The year is flying by, March is upon us, and next thing
will be the Easter Holidays with long range hiking trip to
Probably a highlight of the past few weeks was the very
interesting talk given by Franz Prince on the Bushmen of the Drakensberg. I have
had very good feed back from a number of members who were at the talk, so we
will have to get Franz back on another evening to tell us more about this
fascinating mountain of ours, and its past inhabitors.
Those of us who have taken the time to hike over these
past few weeks will no doubt tell of the wet conditions experienced in the berg
during this time. Here is where good
raingear is a must, not a luxury.
Walking in wet boots, clothes and hiking gear is not too much fun. Then there is the task of getting everything
dry over the next few days to be ready for the next trip. A really “special treat” for some has been
the experience of spending the night in a small tent, in the middle of nowhere
in the mountains, with the rain falling on the tent, and the thunder rumbling
all around. To be so warmly tucked up
in your sleepingbag, on a nice comfortable “blow up mattress” to hear and feel
“Mother Nature” so close to you – is really an experience in ‘Being with
nature’. Quite unforgettable. Another soul moving experience is to sit by
yourself high up on the mountain, just you and nature,
and the awesome quietness and grandeur of the mountain. By shifting your position just a few meters here and there, you can put yourself in a
sort of “Silence Vacuum”, where all you can hear is the pumping of your heart, and then great
silence of the mountain. Move a bit more and you can hear the trickle of a
nearby stream . The listening to the silence, and just
sharing your own company for a while, is something that we have lost in this
modern day, where everything is “noise and rush”. It is a soul building to experience this
quiet period now and then.
In the next club newsletter I will publish part of a
newsletter that a young lady from a school group from
The next big event that should mean a lot to the club, will be the launch of the club’s new web site. It was agreed at a committee meeting some
time ago that the club should have a website that was easily accessed on the
web. Whilst we had the old site which
was run by Rod Hart for a number of years, it was not easy to find, and
probably not read by many people. Our
new web site which will be launched at the
club meeting on 7 March by Webmaster ROD HART, will be very easy to access on
the internet, and should be a very useful site to promote the club, and hiking
in general. To Rod Hart who has spent
many hours getting this site re-vamped and built up, we say to you Rod, VERY MANY THANKS. We appreciate very sincerely all your time,
effort, and dedicated work to get this website up and running. The site address is www.mhc.co.za
Remember this site name, tell your friends about it,
and keep yourself informed about the happenings by visiting it now and again.
One thing about keeping any website attractive and
interesting is that it must be up-dated regularly. This means that we need news items, and
write ups about the club’s activities.
This is where you come in. Your Committee and your Hike Leaders give freely of their
time to the club. The hike leaders
spend time in planning a hike, organising it, doing
the bookings, sorting the transport details etc, etc. Whilst leading the hike, they have many
responsibilities to the people in the hiking group, getting them safely through
the hike, and safely back to the cars.
It would seem only courteous, and hopefully natural that somebody in the
party would be able to offer to write a 10 minute story about the hike and send it to
the hike leader to have it
published in the newsletter and on our web site. Surely that is not too much to ask. But, a dentist has an easier job to pull
teeth without an anesthetic, than we get volunteers to do a write up.
New members, we welcome the following to the club
Mary Boucher; Wayne Clapham; Margret
Kirsten; Jeff Mayall; Barbara Stakes; Michael Sturgeon and Ashie
Thegahi.
The next few months up to the end of May are wonderful
times to be in the mountains. The weather is more stable, the incredible Autumn colors are taking over the green grasslands, the cold
is not that cold, and the steams are still running well. Take a good look at the club calendar and
plan to spend at least one day out in the fresh air with the club.
Only by your
efforts, will YOU GET THERE. See you there.
Hiking regards -
Dave
SWEETWATERS COTTAGE WEEK-END
Due to circumstances beyond the control of Keith and
Margaret, the cottage week-end of 19 – 21 May has had to be postponed. The next cottage long week-end will be from
Friday 18 to Sunday 20 August 2006.
