L-R: Jacquie Kennedy**, Craig Bax, Annette van Wyk**, Janet Moore, Erica Davies, Kim Gaskell, Tim Gaskell, Janine Smith, Linda Bisset**, Ettienne and Santie de Villiers, Cheryl Devine, Greg Devine, Lyle Ownhouse**. Photo by Tony Bowen – meet leader. (**Temporary members and guests). The party of 15 comprised a balanced mixture of “old” members, “fairly new [...]
Anyone who was even half-conscious in the early sixties, and not living in a cave, has at least heard of, if not seen, the “Carry-on …..” series of movies. There was Carry on Doctor, Carry on Nurse and so on, a farcical collection, culminating in “Carry on up the Khyber” which would have been high [...]
Cockscomb mountain in the Groot Winterhoek range of the Easten Cape has a rich historic drape that envelops its shoulders, not unlike the frequent cloud and mist that swirls around its summit as exhibited on Wednesday evening when we arrived at Pinnacle Cottage, our appropriately named base camp. Its rich historical tapestry mainly concerns its [...]
On Saturday, the 2nd December 2023 the South Cape Section held their annual Christmas function. This time it was slightly different as we chose to camp and braai at Swartvlei Campsite. The weather looked a little uncertain a few days ahead of time, but when the day arrived in was a mild, pleasant day. 17 [...]
A Time Traverse in the Mighty Marloth Nature Reserve. This weekend’s hike was all about time, which for the seasoned mountaineer is an unavoidable factor that governs many plans and often creates the division between success and failure. On Saturday another and somewhat different dimension of time was explored. The first rays of a beautiful [...]
Near De Doorns, in the Hex River valley, with the outspread vineyards towards the north, one can see the majestic peaks of the Hex Mountains – and iconic peaks like Milner Peak, Buffels Dome and Buffelshoek Peak. I wanted to hike into that valley to appreciate the grandeur of those high peaks and the massive [...]
Ten happy members gathered on a perfect spring day to enjoy the hike through the dense forest on the southern slopes of the Outeniqua Mountains in the Goudveld region. From L to R: Jude Cobern, Nelia Parma, Anne MacGregor, Sandy Louw, Brian Cobern, Karin van Niekerk, Janet Moore, Dave van Wyk, Stuart Neill, with pic [...]
Dave Van Wyk, Alex De La Rouviere, Karin Van Niekerk and Jude Cobern (leader) The Cape Dune Molerat trail is a hidden gem in the Rondevlei valley. An easy circular walk that we started from the Swartvlei end and proceeded up the hill back towards the parks board offices along the sand dune ridge through [...]
Mad Dogs and an Englishman take a hike on the Poison Mountain... Our arrival at the Gifberg Holiday Farm was almost synchronised to perfection. This made the reception by our four, four-legged “hosts”, that much easier. They greeted us effusively, tails wagging enthusiastically – nothing unusual that gave their game away. Little did we realise [...]
Peak Formosa is known to have unpredictable weather, and it is thus difficult to make plans to climb. The scheduled climb this weekend was proof of this. Climbing this weekend was totally unsuitable with much cloud cover, rain, and in particular, gale-force winds from the west. The meet was thus moved to Monday, the lull [...]