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.
Climbing Victoria Peak
At 1589m Victoria Peak is the highest summit in the Jonkershoek area. It is visible beyond the valley from Stellenbosch and is often - as it is today - covered in a white blanket of snow. The route as shown in this Google Earth track winds up the eastern edge of the...
Baboons matter
On the Cape Peninsula there are few people who are neutral towards the local Chacma baboons: you either love them or hate them. The remnant troops of the Table Mountain National Park which now protects a large portion of the peninsula, range from the southern table of...
Doring River rafting
The Doring drains the Tankwa Karoo through the Cederberg range into the Olifants River. It can only be rafted in the winter-rainfall months of July to September. Photos and a Google Earth file. The weather forecast for this weekend promised nothing good. Consecutive...
Rim of Africa Google Earth track
A Google Earth map of the Rim of Africa Conservation Mega Trail, Stage One, 120km from Pakhuis Pass in the northern Cederberg to the Koue Bokkeveld mountains follows: [HTML4] If the track doesn't appear in the window above download the Google Earth Rim of Africa file...
Rim of Africa photos
Here are the photos from the Rim of Africa Conservation Mega Trail. It was an epic. [HTML1] Go to my Rim of Africa photo album A Google Earth track of the trail, almost every step captured on a Garmin Foretrex 101, will follow shortly, along with a short account -...
A caracal in Stellenbosch
A few weeks ago, after the fires that charred the mountains in the Jonkershoek valley, I was cycling to work through the Jan Marais Nature Reserve which is located near the centre of town. As I rounded a corner I was stunned to see a beautiful big caracal standing in...
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