Climbing Haelkop, Jonkershoek
Another mountain club uitstappie to Haelkop peak (1390 m), one of the loftier peaks that rim the Jonkershoek valley. The route upwards to the watershed north of Haelkop is a fairly easy, yet relentlessly uphill, hike. Near the top the gradients steepen markedly. From...
Climbing Twin Peaks, Jonkershoek
Climbing Jonkershoek's Twin Peaks ("Die Pieke") is one of the outdoor experiences in the Jonkershoek mountains. On this occasion I went with the mountain club (MCSA) on the "uitstappie". An uitstappie is one of those wonderfully euphemistic, Afrikaans terms that could...
Patagonia Treks in Google Earth
“The Earth never forgets that trees were its first thought” This intriguing idea was carved in Spanish on a wooden sign as we left Puelo on our first multi-day trek on the Los Hitos trail to Chile. And when you enter the ancient forests of northern Patagonia you...
Patagonia trekking photos
As you may know I have just returned from 3 weeks' trekking in Patagonian Argentina and Chile. Words don't do it justice, so here are some photos while I figure out the words and prep the GPS tracks.... or view the album
VWS Jonkershoek firefighters in the Franschhoek mountains
Unfortunately - and unsurprisingly - my words were prescient: it has indeed become an "interesting" summer in the Boland mountains. Since December Volunteer Wildfire Services Jonkershoek (VWS-JNK) has been called out at least 6 times to fires in the local mountains...
Downwind Dash is the biggest?
The press release announcing the 25th edition of the Downwind Dash from Langebaan to Saldanha, scheduled for 23-24 January, hails it as "the world's biggest kitesurfing and windsurfing race". The organisers are expecting 400 entrants! It may even be the world's...
Witels
I've long heard of it and I've always wanted to go there. Much of the area is owned by the UCT Mountain and Ski Club and the Mountain Club (MCSA) is able to obtain permits. I went with the Stellenbosch section of the MCSA. But be warned: be fit or be young... From...
Volunteer Wildfire Services Jonkershoek
As I was contemplating a short post about the Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS), and specifically its rookie branch in the Jonkershoek valley, we were called out to mop up a plantation fire above Rozendal yesterday at around 6 pm. It was our first op since 27...
Klein River by kayak
The Klein River and Vlei near Hermanus can apparently claim that: at 80 km in length, the Klein River is the river with the shortest distance between its origin and its mouth in the world - 5 km as the crow flies (according to the Stanford Tourism Bureau) the bird...
Jonkershoek colour explosion
Photos of the Watsonias in Jonkershoek after the big summer fire and the winter rains. Deon and I took a cycle up the valley to capture them before the summer winds take their toll.
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