Florida Hiking and Adventure Club

DATE:      29 DEC 2011 – 1 JANUARY 2012

TYPE:              PORTAGE / CATERED

AREA:      MATATIELE

We all always look so forward to our yearly New Years hike, and this year I think we were so very lucky that we choose this one. Mehloding was probably one of the nicer hikes we have done, purely from the fun aspect. Also deciding to go for the portage and catering is a must, one can then relax a lot more and just enjoy. As always the company obviously also plays a major role, and I think we were just the best.

5 ladies, Flo, Theresa, Doréth, Barbara and Jenny, travelling in 2 vehicles, left Gauteng on 27 December and drove to Nottingham Road where we over nighted at Bellwood Cottages, a truly lovely place to stay, quiet, beautifully clean, with everything and more that one would need. We decided from the outset not to do any catering ourselves, we were after all on holiday, and so with much hilarity set out to find a place for our supper (yeah, I know when do we not end up laughing and giggling!)

28 December saw us doing the last stretch to Matatiele, and all went well (sort of, a bit of getting lost by one of our party before we entered Pietermaritzburg) up until the very last bit of gravel road. Here we met up with Peter and Carol coming from Umhlanga. The Lavina, Hyundai i20 all negotiated the morass of mud, water and huge potholes supposed to be a road reasonably well; including a few slips and slides. The BMW however didn’t fair so well and Jenny and Barbara found themselves totally stuck. We had to send our guide Dan and driver Shadrack in a 4×4, and only after having to go and find a chain did they managed to pull them out. Oh did Queenie earn her name here!

This obviously resulted in us getting to our first nights accommodation Malekgalonyane in the dark. You park your cars at Masakala traditional lodge and are transported in the very same 4×4 that did the rescue. Fitting 7 hikers, our guide and driver into the vehicle as well as all our luggage stacked on top, was another cause for lots of laughs and many photos. Our hostess Nontlantla took excellent care of us, making a feast fit for a king.

Day 1, 29 December, with Dan in the lead, saw us walking to Makhulong a distance of 12kms in very wet and muddy conditions with clouds giving us some respite from the baking sun most of the day. We had some take off our boots river crossings to complete as well. We passed numerous villages and were pleasantly surprised to see the very good condition all the cattle were in. Our hostess Kholu spoilt us with yummy little vetkoek and made sure we had ample and very tasty food.

Day 2, 30 December, Dan warned us was the long day, 20kms had to be walked to Maboloka. A sunny day greeted us and we saw the awesome sight of 2 spans of oxen coming down the mountain side over very rocky terrain each with huge bundles of fire wood being dragged behind. Quite a sight to behold. The lunch spot afforded some of us a chance to cool off in a stream, and later we passed the rock paintings as well. Our hostess Nomsa made the most divine bean soup and once again took more than good care of us. We never get things right – and this was the night we ended up partying a bit.

Day 3, 31 December, saw us leave to do the 15kms to Madlangala with some very ominous clouds keeping us company. We had some more river crossings to get behind us before we ended up walking most of the day in thundershowers accompanied by hail. Drowned rats had nothing on us all.  The sodden and soaked hikers that we were, managed to get most of our clothing relatively dry before the next morning, and our hostess Cindy kept us well fed, and I think most of us crawled into bed shortly after the sun set.

Day 4, 1 January (happy New Year!) was the last days walk out to the 4 x 4 waiting at Qachas Nek. Theresa opted out due to a nasty blister / sore toe and caught a ride with the 4×4 as well. We mainly had contour walking this last day, and when we saw the 4×4 in the distance we were all a little bit saddened that this really beautiful hike with some majestic scenery was almost over.

Once back at our vehicles we made our way to a farm Elandskuil just outside Kokstad for our overnight stay, stopping in Kokstad for a light meal first. We once again made a good call re the accommodation – another gem – well worth keeping in mind for further trips.

In conclusion this is a must do hike and although a certain amount of fitness is needed, Dan sets a very reasonable pace with a few short rest in between, getting you to your camps with ample time to read, relax, do crosswords and chat.

HIKE:              KORONGO

DATE:      2 – 4 DECEMBER 2011

TYPE:              BASE CAMP

AREA:      MIDDELBURG

Guess what?? Another gem of a hike. Well have we been lucky this year in finding some truly lovely venues and trails to explore. This is a “must do again” one, and we feel one could arrange a lovely year end hike here as well. The owners are very friendly and make you feel right at home, as do all the dogs around!

