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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Related posts:

1. Sea kayaking in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve
2. Sea kayaking from Hangklip to Gordons Bay
3. Hiking in Kogelberg

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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

Related posts:

1. Climbing Twin Peaks, Jonkershoek
2. Climbing Victoria Peak
3. Rim of Africa Google Earth track

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

Related posts:

1. Climbing Haelkop, Jonkershoek
2. Climbing Victoria Peak
3. Jonkershoek hiking

“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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Related posts:

1. Rim of Africa Google Earth track
2. More Patagonian trek stories
3. Patagonia trekking photos

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)

Related posts:

1. Volunteer Wildfire Services Jonkershoek
2. Jonkershoek hiking
3. VWS at Slanghoek fire

From some experience as a perennial applicant, the MCSA-Stellenbosch’s briefing e-mails are famously terse and lacking in detail. When I did Visgat with them for instance, no one mentioned that a  lilo may be useful – so I am probably one of the few to go down that canyon on a camping mattress. A recent e-mail about an abseiling trip stated baldly: Geen hoogtevrees! (no fear of heights!). Not exactly encouraging if this was going to be only your second abseil and you are a little apprehensive…

And so it was with the Witels too to an extent. I knew there’d be swimming and that my pack would have to be waterproof, and that there’d be some bouldering. But the 1000m climb and subsequent descent down “Happy Hill” to reach the Witels canyon came as a slight surprise. It was a good thing that we tackled the climb in the early morning and in the shade because the gradient is steep and the day turned out to be fairly hot. We entered the kloof just below Barrier Falls at about midday and settled into camp at Disa Camp with all other sound drowned out by the din of nearby Disa Falls. The sound of falling water makes for sound sleep though.

Day 2 dawned warm and windless – which was good because it involved a number of wades and swims, 10 swims in all, with the longest being Swim 7 which is about 200 m in length. Swims involve floating your pack and swimming it through a slot canyon that is otherwise impassable. We lunched at The Alder Ring which would also be a great place to camp (Witels derives its name from the Afrikaans for “white alder”). I found the boulder-hopping with full-pack and the longer swims, which I had to tackle with my boots on, quite tiring. On the other hand the heat of the day made the swims pleasant and refreshing.

We camped at Whiskey Camp which features a number of flat, sandy sites nestled in rock and bush – a nice camp. However, I discovered that the dry bag that contained my sleeping bag was anything but. Luckily the warm evening breeze dried the sleeping bag quickly. An excellent supper of pasta with ham, cheese and mushroom sauce amounted to the best food I’ve made for myself on any trail, although that may have had something to do with the energy that I burned on that day (a few kg’s were lost in total, which pleased me greatly)…

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 Google Earth Witels file and view it in Google Earth (download Google Earth)

Day 3 involved plenty of wading but only two swims and took us through the spectacular Happy Valley. Near Boulder Camp we came across some fly-fishermen who had worked their way upriver from the canyon mouth. We camped at Leopard Camp under a threatening sky while the fishermen wisely gapped it.

During the night the rain started but I had made a bivvy from my sieve-like groundsheet and poncho and actually had a great, dry sleep. At sunrise the weather had closed in and we decided to hike out without breakfast. The last couple of kays to the Witels-Dwars confluence were the most difficult and lousiest of the trip. Alien Port Jackson willow has penetrated to just below Leopard Camp and in places forms almost-impenetrable thickets. The boulders were now all wet and treacherous and I had two heavy falls that sent me rolling pack-and-all into the river.

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Alternative Google Map of Witels kloofing

The “full-house” brunch at The Mill & Oaks restaurant proved to be the absolute highlight of the day. I for one was bruised, scratched and sore, but satisfied to have “done the Witels”. I had even had the fingerprints on my right hand “ironed” smooth from supporting myself on hot boulders during the previous days, despite wearing sawn-off sailing gloves! The middle and upper sections of the kloof proper were however enjoyable and full of adventure.

I think I now know why the Witels has acquired almost-legendary status for the privileged few who have been and those that have heard about it and would like to go. It leaves its mark on you.

