Anysberg is a small mountain range west of the Klein Swartberg. It is about 35 km long and rises to a height of 1620 metres. The northern side is riven by kloofs, the biggest being Landsekloof and Prinseskloof, which lead right through the mountain. The range and the vlakte and hills to the north fall within a CapeNature Park.

Landsekloof

I thought that this area would be a perfect place to have an all-abilities-included meet to satisfy our matriarch’s request for more such meets, at the AGM this year. It turned out to be a divinely inspired idea. The group of 16 members of varying ability, was split into three groups. First there was the YFF group, which doesn’t stand for yoof but for Younger Fitter Faster. Then there was the medium group which is sort of self-explanatory, and finally the SOLL group. Weirdly, no one has yet asked me what that stands for. It is for sick, old, lame and lazy. Luckily there were no sick, lame or lazy members, only some slightly superannuated ones. No names, no pack-drill. You all know where you slotted in.

Well okay, some names. I asked Clive Louw to lead the YFF on a high traverse of the range. Gillian Forbes and Mari Swart, not knowing any better, volunteered to join him. This hike is 23 km long and took 10 hours, a pretty good time for anyone. It starts at the entrance to Landsekloof, goes up to and then beyond the waterfall, picks up the jeep track and follows that all the way to beyond the Ranger’s house and then down the zig-zags. The summit, Bloupunt, a pile of rocks along the way, was ascended.

The deal was that I would organise a pick-up at the Ranger’s house to save them from a 10km trudge back along the road to the camp. Thanks to Janet and Karin for actually doing the moving of cars and driving and waiting patiently at the end for a foot-weary YFF team. Janet actually walked a long way up the zigzags hoping to meet the YFF on the way down. A big up to Clive, Gillian and Mari for completing a gruelling hike.


The medium team had mixed fortunes, falling victim to Murphy’s Inverse Proximity Theorem which states that the distance to any objective increases as the square of the the difference of one’s age since the last time one did it, which for the mathematically challenged means that it’s much further than you thought. And bushier. We got beyond the waterfall but nowhere near the summit, is about all one can say.

The O part of the SOLL group drove up to the waterfall car park and reported having a great time.

So much for the mountaineering objectives, now for the real aim of the weekend – braaing and drinking wine. The chalet housing Karin, Janet, Mari and Claudine just happened to have the best braai area and that is where we congregated in the evenings for doing what we do best, chatting, drinking and braaing.

The weather was sunny but cold on Friday and Saturday, but a storm came through early on Sunday morning which scared everyone away from exploring Prinseskloof on the drive out. A pity really because by the time we got nearby, the weather had improved and a short walk to the kloof would have been nice. A few people were anxious about the road out being flooded, but it was quite passable, even for a small 2×4 Toyota.

Due to the near impossibility of herding a group of MCSA members together for a group photo, there isn’t one. You will just have to scan the attached shots to see everyone who was there. Thanks for all the photos sent, some of which have been used in the report.

Participants: Greg and Cheryl Devine (Meet leaders), Dave and Fay Barnes, Clive and Sandy Louw, Stuart Neil and Nelia Parma, Ruth Powell and Steve Ueckermann, Claudine Bennetts, Deborah Constant, Gillian Forbes, Mari Swart, Karin van Niekerk, Janet Moore.

Meet Leader ~ Greg Devine