Big Tree where we make a right turn. There is a picnic area so we stop for a snack break. Pieter puts his pot of water to boil for tea.
We continue into the forest. The trail is not always well marked but certainly passable. The mist and rain of the previous night means that everyone has wet feet. Finally we begin the descent to the open field and across to the Woody Cape Nature Camp. It takes us about 4 hours including stops before we reach the beach. We have walked about 12km.
On the beach we are fortunate with the Easterly blowing and low tide -- we have an easy walk to the cliffs. Probably about 4km. After a short break we continue to the Pink Buouy where the Rope is situated as an aid to climbing the dune to the stairway above. This is quite an adventure on its own. We ascend one at a time and assemble at the top of the dune. Here we come across a Midden that has been exposed by the winds. Clearly we are able to make out the sharp stones and the multitude of shells.
We continue walking west over the big dune and then onto the pathway. Perhaps a further few km and we reach the Woody Cape hut situated high above sea level. The day started at 8am and it is now 3pm so we have walked for about 7 hours. Including two longer stops for tea and one for a lunch at the Woody Cape camp site just before the beach. Here we were able to make use of the Camp Facilities and toilets. Pierre was kind enough to provide a cooler box of beers. I took one which I had this evening at Woody Cape.
The easterly and rain meant that we did not use the deck. I had a short nap while Robert was horizontal from early and only arose the following morning. The Regulator of the gas bottle was not working but Pieter is an old campainer and managed to use a bit of wire to create a gas flow and we were able to warm stuff up on the gas cooker. No fires allowed at this site.
My meals were the same for both nights. I had roasted two potatos; Six Escourt sausages; 4 x boiled eggs; four mini croisants from Checkers; A half a lettuce; pre cooked vegetables (Onion, Cabbage, peppers) in foil just needed to be warmed up. I also had some Pro Vita bread and a packet of biscuits. Coffee sachets and a few tea bags. A few naartjies and Apricots make up the fruit part of the diet. Although it takes space, I had put most of my stuff into Yogurt containers to prevent squashing Graham brought some Brandy; Matt had a Red Wine and I had a little sherry. I small taste of each of these made for an early night and restful sleep
Monday 7th December 2020
We wake up to a heavy mist / drizzle. The Easterly wind continues to blow. We individually sort out some kind of breakfast and coffee. I could probably have done with a few more Coffee Sachets. We tidy up the camp site. Sweep the rooms; take our mandatory pics and begin our trek through the dune field.
Backtracking to the first dune climb where there are some steps provided. Then it is up and down dunes for the next two hours. A distance of 6km of dunes into the easterly wind with a slight drizzle or mist is what lies ahead. We break up into smaller groups struggling to find the marker poles. Pieter has been brought up in this district and is able to keep us on track. Basically we walk towards the bush line and then continue westwards until we finally come to the last of the marker poles which has fallen down. I spot the steps leading out of the dunes into the forest.
Eugene; Shelby; Robert and I are there first and we find a reasonably sheltered spot out of the wind. We stop for a break before continuing into the forest. This is a short section before we emerge onto farming land. We have to stick to the fence. The bush is thick and has overgrown onto the pathway. We should have gone through the fence onto the famers land but remain true to the path bashing our way through the thicket.
At the turnstile we climb over and onto the farmland and then begin the steep tough ascent to the first level. But the second hill is just as tough and again we spread out as each one of us is battling to climb up these steep pathways.
We regroup once we are at what appears to be a clearing and a jeep track. Wet from the rain and mist we make our way along this path / track for a further 5km before emerging back at the Forest Station.
Today we have hiked 15km. A long tough day of walking. We are all happy to be at the vehicles. Robert has a shower; I do not have clean clothes to change into. Mistake. I should have brought a clean set of clothes and shoes / slippers. Robert and I are first to leave. We drive through to Nanaga where we share a burger and a coffee before driving back home to arrive at about 3pm.
The Alexandria trail is not an easy walk. 35km consisting many hills; overgrown trails; long beach walk and 6km of dunes. By comparison the Otter trail is just 7 or 8km longer but is 5 days while this trail is a two day trail. Carry light is my advice. Climbing hills with a heavy pack is not fun.
SA Guided Tours and Peter Giddy Guided Tours -- Shore Excursions -- Addo Elephant and other Wildlife Reserves -- Garden Route. Flowers of Namaqualand --
0027 (0) 82 55 03 714 Whatsup
peter.giddy@gmail.com
Addo Elephant Park Day Visit and Night drive.
