ralphpina.com

Unfortunately – and unsurprisingly – my words were prescient: it has indeed become an “interesting” summer in the Boland mountains. Since December Volunteer Wildfire Services Jonkershoek (VWS-JNK) has been called out at least 6 times to fires in the local mountains (”local” is a relative concept – in our case it means 290 000 ha [...]

I’ve long heard of it and I’ve always wanted to go there. Much of the area is owned by the UCT Mountain and Ski Club and the Mountain Club (MCSA) is able to obtain permits. I went with the Stellenbosch section of the MCSA. But be warned: be fit or be young…

The Klein River and Vlei near Hermanus can apparently claim that:

at 80 km in length, the Klein River is the river with the shortest distance between its origin and its mouth in the world – 5 km as the crow flies (according to the Stanford Tourism Bureau)
the bird sanctuary, that is located where the river [...]

Here’s a worthy project – the MAPA Project. It intends mapping more than a thousand of Africa’s protected areas on Google Earth in the interests of biodiversity conservation. The first Google Earth layer has just appeared and can be downloaded from the Google Earth Outreach Showcase. MAPA is driven by March Turnbull, an environmental journalist, [...]

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 [...]

The Doring drains the Tankwa Karoo through the Cederberg range into the Olifants River. It can only be rafted in the winter-rainfall months of July to September. Photos and a Google Earth file.

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:

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.

Mumbo Island is one of the great places in Africa. Imagine a tropical island surrounded by warm, clear water and freshwater, tropical fish.

April 2008
An essential element of our Eastern Cape road-trip in April was to spend time in the Baviaanskloof again. The kloof was probably the most memorable section of the 400+km Eden to Addo mega-hike that I had done in 2006. We tackled it from east to west this time, [...]

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.

On most weekends, Deon and I paddle and sail this coast, spending countless enjoyable hours.

Limpopo National Park, Mozambique: September 2007
Circles in the Bush
(With apologies to Dalene Matthee…)
Machampane Wilderness Camp shares the western bank of the Machampane River with tall fever trees at a pool called Xisivene – which apparently means “deep pool”.
The wilderness trail experience that runs out of the camp is similarly structured to the iconic trails that [...]

A 153km walking safari following the courses of the Tsavo and Galana rivers through Tsavo National Park, Kenya: June 2007

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.

Well, it’s not quite hardcore kayaking. Sometime in 2002 I had tired of waiting for wind that sometimes never comes during twenty-nine or more years of windsurfing. Now there was an alternative.