augrabies falls, 3-day hike (northern cape, south africa, april 2015)

As the final activity on our final trip in southern Africa (for now), we decided to explore the Northern Cape and a fairly remote park called Augrabies Falls. We were super impressed with how well-run and popular this park is, and were really happy we decided to do a three-day hike along the Orange River and the canyon that runs through the park. 

The hike was beautiful (also hot), through desert landscape for the first day, then down into the river canyon on the second day, and back out and over the desert again on the third day. We saw klipspringer (small deer), two giant jet-black snakes, each about 5-6 feet long (we think they were Cape Cobras), a monitor lizard, the tracks of a clawless otter, and some beautiful birds. 

The river itself and the waterfalls were also stunning. 

Sunset at camp the night before we head out.

Starting things off well! About an hour in to the hike, we got to detour to this beautiful spot on the canyon. Hundreds of swallows were flying back and forth across the water eating insects. It was an incredibly peaceful place (until you looked down!)

Hiking across a ravine with a deep hole.

We also got treated to a visit from a vervet monkey family! They galloped and played around us for 5-10 minutes. Very cute.

fish river canyon & ais ais hotsprings (namibia, april 2015)

After a few nights in the Richtersveld, we were ready to head further north into the Namibian side of the Ai-Ais/Richtersveld border park. We'd been camping along the Orange River and now it was time to cross it. 

When we arrived at Ai Ais, we were a little dismayed to find that there were no cold swimming pools. It was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the only pool to be found was a hot spring that had to be about 95 degrees. Refreshing. 

After a couple of sleepless nights in still, humid heat, we were ready to see the Fish River Canyon and get outta dodge. Luckily the Canyon did not disappoint. It is the second-largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and we were both impressed. 

Crossing the mighty Orange River on this barge! 

Jim loves a boat!

Jennifer at camp. Too hot for anything but our swimmies. That rain did not make it to us, but the rainbow was pretty.

Jim at camp one morning. No rain fly on this tent - we were desperate for a breeze.

Despite the definite "parking lot" vibe, Ai Ais did grow on us.

Off for a trek! The five-day hike through the Fish River Canyon ends here - we walked a bit of the end of the trail to see what we could see. 

A beautiful kingfisher!

THE CANYON

the richtersveld (northern cape, south africa, march 2015)

This is the beginning of a 10 day trip into the Northern part of South Africa.  This is the place where Afrikaners fled to when Britain decreed that all slaves would become free people in 1830.  The Afrikaners refer to this mass-movement as the Great Migration.  Essentially thousands of black slaves carried Dutch settlers' stuff out into a narrowly hospitable climate (to be generous).

Our adventure was quiet at first as we needed to travel 950 km to our first campsite.  The final 48 km took longer than the first 250 km to put the remoteness of our exploration in perspective.

The single best event of the trip occurred when setting up camp after driving for 12 hours with the final 2.5 hours being the 48 km through a rugged two-track.  Needless to say we were tired, cranky, and hungry.  Accomplishing tasks such as putting up a tent, starting a fire, and preparing food in this sort of atmosphere is something that Jennifer and I do way too much on vacation.   Needless to say the situation was rife for disaster.

As Jennifer and I were trying to set up the tent we realized there was a layer of rock that would prevent our spikes from reaching far enough into the ground.  Considering the brisk wind that was blowing this meant we would likely lose our tent unless we found a new location.  So, I explored for a more suitable spot and found a good one (in my opinion, but not Jennifer's) about 10 meters away.  While I was searching for a new spot and sticking my spike into the ground, Jennifer was holding onto the tent to keep it from blowing away.

After finding my spot I thought it best to stand still while Jennifer carry the tent over--bad mistake.  Fatefully, the wind picked up and pulled the tent out of Jennifer's hands as she started to move towards the less-than-ideal new spot.  As the tent carried a few feet into the air, it moved just outside of Jennifer's grasp and began to tumble towards the rock field that ran next to the river (tent location and river indicated in pictures below).  The boulders that occupied the area within 50 meters or so of the river were large, sometimes sharp, and essentially not navigable at fast speeds.  

Jennifer was wearing two-strap sandals, so she took off after the tent.  I was barefoot, but quickly decided that should the tent be faster than Jennifer I would be best served downstream if the tent managed to lodge itself in the river.  I took off downstream to cross the rock field in a different place where the river narrowed to a deep section next to a protruding and tall rock that I could use as a spotting location.  