- Kragga Kamma Wildlife Reserve
- Daniel Cheetah Project
- Pumba; Shamwari; Amakhala; Kariega -- Day trips Private Reserves.
- Three day tour of Mountain Zebra Park. Graaff Reinet, Nieu Bethesda and Addo.
- City Historical and Cultural Tours,
- Horse riding for both experienced and inexperienced riders
- Hikes and Walks around Port Elizabeth (2 hour Nature and Coastal walks)
- Garden Route Adventure Tours (Zip Lines; Segway in the Forest; Adventure Quad Biking; Bridge Walks; Bungy Jump; Knysna Elephant Park; Monkey Land and Birds of Eden; Big Cats Sanctuary; Oudtshoorn Cango Caves and Ostrich farms)
- Shore Excursions from Passengers ships
- Transfers. Airport; Hotel and Wildlife Reserve.
- Flowers of Namaqualand. Seven days of adventure and exploring places and sights you never even knew existed. History and natural beauty of the South West of South Africa
- Karoo to Garden Route. Six days of fun and activities. Prince Albert; Swartberg Pass; Die Hell; Oudtshoorn; Prince Alfred pass; Plett and Tsitsikamma.
Website -- petergiddyguidedtours.wordpress.com
Contact me on Whatsup.... 0027 082 550 3174
SOME
THOUGHTS ON WHAT IS NEEDED FOR A COMFY HIKE
BACKPACK
AND OTHER KIT
1. These
days it seems the most commonly used backpacks are internal frame bags in the
order of 75 litres. For a two day trail such as the Alexandria a somewhat
smaller pack may well do, but a day pack will not be adequate primarily because
it is necessary to carry a sleeping bag. Couples may find that the stronger of
them can carry a larger (and accordingly heavier) pack and carry e.g. most of
the food for the two of them whilst the other of them could get away with a
smaller and lighter pack. If you are using a new or borrowed pack, make sure
that it is set up to suit you (if you are not sure, ask one of the experienced
hikers at Langebos to help (odds are everybody will chip in and have something
to say). If your setup is uncomfortable whilst walking, try another setup.
2. On
this trail and at this time of the year an adequate supply of water is
essential. Water of course is heavy but do the best you can without stinting
too much. The rule is generally that you carry your own water. Whilst your
companions on the hike will help if you run out, remember that in doing so you
are depriving them. I intend to start with 2 litres (carried in 2 1 litre
bottles). One of our number has told me that he will try to get there early
enough to enable him to drive down to Woody Cape (where we hit the beach and
where there is sometimes access to somewhat unpalatable water at the former
provincial chalets) and to leave a few bottles of water to enable us to top up.
Before we start walking, we will know and can plan accordingly.
3. Traditional
“army” style water bottles are quite convenient to stow in your bag pockets or
to mount on the outside. Outdoor Warehouse has quite a large selection of water
bottles in modern strong and very light materials, otherwise “bicycle” style
water bottles can be used.
4. Woody
Cape hut has gas and a three ring gas cooker (and usually has a substantial
kettle and one or two pots and pans. It has no lights so it is useful to carry
a variation on the following: a candle (even if you have a gas light); a
compact gas light (although there are likely to be a couple of people carrying
those which will probably provide substantial general lighting in the cooking
and eating area); a ”head” light on a strap (this is almost an essential – they
are now readily available in many supermarkets, otherwise at Outdoor
Warehouse); a light and powerful torch (with new batteries); a gas cooker
attachment (I find that the half size re sealable gas canisters (Camping Gaz
type) to be the most useful and a light attachment or a cooker top can be used
with them.
5. Some
type of pot is important (again, whilst many use traditional stainless steel,
aluminium pots, there are now very lightweight pots made from modern materials
on the market). You will probably want to boil water, cook your supper at the
overnight hut, possibly cook your breakfast (if you are carrying oats) and it
is hard to get by without some type of cooking utensil.
6. Carry
a desert spoon, knife and fork and teaspoon as well as a cup or mug made of a
durable material (melamine, plastic, enamel or the like). Again lightweight
items made from modern materials are available. You will need a plate and
possibly a bowl (plastic or melamine – the lightest material you can find). I
carry a few paper plates pressed into one of those wicker paper plate holders.
