I have decided that I am going to post this on my blog, and see who reads this…
Paul and I are expecting! Yay, yay, yay! The estimated due date is 1st February 2008 but as things with pregnancy go, that could change, and from what I have been told it changed regularly with visits to the gynae.
The story goes… While we were on holiday (yes I have been holding out that long) I suspected at first, and then the nausea and exhaustion seemed to confirm it. But, even though we knew that it was a distinct possibility, Paul still made me climb the HUGE mountain, up the chain ladders and everything. Lets just say, I kinda set the pace a bit. Anyway, with all the driving around Kruger, I discovered that I didn’t like passenger-ing in the car much, and it aggravated the nausea, and by the end of the holiday I was OVER being in the car.
The Saturday of our return we made a bee-line for the path lab, and they confirmed what I already knew, and gave me the thumbs up, saying that the test was positive. Of course we sort of roughly worked out how far along I was, and then when I got back to work, jumped onto the internet and did a due date calculation, which put us at 1 February 2008. Now there was one small hiccup in the whole excitement story, and that was we couldn’t tell anyone as Paul’s father was (and still is) in Spain on holiday. So, every time we saw the other folks I had to try very hard not to turn green when smells didn’t agree with me, and when I was so tired I could sleep at the dinner table. But, thank goodness for Father’s Day! Dad phoned from Spain for us, and we gave him the good news, which delighted him to no end of course. (This was on Comrades day so exhaustion was knocking on my door already) Then we shot across to Paul’s Mom’s so that we could let them know, and give Rob his Father’s Day prezzie, and they were stoked, with Kath (Paul’s sister) being the most excited. Luckily she was on the phone so volume control was available (chuckle). Then we shot across to wait to see Rob running through Pinetown, and down to Musgrave to give my folks the great news, and have a bit to eat, before I fell over from starvation, and then off to the end of Comrades. Of course all the stress of waiting for Rob made the nausea even worse, but I was so happy to see him at the end.
It has been an alright first time around, and I think that I have come off lightly, with no actual morning sickness, but I did get the short end of the stick when it comes to sinuses. They have been terrible, and causing such a bad cough that I haven’t been sleeping well. I have tried everything that I could think of, and even went to see the doc about it so he could help, but the stuff he gave me, couldn’t even dent the problem. THEN… the dreaded cold, which I am just starting to improve from today. I have NEVER felt so miserable (that I can remember) as I have in the last 3-4 days. It started on Sunday, mostly in the evening, and by Monday morning I was a basket case. I came to work, and asked to leave early because I wasn’t coping. By Tuesday I couldn’t sit for more than 5 minutes without being in complete agony, caused by a runny nose and eyes that were competing for the “most dehydration through eyes” competition. I came to work again yesterday, and mixed with some extreme emotions from being preg, and feeling terrible I was not any good here, but I stayed till the end. Then I went to see Uncle Rob, and he gave me some decongesting inhaling drops which have helped immensely and I am feeling quite a lot better today. I am not 100% but I think with prayers and decongestant drops I am getting there. Also it is day 4 of the cold, and they normally last 5-6 days anyway.
In the midst of all the preg and before getting this cold, I lost a budgie. Poor Baby G died, from what I think was gastro, and I gave Deacon away to a friend who could house him better in a 6 foot (I think) tank with Oscar. So, hopefully I will get some new goldfish soon, who will be more comfortable in the small tank.
Well that is me….
Thursday 28 June 2007
Monday 18 June 2007
Comrades 17 June 2007
Well, the 17th June 2007 was an interesting day, which started at 2:30am and ended going to bed at 8pm.
My brother Robert, ran the Comrades Ultra Marathon yesterday, and as his most avid supporter, I was very stressed out, hoping that he was alright the whole time, and worrying that he had collapsed somewhere along the side of the road, where I had no idea to find him. But, thankfully he didn’t, and made it to the end.
We left from home with Rob, to fetch Rob and Jason at about 3am, and got to Pietermaritzburg just before 4am, so the guys had time to eat breakfast before the 5:30am start. Unfortunately we (Paul and I) weren’t able to get to the start to watch them off, as only runners were allowed into the starting area. After they left the car, we went home, and climbed back into bed to get some shut eye before going to visit folks for Father’s Day. We watched the first man home smash (by 3 minutes) the down run record. Amazing really. Then we popped over to Paul’s mother’s house so we could wish Rob Happy Father’s Day. From there, we went to St John’s Avenue to see the Rob’s running through Pinetown. That is when the stress started for me. Thank goodness for SMS updates as they went through various points. Paul managed to work out time splits and they were right on queue when he said they would be. They were both sore and tired at the 20km to go mark.
