A Hike and Some Flowers

A while ago Frosty and I had an awesome weekend hiking up Table Mountain and then we took a family drive to try and find some flowers in Darling with his brother and brother's girlfriend (it was overcast and there weren't many flowers out), but we did manage to find a stunning orchid farm and spent the morning walking around. And we had the cutest puppy join us for our day out - here are some pics.

View half way up Table Mountain

Pretty scenes at the top of Table Mountain.

The Conebush Protea (I think).

Frosty at the to of the mountain

Karoo Prinia

Karoo Prinia in black and white

Orchids from Duckitt Nurseries.

Orchids from Duckitt Nurseries.

Orchids from Duckitt Nurseries.

Orchids from Duckitt Nurseries.

Having some fun at Duckitt Nurseries.

Having some fun at Duckitt Nurseries.

Happiness is... running through long grass so fast that your ears stream out behind you :)

Adventure Time: Cederberg and Wolfberg Arch Hike

As all good adventurers must, we have started challenging ourselves. About two weeks ago, we spent the weekend on our first team adventure. With a few honorary Adventure Time members, we set off to the Cederberg, stayed at Driehoek Guest Farm, in their Groothuis. Fireplace, kitchen, place to braai and space to hang your hammock (if you bring one!) made for a lovely stay.

We spent Saturday hiking to Wolfberg Arch. We drank wine and cheese, braaied, rode horses (very slowly!) and rock climbed. All in all, a pretty adventurous weekend. 

The sun peeking over the hills on a beautiful winters day in Cape Town

Our weekend hiking group

Nothing says "Adventure" like climbing to the top of a rock for a photo shoot!

The cracks that you pass through, on the way to the arch

The most awesome hiking shoes!

Our first glimpse of the arch!

We made it!

My in-house hobby-ornithologist informs me this is a Cape Rock Jumper.
A bunch of these guys joined us while we were having lunch. They proved
to have discerning tastebuds and loved the Camembert cheese that one of
our party had brought along - eating it out of her hand! 

Me and Frosty in front of the arch

Wolfberg Arch Hike Information

The hike took us about 8 hours, round trip. And we walked slowly - the photo session on top of the rock was at least half an hour and we probably had at least another hours rest at the arch.

The day pass to the Cracks would put you back R50 per person. If you want to go all the way to the arch it will cost you R100.*

There is one place to collect water - in the wet season. I would suggest taking enough water for your entire hike if you go in summer.

It is suggested that if you want to get some amazing pictures of the arch, that you start late and spend the night up at the arch. The sun sets on one side of the arch and rises on the other. Maybe one day I'll be adventurous enough to try this!

There are some steep sections with a bit of scrambling at the beginning of the hike, but once you have passed through the Cracks, the rest of the way is pretty flat. Make a note of where you come out at the cracks - we may have got lost missed our mark by a little bit on the way back, luckily Runtastic helped us figure out where to go!

* At the time of writing this is correct - cost may vary over time, so please don't quote me on this to the people who issue the passes!

Adventure Time

So, when I moved back to Cape Town, one of my mates started a whatsapp group with a few of us and aptly called it "Adventure Time". It originally started out as a way for us to organise a few movie nights. However, as time passed, our group grew. More adventurous people joined us.

Now, instead of finding ourselves going to chilled movies and sushi or tea with my cheese muffins, brownies and other yummy things, we found ourselves doing a lot more adventurous things. Like going to musicals and walking out to dinner (which resulted in me spraining my ankle...too much wine of an adventure too soon, perhaps?).

Birthday Brownies

There was also that one time when two of our members decided to wake up at 4am to go and hike to the top of Table Mountain in the HOPE that they would see snow when they got to the top. That proved to be way too adventurous too early in the morning for most of us. They got lucky and it started snowing while they were exploring the top of the mountain!

Think it was worth getting up at 4am to see this amount of snow?

We've been a bit more adventurous recently and last weekend we managed to spend a weekend in the Cedarberg, which was great! I'll be posting more on that weekend soon!

