Welcome to RalphPina.com

Thank you for visiting my outdoor blog. RalphPina.com documents my experiences over many years of appreciating, and adventuring in, Nature. It celebrates visual beauty, advocates minimal impact, reflects on humans’ relationship with our ecosphere, spans the planet but focuses on the wild diversity of southern Africa. Photos, videos and GPS maps of hiking, cycling, kayaking, abseiling, canoeing and windsurfing..

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Turret Peak mission

by Ralph Pina | Sep 14, 2019 | hiking

Koue Bokkeveld mountains In 2009 the inaugural Rim of Africa mega-hike was aborted two days shy of our destination, Turret Peak, due to adverse weather. By then we had been on trail for 10 or 11 days. But I have always wanted to eventually get to Turret Peak, so when...

Hunting in Assegaaiboschkloof

by Ralph Pina | Sep 11, 2019 | conservation, hiking, Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, Jonkershoek Nature Reserve

It’s spring in the Cape and Santie decided that she wanted to hunt a wild population of blushing brides (Serruria florida) in Assegaaiboschkloof, the valley in which the Berg River rises before it drains into the Berg River Dam. So Santie, Magdel and I set off with a...

A weekend at Zoo Ridge

by Ralph Pina | Sep 3, 2019 | Cederberg Wilderness Area, scenic walks

Red Cederberg The name “Zoo Ridge” has always struck me as a bit of marketing hyperbole. It is a name given to an area between the Swartruggens and Skurweberg mountains in the south-eastern Cederberg. But when you get to wander through its mazes and arches and wonder...

A pristine winter’s day on Victoria Peak

by Ralph Pina | Sep 1, 2019 | hiking, Jonkershoek Nature Reserve

At 1589 m ASL Victoria Peak is the highest summit in the Jonkershoek range. From the grassy dome one can see Table Mountain beyond Stellenbosch Mountain and Haelkop, south over the Groenland mountains above Grabouw and Elgin, the blue - and once more spreading -...