After seeing them at Pinetown, we rushed down to Durban, popped in at my folks and wished my Dad Happy Father’s day, and had a bite to eat, and then it was off again to get to the finish to see the guys finish. Wow, talk about a buzz, and I must confess I was feeling very emotional watching these people who had run all the way from PMB finishing, some very broken from the effort. Amazingly enough there were some guys who were still able to sprint, and I mean sprint, to the end. Again I started stressing, worrying that the Rob’s wouldn’t make it to the end in time for the 12 hour cut off, and again, Paul said not to worry, they would be in with time to spare. Finally, watching for the white caps, and green vests, I saw them coming around the corner to the finishing straight. I almost cried with happiness. I managed to catch Boet’s attention, and we managed to get some photo’s of them finishing, and after the finish.
I just want to say to both, Boet and Rob, well done guys, you were amazing. I’m proud of you and well done for finishing. It took an amazing amount of spirit and guts to finish one of the hardest races in the world!
My brother Robert, ran the Comrades Ultra Marathon yesterday, and as his most avid supporter, I was very stressed out, hoping that he was alright the whole time, and worrying that he had collapsed somewhere along the side of the road, where I had no idea to find him. But, thankfully he didn’t, and made it to the end.
We left from home with Rob, to fetch Rob and Jason at about 3am, and got to Pietermaritzburg just before 4am, so the guys had time to eat breakfast before the 5:30am start. Unfortunately we (Paul and I) weren’t able to get to the start to watch them off, as only runners were allowed into the starting area. After they left the car, we went home, and climbed back into bed to get some shut eye before going to visit folks for Father’s Day. We watched the first man home smash (by 3 minutes) the down run record. Amazing really. Then we popped over to Paul’s mother’s house so we could wish Rob Happy Father’s Day. From there, we went to St John’s Avenue to see the Rob’s running through Pinetown. That is when the stress started for me. Thank goodness for SMS updates as they went through various points. Paul managed to work out time splits and they were right on queue when he said they would be. They were both sore and tired at the 20km to go mark.
After seeing them at Pinetown, we rushed down to Durban, popped in at my folks and wished my Dad Happy Father’s day, and had a bite to eat, and then it was off again to get to the finish to see the guys finish. Wow, talk about a buzz, and I must confess I was feeling very emotional watching these people who had run all the way from PMB finishing, some very broken from the effort. Amazingly enough there were some guys who were still able to sprint, and I mean sprint, to the end. Again I started stressing, worrying that the Rob’s wouldn’t make it to the end in time for the 12 hour cut off, and again, Paul said not to worry, they would be in with time to spare. Finally, watching for the white caps, and green vests, I saw them coming around the corner to the finishing straight. I almost cried with happiness. I managed to catch Boet’s attention, and we managed to get some photo’s of them finishing, and after the finish.
I just want to say to both, Boet and Rob, well done guys, you were amazing. I’m proud of you and well done for finishing. It took an amazing amount of spirit and guts to finish one of the hardest races in the world!
Pictures from the day
The SMS updates from the route
Lion Park at 7:19am. Birds are singing, legs are strong, life is good, nice day for a jog. 73kms to go.
Camperdown at 8:32am. Can’t hear birds above the pain, legs numb. Am I there yet?
Halfway at 10:49am. Damn birds must shut up now. Legs behaving erratically. 44km left? Really? Yikes…
Pinetown at 2:18pm. I could swear the birds are laughing at me. And at my poor legs. 20km to go.
Mayville at 4:08pm. Legs are still singing, birds hurting like hell. 7000kms to go. Who are you? Who am I? Why am I here?
The finish at 5:10pm. Those birds can laugh all they want, legs got me here. Finished the Comrades in 11:40:01.
Wednesday 13 June 2007
Happy Holidays
Ermelo (07 June 2007 – 08 June 2007)
On the last day at the park, we decided not to go for a drive. It rained quite hard the night before, so we had to wait for the tent to dry. Pack up was fairly clean, but it was spent chasing monkeys. Paul actually hurt his hand chasing one of the little animals that had made it’s way into the car to steal apples. We eventually left the park at about 11am, and it was the not so long drive to Ermelo. Let me tell you, I am so over driving at the moment, it is scary.
