Posts Tagged South Africa
October 18, 2009 at 6:50 pm
· Filed under South Africa ·Tagged cape town, De Hoop, dolphins, hiking, South Africa, Travel, whales
The Whale Trail is one of the slackpacking trails in South Africa, running through a World Heritage Site, The Cape Floral Protected Region. It is one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. Whales, Dolphins, precious fynbos, great bunch of hikers, fantastic accommodation and even 2 days of sunshine! What more to ask for?
I was so lucky because I was on the waitinglist for this hike. Sean had already made a booking about a year ago and 12 people signed up within a day. And I REALLY wanted to do this hike. 2 weeks before the start, Sean phoned me: I was in, if I still wanted. Of course! What a question! I was so excited and happy. Also nice distraction from whatever else was going on in my life. No cell phone for 5 days, I was looking forward to it.
Packed with enough food, wine and clothes for at least a month, we all arrived late afternoon at the first overnight accommodation at Potberg. Beautiful! The next 2 days we each hiked about 15 km and these were the toughest days of the trail. These days were fillend with sites of beautiful fynbos and flowers.
Beautiful flower of which I forgot the name...
From day 3 you start walking along the coastline and then obviously you spot the wonderful whales and we also saw many schools of dolpins. See here my favourite spot.
Braai area at Noetzie Beach
Lovely place to stay at Noetzie Beach
It’s really not a difficult trail as all your luggage is transported and you only need a day pack. We soon learned though that it was quite a good idea to keep some ‘essentials’ in your day pack because the boxes would often arrive much later than us. Especially the day when we were soaking wet from the rain and we all had to warm up by the fire, no clean clothes, no sleeping bag…Day 3 and 4 we had to suffer quite a bit from the rain and wind. Best was just to keep walking not to get cold. We didn’t even sit down for lunch.
See the whales...
During Whale Season (june – november) this trail is booked out about a year in advance. It’s about ZAR 1700 per person including transportation of your luggage. You can either make a booking for 6 or 12 but I would recommend to make a booking for 12 otherwise you’ll need to share rooms, kitchen etc. with another group which is not very convenient.
The last 2 days you’ll walk along beautiful rock pools. I brought my snorkling gear but unfortunately the weather was not so great that we could snorkle. We might come back in Feb and just come to relax and chill and enjoy the warm water.
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October 5, 2009 at 10:43 am
· Filed under In / around Cape Town, South Africa, Travel ·Tagged cape town, hiking, kirstenbosch, Rhodes Memorial, South Africa, summer concerts
Last Saturday we already got a little taste of what’s summer is going to be like. It was HOT, blue skies, no wind and just absolutely beautiful. So time to get out and get onto that beautiful mountain of ours. You start from the parking lot at Rhodes Memorial. You COULD have a GREAT breakfast at the tea room there but big chance you won’t start your hike and get toooo comfortable. Leave a few cars at the Kirstenbosch side so you don’t need to walk back (!).
The way up from Rhodes Memorial
I would say the hike is fairly easy in the beginning but when you get close to Kirstenbosch there’s still quite a long way up to come.We didn’t count on that and were surprised. You walk on the contour path from where about the block hut is to the top of Kirstenbosch. The views over the city and False Bay, obviously, are stunning and on this clear day we could see all the way to Hangklip on the other side of the bay. They have done the trail very nicely. There are many boardwalks that make it easy to walk. However, there were quite some spots were we had to scramble over the big rocks that came down with all the rains in August. Kirstenbosch is at it’s most beautiful this time of the year because all the flowers are just so colourful and look great. It was Saturday afternoon so many Capetonians were sitting in the garden having a picnic and enjoying the last weekend of the school holidays. We were just happy to lie down and relaxing our knees a bit after the long way down. It took us about 3 hours to complete. It’s a nice walk for hot days because you walk most of the time in the forest and are sheltered from the sun.