Those members who had already booked and paid for the May week-end will
be given first option for the August week-end.
Please let Keith know whether you will be taking up this option.
Medolina Caravan Resort in Port Alfred has to be one of the
most tranquil and picturesque camp sites in the country. Thank you to Graham and Grethe
for recommending this venue,
Across the
Down through the park is a large dam, a paradise for
birds and bird watchers alike. We sat
and watched weavers busily building nests while calling for the approval of
their various partners. A large swimmingpool adjacent to a Boma provide abundant space for children to play, braais or just relaxing with sundowners. For the energetic the beach can be accessed
from the park by walking over the sand dunes and then down towards the sea.
Camp sites cost R55 per person with a discount for
pensioners. Wooden chalets, some of which
are situated on the banks of the dam, are available for those not in to tenting
or caravanning. Contact details of the
Park are Tel: 046 624 1651 / Fax: 046 624 2514 or mail address P O Box 420 Port
Alfred 6170.
5 February 2006
Leader: Mark Nellist, Mary, Libby, Tessa, Jack,
Campbell, Terry, Sandy, Rae, Shirley, Mike, Linda, Lynn, Barbara, Mary and
Aris.
At approximately 09h30 we got together at Chiarella
Farm, where Mark and Mary warmly greeted us.
We were more than happy with the arrangement that the braai and picnic
things would be transported by road to
Soon we were on our way following a beautiful route
along evergreen forests, open fertile land and farm dam. Our leader told us how he grew carrots
successfully here. He made a stop for a
break near the Sappi Fire Base and Airstrip.
We then proceeded and crossed the tarred Howick/Karkloof road onto the
gravel road leading to the Falls. Meandering further through many acres of
plantation we passed an old control point and after an 8 km walk arrived at the
main picnic site.
Words of admiration were expressed when we came in
sight of the mighty Falls, yet still one kilometre
away. A massive stream of water
thundered over the edge to drop down, splashing where it hit the rocky bottom
of the
Meanwhile Rob and Colleen had offloaded all the
necessities for the braai and picnic and in no time Rod had a fire going. At this stage Ozzie arrived from home and
joined our group. Libby, Linda and Jack
couldn’t resist the temptation and went further upstream for a refreshing river
swim.
We enjoyed in almost perfect weather the eating of our
meat, salads, buttered bread rolls and other goodies while sitting under the
huge, shady trees. A
really social get-together.
Feeling relaxed that another 8km walk was not part of
our outing, we boarded the two 4X4’s for the
return. I like to mention that Mary’s
friendly dog, Chinta was the 20th member of our picnicking group.
To Mark and Mary, Rob and Colleen, a
big thank you for a super day.
ZULU FALLS …. A hike to be …
Roseanne Dix
I had heard about “
Here are my
findings:
Tenting – room for 8 small tents.
Boma – there is a nice thatch boma
with a little room attached with some mattresses .. could sleep 3.
Shower – in a tree with photo opportunities!
Loo – Flush toilet with a view.
Hikes
– one walk of 9,5 kms – flat
bushveld with lots of animals – giraffe, eland, zebbies etc … lots of shorter hikes ideal for birding.
Waterfall – the camp site is right next to the amazing
Campsite – Rustic indeed ! Lots of firewood and a nice braai.
Vehicles – best for Bakkies. Cars can be left 2kms away behind a locked
gate – if necessary.
Cars are not a good
idea in the wet season.
Club Hike - Keith Ashton has agreed to lead a combined Club hike –
numbers will be limited as there isn’t a lot of space.
Private Hikes – if anyone is interested in forming their own group I
will give you all the details.
Price
– R50,00 pppn plus R100pn
for the “boma” (10 people = R60pppn)
Situation - Mooi River/Greytown
area.