Our visit with Ouma was a good one, and it was wonderful to see her again. She has been terribly ill, and I don’t think that she has fully recovered from it yet. But, she was up and about and insisted on cooking roast chicken for us. She also made the most divine sweet potatoes I have ever tasted. I thought they weren’t going to be nice as I am not a fan of them, but, WOW! After a freezing night (the car was coated in a layer of ice) we fixed the handle of a pot lid that had melted, and that really made Ouma’s day and then after breakfast (bacon, egg and toast) we were on our way. We popped into Uncle Ernie’s shop to get some biltong and wors, and then we were on the long road to Durban. We were home by 5pm on the Friday evening which was great. By about 6pm we had already finished unpacking the car and putting everything in it’s place. Paul was a honey and made supper as well, as I was finished.
Kruger National Park (02 June 2007 – 07 June 2007)
We spent a lot of time driving around the game park, about 7 hours a day, and on the 5th we drove down to Berg ‘n Dal a camp which is renowned for seeing the Big Five. The game seemed pretty scarce most days, but on the second to last day there we saw our elusive leopard. We also saw a large male lion about 200m further down the road from the leopard, so it was a good drive, all in all. We did see rhino the day before, so we were very happy to save R240, for a night drive, as we already saw the animals we had been dying to see.
On the last night Paul relented though, and let us have take away food, so I had a yummy bacon and cheese burger with chips, and he had a Caribbean Burger with chips, and for the price we paid, it was certainly value for money!
We arrived this morning (02 June) expecting to have a very miserable day, as the wind was blowing, the clouds were all over, and there was definite signs of rain as we were driving. We were welcomed into the park by Wildebeest and Giraffe, and of course the friendly staff here at the Kruger. Further into the park we saw some Impala, Warthog, Elephant and Waterbuck, and a lot of bird life, but had been hoping to see more.
After setting up camp, as had some lunch, and I had a lie down, while Paul went to scout the campsite. He came back with pictures of lots of birds and was quite happy. Then we went for a drive, on the S100 road, and it turned out to have lots of game. We saw Giraffe, Wildebeest, Impala, Lion (lions can you believe it!!!), Elephant, Waterbuck, Kudu, a Puff Adder, a tortoise, Terrapins, Hippo’s, Buffalo and Zebra. Now, Paul is cooking a chicken flatti while I type this blog up. My fingers are about to fall off they are so cold, and I think that it is almost time to get the rest of supper ready.
Supper was great, and we finished just in time. While we were eating there were two hyena that were skulking around at the fence, probably looking for the food that some person will inevitably throw over the fence. While washing the dishes a lady said that it had started to rain, so here I sit, bringing you news of our holiday in the tent, listening to the drops of rain falling onto the tent with the wind shaking the walls around me. At least it is still warm in the tent, an I can feel my fingers again after the warm dish water.
Blyde River Canyon (31 June 2007 to 02 June 2007)
After a long trek from Royal Natal National Park to Blyde River, and I do mean a long trek (about 10 hours drive) we got to Blyde River Aventura Resort. Setting up camp went quickly, and we were one of two campers there.
On the 1st June we went for a walk after a relaxed morning by the tent, well not so relaxed, chasing away baboons wasn’t exactly relaxing, the apes stole a whole loaf of bread which Paul had just bought from the shop. Cheeky things! Anyway, we set off for the walk, and it was beautiful to start off with, lovely waterfalls, next to a clear stream. But, from there it went down, and down, and down, into the depths of the canyon, which at the end of it all was very spectacular, with the rest point for s being next to s deep pool with a waterfall into it. After a rest we continued, up and up and up, but it wasn’t nearly as much up as I was expecting. We finished the walk in about an hour and a half, including the stop, and it is supposed to take about two hours.
That night Paul packed most of the camp up and we went to bed, ready to leave quite early so that we could make the most of the time during the drive into Kruger. Of course nature had to play it’s part and we ended up having some rain during the night, which is never great when you have to pack up the tent the next day.
