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.
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: If the track doesn't appear in the window above download the Google Earth Rim of Africa file and view...
Rim of Africa photos
Here are the photos from the Rim of Africa Conservation Mega Trail. It was an epic. 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 - once I have...
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...
Hiking in Kogelberg
The Kogelberg Biosphere and Nature Reserve is my playground. When we're not kayaking here, we are hiking its many routes. Kogelberg is the jewel in the crown of the Cape's floral kingdom protected areas that make up the World Heritage Site. If the slideshow does not...
Jonkershoek hiking
Five k's from my home in Stellenbosch is the rugged Jonkershoek Nature Reserve. The area boasts the highest rainfall in the Western Cape, and two major rivers rise at the valley head: the Berg and the Eerste rivers. The Panorama route (or half of it) climbs the...
Kayaking on Lake Malawi at Mumbo Island
Mumbo Island is one of the great places in Africa. Imagine a tropical island surrounded by warm, clear water and freshwater, tropical fish. The island is but a jumble of granite crowned by dry woodland including baobabs, pod mahogany and rock figs, and barely a...
Kruger Park and climate change
The IPCC's technical paper on Climate Change and Water (pdf), published in June, features some dire numbers for South Africa's premier national park, the Kruger National Park. Should the global mean temperature exceed 1990 levels by 2.5 to 3 oC, then 66% of its animal...
A Baviaanskloof Journey
April 2008 An essential element of our Eastern Cape road-trip in April was to spend time in the Baviaanskloof again. The kloof was probably the most memorable section of the 400+km Eden to Addo mega-hike that I had done in 2006. We tackled it from east to west this...
Cape of Good Hope Trail
The Cape of Good Hope Trail starts at the main gate to the Cape Point section of the Table Mountain National Park, and ends there 33.5km and two days later. Day 1 features a spectacular walk down the False Bay coast. There are commanding views across False Bay and...
Sea kayaking in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve
On most weekends, Deon and I paddle and sail this coast, spending countless enjoyable hours. Spring is whale season off the South Africa's Cape coast. The Southern Rights cruise the sanctuaries in their hundreds. On this day Deon and I paddled around to Steenbras...
Windsurfing at Kraal Bay
Kraal Bay is one of my favourite places on the planet. Since first windsurfing there in about 1984, I have been back time and again to enjoy its beauty, stay on the houseboat, kayak and windsurf. Langebaan Lagoon is blessed with a micro-climate that virtually...
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