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Returning from a Malawi site visit late on Friday afternoon made it impossible for us to drive through to Magoebaskloof before the weekend started. Instead, we left very early on Saturday morning, arriving in Magoebaskloof around 9am. Along the N11 we added a few common birds including Southern yellow-billed, African grey and Red-billed hornbills. We decided to drive down the Forest Drive and quickly picked up Knysna turaco, Sombre greenbul, African emerald cuckoo, Cape batis, Southern double-collared sunbird and Barratt’s warbler. In one of the many shady spots we stopped and picked out calls of Olive bush-shrike, Green-backed camaroptera, Southern boubou, Yellow-fronted tinkerbird, and for the first time in Southern Africa – White-starred robin! A few other birds were also on our list by the time we exited the Forest Drive and returned to the Houtbosdorp entrance to meet up with the rest of the group at Waterfall hut. From the other side of Dap Naude dam we could see them lounging in front of the hut and we quickly drove around and joined them for lunch. Later in the afternoon other hikers arrived and this prompted us to go and park the car at Broederstroom hut (no parking available at Waterfall hut) and walk the short distance through the marshy bits above the dam. A braai fire was started in the late afternoon and after a splendid dinner we crawled into bed, a little apprehensive of the 18km walk of the next day.
Mist hanging thickly over the dam and above the forest greeted us as we woke up. With a long day’s hiking ahead of us, Nicola and I got away first, intending to do some birding along the way. Unfortunately it was cold and the few birds that were out were almost impossible to see against the bad light. We made good progress through the forest though, and Shirley, Eddie and George only caught up with us about 2km into the walk. The thick, cold fog did make for excellent walking conditions but after about two hours walking it started drizzling. Some members of the other two groups on the trail overtook us while we were bird-watching but after they stopped for a tea-break, we passed them again. About 10km into the walk my feet became annoyingly sore and I had to stop every 20-30 minutes for a short rest. However, the cold and wet kept us all on our feet most of the time and we arrived at the beautiful Dokolewa Pools hut around 1pm. Shirley had strained her back along the way and had difficulty sitting and lying down. Nicola gave her a massage after lunch but we also started discussing alternative options for the last day, including walking out on the Forest Drive rather than the normal trail. Nicola and Shirley took a slow walk up towards De Hoek hut to see where the Forest Drive ran and along the way heard Scaly-throated honeyguide and took nice pictures of a White-starred robin. Having discovered exactly where to pick up the road, they returned and after a bit more rest in the afternoon gloom, we made dinner. The still overcast sky turned dusk into night very quickly and by 18:30 we were all in bed.
We were up early again and it was quickly clear that Shirley’s back was not doing too well and she wanted to walk out on the Forest Drive. Eddie was going to go with Shirley either way and as my feet were still painful from yesterday, I decided to walk the road as well. Even though the road was a longer walk, we knew the gradient would be much easier and anticipated it taking us not longer than three hours. George wanted to stick to the trail and started out shortly after breakfast on his own. At 06:45 we were on our way too and after picking up Scaly-throated honeyguide, White-starred robin, Chorister robin-chat and Long-crested eagle, we emerged on the bottom section of the Forest Drive and started the easy walk up. Today the weather was completely clear but it was still cold in the shade and the walking extremely pleasant. As we rose higher on the slopes we added some more birds in the forests and then stopped briefly at one of the streams crossing the road. A large group of birders were actively spishing as I came around a corner in the road – I walked up softly and was very happy when a Blue-mantled crested-flycatcher appeared just at that moment. Where the normal trail crosses the road higher up, we were surprised to see George and a few of the other group just emerging from the forest. We had another short rest with them before George went up the trail again and we carried on up the road. My feet were becoming sore again but I was determined to finish in style and pushed on ahead of the others, reaching Woodbush hut shortly after 9am, having walked about 2.5 hours. Nicola, Eddie and Shirley arrived within another 10 minutes and while Shirley and Eddie had a quick shower and waited for George, Nicola and I drove off to Broederstroom hut in Shirley’s car to fetch ours. Thirty minutes later we were back and we left for a well-deserved coke in Haenertsburg.
This was Nicola's first and my fifth Magoebaskloof hike - an evergreen (literally and figuratively) trail with fond memories!