The lodge is lovely and there are chalets there that could also be booked, there is a game trail that can be done from here with a guide as there are white rhino around. There are two camps with 6 lion in, 3 in each camp, two females and one male, and we were so lucky to see two of the lionesses relaxing (until they saw the dogs!) right by the fence.

You leave your vehicles at the lodge and are transported on a game vehicle to Korongo camp itself. There is absolutely no cell phone reception at the camp, so if you want to let anyone know you have arrived safely its best to do so at the lodge. We were very lucky to see a lot of game on our way to the camp and Frans the driver was very accommodating in stopping to let us have a look and take pictures.

We oohed and aahed upon our arrival at Korongo – a sprawling lawn, swimming pool with a water slide, and lovely accommodation with everything one would need, even towels. The kitchen is also very well equipped. We opted not to have the generator running which would have given us lights etc, as there were more than enough lanterns around. Gladys and Elias took very good care of us the whole weekend, cleaning, washing the dishes, making the fire and cleaning this afterwards as well – total luxury for us!!

The two trails, blue and yellow, are very well marked and give you a very wide variety, the only small change we would like to see would be making the blue trail a fair bit longer. We walked slowly and dawdled a lot along the way but still got back to camp just before lunch time. We did however have a lovely afternoon around the pool and down the water slide!!

In conclusion we could actually not fault this venue and the trails at all and highly recommend this for any hikers or even for someone wanting a relaxing weekend away.

HIKE:              EYE VIEW

 DATE:      24 – 26 JUNE 2011

 TYPE:              BASE CAMP

 AREA:      RUSTENBURG / KOSTER

 I have specifically been trying to book more base camps for the hikers hoping that this would encourage more members to participate, and we seem to have been ever so slightly successful in getting a few more hikers going, we were 9 in total.

 The bad news here was the freezing cold front that decided to pass through on the very weekend that we decided to venture outdoors. The directions, maps etc were very clear, only Roza decided that she didn’t fancy the large silver gate and went looking for something else as the entrance.

 The huts are “Wendy” style huts, only problem being that they are very cold – I got the giggles lying all wrapped up – we resembled a lot of Egyptian mummies lying on the beds, which by the way were pretty good. The kitchen area was slightly small, and the fridges froze everything! There was also no hot water for washing the dishes, which in the summer months would be no problem, but the water was just short of icicles as it came out the tap.

 The ablutions made up for absolutely everything – even if you only visit this hike for these it will be worth it! Attention has been paid to everything one would need, quaint curtains, mirrors, stool and hooks as well as rails. Ladies please take note!!

 The braai area is a huge boma, with this massive area for the most impressive bon fire. The paper work mentioned that wood was available to purchase – which was fine with us, usually some wood is provided, and should you need extra you can then buy some. Bearing in mind it was extremely cold, and the bon fire was already stacked and we were then informed that it would be an extra R200 for the bon fire – from where we could take coals to braai with. It would have been much better had we known of this beforehand, it needs to be mentioned in the documents that go out to the hikers. Not everyone brings cash with them on a hike. And it then turned out to be R200 per night for the bon fire – a little bit steep we felt.

 The trail was well marked and meandered all over the farm. We saw quite a lot of game, from Zebras, Kudu’s, Blesbuck, and Rooibok to Warthogs. On the second day as one takes the last loop to the camp there was no trail to speak of, the markings were there but one had to hunt in the long grass for them and do a fair bit of bundu bashing. Quite a lot of the markings have been done on fairly small loose stones and these have been moved by the animals or even knocked over, maybe using droppers or even the trees would be a better idea.

 An enjoyable weekend was had by all, and one doesn’t have to travel all that far to enjoy this hike.

HIKE:              AMATOLA

DATE:      24 – 29 APRIL 2011

TYPE:              BACKPACKING – 6 DAYS

AREA:      KING WILLIAMS TOWN – HOGSBACK : EASTERN CAPE

After many months of planning we were finally faced with doing this BIG hike. And although it is not an easy hike, not a hike one does purely for enjoyment, it has to still be one – if not THE top hike – in South Africa. There are a lot of problems that need to be addressed, but to my mind even taking that all into account – this is still THE hike to put on your to do list.

