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IN THIS ISSUE : From the Chair; The Christmas
Party; Mkambati Long Week-end; and The Wildways Free Training Course at
Cobham. All
interesting reading.
FROM THE CHAIR Dave Sclanders
2009 is now here,
and January is half gone – already. From
your Committee and Leaders, we hope and trust that you all have had a very
happy and safe Christmas and New Year period.
Some of your
enterprising committee leaders have decided to make 2009 a very eventful year
for all our members. With this in mind
Mary, Mark and Allison have come up with the idea of getting all of us involved
one way or another, in
our club’s activities. They have called it “THE BIG FIVE CHALLENGE”,
don’t let the name put you off, it is a good, fun, name, and in a way, no
matter what you do, it will be a “Personal Challenge” for
each member of the Club. You set your
own GOALS, and the Challenge is for you to do those Goals that you chose for
yourself. All will be revealed at our
Club Social on Tuesday evening the 20th of January.
The Xmas party went
off very well, and by all accounts, the venue was a great place, no matter what
the weather, the party would have been able to have been held. Thanks to
Allison for finding the venue for us. It was held at the St Mathew’s Church Hall in
Hayfields. A nice
close venue for all. Allison has already booked this for this Year
end party, the date will be the 6 December, so put this date in your diary now!.
Hiking has been
quiet over the December period. However,
for those who have had the time to do some hiking you would have experienced a
lot of “Different weathers” in a short space of time. The weather really testing
one’s ability to pack the right kit, and testing the kit from heat to rain. The training week end at Cobham, was a very
good week re-learning
how to cross rivers safely, how to fit and pack your back-pack,
how to make the best of a rainy week end. Most important, a session on the snakes of
the berg with real live snakes as models, and the latest thinking on handling
of snake bites. A most interesting and helpful session for
anyone hiking or walking where one could come across snakes, Mountain,
Bushveld, Lowveld, at home in the garden, anywhere.
The Contour
Traverse – that is to walk along the 2000 – 2300 meter contour path from
Lotheni to
New Members
Welcome to new
members Nikky andamp; Garrett Reynolds who joined at the Ferncliff
Hike on Sunday. Club membership now stands at 129 paid up
members. Again we would ask you to
actively recruit friends and family to join the club
We have a very full
and varied calendar
for the next few months, so watch the fixture list, and let’s see
you all at an event. All information is
available on our website at www.mhc.co.za, and from time to time
new snippets of information are added. Make
time to visit the site at regular intervals to see what is going on.
For those who still
wonder about the merits of hiking, here are some good reasons to get walking
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IMPORTANCE
OF WALKING |
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1 |
Walking 20
minutes can add to your life. This enables you
at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000
per month |
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2 |
My grandpa
started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he is 97 years old and we haven’t a
clue where the hell he is. |
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3 |
I like long walks especially when they are taken by the
people who annoy me. |
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4 |
The only reason I
would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again. |
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5 |
I have to walk
early in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing. |
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6 |
I joined a health
club last year, spent about 400 bucks.
Haven’t lost a pound, apparently you have to actually go there. |
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7 |
Every time I hear
the dirty word exercise I wash my mouth out with chocolate. |
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8 |
I do have flabby
thighs but fortunately my stomach covers them. |
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9 |
The advant5ageof
exercising every day is so when you die, they’ll say, ‘Well he looks good
doesn’t he!’ |
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10 |
If you are going
to try cross-country skiing start with a small
country. |
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11 |
I know I got a
lot of exercise the last few years .... just getting over the hill was enough. |
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12 |
We all get
heavier as we get older, because there’s a lot more information in our
skulls. That’s my story and I’m
sticking to it. |
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13 |
Every time I
start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the
time I leave, I look just fine. |
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You could run
this over to your friends, but just e-mail it to them eh! |
Have a great 2009
2008 CHRISTMAS
PARTY Noël
As advertised in
your Newsletter the first choice of venue for the annual Christmas Party was
the Cumberland Nature Reserve picnic site, a lovely open grassed area with
trees for shade and picnic tables.
Ideal! But, and this was a big
‘But’, no shelter should it all turn miserable.
Memories of the last minute cancellation of the 2007 ‘Do’ due to the
inclement weather decided your committee to seek out an alternative which would
provide shelter in the event of rain. As
we all knew, the weather had been rather unstable in recent weeks so rain was a
distinct possibility.
Vice Chair Allison
suggested we try St Matthews Church grounds in
With braai fires
stoked the air filled with the delicious aroma of cooking meat and
chicken. Those not braaing got busy
setting out salads, rolls and other goodies to accompany the meat to tickle the
palates of the hungry hikers and those who just relaxed.
One of the
highlights of the day was the presentation of prize winners in the various
categories.
Most new members
introduced once again went to Rose Dix who was awarded a long week-end for six
people in a fully equipped cottage at Mountain Shadows. Well done Rose.
