by Ralph Pina | Jul 14, 2024 | Featured Posts, hiking
Red Stone Hills One of the great advantages of being “retired” is that my time is my own. So, when Leonie invited my to join her and Sonja to explore the arches of Red Stone Hills after our almost-abortive hike at Gamkaberg, I accepted with alacrity. On a... 
by Ralph Pina | Jul 9, 2024 | Featured Posts, Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, hiking
As much as I respect the conservation work that CapeNature does with limited resources, their treatment of hikers especially leaves much to be desired. Leonie had booked an MCSA outing to do the Tierkloof Trail which cuts north-south through the Gamkaberg back in... 
by Ralph Pina | Jul 7, 2024 | Featured Posts, Fonteintjiesberg Nature Reserve, hiking
One of the gaps in my Mountain Club (Stellenbosch) portfolio is the annual hike up to Fonteintjiesberg and Brandwacht Peak, using the club’s Thomas Hut as a base. Finally, I joined Leonie’s scheduled trip, expecting a major uphill slog with a full pack. As... 
by Ralph Pina | Jun 2, 2024 | cycling, Featured Posts, safari travel, Swartberg Nature Reserve
Completed by Thomas Bain and his team of convicts in 1888, the Swartberg Pass is now 136 years old, a national monument and a testament to Bain’s road-building skills. It winds through 23.8 km and the bulk of it traverses the Swartberg Nature Reserve, linking... 
by Ralph Pina | May 28, 2024 | Featured Posts, hiking, Table Mountain National Park, trails
Once I wrote, a bit arrogantly, that life was too short to repeat a hiking trail. I have since broken this “rule” many times and this trail, the Cape of Good Hope Trail, is increasingly responsible for these “transgressions”. The trail is like...
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