 It is a very difficult hike and one does need to be extremely fit to make this an enjoyable experience . After careful planning we used only 2 vehicles thereby hopefully keeping the travelling cost to a minimum. We again decided to overnight in the little town of Rouxville ,where we stayed at Tinkerbell, and once again I have to highly recommend it. We had a wonderful evening playing pool, with much laughter and after travelling together arrived safely at the Amatola Mountain View Guest House in King Williams Town. The accommodation was great we had such fun playing pool, but were very disappointed in the breakfast the next morning. Booking here to do the Amatola Trail the owners must surely be aware that hikers are going to want an early start and should maybe mention that if a breakfast is requested, they are not too keen on rising so very early.

I am not going to go into the problems day by day but do more of a generalisation of what needs to be addressed. No maintenance has been done on the actual trail since whenever, resulting in major erosion, with problems also arising as a result of the vegetation not being cut back. The foot prints serving as markers are reasonably spaced, but in a few places more are needed. The new wooden huts are a pleasure, but the ablutions at all of the camps are absolutely shocking – the showers at most don’t work, the toilets are either leaking or have no seats, attempts have been made to pull the hand basins out of the walls, and the long drop at the last nights camp – Zingcuka – appears to almost be falling over. All the huts now have donkeys for hot water, but except for the first hut – Gwili Gwili – and the last one – Zingcuka – the donkeys have been built too close to the ground and one cannot make a suitable fire to heat the water.

One has to be very fit for this gruelling hike, the distances are far and the days are long. When I did this hike the first time only on day one was there the option of doing a short cut, which we ended up doing purely out of ignorance, so this time round had to make sure we did the longer route. Well into the first days walk, I asked Maryke, who had done Kilimanjaro with her son last September, how she was doing, and her reply that Kili was a walk in the park compared to The Amatola . I think truly sums up what you let yourself in for on this rather gruelling hike. With the shuttle being almost an hour late, we walked into camp in the dark – not something we recommend. All the days are long, one does have to plan well, get up early, have enough short rests, and get into camp early enough to all have a decent shower and a bit of a rest before supper. And this we were careful to do for the rest of the days. In trying to keep the back pack as light as possible I think there were quite a few of us who under catered a bit on the food side, as that is your only option when trying to lighten the pack.

The ups and downs are nearly all extreme, but then most of the views also fall into the extreme category. Spending most of the day ascending up the one side of a mountain, getting caught in a snow storm as one crests over the top to boulder hop over this vast mass of rocks, seeing the “I thought these were only in fairy tales” red toadstools (Amanita Muscaria) to then descend down though the forest to eventually catch sight of the hut as it suddenly appears in front of you out of nowhere, is par for the course on this hike. And then on the following day standing on a contour path looking back over the valley one gets to see the previous day’s mountain, gorge, waterfalls, and it is almost enough to take ones breath away – when you realise the absolute extremes on this most beautiful Amatola trail.

In conclusion – while walking the trail I said that it was not a hike I would ever return to (especially having done it once before) but looking at all the photographs (it is just such a pity that the mud sliding, scrambling up over the rocks, hanging on the trees going down, ending up flat on ones backside moments, are not all captured), I am sure that in a few year time it is a hike one could and would more than likely do again.

You need to do a hike of this calibre with people you know well. I need to thank most of our little group of 7 that walked together, but there are some that need to be mentioned by name – Carol who so gallantly led us most of the way . You set a very pleasant pace, and then Albert who offered to be our brake lights and make sure that those lagging behind were ok . Thank you one and all, you were all stars!!

HIKE:              RHEBOK

 DATE:      18 – 21 MARCH 2011

 TYPE:              BACKPACKING / CAMPING

 AREA:      GLEN REENEN – FREE STATE

 Although only 4 of us ended up doing this hike, we had a wonderful time. Due to unforeseen circumstances some could not make it. We camped at the Glen Reenen camp site, and were pleasantly surprised – very well maintained, the ablutions were spotlessly clean and had just had a make over as well. Our little hiking tents sort of got lost among the caravans and larger tents of the campers!! We were also very lucky with the weather being very kind to us the whole weekend, no rain, cloud cover most of the time, but with a lot of humidity.

