Cedarbergkloof hiking and abseiling (Magaliesberg) Mar 2005

Jeanne-Louise and Ivan left on Friday night already to sleep over at Mountain Sanctuary Park. The rest of us met early Saturday morning at the parking lot across the church at varsity. We left just after 7am and got to MSP just after 08:30. We decided to pitch the tents first, in case it rains, and also had something to nibble on before we finally scraped the courage together to go for a walk.

Day 1 (12 March): It was just after 10am when we finally left the campsite, walked up to the grotto and took the path that split off towards the twins. It was completely clouded over and the walking was very pleasant. We all took some photos at the Twins before descending down into Cedarberg gorge. We made our way to the overhang where I always abseil. While the others waited at the bottom, Al and I climbed to the top to set up the abseil. Then each of us abseiled and got everybody else up to do the same. Al packed up everything up top while the rest of us started to have lunch. After lunch we continued downstream. The gorge quickly got deeper and the memories of the kloof slowly returned to me – I haven’t done the kloof in 3 years! We got to the junction with Tonquani gorge and I decided to go see what the pool at the top looks like. I haven’t been there since I did the climbing course in 1999 and then it was from Upper Tonquani. So we took the walk to the top – I forgot how long it was, but it was very enjoyable. When we reached the pool and I realized it was almost 3pm, I got us all moving downstream quickly. I remembered one or two of the spots where we had to wade deep through the pools – it was good fun to be there again! When we finally reached the bottom we were all soaking wet but thoroughly happy. We got back out on the jeep track that led steeply back up to camp. As I still wanted to get some wood and firelighters from the office, I set out at a fast pace up the hill. Jeanne-Louise and Ivan stayed with me and when we got back to camp, Ivan and I went to the office to get the necessary things, including some very welcome ginger beer. We all had a quick shower after starting the fire. The braai was excellent but none of us stayed up for very long.

Day 2 (13 March): We all slept a bit late. Corne and Yolandy treated us all to a five star breakfast before we all took another rest until the clouds started to thin. We then took a leisurely walk down to the slide pools, lazed around for a while before returning just after 1pm. We packed up and drove back to Pretoria where we arrived soon after 3pm.

Castle gorge (Magaliesberg) Jan 2005

Darrell, Al and I drove out to Castle Gorge to have some fun for the day. We arrived at the parking area early and left soon after packing some abseil gear and lunch. It was steep but short climb to the summit of the Magaliesberg from where we easily descended to Castle Gorge. There were a number of other people around but we enjoyed ourselves abseiling and swimming. Just before lunch the sky darkened and heavy rain soon poured down. We tried to hide underneath an overhang but eventually got fairly wet anyway. The rain stopped but heavy clouds were still pushing from the south so we decided to head back. The last 200m to the car it came down in torrents and we had to run for it. The drive back on the dirt road was interesting as rather large puddles had started to form. We made it home safely though after a fun day in the hills.

Amphitheatre (Drakensberg) Nov 2004

We all met outside the Biochemistry kitchen at just after 16:00, Friday afternoon. When everybody arrived, we packed the two cars and were just able to squeeze nine people and packs into the two cars. We left after 16:30. Traffic was heavy and the rain we had on the alternative route made driving difficult. Even so, we got to Harrismith at around 9pm, without incident. We soon got a nice spot at the municipal campsite and pitched the tents before the rain started again.

Day 1 (13 November): We woke to a lovely looking day. We had breakfast and took down the tents. At 06:30 we were on our way to Sentinel car park. We got to the car park, signed in, sorted out all the gear and got underway. It really was a lovely morning with a few wispy cirrus clouds in the sky and a cool wind blowing from Lesotho. Having sprained my ankle badly at badminton the past week, I was favoring my left foot and stepping gingerly over the rocks. We kept to a reasonable pace and got into the zig-zags just behind a group of Germans. At the viewpoint we took the higher path and got in front of them at the breakfast rock. The walk around Sentinel and onto the Amphitheatre was pleasant but I could feel that my ankle was protesting a little. Clouds also slowly started materializing and I guessed it was probably going to rain a little later. At the chain ladder I quickly set up a belay system to help Erika to the top. Yolandy came up slow but steady. All the others managed to get up with their packs and while I carried up Erika’s pack everyone made it past the second ladder as well. We rested a bit at the top of the ladder and watched as clouds started building even more. We then continued onto the plateau and then walked straight for the Tugela lip. I was walking quite slowly at this time due to my ankle but when a few rain drops started to spit, I had to stop to put on the Splash cover. But the clouds didn’t really open and we got to the Tugela lip where I decided to have lunch. Most of us got about halfway through when it started raining. We donned our rain gear and started heading for the cave when the rain stopped again. I then sat down to rest a little more and finish our lunch. Finally we packed up again and we headed for the cave. Not far past the hut it started dripping again. About halfway to the cave, small pellets of hail started to fall. I was lagging behind and having a hard time getting up the slope and by the time I had about 100m to go, it was hailing quite hard. Thunderbolts also hit frequently and one got so close that Yolandy, Corné and I all felt a tingly sensation. I finally made it into the cave and we all watched the spectacular electrical storm. We were frightened more than once by terrific lightning flashes and counted five distinct spots on the plateau where it hit. It hailed for about an hour and the entire Tugela bowl in front of us was covered in white hail so thick that it looked like snow. Surprisingly, there was no hail towards the south. We took some photographs and mainly sat around chatting or snoozing while it was still raining outside. The hail later saved us the walk down to the river to collect water. We started dinner at 5pm and it was nice to sit back and relax while Ingrid and Gordon did our group’s cooking. Dinner was finished just after seven and we still chatted well into the night before finally settling down.

Day 2 (14 November): Luckily we did not have any unexpected visitors during the night. Most of us got up for a spectacular sunrise and the cameras flashed away as the sun ascended into a thick bank of clouds. The entire group except Erika wanted to go to Mont-aux-Sources so I walked around with the group to show them where to go while I stayed behind with Erika. I managed to take some pictures of the group on top of Mont-aux-Sources and they were back within the two hour limit I set. We packed up and started to walk to the chain ladder just as it started raining again. But as the group descended, the sky cleared. Just past the saddle between Sentinel and the main wall, I stopped for a rest and tried to give my foot and ankle a rub. Then we were on our way again and eventually we made it down the zig-zags and all the way to the cars. We got there just before 12pm and left for a Nando’s lunch in Harrismith.