Leopard’s Gorge, Kogelberg
Here's an easy yet spectacular walk for the family. The 7-and-a-bit km hike takes you through a 400 m rise and fall in elevation, from the Palmiet River valley, through an old indigenous forest to glorious views above Betty's Bay. Photos and a Google Earth track...
On top of Slanghoek Pile
Slanghoek Pile - the name is evocative. Of what I am not quite sure (slanghoek is Dutch/Afrikaans and translates roughly to "snake corner"). An MCSA outing, the hike there and back is 16.4 km in length and climbs and descends 1272 m. The walk up comprised two...
Taking action on rhino poaching
As you know African rhino are under unprecedented, murderous assault. 448 rhino have been lost to poachers in South Africa alone during 2011 and SA National Parks has admitted that it is under siege and overpowered. Planetsave has provided perhaps the best overview of...
Blasting at Kraalbaai (windsurfing)
This was a little less mellow than last time - the wind pomped. Middle-aged windsurfers go to Kraalbaai in the West Coast National Park for some mellow cruising while the family plays in the sheltered shallows. Personally, I feel that this place is one of the most...
A Table Mountain circuit
In all the years of walking on the mountain I have never climbed Platteklip Gorge. At Peter's suggestion we parked at Kloof Nek and tackled the 15.4 km circuit up Platteklip, through the valleys of Isolation and the Red Gods, to the reservoirs and down Kasteelspoort,...
The Boland Hiking Trail
Aka The Return of Gaucho Pedro This 3-day hike was like old times again - hiking with Peter Groves, my erstwhile hiking buddy who is out from the UK on holiday. Peter is also known as "Gaucho Pedro" after his escapades in Patagonia last year. The Hottentots Holland...
Paddling in G Bay – video
Here is a short video of yesterday's lazy paddle around Gordon's Bay. Windless, hot and very beautiful. I shot it using the new GoPro Hero2 camera, tried to edit it a little but need to learn a lot and also get better video editing tools ... Anyway enjoy a view of...
Jonkershoek Panorama Route
The Panorama Route is one of the Jonkershoek valley's classic day trails. From the bridge (Witbrug) at the apex of the circular road, where you climb the left side of the valley, to where you descend to the Swartboskloof parking area, you will walk about 17.1 km,...
Cape Point’s east coast
The 19 km walk down Cape Point's east coast from the gate to the restaurant at the point is possibly the most scenically spectacular hike in the country. Besides the vistas across False Bay, the precipitous drops to the rocky coast below and the way the peninsula...
Scherpenheuwel circuit, Franschhoek
The Mountain Club's plan was to head up to Perdekop in the hope that, it being midwinter, there would be snow on the peak. Instead an unseasonal black south-easter raged, clouding in all the peaks around Franschhoek. So, plan B was activated. It amounted to a very...
Straddling the Olifants: wilderness walking trails
(another Kruger safari) Olifants Wilderness Trail, Kruger National Park The African bush has been calling for a while, so we packed up and headed 2000 km north-east for Kruger and our favourite means of really experiencing the bush: wilderness walking trails. Our...
Green machine prowls Gordon’s Bay
Last Sunday I took the new lime-green Skua out for its maiden paddle around Gordon's Bay. We ducked into the old harbour, sheltered from a cloud burst under the NSRI station for a while, cruised over to Harbour Island and weaved through the marina, and then powered...
La Motte to Franschhoek Pass traverse
In typical MCSA Stellenbosch style: a couple of koppies (little hills) on this uitstappie (outing). The numbers tell the story: 12.25 km maximum slope: 58.2% minimum elevation: 240 m; maximum elevation: 1405 m elevation gain: 1472 m; elevation loss: 1008 m moving...
Franschhoek to Jonkershoek via Assegaaiboschkloof
The mountain club's plan was to walk from Franschhoek to Jonkershoek along the watershed via Emerald Dome and Victoria Peak. We would ascend Fortsnek and cross Noordkloofpiek, the scene of last year's firefighting. It promised to be a long, hard, but spectacular, day....
Fighting the Kogelberg fire
The latest fire that swept through the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve last week was nothing short of disastrous. Young veld burnt again and all the eleven-year old veld has been destroyed, so that, in the words of a nature conservation official, "everything between...
Paddling up the Steenbras
There isn't actually much of the Steenbras River to paddle up, even on a kayak - only about 300 metres. Rather it's the 13 km round-trip paddle from Gordon's Bay harbour and the usually benign, but spectacular, rivermouth entrance that is most of the fun. On this last...
Slanghoek Peak via Witte River
The route to Slanghoek Peak curves south and east up the Witte River valley. A fairly level and scenic walk from the car park at Eerste Tol on Bainskloof Pass of 12.5 km to a saddle below Slanghoek on Mountain Club property, known as Springstygbeugel1, almost...
All along the watershed – Saaltjie to Botmaskop
Last Sunday I hosted some of the Patagons and other hiking buddies at Jonkershoek for a day hike - "not too long, too high and too hard" was the request. So I thought it would be nice to follow the eastern watershed from north of Twin Peaks to Botmaskop - not too high...
Hiking Oorlogskloof’s Rock Pigeon Trail
Also known as "Wessel Reloaded" 5 days, 52.2 km (55.1 km according to my GPS recording), 18 hrs 27 min moving time at a moving average speed of 3 km/h We all agreed afterwards that Oorlogskloof is probably the best hike in South Africa - mainly because of the care and...
Simonstown to Smitswinkel on foot
We took the Old Mule Trail up to Blockhouse Gap where two old blockhouses slowly weather away. Apparently the blockhouses were built at the beginning of World War I to guard the eastern approach through the nek to the naval ammunitions magazines that scar the high...
Recent Comments