I am a football fanatic – always have been. That South Africa would one-day host the World

The Orange Legion

Cup seemed completely inconceivable when I was growing up in the apartheid era. When SA won the right to host it the sceptics – especially some expats justifying their decisions to flee, remnant local bitterbekke for whom the “new SA” can do no right, and the European media – doubted the country’s ability to host the biggest sporting event in the world. There would have to be a Plan B, an alternative host, if SA failed to meet the deadlines; the stadia wouldn’t be ready; security was a mess; etc., etc.  But we have done such a fantastic job that FIFA was moved to announce yesterday – tongue-in-cheek but also with an eye on all the Euro-sceptics – that SA would be “Plan B” for all future hosts of the World Cup.

I have attended 6 matches at Green Point and in PE so far and believe me, South Africa has been a different country for the past few weeks. People are friendly, smiling and helpful; the mood is euphoric despite Bafana’s exit; the people know we are doing a good job. Of course, some cynics might say that is because FIFA is temporarily the unelected government, in effect governing by decree. But something has changed (once again) in this incredible country. I can’t put my finger on it – it feels like that “something” that was afoot in 1994-5.

South Africa has enormous developmental challenges and is at risk from endemic poverty and growing inequality, a rapacious ruling elite, not to mention ecological degradation and attendant sustainability issues. Many will claim that we have subsidised FIFA profits with taxpayers’ money and that may be true, and if one views “development” as purely a financial transaction then such a view is justified.

Green Point Stadium on match night

However, besides the infrastructural investments that have been made, such as in public transport where there has been an absolute sea change to which I can personally attest, and ICT, the intangible developmental value is enormous I think. South Africans’ “can do” mentality is more deeply and widely pervasive, much human capital has been created in the form of institutions, voluntarism, training, organisation, etc. Above all, the value of aligning everybody behind a common, desirable goal should not be under-estimated – and that is an important lesson when we face our looming challenges.

Finally, back to the football. The photos are mainly about our attendance of the matches featuring my beloved Oranje. The good-natured Oranje Legioen painted the city orange – De Kaap is weer Hollands (The Cape is Dutch again – a common Cape saying referring to 1803 when the British handed the Cape back to the Dutch – meaning that everything is back to normal again). For my family it was a special day as my dad immigrated from war-ravaged Holland in 1949 and consequently we have always maintained a strong identification with the Dutch national team – although my dad assimilated and acculturated completely and never raised us as anything else but South Africans. I like to think of my footballing heritage as being Dutch, while in all other matters I am an African.

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Rooiels coast

On this crisp morning, Deon and I launched at Rooiels and paddled out to look for the first Southern Right whales of the season, but it seems it’s still too early. So we settled for a paddle down the coast to Pringle Bay and brunch.

A fairly heavy swell was running and we gave the point break at Rooiels, the scene of an earlier mishap, a wide berth and settled into an easy rhythm. Although glassy, the waves that reflected off the rocky coast made the water confused. We were none too keen to risk the beach break at Pringle Bay, but we found a sheltered, rocky channel behind the kelp beds and landed easily. A short walk followed by a healthy brunch in the sun meant that we were well into a perfect day. Helped by a following sea and a light southerly we powered back to Rooiels, beached without mishap and so exorcised the ghosts. A round-trip of 15 km. It was silent on the water save for the rumble of surf on rock – and thankfully the motorbike fraternity doesn’t seem to do Saturdays…