As you use each one you can simply fold it up and put it into your refuse bag
(everything must be carried off this hike). A sharp serrated or other kitchen
knife is useful as well.
7. I will
deal with food elsewhere, but in the outside pockets of your bag carry nibbles
to your taste (sucking sweets, energy bars, chocolate bars, dried fruit and the
like) to keep you going during the day. Also carry teabags, sugar or sweeteners
or whatever your preference is for a drink at teatime or lunchtime (in your
outside pockets).
8. Most
backpacks have a pocket in the flap which closes over the top. I usually put
whatever toiletries I am carrying in a sealable plastic bag in that pocket
(toothbrush and paste, a role of plaster, tube of Voltaren, sunscreen, loo
paper and the like).
9. As to
order of packing I always put my sleeping bag (lightweight as far as possible –
especially now, it won’t be that cold at night- we will be just on the other
side of the Bay (you can see Woody Cape from Shark Rock Pier) so the weather is
very similar to that in the city) inside a dustbin bag in the bottom pocket of
the pack and I also carry a small lightweight pillow (you can put clothing in
your sleeping bag cover which achieves the same object).
10. In the
main compartment of the bag, right at the bottom, again inside a dustbin bag, I
carry the absolute minimum of clothing to change into at the hut. Clothing is
heavy but you also don’t want to be cold. You can change into a spare T-shirt
(which you can then use on the second day) your spare pair of socks, light
shorts and/or light tracksuit pants. I will also carry a long sleeved
lightweight undershirt (spenser for the ladies) of the type I use under my
cycling shirt on winter mornings. For the rest the lightweight and/or
waterproof top to keep the wind out should be more than adequate.
11. Your
food and utensils go in the next. In this regard, it is useful to have a nylon
“inner” bag which is pushed into your backpack and into which then pack
whatever you want to carry. It is also useful to have light shoes (you will
want to take your boots off at least at lunchtime and in the evenings so slip
slops, crocs or sandals are useful which you can pack right on the top in your
bag.
12. If the
weather is good, some of us may have a swim along the way (probably in rock
pools where these are available, as opposed to the open sea off the beach –
strong currents and sharks are contra-indications in that regard). I wear a
Speedo in place of underwear (ordinary underpants get wet and soggy and take a
long time to dry and are a cause of chafing). I find that the Speedo is much
more comfy and if you want to swim, it saves changing. This is not so easy for
the ladies. You will find though that your fellow hikers will afford you more
than adequate privacy to change into a bikini or other costume on the beach
should you wish to do so.
13. If you
have small binoculars, these are a good pick, particularly for viewing from the
hut. There is no phone connection from Woody Cape so if you carry your phone it
will only be as a camera. You would be better placed to use one of the small
Sony or Nikon cameras if you have one.
CLOTHING
AND FOOTWEAR
14. I
recommend “wicking” style sports clothing (elasticised shorts made from
“parachute” or other style materials – I am sure most of us have these,
T-shirts made from a wicking material are best. Cotton T-shirts or shorts will
get soaked and soggy within 30 mins of the start and will not dry during a tea
or lunch stop which the other materials will). I have mentioned a lightweight
and/or waterproof top. This should be handy (usually in the bottom compartment
with your sleeping bag). If you are sweaty and hot, but it is windy and cool
during a break, it is often useful to have something like that to put on and it
can be used as a top layer during the evening).
15. The
first part of the trial is either gravel road or single track path. Through the
forest it can be rocky and there are roots to watch out for. If you have hiking
boots, I would recommend wearing them. If not a solid pair of walking or trail
running shoes is a good alternative and failing that a good pair of running
shoes. Make sure that they are in good condition – don’t dig out your old comfies
only to have the soles pulling off during the hike.
16. Socks
are important. Some people like to wear two pairs, light running socks
underneath and thicker socks over them. I have tried everything, including cut
off pantyhose (ostensibly to prevent blisters) under socks. I have settled on
mohair hiking socks, but I do carry a spare pair to wear in the evenings and
put on if the pair worn for the first day has got a bit ugly.
17. A good
hat (which won’t blow off) or a cap with a good brim (or even one of those with
a flap on the back) is absolutely essential. I would also recommend carrying at
least two buffs. One around your neck will protect your neck area from sunburn.
If it is windy on the dunes a buff over the face is a lifesaver.
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