The Hike up the Sentinal (30 June 2007)
Talk about a long hard hike… we left at about 6am to get to the starting point as soon as possible and it was an early start. The drive took us about one and a half hours, and it was beautiful to see the sunrise. There was even in the early morning sunlight an almost identical mirror image of Table Mountain (Cape Town) which on the return trip, showed that it was in actual fact about 4 different mountains to make the one big one. As we were driving up to the start there were some frozen waterfalls, which were freezing cold to stand next to. I know, I did, and Paul did get some pictures.
After a smokey sign in, we started up the mountain. I was feeling very nervous as I had 2 chain ladders to climb, both of which I was sure were terribly high, and life threatening. It was a long slow trek up the side of the mountain, zig zagging to make the climb a bit easier. The reward for the long hard slog was the views though. There were some very dodgy sections where I felt like I was clambering across some sheer rock faces, but I am sure that they weren’t really as sheer as my mind was making them out to be, followed by some very icy wind. Then we got to the chain ladders… My heart was in my mouth as I couldn’t even see the top of the first one, and it looked scary. With some encouragement, and reminders of the pep talk and the how-to-climb-the-ladders talk, I started up the gruelling flight. It started out ok, but then the ladder moved, and I was terrified, but got there slowly, while Paul Stood at the bottom taking pictures of, well, my bottom! OK, so by the time I had reached the top of this ladder, I was trembling inside, and wasn’t sure that I could finish the next one, bearing in mind that to get to the end of the first one, there were some dodgy sheer, cliffs I had to try not look down. Then it was up the second one, which Paul raced up, while I tortoised my way up, and he took more pictures, this time of my face. I think I managed to hide the terror well enough. Then it was the top. The wind was howling, and could cut through you like razor blades, which I am sure it was trying very hard to do. The last bit of the trek was over the top of the mountain to get to the top of the Tugela Falls which was frozen. Not quite solid, but enough. The walk there was alright, with the river having a frozen surface. We managed to find a rock to hide behind, while we had a snack and then it was back into the icy razor blades. Paul wanted to look over the edge, which I did a bit, and the views were spectacular, even put the views from Table Mountain to shame a little. We could see everything, our camp, Sterkfontein Dam, everything. Then it was the trip back to the ladders, into the wind, which was even worse than the trip to the edge, and the ladders. So, I thought coming up them was scary, but I was sorely mistaken, the descent was even more scary, because there is no way to avoid looking down. The worst was the wind that seemed to howl through and in my mind was trying to pluck me from the ladder. By the time I was at the bottom of both I was shaking inside and out. Paul gave me a well done hug, and I burst into tears, from the sheer fear and terror of the experience. But, at least I can say that I have done it. It was smooth sailing from there, and at least there was a nice lunch waiting for us at Witsieshoek Hotel.
The Walk… (28 May 2007)
We decided to do the Gorge walk which can take you to the base of the Tugela Falls, which is one of the highest in the world. Paul said that to find a higher one I would need to fly to South America to the Angle Falls. It was pretty frozen right at the top, and there was some water. No need for fridges to keep the water cold, just get it out the stream. It was about a 22km walk and by the time we were finished, my knee was sore and my toes were very unhappy with me. It was a pleasant enough walk, one Paul said was flat… not! It wasn’t very steep most of the time, but towards the en there was a lot of rock hopping, which isn’t my favourite past time anyway. There were two points of real interest when we got to “the end”. Up one path there was a “cave” and I use the term loosely, as the hikers call the rock overhangs they sleep in over night, cave, but my idea of a cave, is like the Cango Caves for example, or the caves you run into bears in… So anyway, we went to the cave, which was quite big, and it gave us he view of the frozen top of the falls. The second path took us to a dead end, through a tunnel which was quite spectacular. The way back was not terribly eventful, for which I was grateful, and we got back in one piece. Grabbed something for lunch, and came back to the camp. After lunch, I took the opportunity to snuggle in my sleeping bag on my hammock and Paul took the time to test his new hatchet, which I got for him, and chopped some wood for the fire we had tonight. Another soak to defrost toes in the bath was needed, and then we had another frozen meal which was easy to sort out, and being the curry that it was, it certainly warmed us up from inside and out.
There is a group of the Netcare 911 guys here, for either a break, or a team building thing, and if it is the latter, the certainly are building the team. Sounds like they are having a lot of fun… I am also hoping all the noise they are making will keep the baboons away from the camp for a while.
Well I think it is time to turn in for the night and get some rest for the next adventure tomorrow.
The start of our holiday (27 June 2007)
The trip (27 May) started out well, and after some navigation disputes we decided to take the alternate routes as opposed to the toll routes, which wasn’t too bad.