The Google Earth map follows below…

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1. Tales of Buenos Aires and attempted “muggings”
2. Tourist tales of Buenos Aires and La Recoleta
3. Down to Bariloche and the Lynch-Frey Trek – our “shake down” hike
4. Stunning photos of Laguna Toncek
5. Mixing with the hippies of El Bolsòn and hitting the Los Hitos Trail
6. From Lago Puelo, across the Argentina-Chile border to Lago Las Rocas – very beautiful
7. Of Chilean humour, footballing sheep and our first contact with Chilean farmers
8. The road to Cochamó: trail’s end and ferries too
9. The Chilean contrasts: Cochamó and Puerto Varas
10. Welcome to the Chilean rainforest! Valle Cochamó
11. The Refugio and conservation in the Cochamó Valley
12. Mud, rain and trench warfare – the struggle to El Arco and beyond
13. Paradise found: Lago Vidal Gormaz
14. The farm at the end of the lake – Soto and Amelia’s piece of heaven
15. Rio Torrentoso and Rio Manso
16. Return to Argentina and eating dust on the professor’s bakkie
17. Cycling the spectacular Chico Circuit in Bariloche
18. The bus to BA and final thoughts.

Peter's not in this photo because he took it... Left to right: Andre, Billa, Harald, Kelson, Xandra, Ralph, Elena, Claire.

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Photos of the Haelkop hike

3D map of the Haelkop hike

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Another 3D map from Google Maps

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Google terrain map of the Haelkop hike

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1. Climbing Twin Peaks, Jonkershoek
2. Climbing Victoria Peak
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3D map of Twin Peaks climb. If you can’t see the map, download the kmz file and view on Google Earth, or see the Google Map below.

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Stellenbosch MCSA outings often feature a number of ladies of … mature ages, shall we say. One of my climbing companions was 76 years of age – remarkable and inspirational. The photos below were taken on this particular hike. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy. Click on the photos to view them in a larger size.

From Jonkershoek album

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“The Earth never forgets that trees were its first thought”

This intriguing idea was carved in Spanish on a wooden sign as we left Puelo on our first multi-day trek on the Los Hitos trail to Chile. And when you enter the ancient forests of northern Patagonia you realise what the importance of forests and wood are to, not only the landscape, but also the culture. Wood is a solution for almost every problem in these remote areas:  building material, primary energy source, wood chips as line markings on a soccer pitch (near Segundo Corral), stepping “stones” on a muddy trail, bridging a stream, etc. The forest is alternately a searingly beautiful ecosystem and an oppressive, menacing green blanket, depending on whether the sun is shining or it is raining. But it always seems to be eerily silent. The absence of wildlife and birdsong is strange.

Lago Perito Moreno near San Carlos de Bariloche, Chico Circuit

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3D map of the Cochamò Road trek

Once we left Puelo and wound our way up the Chilean lake district, and then returned to Argentina via the Cochamò Valley, we almost never left the forest’s shadow. This is despite extensive burning by colonists and farmers in the 19^th century and clear-cutting by lumber companies in the twentieth. Chile’s southern temperate rainforests are the second most extensive in the world, but seriously under threat outside protected areas. In the vicinity of the Rio El Arco, the middle section of the Cochamò Valley, ancient Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) trees, which can live for 4000 years, have survived because of the area’s remoteness. It is hard to comprehend the notion of a living organism breathing in the same location for thousands of years. When we reach sixty years we believe we have acquired some wisdom – what wisdom does 4000 years bring?

“Anyone who hasn’t been in the Chilean forest doesn’t know this planet” – Pablo Neruda

Another abiding memory of the trek is the feeling of travelling a hundred years back in time when we met the local

farmers in the Cochamò Valley. Perhaps it was naïve of me, but I never suspected that people in South America in this modern age live lives of subsistence and isolation without any trappings of modernity, including electric light. Goods such as salt, rice, coffee and sugar are brought in on pack-horse trains. For the rest the farmers are self-sufficient, cultivating vegetable crops and farming with sheep, chickens and cattle – especially cattle. Income is generated by driving the cattle along the Cochamò “Road” to the sea every once in a while. When I first saw the “road” – pioneered by the Jesuits and made famous by the outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as their route out of Argentina to the Pacific coast – I could scarcely credit that gauchos could or would drive cattle on the narrow, muddy trail. And then I saw them do it – and understood why in places it’s a two metre deep donga with a floor of cloying, black mud and cow dung. At times, as the rain teemed down, we could barely progress at 1 km/h even with two walking poles each. We slid, fell, scrambled and cursed our way from El Arco to emerge from the forest north of Lago Vidal Gormaz on a remote farm, where the owner provided us with a shed to make a fire in and permission to camp on his land – despite the fact that he doesn’t like gringos (being South African held no water with him). Luckily, our co-leader Elena is not a gringo but a native Argentinean and a skilled negotiator.