Returning from a Malawi site visit late on Friday afternoon made it impossible for us to drive through to Magoebaskloof before the weekend started. Instead, we left very early on Saturday morning, arriving in Magoebaskloof around 9am. Along the N11 we added a few common birds including Southern yellow-billed, African grey and Red-billed hornbills. We decided to drive down the Forest Drive and quickly picked up Knysna turaco, Sombre greenbul, African emerald cuckoo, Cape batis, Southern double-collared sunbird and Barratt’s warbler. In one of the many shady spots we stopped and picked out calls of Olive bush-shrike, Green-backed camaroptera, Southern boubou, Yellow-fronted tinkerbird, and for the first time in Southern Africa – White-starred robin! A few other birds were also on our list by the time we exited the Forest Drive and returned to the Houtbosdorp entrance to meet up with the rest of the group at Waterfall hut. From the other side of Dap Naude dam we could see them lounging in front of the hut and we quickly drove around and joined them for lunch. Later in the afternoon other hikers arrived and this prompted us to go and park the car at Broederstroom hut (no parking available at Waterfall hut) and walk the short distance through the marshy bits above the dam. A braai fire was started in the late afternoon and after a splendid dinner we crawled into bed, a little apprehensive of the 18km walk of the next day.
Mist hanging thickly over the dam and above the forest greeted us as we woke up. With a long day’s hiking ahead of us, Nicola and I got away first, intending to do some birding along the way. Unfortunately it was cold and the few birds that were out were almost impossible to see against the bad light. We made good progress through the forest though, and Shirley, Eddie and George only caught up with us about 2km into the walk. The thick, cold fog did make for excellent walking conditions but after about two hours walking it started drizzling. Some members of the other two groups on the trail overtook us while we were bird-watching but after they stopped for a tea-break, we passed them again. About 10km into the walk my feet became annoyingly sore and I had to stop every 20-30 minutes for a short rest. However, the cold and wet kept us all on our feet most of the time and we arrived at the beautiful Dokolewa Pools hut around 1pm. Shirley had strained her back along the way and had difficulty sitting and lying down. Nicola gave her a massage after lunch but we also started discussing alternative options for the last day, including walking out on the Forest Drive rather than the normal trail. Nicola and Shirley took a slow walk up towards De Hoek hut to see where the Forest Drive ran and along the way heard Scaly-throated honeyguide and took nice pictures of a White-starred robin. Having discovered exactly where to pick up the road, they returned and after a bit more rest in the afternoon gloom, we made dinner. The still overcast sky turned dusk into night very quickly and by 18:30 we were all in bed.
We were up early again and it was quickly clear that Shirley’s back was not doing too well and she wanted to walk out on the Forest Drive. Eddie was going to go with Shirley either way and as my feet were still painful from yesterday, I decided to walk the road as well. Even though the road was a longer walk, we knew the gradient would be much easier and anticipated it taking us not longer than three hours. George wanted to stick to the trail and started out shortly after breakfast on his own. At 06:45 we were on our way too and after picking up Scaly-throated honeyguide, White-starred robin, Chorister robin-chat and Long-crested eagle, we emerged on the bottom section of the Forest Drive and started the easy walk up. Today the weather was completely clear but it was still cold in the shade and the walking extremely pleasant. As we rose higher on the slopes we added some more birds in the forests and then stopped briefly at one of the streams crossing the road. A large group of birders were actively spishing as I came around a corner in the road – I walked up softly and was very happy when a Blue-mantled crested-flycatcher appeared just at that moment. Where the normal trail crosses the road higher up, we were surprised to see George and a few of the other group just emerging from the forest. We had another short rest with them before George went up the trail again and we carried on up the road. My feet were becoming sore again but I was determined to finish in style and pushed on ahead of the others, reaching Woodbush hut shortly after 9am, having walked about 2.5 hours. Nicola, Eddie and Shirley arrived within another 10 minutes and while Shirley and Eddie had a quick shower and waited for George, Nicola and I drove off to Broederstroom hut in Shirley’s car to fetch ours. Thirty minutes later we were back and we left for a well-deserved coke in Haenertsburg.
This was Nicola's first and my fifth Magoebaskloof hike - an evergreen (literally and figuratively) trail with fond memories!