5-day hike over adjoining farms: There is a 5-day hike in the pipeline – cost will be R1 000 pp (R200 per
day) fully catered, guided, and “slackpacked” –- this
will be done as a combined Club hike
OR
you can makeup your own party if you wish (10
minimum) contact me for further details
e-mail: rosedix@telkomsa.net Tel:
031 209 4420
BIRDS OF
On the trip along
the road towards the border-post suspended from telephone poles hung huge
nesting apartments, the homes of thousands of Sociable Weavers. Each bird knows exactly through which hole
to enter to gain access to its particular nest.
On entering Namibia the first birds seen were the Rosie
Cheeked Lovebirds, Swifts, Swallows and of course, the inevitable Doves roosting
on the wall above the waters of Hardap Dam. A pair of Martins were
cuddling up on a steel girder.
The Black Eagle made his presence known early in our
stay at Etosha, while the beautiful Lilacbreasted Roller obligingly posed for a
photograph. Grey Loeries,
Egrets, Guinea fowl, Francolins and a variety of duck all showed themselves.
From Namutoni Campsite the road
took us north towards the Andoni plains teeming with
a variety of game. The Tawny Eagle eyed
us from the height of a dead tree together with a large grey bird with orange
beak and legs which we were unable to identify. On this excursion also seen were the Western
Redfooted Kestral, Blue
Cranes, Lilacbreasted Rollers, Hornbills (yellow, red
and black), Crimsonbreasted Shrike, Whitebrowed Robin, Forktailed Dronga, more Grey Loeries, the
snooty looking Kori Bustard, Crowned Plover and the
Blacksmith Plover.
At a Blou Wildebeest
kill/death a Marabou Stork in company with about 50 Whitebacked
Vultures all sitting facing the same way, and a few blackbacked
jackals encircling them, were patiently waiting, so we were told, for the
arrival of the Lappetfaced Vulture, the only one with
a strong enough beak to break through
the skin of the wildebeest.
Further along the road we spotted the Pygmy Falcon, the
Marico Flycatcher and Guinea Fowl. A Serval streaked
across the road, so quick that it could easily have been missed.
The next day off in a different direction viewed a
Tawny Eagle in flight, the Whitequilled Korhaan and Egyptian Goose
From Namutoni moved on to Halali – the middle camp of Etosha,
where a female Sunbird (possibly a Whitebellied) took
great delight in trying to view itself in the windscreen of the vehicle, only
to end up on the bonnet as it skated down the glass.
From there found a Lesser Kestrel, again the
superior Kori Bustard, the Whitehelmeted
Shrike, the inevitable Pied Crow, Gobar Goshawk and a
most beautiful Bateleur cooling itself in the waters
of Goas waterhole, a real find.
At the camp in the vicinity of the restaurant during
the day lived a Whitefaced Owl, clearly seen, while
in the campsite above our tent roosted a lovely Scops Owl, very difficult to see as it was so well
camouflaged against the tree trunk. The
next morning when we arose it was back on its daytime perch, eyes slits against
the glare of the morning.
There were numerous LBJ’s
(little brown jobs) which are extremely difficult to identify especially as
most the time they won’t sit still for longer than a second or two.
|
HIKE GRADES/ RATINGS |
1
Very easy 2
Easy 3
Moderate – physical fitness advisable 4
Moderate to severe – physical fitness necessary 5
Severe – physical fitness essential |
PRE-HIKE /TRAIL PROTOCOLAs always a gentle reminder in order to assist our hiking club
leaders, please adhere to the following procedure when intending to join
hikes. Day Hikes – Please try to inform the relevant leader a week, or at
least 4 days, before the hike of your intention to participate. Week-end Camping/Hiking or over-nighting in Caves – Please try to inform the relevant
leader 2 to 3 weeks before departure date of your intention to participate. Long Week-end Trips & Longer Trails – Please contact the relevant
leader as soon as possible after publication of the hike in the Newsletter
Hiking Calendar. The above is to
assist the leaders in making or confirming the necessary arrangements, some
of which have to be made and paid for by the Club a long time in
advance. The leaders have to put a
great deal of effort into hiking arrangements. |