19/20
August 2000
Meeting
at Bushmans Nek Nature Reserve, we, being Graham, Gretha, a not so healthy
Bushy, Mathew, Keith, Margaret, Graham, Penny and Dave, set off for Whites Cave
around 09:00 on a fair Saturday morning.
The start was steep and trying on the legs so early in the morning but
gradually eased up as we crossed the fire ravaged ground, which actually made
walking real easy.
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Once
we had reached the first summit, it was down, but not too far into the valley
with the radio point on our left and heading for a peak far off in the
distance. The walking was at a good pace with no hitches. We stopped up near
Painters cave with the most stunning San paintings of horses prancing and
kicking their hind legs in the air. This was a good break to recover and
proceed with the rest of the uphill pull. The climb levelled off a bit as we
approached rocky outcrops with huge stone weathered potholes and ledges.
Circling
above us were two large Maribou storks which were nesting in the rocky outcrops.
We stood in awe as we watched them circling with such grace.
Whites
cave was just around the corner and we arrived there around 2:30pm. The roof of
the cave being quite high and long with plenty of cool running water cascading
over the ceiling of the cave to one side.
It was really refreshing to have water so close - apparently a great
pool in the warmer weather. We all
collapsed for a few minutes, found a spot and then did a bit of exploring
before settling down for the evening.
It had been a great day’s hike and the smell of supper was soon in the
air. According to Dave’s thermometer
it was 100C - not
too bad. Once in andquot;bedandquot; the
stars were out and so were we.
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The
early morning sun crept over the rocky overhang turning it to a beautiful pink
colour. Everyone was up by 07:00 Sunday morning tucking into breakfast and then
packing for our return which took us on a gradual stroll down and round the
hill once again to see the storks nesting and the baboons barking down on the
ledge below us. We stopped at White
Horse cave to see the painting of the white horse as well as other exquisite
San paintings. We proceeded back at a
steady pace and then climbed steeply to intercept the original path after
cutting off our previous days lunch spot.
We caught a quick breather at the bottom of the hillside where we
decided to see Langalibalele Cave and then downhill to have lunch at Bushmans
Nek hut. The continual downhill
pounding took its toll on our knees but we all arrived in good spirits to enjoy
our last snack and to have our afternoon siesta in the sun.
We
arrived back in the car park around 3:00pm and enjoyed a refresher before
setting off home. A great big thank you
to Bushy for an excellent weekend. It
was very interesting and the weather was perfect - couldn’t have been planned
any better than that.
Graham
Robinson