We stopped at the BP at Cato Ridge as well, where we saw several rally cars, heading somewhere for a race on Sunday. It was all part of the Zulu Rally. More than that I can’t tell you as I don’t really follow rally racing. I also happened to see an old school mate and it was lovely. We didn’t get to talk much but it is always good to see people around. They were apparently on their way to the Royal Show in Pietermaritzburg.
Paul drove gently and the trip took us about 4 hours. I could tell just before we got to Mooi River though. There was so much smoke you could hardly see where you were going. However the stop at the Engen at Mooi River was a good stop with some yummy biltong as a snack.
We set up camp after arriving and had some lunch. I was amazed at how many guinea fowl there were here, and continue to be surprised. After a bit of a snooze we went for a gentle stroll to Cascades, where we took the opportunity to take a few pictures. By the time we got back it was getting very chilly and I still had to whip up some dinner. Very easy when you are prepared and have frozen meals. The problem when it is so cold is that the food doesn’t stay hot for long, and neither does the tea… which is a definite tragedy. A good long soak in the bath defrosted my poor toes after supper and washing up. I was delighted to find that there is a hydroboil here, so, if the need arises I can get instantly hot water. Yay!
The night was long and fairly cold, so much so that I had cocooned myself in my sleeping bag, and still wasn’t warm enough. Eventually at about 4:30am I decided to put the heater on, and pop out to the loo, and froze, to come back to a fairly warm tent, which was wonderful, and managed to get a good hour and a half sleep in before it was time to get up and have something to eat, and get ready for the walk… After Paul chased a big baboon away. They are quite brazen here and actually went into 2 tents, before Paul managed to chase him away. Then the Parks Board chap approved wielding a mop and a broom to chase the thing away. I was concerned that it would rip up our tent, but with all the people around the camp site today they didn’t seem too eager to come in again. It was a relief to see that they have made a definite move on the electric fence, and hopefully it will keep them at bay. It was amusing seeing Paul chasing after the baboon with a frying pan.
On the last day at the park, we decided not to go for a drive. It rained quite hard the night before, so we had to wait for the tent to dry. Pack up was fairly clean, but it was spent chasing monkeys. Paul actually hurt his hand chasing one of the little animals that had made it’s way into the car to steal apples. We eventually left the park at about 11am, and it was the not so long drive to Ermelo. Let me tell you, I am so over driving at the moment, it is scary.
Our visit with Ouma was a good one, and it was wonderful to see her again. She has been terribly ill, and I don’t think that she has fully recovered from it yet. But, she was up and about and insisted on cooking roast chicken for us. She also made the most divine sweet potatoes I have ever tasted. I thought they weren’t going to be nice as I am not a fan of them, but, WOW! After a freezing night (the car was coated in a layer of ice) we fixed the handle of a pot lid that had melted, and that really made Ouma’s day and then after breakfast (bacon, egg and toast) we were on our way. We popped into Uncle Ernie’s shop to get some biltong and wors, and then we were on the long road to Durban. We were home by 5pm on the Friday evening which was great. By about 6pm we had already finished unpacking the car and putting everything in it’s place. Paul was a honey and made supper as well, as I was finished.
Kruger National Park (02 June 2007 – 07 June 2007)
We spent a lot of time driving around the game park, about 7 hours a day, and on the 5th we drove down to Berg ‘n Dal a camp which is renowned for seeing the Big Five. The game seemed pretty scarce most days, but on the second to last day there we saw our elusive leopard. We also saw a large male lion about 200m further down the road from the leopard, so it was a good drive, all in all. We did see rhino the day before, so we were very happy to save R240, for a night drive, as we already saw the animals we had been dying to see.
On the last night Paul relented though, and let us have take away food, so I had a yummy bacon and cheese burger with chips, and he had a Caribbean Burger with chips, and for the price we paid, it was certainly value for money!
We arrived this morning (02 June) expecting to have a very miserable day, as the wind was blowing, the clouds were all over, and there was definite signs of rain as we were driving. We were welcomed into the park by Wildebeest and Giraffe, and of course the friendly staff here at the Kruger. Further into the park we saw some Impala, Warthog, Elephant and Waterbuck, and a lot of bird life, but had been hoping to see more.
