Birthday Post

Hello again. It's been a while since I last posted here, so I thought I would give a quick round up of what's been happening in the last little while.

It was my birthday 2 weekends ago and I was lucky enough to have my parents and grandparents in Cape Town to celebrate with me. We stayed at Yellow Wood Cottage in Kleinmond and I'm sure we'll be back - there is tons of room and it's within walking distance of the sea, which is great! I managed to convince a few friends to come out to the cottage for a braai on the Saturday afternoon - it was so lovely to introduce newer friends to my family and have them re-connect with my older friends.

Birthday Lunch with the Family - thanks Dad for this pic!

On the Sunday we went for a stroll around the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens, in Betty's Bay and then headed off to Hermanus for a delicious lunch before heading back for a relaxed afternoon. After a simple dinner, Frosty and I said cheers and headed back to CT and the rest of the family got an early morning delayed-by-a-few-hours flight back to KZN later in the afternoon. The joys of delayed flights!

This last weekend, I used two of my birthday gifts. One of them a Table Mountain Cable Card, to take the Cable Car to the top of Table Mountain and then, once on top and away from the millions of people who had the same idea as us on a sunny winters day, I was able to use my Roberts App to play calls of the Orange Breasted Sunbird to get them to come close, which allowed me to get some awesome pics!

Pretty pink flowers on top of Table Mountain

We found a Rock Kestral too! He (she?) was in the middle of their meal.

Nestled safely in the rocks

Silhouette of a sunbird 

Male and female sunbirds perched on some dry fynbos

Checking out the competition

Yay for cool apps that bring birds close to you!

A quizzical look from this guy when he couldn't
see who was making such a noise.

Don't you just love the colours on this chap?

A rather uncomfortable looking pose!

These guys are everywhere on top of Table Mountain. 
If you keep your eyes peeled you'll see them!

I was stoked to get this one of him just leaving his perch!

View into Hout Bay - pity it was a hazy day, but still a pretty view.

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!

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