That farmer was 86 years of age and didn’t look a day over 65. At the southern end of the lake we camped at Soto and Amelia’s farm, one of the most beautiful I have seen. Soto is 94 (Amelia 76) – we heard him working with a chainsaw in the forest the entire afternoon. He built their wooden house from Alerce (I think) shingles sixty years ago. They have eleven children who live in the coastal towns. Clearly, the simple but hard life promotes longevity. At those advanced ages, a rough two-day ride out of the valley could be fatal, so I guess those farmers are fated to die on their land, but I suspect that they would not want to be anywhere else either. Soto and Amelia were extremely hospitable and when we walked from their farm our rucksacks were bulging with home-made loaves, boiled eggs and farm cheese.

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3D map of the Los Hitos Trail trek

Refugio Cochamò is a new … “eco-lodge”, I suppose one could call it. It is a day’s walk away from the start of the trail at the coastal end and is a haven and base camp for rock climbers for whom the imposing granite domes that dominate the valley are the South American “Yosemite”. We came across groups of them during our two-day stay: steely-eyed types who stare into the middle-distance; intense and focussed, poring over climbing diagrams and sketches detailing the most difficult routes, annotated with the arcane terms of their obsession. A fascinating sub-culture.

We were certainly very happy to enter its warm hospitality after our first experience of “the road” in the rain. The refugio is owned and was built by an enterprising young couple, an American and an Argentinean, both climbers and it operates for six months of the year. It is powered by a 3.6 kW micro-hydro plant (50m head) whose excess energy is diverted to heating water, features LED lights and makes excellent use of natural lighting. The rest of its energy needs are satisfied by burning wood. Remarkably we were able to order pizzas for supper. A vegetable hothouse is in operation while other supplies have to be brought in by horse. Solid waste generated by the guests has to be carried out by them, and only organic waste is permitted to stay on site. To keep it as spotless as it is inside, guests have to remove shoes and wet and dirty gear and stow it on the porch. The system works a treat. Water supply is not a problem in this valley; it is carpeted by rainforest after all!

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Google Map of all the treks (if the 3D maps don’t work for you) with photos and their locations or download the Google Earth tracks of the treks

The land in the valley is privately owned and like much land in Chile is under threat from hydropower and logging companies (and the southern fjords from salmon farming). The owners helped mobilise an NGO, Conservación Cochamó, whose mission is to protect the valley’s natural environment and culture through sustainable development and responsible tourism. Their campaign achieved some success when Chile’s then president signed a decree that guarantees protection of 80% of the river’s flow as an ecological reserve. However, the new president, who was elected while we were wandering around Chile, is a conservative and true to his kind could reverse it. I hope not.

Photo slideshow

It was interesting to hear that the argument that Conservación Cochamó mounted deliberately avoided any environmental agenda and purely focussed on the economic benefits of tourism for the local communities. Having been involved in ecotourism myself, I am very wary of making nature conservation and preservation dependent on something as fickle as tourism. But hey – if the tactic worked to obtain an important, yet short-term, concession then so be it. The NGO understands the socio-political currents in Chile better than I do – but I do worry about the long-term security of the valley’s protected status.

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3D Map of the Frey Trek

In the final analysis, this trip was one of those “trips of a lifetime”. It had nearly everything: new cultures, different lifestyles, breathtaking scenic beauty, ecology, history, hard hiking, adventure, great companions and tour leaders. I suspect that South America has not seen the last of me.

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VWS crew runs through the fireline to safe ground. Copyright 2010 Andrew Hagen. All rights reserved. Served from the VWS blog.

Amazing photo isn’t it? See Andrew’s fantastic photos of VWS Jonkershoek operations and read the VWS report. The fire started after a lightning strike.