Rhino Horn Hike

A few weeks ago I flew back to KZN with Frosty for the long weekend so that we could join in on another lovely berg weekend hosted by our friend Annie, and her folks.

We were able to spend the night before we left to the berg, and the night that we came back from the berg, with my folks, which was a lovely bonus to the trip!

Our biggest achievement was a hike up Rhino Horn; the guys were all keen to make it to the top from the start. The girls weren't so sure BUT as we got closer (and closer, and closer) to the top, our mindsets changed and we decided that we couldn't let the guys summit alone.

Some advice:
It took us about 11 hours and we entered through the Drak Gardens entrance.
We took lots of snack-type foods to keep us going throughout the hike. 



Here are some pics of our hike

At the beginning of the hike

The sun just peeking over the mountain tops

We had the most beautiful views for our entire hike

Most of this hike is in the shade, with pockets of sun every now and then

Frosty and I

Se and Annie

Tienie and Frosty managed to find some water for us at the last watering hole before the top

It was so chilly that a lot of the ice along the rocks hadn't yet melted!

There's a remarkable flat portion along the top of the mountain, before you get to the actual "horn"

Tired legs and hungy tummies, but we made it to the top!

Our group at the top of Rhino Horn

And all the way at the bottom again - tired but content

Hoare Hut Hike

Welcome back everyone, I've been pretty busy lately (and hence quiet here) but I have a whole bunch of new posts that will be getting published over the course of these next few weeks.

We've been doing quite a lot of walks and hikes recently, which is lucky, since rain has now settled in Cape Town and looks like it will be here comfortably, until next summer.

One of the hikes I did was to the UCT Hoare Hut (I've been trying to find out the relevance of the name, but haven't won yet). This was my first overnight hike ever, and I really enjoyed it!

Some of the members of our party bravely set off on Friday afternoon, carrying an incredibly large water tank strapped to their backs, arriving at the hut late Friday evening. When you see the size of this water collecting tank, you'll understand why the hike took a bit longer than normal! The rest of us decided to rather leave early on Saturday morning and hike up so that we arrived in time to help with the afternoon work.

Sunrise on the way to Waaihoek

The view from the bottom

Frosty and I

King Protea (South Africa's National flower)

Halfway Hut

There are a few parts of the hike that are very steep - but they're
definitely worth it!

There were 5 of us in total who hiked up together and it took us about 5 hours to reach the hut (if I remember correctly). When we arrived, we finished off the rest of our lunch and unpacked. We then got to work. Some of the guys focussed on getting a platform and drains up for the water tank, while the rest of us cleared the ground around the hut of grass and other things that could burn.

After a good afternoon of work, we took a walk for sundowners and were able to see the sun setting over the sea, even though we were a good hour or so inland! It was incredible!

The work team and Hoare Hut

Another hut on the top of the mountain, on the way to our sundowners spot

Romantic window shutters <3

Marc decided to stage a sneak attack...

Group photo - thanks Marc for organising and thanks everyone else
for a great weekend away!

The famous water tank!

After getting back from sundowners, we were treated to an awesome dinner (along with pudding) that was enough to ensure that all our tummies were full and happy (thanks to the cooks!). We were lucky that the river was flowing and were able to take refreshing baths in the river which was cold, but lovely!

The next day some of our party left early and the rest of us did a little bit of work at a hut that is a short walk from Hoare Hut (for the life of me, I can't remember the name!). 

All in all it was a great weekend away!

Some interesting info: 

• it took us just under 5 hours to get up 
• it took us about 3 hours to get down
• there should now be fresh water at the hut when you need it (yay!)
• there were 11 of us and we all fit into the hut comfortably, with room for even a few more!
• there are mattresses, a few blankets and even an old guitar at the hut
• it's quite a steep climb and not too many flat sections; if you haven't done this hike before, know your legs will be sore by the time you get home
• if there's enough snow, people often go skiing and stay at the hut overnight - I think you need sign up UCT Mountain and Ski Club (Frosty went last year and had a blast!)
• there are long drops with the most amazing views of the mountains