After setting up camp, as had some lunch, and I had a lie down, while Paul went to scout the campsite. He came back with pictures of lots of birds and was quite happy. Then we went for a drive, on the S100 road, and it turned out to have lots of game. We saw Giraffe, Wildebeest, Impala, Lion (lions can you believe it!!!), Elephant, Waterbuck, Kudu, a Puff Adder, a tortoise, Terrapins, Hippo’s, Buffalo and Zebra. Now, Paul is cooking a chicken flatti while I type this blog up. My fingers are about to fall off they are so cold, and I think that it is almost time to get the rest of supper ready.
Supper was great, and we finished just in time. While we were eating there were two hyena that were skulking around at the fence, probably looking for the food that some person will inevitably throw over the fence. While washing the dishes a lady said that it had started to rain, so here I sit, bringing you news of our holiday in the tent, listening to the drops of rain falling onto the tent with the wind shaking the walls around me. At least it is still warm in the tent, an I can feel my fingers again after the warm dish water.
Blyde River Canyon (31 June 2007 to 02 June 2007)
After a long trek from Royal Natal National Park to Blyde River, and I do mean a long trek (about 10 hours drive) we got to Blyde River Aventura Resort. Setting up camp went quickly, and we were one of two campers there.
On the 1st June we went for a walk after a relaxed morning by the tent, well not so relaxed, chasing away baboons wasn’t exactly relaxing, the apes stole a whole loaf of bread which Paul had just bought from the shop. Cheeky things! Anyway, we set off for the walk, and it was beautiful to start off with, lovely waterfalls, next to a clear stream. But, from there it went down, and down, and down, into the depths of the canyon, which at the end of it all was very spectacular, with the rest point for s being next to s deep pool with a waterfall into it. After a rest we continued, up and up and up, but it wasn’t nearly as much up as I was expecting. We finished the walk in about an hour and a half, including the stop, and it is supposed to take about two hours.
That night Paul packed most of the camp up and we went to bed, ready to leave quite early so that we could make the most of the time during the drive into Kruger. Of course nature had to play it’s part and we ended up having some rain during the night, which is never great when you have to pack up the tent the next day.
The Hike up the Sentinal (30 June 2007)
Talk about a long hard hike… we left at about 6am to get to the starting point as soon as possible and it was an early start. The drive took us about one and a half hours, and it was beautiful to see the sunrise. There was even in the early morning sunlight an almost identical mirror image of Table Mountain (Cape Town) which on the return trip, showed that it was in actual fact about 4 different mountains to make the one big one. As we were driving up to the start there were some frozen waterfalls, which were freezing cold to stand next to. I know, I did, and Paul did get some pictures.
After a smokey sign in, we started up the mountain. I was feeling very nervous as I had 2 chain ladders to climb, both of which I was sure were terribly high, and life threatening. It was a long slow trek up the side of the mountain, zig zagging to make the climb a bit easier. The reward for the long hard slog was the views though. There were some very dodgy sections where I felt like I was clambering across some sheer rock faces, but I am sure that they weren’t really as sheer as my mind was making them out to be, followed by some very icy wind. Then we got to the chain ladders… My heart was in my mouth as I couldn’t even see the top of the first one, and it looked scary. With some encouragement, and reminders of the pep talk and the how-to-climb-the-ladders talk, I started up the gruelling flight. It started out ok, but then the ladder moved, and I was terrified, but got there slowly, while Paul Stood at the bottom taking pictures of, well, my bottom! OK, so by the time I had reached the top of this ladder, I was trembling inside, and wasn’t sure that I could finish the next one, bearing in mind that to get to the end of the first one, there were some dodgy sheer, cliffs I had to try not look down. Then it was up the second one, which Paul raced up, while I tortoised my way up, and he took more pictures, this time of my face. I think I managed to hide the terror well enough. Then it was the top. The wind was howling, and could cut through you like razor blades, which I am sure it was trying very hard to do. The last bit of the trek was over the top of the mountain to get to the top of the Tugela Falls which was frozen. Not quite solid, but enough. The walk there was alright, with the river having a frozen surface. We managed to find a rock to hide behind, while we had a snack and then it was back into the icy razor blades. Paul wanted to look over the edge, which I did a bit, and the views were spectacular, even put the views from Table Mountain to shame a little. We could see everything, our camp, Sterkfontein Dam, everything. Then it was the trip back to the ladders, into the wind, which was even worse than the trip to the edge, and the ladders. So, I thought coming up them was scary, but I was sorely mistaken, the descent was even more scary, because there is no way to avoid looking down. The worst was the wind that seemed to howl through and in my mind was trying to pluck me from the ladder. By the time I was at the bottom of both I was shaking inside and out. Paul gave me a well done hug, and I burst into tears, from the sheer fear and terror of the experience. But, at least I can say that I have done it. It was smooth sailing from there, and at least there was a nice lunch waiting for us at Witsieshoek Hotel.
