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... by Ralph Pina | Sep 21, 2023 | hiking, Mkambati Nature Reserve, trails
The Pondo Trail, Pondoland Besides a previous Wild Coast hike from Port St Johns to Coffee Bay, Pondoland, The Wild Coast and the Transkei have constituted a gap in my outdoor experience of South Africa. The beauty and the undeveloped nature of the coast south of Port... by Ralph Pina | Aug 5, 2023 | hiking, Table Mountain National Park, trails
This is another loop along the Twelve Apostles, ascending via the Diagonal (up the kloof on the left, above) and descending via Oudekraalkloof to return along the Pipe Track – 12.9 km in total and climbing through 1039 m. Santie chose the route, which included a... by Ralph Pina | Jan 24, 2021 | conservation, De Hoop Nature Reserve, hiking, trails
As South Africa emerged from the hard lockdown in mid-2020, I became desperate to escape to the outdoors. On the off-chance that the Whale Trail was open, I contacted Cape Nature and easily obtained a booking for the trail in January 2021. The hugely popular trail was... by Santie Gouws | Dec 31, 2020 | Cederberg Wilderness Area, hiking, wilderness trail
A wilderness hike in the Cederberg in December is not everybody’s cup of tea, so when the weather report predicted the mercury rising to a scorching 40°C on day 3 of the proposed trip, I was quite surprised when there were no last minute cancellations, even from the... by Ralph Pina | Dec 24, 2020 | Cederberg Wilderness Area, hiking, wilderness trail
… go out in the midday sun (in the Cederberg in summer) Or so the song goes. Except that the hiking group comprised a Belgian, a German, a half-Dutchman, a half-Greek-Cypriot and a boeremeisie – the instigator. All keen hikers and outdoorspeople. Almost...
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