As I was working my way, not so quickly, across the rocks I could hear Jennifer begin to move into histerics.  Some crying, some shouting, general exasperation.  I just remember shouting to be careful crossing the rocks as I didn't want her to get her ankle twisted or hurt herself in a mad fury to reach the tent.  

When I arrived at the river's edge I was in position to talk to Jennifer so I called up stream, "Did the tent go in the river?", then "Yes".  "Did it sink", then "Yes".  "Can you see it", then "No, it hit and sank and went away and now its gone, I can't see it!"

So, I waited for a brief moment on my rock, thinking that the tent may be deep in the water as the river looked like it could be 20+ feet deep in the section below my post.  However, in a few seconds I could see the ghostly shape of the tent under the water--mostly thanks to the orange pieces.  As it was 30 minutes past sunset and we were still discussing the likelihood of the river having crocodiles (forgot to ask at reception 2.5 hours before) it was quite a scary moment for me.  But, to lose the tent when it was clearly within grasp would have been inexcusable.  

Upon jumping into the fast-moving and deep current, I found that moving the tent was much like trying to pick up 500 pounds, or move a hot-air balloon around with a rope on a windy day.  It was essentially impossible to move and pulling itself deeper into the water with the current.  To solve this problem, I pulled myself under water with the tent and began taking it apart to reduce its drag.  A sheet underwater will produce very little drag, so holding my breath for a few seconds I packed the tent down and began to swim it towards the surface/shore.  Thankfully, I was able to get myself into a counter-current eddy that formed below my big rock outcropping and the current actually pushed me back up against the rocks.  Tent saved!  Adventure had!

The climate was so hot and dry that even without the sun the tent dried in a matter of minutes.  Following this episode we had lots of laughs and decided to keep heavy rocks in the tent at all times.

The rest of the trip was not as interesting, thank goodness, but we did have good fun exploring the desert wilderness.

The rolling, smooth hills are formed by gneiss intrusions--a form of granite that penetrated into the crust of the African and South American crustal plates as they separated ~130 million years ago.

This is not the dirt 2-track mentioned above--it is road through mining areas heading into the Richtersveld.

swazi hiking (ezulwini and shewula, swaziland)

We took a couple of nice hikes and walks while in Swaziland.

Up in Shewula, we spent New Year's Day on a long hike down the local roads to an overlook with December, our camp's guide. We enjoyed seeing everyone in the community out and about celebrating the new year. December grew up there and knew just about everyone we passed in the road, and got us comfortable saying hello properly: "Sawubona! (or Sanibonani! if you are greeting a group)" "Yebo!" "Kunjani?" "Siapile, kunjani?" It took us a while to get it.

We also saw a soccer game and dance group at the end of our walk.

And further down in the post, you'll see a few photos of a hike in Ezulwini, up Sheba's Breast. Beautiful!

We enjoyed a few minutes of birdwatching at this water hole in Shewula.

An abandoned plow at a family's old homestead. They still plant here, but the house was at the end of a long dirt road (it took us about 3 hours to walk there from our lodge, already 10km down the road from the highway), and too far for the family to live in any longer.

A view to a large dam in Mozambique.

monks cowl and didima gorge (drakensberg mountains, kwaZulu-natal)

The Drakensberg Mountains are a stunning wilderness that has protected and provided for thousands upon thousands of generations of humans.  They functioned as a boundary for the Basutu people who were defending themselves from an encroaching and militaristic Zulu population and later the encroaching and militaristic Boers, not to mention the English.  Before this recent history they were home to Khoi Khoi or Khoi San people.  The evidence of the Khoi Khoi can be found in really cool rock art--some of which we found and is pictured below.  

Finding hidden caves is probably one of the coolest aspects of the Drakensberg.  They are on maps, but that does not mean you are going to find them.  We hiked far and wide to find two caves and spent the night happily tucked away behind a waterfall for one night.  The cave was so protective and peaceful that we spent about 20 hours hanging out, eating, and sleeping before moving on.  

The grass is stunning--more recently burned sections actually look greener.

There are plentiful streams and waterfalls as it is the rainy season.  Getting caught in one thunderstorm taught us how quickly the waters can rise.  We ended up saving a German couple from possible demise after a particularly powerful thunderstorm brought streams from 5 cm deep, to 1 meter deep in a matter of minutes after pelting us with marble-sized hail.  If you're wondering what the hell we were doing we were too.  That was our last hike up the big mountain.  Until next time!

