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The Cape-based members of the Patagonia group are training for the trek through the Andes by taking regular walks in the Cape Peninsula’s Table Mountain National Park. Here are some photos from those walks along with some older ones…

I’m looking forward to my first foray to South America, a series of treks in Patagonia across the Andes from Argentina to Chile and back, over 21 days in March. My good old pal, Peter, has taken some trouble to research and document the trip on his site, so I suggest that you go there [...]

At 1589m Victoria Peak is the highest summit in the Jonkershoek area. It is visible beyond the valley from Stellenbosch and is  often – as it is today – covered in a white blanket of snow. The route as shown in this Google Earth track winds up the eastern edge of the Jonkershoek valley to [...]

A Google Earth map of the Rim of Africa Conservation Mega Trail, Stage One, 120km from Pakhuis Pass in the northern Cederberg to the Koue Bokkeveld mountains follows:

Here are the photos from the Rim of Africa Conservation Mega Trail. It was an epic.

Tomorrow I leave on what I expect will be one great adventure – the Rim of Africa Conservation Mega Trail. This will be Stage 1 from the Northern Cederberg to the mountains somewhere around Ceres – 11 days of wilderness walking. As the blurb says – “a walk of no ordinary proportion”.
The vision of the [...]

The Kogelberg Biosphere and Nature Reserve is my playground. When we’re not kayaking here, we are hiking its many routes. Kogelberg is the jewel in the crown of the Cape’s floral kingdom protected areas that make up the World Heritage Site.

Five k’s from my home in Stellenbosch is the rugged Jonkershoek Nature Reserve. The area boasts the highest rainfall in the Western Cape, and two major rivers rise at the valley head: the Berg and the Eerste rivers.

The Cape of Good Hope Trail starts at the main gate to the Cape Point section of the Table Mountain National Park, and ends there 33.5km and two days later.

Fernkloof is a gem of a botanical reserve above the coastal town of Hermanus. Barely 1800 ha in area, it harbours upwards of 1474 botanical species. There are many paths and spectacular lookouts for all manner of fitness levels. The sensory returns are high for relatively little physical effort.

With Clarissa, a fellow mega-hiker, and Patrick I once more headed for Helderberg’s Dome. This autumn Saturday was hot and windless. On previous occasions over the years I have not climbed all the way to the top of The Dome and I was determined do it this time. But then perhaps I was younger and [...]

Plettenberg Bay: 17 & 19 December 2006: The Robberg peninsula is a nature reserve and marine protected area at the southern extremity of Plettenberg Bay,

400kms, 17 days, 6 mountain ranges, many rivers, numerous veld types: 11 – 27 August 2006
The first time I saw the phrase “Eden to Addo” it spoke to me. Then when I saw it juxtaposed with “mega-hike” the synapses fired in my brain. The concept was so evocative I had to go.

7-12 July 2005
This post is a photo journey down the Whale Trail. It was the second time that I walked this wonderful trail.

Franschhoek: 29 June 2003
Here’s a very short walk for great returns.

Kogelberg Nature Reserve: December 2002
The Palmiet River winds through the core of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. The nature reserve protects the most pristine and diverse fynbos in the Cape Floral Kingdom. There are a number of hikes of varying length in the reserve, but a favourite is a walk up the river. It’s very easy, [...]

17 …err… 18 – 21 July, 2002
Booking the Whale Trail is hard to do – it has become massively popular.
So when I got a booking for the 17th, it looked perfect for the last 5 days of the school holidays. The dates would [...]

“To Hell and back”: 12 to 13 May 2001
Well, not really. It was more like paradise. A perfect autumn weekend in the Cape mountains above Tulbagh and Porterville.

November 2000
Once again Peter and I headed off into the mountains above Algeria to find silence and isolation, accompanied by a lone Finnish traveller. But this time the weather stayed cool, and on the Sunday became even windy and rainy.

The Oorlogskloof River flows into the Doring River from the north, draining the Nieuwoudtville plateau. The 5-day Rock Pigeon Route winds through spectacular canyon-land and has been designed to take the hiker up chimneys, behind waterfalls and over great boulders. Negotiating these obstacles with a heavy pack can be quite strenuous. Water is scarce in [...]