Best Write-up went
to Brian Henwood for his article on ‘Ride to
Runners up were
Howard Townshend for his ‘
Best Photograph
went to Brian Henwood for his picture taken from Cobham entitled View of
Giant’s Cup framed by trees. For his
efforts Brian won a year’s free subscription to the Club. Again – Congratulations
Brian.
Highly Commendeds
were awarded to Keith Ashton – A pair of Hornbills looking at each other taken
in Botswana; Irene Wisdom – a delicate
sunrise with mauve hints from Makulumanae, Monk’s Cowl; Keith Ashton – Sunrise behind a group of
fishermen, Rocky Bay. Great work, all.
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Christmas Fairy,
Bushy, arrived with miniature Father Christmas, Andrew, grandson of Bushy and Pat
Kirby. The young old/man in red
checked on members selecting their gifts from the sack of loot brought in on
his shoulder bag. Most members
elected to retain what they had rooted out of the sack, so there was not as
much swapping as in previous years.
Either our members are becoming better shoppers or the purchases
suited everyone’s taste, especially the sweeter items. The afternoon
ended with tea or coffee served up with a selection of cakes and other
goodies, very much enjoyed by all. |
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Many
thanks to those who provided the tasty treats and to the hard working
organizers of the day’s programme. Everyone who
attended enjoyed themselves immensely.
To
our independent judges, Dick Jones for the write-ups and Tommy and Aileen for
casting their expert eyes over the photographs, many, many thanks.
MKAMBATI LONG WEEKEND Mary Clover
31 October – 3
November 2008
We left early on Friday morning to meet with the convoy
leaving from Pat and Bushy’s home in
Once through the main gate at Mkambati Nature Reserve
the sand road became pretty rough, and we were thankful for the high clearance
of our bakkies. The many puddles along
the way indicated recent rain storms, and in some places streams had washed
across the road. We followed the Kirby’s
to Reception, where we booked in, then drove about 8 kms further to arrive at
the Riverside Lodge. This consisted of
an L-shaped building with a wide veranda, snuggled into the corner between the
We settled in very comfortably and in a short time
lunch was ready. Chris, Margaret and
Hildegard arrived soon after, completing the party, and we all set off for a
short walk to the South to look at the
After breakfast on Saturday we drove back towards the
Park Gate where we parked the vehicles, and Pat and Bushy led the way to the
Icicici Falls, where we looked down into a beautiful pool about 30 meters below
us. Joan looked into her backpack for a
snack and was very touched to find that Andrew, who hadn’t accompanied us on
this walk, had remembered to pack his boot polish in her day-pack, just in case
she needed to clean her boots while she was out walking.
We walked on towards the Mzikaba River Gorge. The clouds came lower and a very light rain
began to fall, just enough to cool us off without making us too wet. As we reached the top of the gorge we were
amazed at the sight of
We continued on our circular route with the Superbowl
on our left, and came across four Ground Hornbills, the first of several
families we saw over the weekend. When
we reached a little stream which offered some protection from the wind, we
stopped for lunch. After a good rest we
returned to the cars stopping on the way at the old Post Office, and the
Mkambathi Store, a very old trading store which appears to be a remnant from
the days of the old Leper Colony and which is still operational today. Pat treated us to a packet of Lemon Creams
from the store which we ate sitting on the wall beside the shop.
We then drove to the
We had a braai on Saturday night. The weather threatened and rained a bit, but
the men seemed happy enough under the shelter of the trees, and in the end we
all moved our chairs to the fire to join them.
Sunday dawned bright and clear, and after breakfast we
climbed into 2 of the vehicles and drove to the spectacular waterfall where the
We wandered back along the sandy beach and as lunch
time approached we came across a small river which we followed upstream for a
few meters to find shady shelter beside the stream, an ideal spot for
lunch. While we were eating we watched a
herd of Hartebeest grazing on the slopes opposite us. After lunch we played
“Pooh Shoes”, floating our shoes down the stream to see which ones reached the
finish line first. Then we walked back
along the grassy plains towards the
The night was clear, so we all cooked our supper and
ate it outside in a big social circle, everyone a bit reluctant to leave the
circle to go to bed although we were all fairly tired after the day’s long
walk.
On Monday morning we packed up early, loaded the cars,
then set off again for the
Thanks very much Pat and Bushy for a wonderful weekend,
well organized, lots of interest, loads of fun,
fabulous people. Can’t wait to do it all again!
WILDWAYS
FREE TRAINING COURSE AT COBHAM Keith Ashton
10
– 11 January 2009
(Water
hazards, river crossings andamp; camp craft)
The
club was very fortunate to be offered six free training courses for leaders and
members by Andrew Friedemann of “Wildways Adventures”, these being:-
1.
Traversing steep ground and the use of rope. – Monteseel Training Centre
2.
Food and nutrition. - Monteseel Training Centre
3.
Water hazards, river crossings and camp craft – This session – Weekend Venue at
Cobham
4.
Restricted visibility navigation – thick mist or night – Weekend Venue at
Highmoor
5.
Mountain related illnesses and problems - Monteseel Training Centre
6.