 Two of us had done this one before, at a different time of the year, so knew exactly what we were in for. And then our chairman Peter missed the last one due to being so very allergic to the Gluwein. It is not an easy hike, both days are fairly long, about 14kms has to be covered on both days, all up and down in the mountains.

 The trail itself and the markings on day one up until you start your descent down to the road, are fairly reasonable. Here and there we had to do a bit of searching, but one has to take into account the vast amount of rain that has fallen, resulting in extreme long grass everywhere. But once we started our descent there are not many clearly visible markers. Once one crosses over the road it is not a pleasant walk to the hut, no effort has been made to make it at all interesting or to vary the trail, and again not much in the line of markers.  It’s a straight slog until you reach the hut. Having done this one I was so hoping that there had been some improvements done to the overnight hut, but this is not so. The hut has just the bare basics, 2 flushing loos, a shower with a donkey (which we ended up not even using), 6 three tier bunks sleeping 18, and a kitchen. All was relatively clean, there was ample fire wood, but should it rain one could not use the braai facilities as these are out in the open – no cover at all. One comes across such lovely overnight facilities, and then one gets just the bare basics – this hike is one of those extremely bare basic ones!

 And we were all prepared for the long uphill slog on day 2. Here some serious attention needs to be done to the trail markings. We wandered off numerous times in all sorts of directions hunting for the trail. The descent down the spine of the mountain is awesome, and here the trail is well marked and also very easy to follow. We opted to spend the night at the camping site once more, and then make our way home after a lovely breakfast in Harrismith at a leisurely pace.

 Doing this hike at different times of the year can make a huge difference to the typical lovely Free State views one gets here. Care needs to be taken not to do this in the very hot months as there is very little cover on the trail.

 In conclusion, a hike well worth doing, but if this had been a first time hike for us, we might have had more serious problems finding our way.

HIKE:              HANGLIP

DATE:      18 – 20 JUNE 2010

TYPE:              BACK PACKING

AREA:      MAKHADO / LOUIS TRICHARDT

Most of the hikers pulled out of this one citing “too far”, but we got away our usual time for a long drive, at about 1pm and reached the hike, even after “Heather” the Garmin took us to the wrong destination, with a fair bit of daylight still left. Turns out not to be that far at all. But then how far is too far!!

A truly beautiful area, there is a bit of walking through the plantations, but most of the time through indigenous forest. The Friday evening Madeleine and Stephen very kindly offered to do a potjie for us. This was divine and we ended up sharing with Jana and Radek, diplomats from the Czech Republic, who we sincerely hope will join us on more hikes. There was no kitchen and no braai wood but these were about the only downers we came across the whole weekend. We once again made alternative arrangements – used the hand basin in the bathroom for washing the dishes.

The overnight hut just sort of suddenly appears out of nowhere and is such a welcome sight. Showering in the freezing water was quite an experience that not all were brave enough to attempt, but most of us took the plunge. And we were then warming ourselves sitting in front of the huge “fireplace” in the middle of the hut. Here there was an ample supply of wood, and we made more than good use of it.

The second days hike is unfortunately a bit of a let down, as you wind your way back down the mountain. The hot shower at the end ALMOST made one forget the icy chill of the one the night before.

The trail was well marked, in good condition, and we all had an enjoyable time.

HIKE:              LESOBA

DATE:      21 – 23 MAY 2010

TYPE:              BASE CAMP

AREA:      FOURIESBURG / CLARENS

We had a nice turn out for this base camp. It is reasonably luxurious and also a very well maintained camp. As the chalets for the trout fishing were not booked, the owner very kindly upgraded us to these, and we were all very grateful for this. All the hikes in the Free State are gorgeous, and this one is no exception. The farm road is well maintained, and presents no problem.

We had our usual Friday evening braai, and due to the winter chills as well as the not too great distance needed to walk the next day, we decided not to leave too early on Saturday morning. The owner runs through the trail the evening before, and we had no problem finding our way, scrambling up the gorge to the top of the mountain, all along the ridge to have a look at the hole in the wall, and finally back down getting back to camp with plenty of time for hot showers and getting the braai fire going.

