Gordon arrived at my place just before 6.30 and we drove to Fern kloof in his car. Arriving just after 8 without trouble we started hiking at about 8.30.
Day 1 (7 Mar): We made good time up the hill without rushing it and by 10.00 we were in the bottom of Fern kloof. The descent went well and we enjoyed the cool shade in the kloof. Past the tree and the first nylon rope section we scrambled and then arrived at the big slab. Having not had rain for quite a while the slab was nice and dry and although my heart was beating a little faster, the scramble down was straight forward. Then we arrived at the tricky down climb where I always use my slings. Someone has put up a nicely tied rope again and this time it looked a little more permanent than the last time I saw a rope up here. It was handy and soon we were past that. Next came the last rope that I put up and this also went without incident. Then it was time for a swim. Gordon jumped in and took the bag with our clothes, shoes and cameras and then first Nicola and then I took a jump. The water wasn’t particularly cold and it was a nice swim across. I thought earlier that I spotted Ian Koegelenberg in front of us but we were a good 10 minutes behind them so I didn’t bank on hauling them in. We came across some people climbing again in the lower section and soon we arrived back at Bergheim. I bought a coke at the kiosk and we took a quick swim before having some lunch. Then we packed up and just before we got in the car, I heard a voice calling me from behind – it was Ian! They were on their way back to Pretoria so we chatted briefly before also driving out to Sparkling Waters Hotel. At the hotel they’ve cleared more space for parking but we chose the well-shaded pine trees as usual. The new parking area was fenced off so we had to walk outside the hotel and through tall grass to get to the road. Soon we were on the track leading in. My pack wasn’t heavy but it was huge and I kept on bumping into the low vegetation on the track. It wasn’t long before we reached the campsite – it was just after 1pm. We took a short rest and hid our bags in the thorny bushes behind the campsite. Up the hill we went and then down into Main gully, me carrying the rope, Gordon harnesses, helmet, karabiners and camera. Nicola took it nice and slow down Main gully and we arrived at the bottom without mishap. Soon we stood above the waterfall and got the rope ready. I rigged the rope for an easy single abseil for Gordon, using just a tie-off at the top as it was already doubled around the tree. Then Nicola went down quickly and then me. I coiled the rope as usual and followed across. All the obstacles came and went without trouble and I enjoyed the kloof thoroughly. Ten minutes after the slide rock we were out at the intersection with Woodpecker gully and saw some kids playing below. Since I was patrolling I had to get their numbers but they directed me to their parents who had already scrambled out. I climbed out after them and met them at the top, taking their membership numbers for the record. Back at the campsite we took a nice rest – it was only 4pm and then chatted the afternoon away. Otti Neser and Michael Stiller came by just after 17.30. They’ve been weeding lower down in the kloof. We chatted a bit before they left and then we had a nice dinner of bacon, pasta, beetroot and canned peaches. Hot chocolate followed but it wasn’t 7pm yet before we headed for bed. I dozed for about an hour when thunder and lightning threatened from the north west. I listened for a while and then got up to see where exactly it was coming from. Gordon was also awake. As we stood listening to it, the wind picked up and started blowing towards us. That settled it. We didn’t have any tents with us so we decided to bail. I woke Nicola up and in the dark we packed in a rush. In less than 10 minutes we had everything in and off we went – the first drops were already falling. We hiked as fast as our poor head torches allowed. I twisted my ankle on some of the loose rocks down from the campsite but soon we were in the path back to the hotel. During the 20 minute walk it never rained hard but just enough to wet our hair and necks. We got to the hotel just before 9pm, jumped in the car and drove back home. At my place Gordon dropped us off and went back home while Nicola and I headed straight for bed.