In Summertime Kirstenbosch organises Summer concerts on Sunday afternoons which are very popular and I can absolutely recommend you go to one when you’re here. It’s great fun to bring your snacks, bubly and just chill.
View over False Bay
See almost to Cape Point!
Devil's Peak
Ravine
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September 26, 2009 at 8:01 pm
· Filed under In / around Cape Town, Travel ·Tagged cape town, darling, riebeeck kasteel, South Africa, tienie versfeld reserve, wild flowers
And what a lovely day it was! Together with my friend and her mom we first drove to Riebeeck Kasteel. The weather didn’t look great for the day but road trips in South Africa, I simply LOVE! Afterwards we heard that Cape Town had been quite horrible, pouring down, so we were happy we left the city and drove up north, N7, to see if we could find some wild flowers. August and September (after the rains) are the months to do this trip.
First stop was Riebeeck Kasteel, such a lovely village, about 1.5 hour from Cape Town. It’s quaint, cute and perfect to have a nice lunch with a glass of Sauvignon. YAY! The sun showed herself just a little bit but it was comfortable enough to sit outside on the terrace. Riebeeck Kasteel is also home to some fabulous wine estates like Kloovenburg and Allesverloren (try the Port here, YAM!)
Quaint shops in Riebeeck Kasteel
Anyway, swiftly moving along because we still had to find some wild flowers! Driving back to Malmesbury and then crossed through to Darling. Millions and millions of Arum lilies en route, so beautiful and very tempting to pick a whole bunch but obviously can’t do! A bit further we finally found a field full of colourful flowers. It’s kind of an art to see them when there’s no sun and lots of wind. We only saw the different colours when we turned around. It was in the Tienie Versveld Reserve on the R315 from Darling to Yzerfontein.
After some fun in the flowers we drove through to Yzerfontein to Die Strandkombuis, a wonderful venue right on the Atlantic Ocean, specialised in sea food and only open on Sundays. It was Saturday today so no sea food for us but it was great to see the place and to dream about coming back when the weather is stunning with a whole bunch of friends and just chill, eat and drink wine the whole afternoon. Another one on the to-do-list for Summer!
On the road to Yzerfontein we got a bonus and saw a beautiful tortoise disappear between the yellow flowers.
Tortoise en route!
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September 5, 2009 at 8:07 pm
· Filed under In / around Cape Town, South Africa, Travel ·Tagged cape town, hiking, Hout Bay, Noordhoek, silvermine, South Africa
This morning my friend Liz and I were actually on our way to the Helderberg Nature Reserve in Somerset Wes, when we found out that THAT hike was not happening. Ok, quickly made a new plan to hike a bit closer and went to the Silvermine Nature Reserve. From Cape Town you take the M3 down to Muizenberg. At the end of the M3 you turn right and then go left up Oue kaapse weg, direction Fish Hoek. You will have spectacular views of Muizenberg Beach, Tokai Forest, False Bay, the back of Table Mountain and the city. Once you drove up all the way and turn around the bend, the entrance to the Silvermine nature reserve is on your right hand side. You pay an entrance fee of ZAR 20 pp if you don’t have a wild card (which I had forgotten..). There’s a beautiful dam so for those who just want to relax, take your picnic basket or braai kit and relax. It’s really beautiful! The flowers were amazing today as well. We keep smelling these lovely purple flowers and we don’t know what they are. Anyone?? They smell like very nice soap.
The directions in the park are not really super clear but there are friendly parking guards to point you in the right direction. You can’t really get lost because all paths go around. We first hiked towards Elephant’s Eye Cave from where you have, again, a beautiful view. Sorry, but we’re really fortunate to live in such an amazing place and enjoy all the natural beauty so close to home. We felt very privileged again today. WoW! After Elephant’s Cave, we moved back to the gravel road and hiked until we came to the look out point over Hout Bay. It must be one of the most beautiful sightings in the world. I’ve been around the globe quite a bit but nothing beats this!