Disclaimer:  The pictures are not in chronological order--maybe I'll take the time to rearrange them later.

This is one of a few of the Ranger Cabins.  So, don't think they're used very much anymore.  This is called the Ranger Station on the map.  Gives you a good idea of the politics in the region.  If someone builds a public building near you that means you are allowed to harvest anything valuable from that structure...including its roof.

This nearly hidden road through a swamp reminded me of Frodo walking through the swamp of the ancient battlefield where there were dead elves and orcs.  The Drakensberg was also an area that inspired curiosity and imagination in a young JRR Tolkien.

kensoks on a quick trip! (cape town)

We really enjoyed having Tim and Karen visit before the holiday break.  It was great to see them and be able to spend time with family before Jennifer and I set off on another adventure together.  Tim and Karen spent most of their days by the pool with interesting books in hand--the kind of vacation that leaves you well rested and content.  They also took Jennifer and I out to countless lunches and dinners of extremely high quality.  It was fun to taste all of the great food and wine together and share stories from past Christmas and Thanksgiving seasons.  They will attest to the splendor of the Greenspan residence and the luxury that it provides should anyone be tempted to book tickets at the last minute.

Dad on a hike above Hout Bay

Re-visiting a favorite spot from their last visit!

Jennifer worked very hard on my birthday cake.  Thank you Jennifer!!!!

Birthday boy with all his spoils!!

It is the whole crew of birthday gatherers at the table. Starting from left to wrap around the table to the right: Bash, Mia, Me, Patrick, Randy, Erika, Tim, Karen, Gabby, Tom, and Jennifer taking the picture!  We had a blast at dinner and enjoyed goofing around with everyone.

shark diving and the tsitsikamma national park with jon, mike, and jim (jennifer was with the sharks too!)

These pictures of sharks top the charts on excitement during our vacation.  All  four of us--Jon, Mike, Jennifer, and Jim had a blast in the shark tank.  At one time Jennifer pinned herself against the back of the cage as a big great white shark came within 6 inches of the front of the cage--moving straight towards us!  Jon and Mike were allowed to go back in the cage for a second dive, but said most of the excitement was when we were all in the cage together.  There is one picture in particular, of a sham about to attack the bait from straight below that stuns me every time I look at it. These creatures were amazing to watch and we were so thankful to have a bit of good steel between us and them!

The second set of pictures covers our hike along the coastline in the Tsitsikamma National Park.  We hiked over many boulder fields, through dens jungle with vines all around, and past huge caves that once housed some of the first homo sapiens over 70,000 years ago.  We ended the hike at a 150 foot cascading waterfall that dumped it's brown, tannin-stained water into the ocean.  The mist, jumping schools of dolphins, rock pools to swim in, and the inescapable feeling of being a pirate about to bury treasure made the hike a great adventure.  

The next step of the journey took us to the mighty South African bush that is conserved as Addo Elephant National Park.

This was one of the smaller sharks if you can imagine that. 

That white belly gives them their name--the Great White Shark! 

This was not one of the smaller ones...

You an see that the wood is scarred from battle--there were a few sharks that dragged this fake seal under.  The bait guy would have to let the shark take the line until they realized they were eating wood.  I wanted to check the wood for teeth, but apparently they don't get stuck too often.

This is the picture that I couldn't believe.  The shark is perfectly positioned to attack from below.

cape town with jon, mike, jennifer, and jim

These pictures show the house and a grand adventure of a hike up Table Mountain.  We had a blast on the hike and continuously referred to Jon's shorter legs--encouraging him to push it hard.  Around 1 pm we prevailed and reached the summit--a long hike from Constantia Nek.  Jon agreed that Mike's background of being dragged out on 12 mile hikes for every one of his birthdays growing up may have had an impact on his enjoyment level of the hike.  Alas, we all had a grand time exploring and seeing the views.  Sorry this has taken me so long to post!

More posts coming soon about exploration outside of Cape Town!

This is the humble abode in which we stayed in for 3 of the 8 nights.

The view of Table Mountain from Jon's window.

Beginning the hike up Table Mountain--we made it all the way from Constantia Nek to MacLear's Beacon to the Cable Car, then down the Cable car to the city side.  Quite a hike!

Jon realizing for the first time that we're making him hike a huge mountain.  The strong goat legs weren't quite the ideal tool for following a Crowley up the incline.

We made it up to a steep cliff and covered about 1/2 of our elevation or so :)

Beautiful False  Bay.