Handling emergencies - Monteseel Training Centre
Several
leaders and members embraced the training opportunities and our participants
for this particular session were Margret Kirsten, Margaret Robberts, Chris
andamp; Brigitta Simpson, Hettie Randall, Chris Dobson, Dave Sclanders, Yvonne
Engelbrecht andamp; daughter and Keith andamp; Margaret Ashton. Mountain
Backpackers Club leaders and members also participated.
The
weather forecast for the camping and training weekend was very poor indeed but
undeterred Margaret and I set off from home about 06h00 with Dave in our brand
new Honda CRV to get it splattered with mud on the last section of the dirt
road into Cobham. We met up with Andrew
and Michelle Friedemann, Chris Dobson, Margaret Robberts, Margret Kirsten,
Chris andamp; Brigitta Simpson who had all arrived on the Friday. The latter five set off on a hike to
Siphongweni Shelter. We leisurely
set-up camp, socialized, had tea and
welcomed the other participants as they gradually arrived during the
morning – Yvonne and her daughter only just made it to the camp site before
their car conked out, but luckily two fellow amateur mechanics managed to sort it out.
After
a short morning walk along the river, the course proper started after lunch at
the
1. Do we need
to cross? - 2. Where do we cross? - 3. How do we cross? - 4. Pick your spot wisely. –
5. Prepare
carefully. – 6. Cross quickly but carefully.
Ten
River Safety Rules are as follows:-
1.
Plan your trip carefully and try to avoid river crossings.
2.
Have a leader with appropriate knowledge and experience.
3.
Check and continually monitor weather conditions
4.
Understand river dynamics – speed, depth, colour, catchment area and run out.
5.
Identify all potential hazards upstream and downstream, below and above the
water surface.
6.
Never swim alone.
7.
Always supervise children.
8. When in doubt – DON’T CROSS.
9. Learn recovery techniques.
10.
After your trip, dry and clean equipment to stop the spread of algae, etc.
Whilst
practicing our skills in the river Andrew demonstrated that even a heavily
loaded backpack will float in the river and promptly threw his backpack into
the river to prove it. Then it started
to pour down with rain and we moved onto the Pholela Hut veranda for more
training and demonstrations on how to make sure backpacks fit properly.
Andrew
then adjusted several members backpacks so that they fitted perfectly (even
including bending the frames as necessary) – the participating members were
delighted with
the results.
After
that we moved under a pre-erected large canvas roofed area where there was more
space for training with ropes and various useful knots – Again Andrew proved to
be an expert at tying knots and we tried to copy his various moves and to
remember them which at times proved a little difficult.
Then
it was time to socialise in wet and rainy conditions, several participants
opting to leave their tents and head for Pholela Hut – several of us scocialised with drinks and snacks in Chris Dobson’s new
8-person tent which was great – thanks Chris.
A
braai fire was lit on Saturday evening under the boma next to Pholela Hut so
that members could continue enjoying themselves over supper and drinks in spite
of the rain.
It
poured down most of the night but it brightened up on Sunday morning – so we
enjoyed our breakfasts and checked out the river which was now flowing much
more strongly – others had more short walks.
Andrew
then adjusted even more backpacks whilst we awaited the arrival of Mark
Edmonds, a snake expert from Underberg, for our Sunday morning highlight –
hearing all about snakes and concentrating on the most common and poisonous
snakes to be encountered in the Berg. He brought along two puff adders (a male and
female with different colours) and a smallish rinkhals (commonly
called a spitting cobra, although not a true cobra). The other common poisonous snake to be
encountered in the Berg is the Berg adder.
It
was fascinating hearing all about these snakes and their preferred habitat and
times they are most active – also Mark explained the latest methods and
procedures when dealing with the various snake bites .
Some of these procedures contradicted some of the older techniques. Mark
handled all the snakes expertly and safely, saying he had never been bitten as
he takes no chances. He irritated the
rinkhals to demonstrate how it rises from the ground and inflates its hood and
it readily tried to attack him. The rinkhals can rear half its body from the
ground to get into an attacking spitting position. When spitting it throws the
raised part of its body forward, often hissing at the same time. It
spits effectively up to two to three metres,
not aiming accurately but rather spraying the venom in the direction of its
opponent. Sometimes if approached closely it may play dead but keep a safe
distance as it could strike at any time, however bites from a rinkhals are rare
and fatalities are extremely rare. In the event of being spit in the eyes by a
rinkhals rinse thoroughly with water - even use urine if no water is available.
Then
it was time to get up close and personal with all the snakes and a chance to
take good photographs, however to stay at a safe distance and no one needed
telling twice about that.
All
in all it was a wonderful weekend and we all came away much wiser.
Thanks
to Andrew, Michelle and Mark for sharing their expertise and making the weekend
so interesting and enjoyable.
Thanks
to all other participants including Mountain Backpackers for your good company and
comradeship.
This
write-up will also be posted on the club web site, illustrated with
photographs.
Here’s
looking forwards to the next session.