View of Hout Bay from Silvermine look out point
And this picture was taken with a Blackberry!! Sure Liz has better pics as well. After resting a bit and taking in all this incredible beauty we moved on to we didn’t know exactly where but we took our time to explore the whole area. And then we found another great spot to relax and overlook Noordhoek beach.
Noordhoek Beach from Silvermine Reserve
We hiked for about 4 hours and felt ready for the week ahead again. The hikes are moderate, not too much climbing and scrambling, because you start already very high. So enjoy great views without tooo much of an effort!
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August 2, 2009 at 9:27 pm
· Filed under Travel ·Tagged cape town, hike, South Africa
Finally I did some hiking again today. It’s been quite a while but today was the perfect day. Not too hot and beautiful sunshine. The plan was to start from Suikerbossie, go up Table Mountain from the back side, traverse the plateau and then down via the Llandudno side. And what a hike it was! WoW!! The book said is was about 6 hours. It took us 4 hours. The first bit from the Suikerbossie parking lot, you follow the foot path sign, it starts next to the entrance of Ruyteplaas. Walk up the steps along the fence and then turn right. Now it’s a very long path just straight and quite flat. You will have the most amazing views over Hout Bay, Noordhoek and Chapmans Peak Drive. Really awesome. Then you pass a stream in some kind of enchanted forest which is absolutely beautiful. We got a little lost here but decided to just keep moving and went up to where the waterfall is. Another beauty! Then the tricky part started where we had to scramble up without really seeing a decent path. The scenery was too beautiful. Then we saw a second waterfall and it looked like this was also our path up the mountain. Hm, that’s why the book probably recommends you do this hike in Summer and not in winter(rain). Anyway, I’m always happy to hike with people that push me a bit and this lot certainly has no problem doing that. Jee, like klipspringers up those slippery rocks. It was a steep climb, yes, my feet got wet, but it wasn’t impossible. And going down that path was certainly not a healthy option. About 2 hours later we arrived on top. WoW! Certainly one of my most adventurous hikes ever and most spectacular as well.
Views from the top of Suikerbossie, back of Table Mountain
View from the bottom of Suikerbossie
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June 14, 2009 at 11:45 am
· Filed under Travel ·Tagged cape town, fairtrade in tourism, responsible tourism, San, South Africa
Every month I organise a day outing for XL members & families. Yesterday we went to a San culture and training centre, just 1 hours drive from Cape Town. The San (also known as Bushmen) are the first people of Southern Africa. They used to be hunter-gathering people but in more recent decades they mostly have encountered poverty and discrimination. !Khw Ttu is a living celebration of past and present San culture, an uplifiting and inspirational experience.
Although in the morning the weather was quite horrible we still decided to go anyway. After a nice capuccino at Newport Deli in Mouille Point we drove up the R27.
Upon arrival we were welcomend by the most friendly person EVER. His name was Andre and he introduced himself to us. The weather was still not looking great so we decided to sit next to the fire and first enjoy a hearty lunch. And hearty it was! WoW! Aubergine & Camembert Tart, delicious Bobotie and Risotto with Roasted Butternut to name a few.
At 14h00 we really had to make a decision what we were going to do. Rain was pouring down and to go for a walk or on a tractor ride was not really very appealing to any of us. We decided to just watch the introduction video and learn about the language, all the different click sounds are quite interesting. A well put together museum and photo gallery tells you about the history, culture and hardships of the San. One of the most amazing things I found the fact that the San have been able to negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry about the medicinal use of the Hoodia plant. The Hoodia plant takes away appetite and you can just imagine how this can be used in weight loss products. As with most traditional medicine, this knowledge his discovered by indigenous people but the pharmaceutical industry just uses this knowledge without sharing their profits with the indigenous people. Well, the San and their lawyers have done some groundbreaking work and have secured share in profits which is fantastic.