Hats off to the volunteers for their selfless service in support of CapeNature and SANP in defending our unique biodiversity (I can’t claim to have been there as I was trekking in Patagonia at the time).

On 18 April from 08h00 to 14h00 VWS Jonkershoek is holding a Fynbos and Fire Awareness Day at the Assegaaibos reserve in Jonkershoek (opposite CapeNature offices). Become a volunteer!

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1. Volunteer Wildfire Services Jonkershoek
2. VWS Jonkershoek firefighters in the Franschhoek mountains

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Here’s a prelim interactive map giving the photo locations, while I prep the GPS tracks:

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A crew of 10 volunteers reported to the Jonkershoek base at 06h00 on Saturday and then trucked through to Robertsvlei near Franschhoek where the firefighting base had been established. We watched the four Hueys set off up the valley to waterbomb the fireline while we waited for the Fire Boss to decide how to deploy us. Eventually, after a couple of hours waiting we boarded a Huey and headed up to a high ridge west of Fortsnek, from where we had to hike a couple of kays along the watershed to reach a fireline. We spent the rest of the day securing the line towards Emerald Peak with rake-hoes and beaters in a raging north-wester. It is amazing how a fire slowly moves into the teeth of a gale by causing adjacent vegetation to combust. So we were quite chuffed that we stopped that movement on the watershed, because from there the fire would move north into the Jonkershoek reserve which after sustaining 30% fire damage a year ago, has a lot of fynbos veld that needs to be free of fire for up to a decade at least.

In the late afternoon we radioed for extraction and prepared a landing zone near one of the peaks, but apparently wind and altitude (about 1300m) were concerns for the pilots. A debate then ensued about whether we should wait or start walking down. Some were apparently prepared to spend the night, but from experience I know that wind-swept mountains are not places to spend the night without appropriate gear. Eventually the wise decision was made to head for the LZ where we had deplaned in the morning and as we approached it from above the Hueys thumped into sight. The fast hike down to the LZ caused a couple of injuries, but we were happy to board the yellow machines – especially as it had become too late to pick our way down the mountain via Fortsnek.

However, the LZ which had featured intact vegetation but a few hours before was now a fire-blackened ridge. I don’t quite understand how the fire which was always south of us and on the southern aspect of the mountains somehow flared up north of and below us in Assegaaiboschkloof – this while a north-wester was blowing – and raced up the northern aspect to take the ridge late in the day. Our earlier satisfaction was immediately replaced by deflation.

To our surprise too, the chopper dropped us in a charred wasteland south of Franschhoek peak, on the opposite side from the firefighting base with the result that we spent about three hours waiting for a lift back. That was my first experience of a black ash-storm – the black stuff is still coming out of my ears.

If the track doesn’t appear in the window above or you don’t want to install the plugin in your browser, then download the VWS operation’s Google Earth file and view it in Google Earth (download Google Earth) or see the Google Map below

The crew was ably led by Mark Randall and Hayley Marrison (VWS Jonkershoek station manager) who are both extremely keen volunteers. They pitch up at every callout and work party without fail – dedication to the cause.

In reflecting on the recent fires, it seems to be clear that almost without exception they were caused by human activity. The big one in the Groenland mountains was started by an arsonist, while this fire was apparently started when a Working for Water work party’s cooking fire escaped control. I would be quite happy to never be called out for a wildfire, unless it was caused by a lightning strike or to help control a controlled burn; my attitude is informed by concerns about the conservation of biodiversity and the effect of too-frequent fires on biodiversity. So I believe that the VWS should emphasise fire-prevention strategies such as awareness-building and education more in its activities. By “awareness” I don’t mean “awareness of the VWS” but awareness about the causes, dangers and ecological implications of fires…

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News reports on the fire (sites open in new windows):

• Fire continues to devastate Cape
• Weather works against Cape firefighters
• Franschhoek fights fire fearlessly

Official VWS site – Want to volunteer? Click here (note: apply before March of each year)

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2. Jonkershoek hiking
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