November 2000

Once again Peter and I headed off into the mountains above Algeria to find silence and isolation, accompanied by a lone Finnish traveller. But this time the weather stayed cool, and on the Sunday became even windy and rainy.

The idea was to overnight at that castellated valley beyond Crystal Pools, but it soon became clear that the hike would be beyond our companion, so we settled down for the night under some forlorn cedars in the Grootlandsvlakte, a high valley.

This proved to be a very comfortable camp under the full moon. But before dawn I was awoken by the pitter-patter of rain on my sleeping bag. Having decided not to hang around unduly, we headed for Uitkyk. Luckily I knew the way, because on the plateau visibility was often bad. We were drenched by the time we arrived back at Algeria, having discarded rain gear as unnecessary…

Read Peter’s amusing account of this trip…