We will def. be back to learn about tracking skills and to gain botanical knowledge. Also the replica of the Traditional Village will have to wait until the weather is a bit better.
We had a great day out anyway. Other day outings: bicylce tour in Masiphumelele, Soekershof succulent gardens near Robertson, Bike & Wine, hikes and much more!
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May 25, 2009 at 9:37 am
· Filed under Travel ·Tagged biscuit mill market, breakfast, cape town, food, South Africa
Oh, this is such a favourite thing to do on a Saturday morning. I don’t go often enough but when I go, I ENJOY! Last Saturday I met a friend for breakfast at the Old Biscuit Mill Market. My usual routine is to be there quite early, between 9h – 9h30 because it tends to get very very busy a bit later. First I go get my coffee at Origins Coffee stall. Hm! Yam! The best way to start the day. Then, while sipping coffee we go in search of the most delicious breakfast of the day. I ‘eyed’ already a chef cooking up a storm and selling ‘the ultimate breakfast tart’,! Still, let’s check out the other places. Ran into another Dutch friend that was helping out at a pastry stall, YAM! That would be desert. The atmosphere in this place is just fabulous. I think the Hungarian stall would have to awarded with most beautiful stand in the whole market. Bit early though to have a goulash soup. Yes, we WILL taste the ultimate breakfast tart and it IS to die for! Filo pastry, topped with caramalized onions, mushrooms, crispy bacon and a runny poached egg, surrounded by marinated cherry tomatoes. Do I need to say more?? What a party at 10h00 in the morning. Make sure who ever visits our fabulous city, not to miss out on the market in Woodstock. After brkfst there’s still some shopping to do with handmade clothes, bags, jewelry, choose and much much more. What a delight!
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May 4, 2009 at 1:25 pm
· Filed under Travel ·Tagged greyton, South Africa
I almost forgot to write about our little get-away after Easter! My friend Fiona and me spend 4 nights on a farm just outside Greyton, about 2 hours drive from Cape Town. Greyton is really of-the-beaten-track and for those that really just want to relax, drink coffee in the local cafe and mingle with the locals. Within in no-time you’re up-to-date about everyone! We choose Oewerzicht farm as they allow dogs to come along as well so my dog also had a nice outing. He loved to be on the farm! Oak & Vigne was the local coffee place with YES, Origin Coffee, which is simply the best coffee in the world. On Saturday there’s a little market across the road from the church and we were so lucky to even attend a concert of Daniel Pascale at the Hotel. I tell you, Greyton’s on FIRE!! There are quite a few people offering massages and all kinds of other treatments so you can really enjoy some YOU-time. We didn’t explore very much the restaurants as we had a lovely braai every night and enjoyed the view and sunset from our farm cottage. You can hike from Greyton to McGregor which supposed to be one of the most beautiful hikes of South Africa. Will let you know when I’ve done it!
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May 3, 2009 at 7:16 pm
· Filed under In / around Cape Town, Travel ·Tagged cape town, elephants eye, hike, proteas, silvermine, South Africa, table mountain
On such a FABULOUS day as today, one should take advantage and be OUT in nature. So yes, finally, I went for a hike again. After all family and friends visiting I now have some time again to go hopefully on some more hikes.
I had never been up to Elephants Eye so it was exciting to add this one to the list. Although there was a rescue helicopter, rescueing someone off the mountain, I thought it was a fairly easy hike up. Well signposted, many people around, not too streneous. And the VIEWS! WoW!! False Bay looked stunning, the sea not a single little wave, nature was quiet (quite rare for the Cape with winds and storms all most all the time). It was just perfect. And, what a bonus to see the king proteas bloom. Beautiful! It was the first time that I saw them in the wild so I was very excited about that. The cave is huge and you can walk into it. See pics for views. We were in AWE! Bit slippery becasue of the sand, yes, I also landed on my bum!
You park the car near the dam in the Silvemine reserve. With a wild card you can take your dog as well.
View over False Bay from the cave
King proteas
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