The Walk… (28 May 2007)
We decided to do the Gorge walk which can take you to the base of the Tugela Falls, which is one of the highest in the world. Paul said that to find a higher one I would need to fly to South America to the Angle Falls. It was pretty frozen right at the top, and there was some water. No need for fridges to keep the water cold, just get it out the stream. It was about a 22km walk and by the time we were finished, my knee was sore and my toes were very unhappy with me. It was a pleasant enough walk, one Paul said was flat… not! It wasn’t very steep most of the time, but towards the en there was a lot of rock hopping, which isn’t my favourite past time anyway. There were two points of real interest when we got to “the end”. Up one path there was a “cave” and I use the term loosely, as the hikers call the rock overhangs they sleep in over night, cave, but my idea of a cave, is like the Cango Caves for example, or the caves you run into bears in… So anyway, we went to the cave, which was quite big, and it gave us he view of the frozen top of the falls. The second path took us to a dead end, through a tunnel which was quite spectacular. The way back was not terribly eventful, for which I was grateful, and we got back in one piece. Grabbed something for lunch, and came back to the camp. After lunch, I took the opportunity to snuggle in my sleeping bag on my hammock and Paul took the time to test his new hatchet, which I got for him, and chopped some wood for the fire we had tonight. Another soak to defrost toes in the bath was needed, and then we had another frozen meal which was easy to sort out, and being the curry that it was, it certainly warmed us up from inside and out.
There is a group of the Netcare 911 guys here, for either a break, or a team building thing, and if it is the latter, the certainly are building the team. Sounds like they are having a lot of fun… I am also hoping all the noise they are making will keep the baboons away from the camp for a while.
Well I think it is time to turn in for the night and get some rest for the next adventure tomorrow.
The start of our holiday (27 June 2007)
The trip (27 May) started out well, and after some navigation disputes we decided to take the alternate routes as opposed to the toll routes, which wasn’t too bad.
We stopped at the BP at Cato Ridge as well, where we saw several rally cars, heading somewhere for a race on Sunday. It was all part of the Zulu Rally. More than that I can’t tell you as I don’t really follow rally racing. I also happened to see an old school mate and it was lovely. We didn’t get to talk much but it is always good to see people around. They were apparently on their way to the Royal Show in Pietermaritzburg.
Paul drove gently and the trip took us about 4 hours. I could tell just before we got to Mooi River though. There was so much smoke you could hardly see where you were going. However the stop at the Engen at Mooi River was a good stop with some yummy biltong as a snack.
We set up camp after arriving and had some lunch. I was amazed at how many guinea fowl there were here, and continue to be surprised. After a bit of a snooze we went for a gentle stroll to Cascades, where we took the opportunity to take a few pictures. By the time we got back it was getting very chilly and I still had to whip up some dinner. Very easy when you are prepared and have frozen meals. The problem when it is so cold is that the food doesn’t stay hot for long, and neither does the tea… which is a definite tragedy. A good long soak in the bath defrosted my poor toes after supper and washing up. I was delighted to find that there is a hydroboil here, so, if the need arises I can get instantly hot water. Yay!
The night was long and fairly cold, so much so that I had cocooned myself in my sleeping bag, and still wasn’t warm enough. Eventually at about 4:30am I decided to put the heater on, and pop out to the loo, and froze, to come back to a fairly warm tent, which was wonderful, and managed to get a good hour and a half sleep in before it was time to get up and have something to eat, and get ready for the walk… After Paul chased a big baboon away. They are quite brazen here and actually went into 2 tents, before Paul managed to chase him away. Then the Parks Board chap approved wielding a mop and a broom to chase the thing away. I was concerned that it would rip up our tent, but with all the people around the camp site today they didn’t seem too eager to come in again. It was a relief to see that they have made a definite move on the electric fence, and hopefully it will keep them at bay. It was amusing seeing Paul chasing after the baboon with a frying pan.
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