8 – 10 June 2012
Report and photos courtesy of Keith Ashton
This venue is well run by Sue and Rory Brighton and has accommodation options consisting of 5 en-suite rooms, two dorms and a large campsite with electric points - there is a fully equipped kitchen and good ablutions with plenty of hot water. Sue also provides breakfasts; light lunches and afternoon teas etc - recent additions include a licensed bar with large screen satellite TV - great for sports events.
We had 16 participants for this weekend – John Fourie and Christie Exall (who won the prize for 2 free nights in an en-suite room, kindly donated to the club by Sue and Rory), Margie Forbes, Stella Wells and Harry Holderness, Melody Verbaan, Veronica Stander, Kevin Knox-Davies, Tanya Hall and Brian Merryweather, Francois Bietrix, Almut and Bernd Schultheiss and son Max and Margaret and Keith Ashton (Leader).
Day 1 - Fri 8 June – Margaret and I arrived after lunch and as most of the others were only arriving later we had a couple of hours walk by ourselves along the delightful local river with plenty of birdlife and we also spotted a Reedbuck (Bushbuck and Duiker also frequent the area) – we finished at the small timber bridge across the river and retraced our steps back to join the other arrivals – thanks to Rory for developing this new very local lovely short trail. We all then socialised in the bar and communal lounge area for drinks and snacks followed by our supper of Beef Stroganoff, rolls and salad or the veg option prepared by Sue – a great evening enjoyed by all.
2. Margaret walking towards the river - ridge towards Nhlosane in background
3. Birds in flight with lovely farmland in background
4. Margaret on timber bridge across river
5. Same bridge with Margaret but emphasising unusual cloud formation
6. Spot the reedbuck
Day 2 - Sat - This was to be our longest hike of the weekend (about 15 km) on John and Anne Black’s Farm which requires a short drive of about 10 km. John and Anne welcomed us as we parked our vehicles in their secure area. Then we were off on a cool morning to climb up the steep slope though an indigenous forest before emerging into lovely sunshine at the top when it was time strip off our outer clothing, during which time John managed to lose a clip from his day-pack so he had to make a plan for repairs as no one could find it in the long grass and he dazzled everyone with his bright yellow shirt (see photo). We still had more climbing before descending over rocky terrain, then simultaneously ducking under a fence and crossing a stream to carry on with more climbing until we reached the high plateau with magnificent views towards Nhlosane and beyond where we could clearly see Cathkin Peak, Monks Cowl and Champagne Castle as well as the southern Berg peaks Thaba Ngangwe and Devil’s Knuckles etc. From here was gentler climbing until we reached our lunch spot with fantastic unusual end-views over Midmar Dam and surrounds. After lunch we made our longish scenic hike back(snowing part of the time) via a beacon and mast to eventually descend trackless down to the farm. After arrival back at Boston T and a wash it was time to socialize in the bar area (near Rory’s warm fire) with drinks and snacks and to cheer-on South Africa’s win over England at rugby on the big TV screen. Then it was tucking into our supper of Curry, rice, salads and rolls or the veg option prepared by Sue, plus more drinks before heading off (now nearly freezing outside) to bed – thanks for the hot-water bottles Sue – a very nice and welcome touch.
8. Lovely end view over Midmar Dam at lunch spot
9. Kevin and John take in the view
10. A closer image of the dam
11. Margaret and Christie also admiring the view
12. Lunch and carbo-loading - Veronica-Margie-Harry and Stella
13. Another view of Midmar Dam
14. Re-grouping on our return hike
15. Rocky terrain as we approach the beacon
16. The beacon and mast - we can see forever- but threatening clouds
17. Harry at half mast - Clouds and Nhlosane in distance
18. Looking down towards John Black's farm - the ridge and Nhlosane beyond
19. A closer view of the farm - note the very old buildings at left
20. A crowned crane near the Black's dam
21. The old buildings close to the farmhouse
22. How did they lift these massive stones a 100 years ago
Day 3 - Sun – Now a very cold start direct from our base onto Paddy and Sue Carr’s farm, with some of our group deciding to relax more and do the leisurely river walk – the rest of us continued through Paddy’s land over varied terrain and the obstacle course over or under fences, crossing streams and brambles in places. I had indicated a shorter hike today but we had to keep a fast pace in the icy cold wind and continued with much climbing until we reached our high freezing point where we had a quick lunch or snacks, keeping as low as we could to avoid the bitter wind. Then it was a brisk hike back to base (having covered 15 km) to say our good-byes after an excellent weekend. Thanks to all our participants for your company and making it a fun and enjoyable outing. Special thanks to Sue and Rory for again going the extra mile to make us so welcome and comfortable.
24. Cold with full gear on before we return to base