Sunday saw a few of the hikers doing their own thing and so the party setting off was a fair bit depleted. We started off losing the trail pretty early, but found it again after all doing some serious looking, and later on once we were scrambling up the steep mountain side we totally lost the trail once again, and no amount of searching could produce the lost footprints!! We then decided to have a leisurely rest right on top of the mountain, and just retraced our steps back to a certain point and headed straight back to the camp. Checking with the owner we had ventured too much to the left and should have walked quite a bit more along the ridge before we started the steep climb up.

In conclusion, a thoroughly enjoyable hike, well worth doing.

DATE:      9 11 JULY 2010

 TYPE:              BASE CAMP

 AREA:      BRITS

 We were pre-warned about the farm road not being in the greatest of condition, and were advised that we could leave our vehicles at the farm house and the farmer would then transport us and baggage to the camp. And knowing us we decided that we have done enough farm roads to manage anything, but this one was probably the worst we have come across. Poor Estelle did most of the 4 kms alone in her Honda CRV as we climbed out and walked nearly the whole way!

I was under the impression that this was a new camp / hike, that had the Green Flag accreditation, and yet the communal tent was not is a good state, the beds were all rickety and were on brick and rocks. The sleeping tent as well as the kitchen tent were on quite a slope. Some sort of a platform to level these 2 tents would be a good idea. I am just wondering on what criteria the hikes are given the green Flag.

The trail was well marked; the donkey warmed the water, but was too far from the showers and we had to wait at least 10 minutes before the water got hot, the toilets flushed, and there was plenty of wood for us to have a decent fire each evening. A large variety of the trees are name plated and there certainly are many gorgeous trees on this hike.

And then I of course brought Bela home with me (the Jack Russell puppy looking for a home). She is doing well, has fitted in nicely with the rest of my menagerie.

In conclusion, not the greatest hike we have been on – we were very disappointed with the state of the camp.

DATE:      20 – 22 MARCH 2010

 TYPE:              BACK PACKING

 AREA:      GRASKOP – BOURKE’S LUCK POTHOLES

 Oh and were we looking forward to this hike!! It had been closed for quite a while, and supposedly upgrading was also to be addressed. Ok upgrading where??? Phew what a disaster we had. Firstly the hike was over booked, there were beds for 30 hikers (my opinion – far too many), and 42 hikers participated. And then not all the hikers from all of the various groups had even arrived!!

Day one – you have to leave your cars at the end at Bourke’s Luck Potholes, and catch a taxi to the start, but Pauline very kindly played taxi for us, while the non drivers waited at “Paradise” camp. While we were waiting at this derelict house a guy arrived and typical of us we started chatting to him and lo and behold, this used to be his home. The place had been so trashed that I was glad this was not my home I was coming back to look at. The walk to the first hut was short, easy and relatively scenic. And then all turned into a nightmare…….there were 30 beds and we all together totalled 42 hikers – the crowd that had got there before us were not all the friendliest of people, and we had to cause quite a commotion to try and get a place for each of us to sleep, and mattresses for the group of hikers that were still behind us. They all eventually bunked down around the fire, and many of us shared mattresses.

The ablution facilities could have been used in a movie where they needed places that were derelict and abandoned. Loo’s not working, basins with no pipes, buckets to flush with, water leaking everywhere – to name but some of the problems we encountered. Hats off to Florida hiking group… you guys are awesome, thanks for keeping your cool and just getting down to the business of hiking.

The trail was reasonable, the grass very long in places, but we found our way with relative ease. The scenery was not as spectacular as I had expected, but the part of the trail after Bourke’s Luck Potholes (which unfortunately is still closed) where the canyon in more predominant – is more spectacular.

Our disastrous sleeping arrangements were obviously duplicated the second night, but by now we all took it in our stride. Not too much improvement on the ablutions, but here they were set slightly apart so the leaking water was not such a problem – we were at least able to put our back packs down on the floor.

And then the braai facilities are just not sufficient for 30 people, and the wood supplied was not near enough as well, we had to go and find extra wood.

I have sent in a formal complaint to both the agency we booked through, Mpumalanga Parks Board as well as HOSA. I have received a response from the agency as well as HOSA but to date nothing from the Mpumalanga Park Board. We are hoping for some action and not just a response – let’s see what transpires – so WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!

In conclusion, a rather disappointing weekend hike, and I would most definitely not recommend this trail to anyone.