For others who may be interested in doing this kloofing trip with the mountain club I include these tips that I would have found useful:

• Be fit or be young – you are going to get strenuous, full-body exercise
• Rucksack – low-profile and narrow to avoid getting snagged on vegetation and to give your arms room when swinging between rocks. The paths are indistinct and almost non-existent. Some sections are a bundu bash.
• Rucksack – in order to prevent water-logging and thus carrying extra weight it should be made of a light material or have a cover that is watertight that you can float the whole pack in (obviously all content should be packed watertight – kayaking dry bags are the best)
• Wear shoes that can get wet and allow water to escape and have “sticky soles” (i.e. river shoes – although Paul, the guide, claims that a pair only lasts one Witels trip). I would try to find such shoes that are also able to protect the soles (stiff) and support ankles (wishful thinking, I think). My La Sportiva Halites did the job admirably, but are difficult to swim in! Sandals are not the answer – I tried them for part of one day and stripped one too many branches between my toes.
• Pack light and when it’s light go lighter
• Walking poles are not much use in the canyon itself, but are a great help for stability on the initial climb and descent into the canyon.

A GPS predictably doesn’t work in the kloof.

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Related posts:

1. Visgat Kloof
2. Jonkershoek hiking
3. Walking in Fernkloof

1. 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)
2. the bird sanctuary, that is located where the river enters the vlei, harbours more species of birds than any other place in the southern region of South Africa (according to the SA Venues website).

Deon and I didn’t know this when we paddled from the mouth to Stanford (almost) and back, a distance of over 30km. We do know, however, that we criss-crossed the bird sanctuary for quite a while and distance trying to find the main channel, as you can see from the Google Earth paddling track. The relatively high water level means that there are now plenty of false channels and an expanded delta – a water labyrinth in reality. The experience of two previous trips up and down the river seems to have taught us little.

We were also trying out a different sail design, which may have contributed to our aimless meandering (the previous one was lost off Rooiels is a stiff south-easter when a line parted and its design made de-rigging from the cockpit impossible). This sail is simpler and easier to stow but doesn’t reach well and seems to be a little unstable when the wind freshens. But at least it propelled us upriver at a steady 4-6 km/h in a moderate breeze from astern.

We spent a pleasant and tranquil few hours hearing only the swish of our paddles, the contented honks of the geese and ducks and the hiss of the breeze in the reeds . The 10-km haul from the river down the lagoon back to the launch site, into the breeze, proved to be a bit of an endurance test, however, to which stiff shoulders and aching muscles can attest.

Related posts:

1. Sea kayaking in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve
2. Kayak Rooiels-Pringle Bay, Kogelberg Coast
3. Sea kayaking and hiking around Robberg

It is interesting to reflect that when I was at ecoAfrica.com, another Stellenbosch-based ecotourism company, we launched a Google Earth layer for the Kruger National Park (2MB .kmz file; requires Google Earth) in early 2008, in the context of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. All the information was gleaned from publicly available sources. I am still very proud of that layer (I hope the guys are still maintaining it) and I am excited to see that MAPA is making what was then a vague vision of ours too, happen.

Our layer included:

• Lodges, camps, restcamps and trails camps
• Transport: roads, distances, routes, gates, airstrips
• Ecology: rainfall, biomes, wildlife census – all graphically represented
• History: how Kruger evolved and its borders expanded since 1884
• National park, transfrontier park and game reserve boundaries

Travel layer: lodge and camp locations

Travel layer: game lodge information

Ecological layer: animal census

Ecological layer: biomes

Transport layer: roads, gates , airstrips, routes, distances

Related posts:

1. Rim of Africa Google Earth track
2. Kruger Park and climate change
3. Hiking in Kogelberg

The summer fires have scorched almost all the peaks, but the expanses of green shoots promise a spring show second to none in a matter of weeks. The rains have been good and the spongy vlei on the Dwarsberg plateau, reputed to be the site of highest rainfall in the country, is saturated. The rain meter there gives the highest annual readings – but could it have something to do with the hikers’ “tradition” of topping it up from water bottles?

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 Google Earth Jonkershoek file and view it in Google Earth (download Google Earth)

Related posts:

1. Jonkershoek hiking
2. Climbing Haelkop, Jonkershoek
3. Climbing Twin Peaks, Jonkershoek

The weather forecast for this weekend promised nothing good. Consecutive cold fronts were expected to hit the Western Cape and the Cederberg can be an icy place when the weather turns foul. But although day two was pretty cold on the water, Saturday produced long sunny periods. Some of the rapids edged up into Grade 3 territory, but are fairly easy to negotiate in the inflatable, two-man crocs. Exciting and fun, without the fear that can sometimes grip one in the Batoka Gorge below Victoria Falls.

Related posts:

1. Rim of Africa Google Earth track
2. Cederberg – Wuppertal to Algeria
3. Klein River by kayak