Johannesburg: Climbing and Driving Adventures

I flew into Joberg and was met at the Airport by Bertrand, a friend I met in Waterval Boven. I stayed at Bertrand's flat for my four day stay in Joberg.

Saturday, July 5th we went climbing with Michelle and I coached them a little. I didn't do anything really hard to give me ankle some more time to heal. That night we went to Michelle's Uncle and Aunt's place for dinner. We ate some "Fat Cakes" which were like pan cakes that you stuff with cheese and syrup or veggies stuff or minced meat (which I didn't have). Their family
was wonderful and we were all laughing and trading stories.

Picture: Bertrand leading.

Picture: Michelle leading the same route.

Sunday Michelle had to work; however, Tara was there and we went climbing at the Choss Pile a local Joberg crag just outside the city. We had TONS of FUN and Bertrand pushed himself a bit and learned a few new tricks to help his climbing. I was so happy for him because I can see how fast he's getting better. Tara pulled down a few 5.9 and 5.10a's to make a day of it.

That night we went out to dinner with Tara's family who are so wonderful and well travelled. They are all so warm, have the best stories, and are just super fun to be with.

The following day was Monday and Bertrand was super generous to lend me is Buckie (Truck) to drive to the Apartheid Museum. Frightening as this is I drove it downtown since that is where the museum is.

Unfortunately, the museum wasn't open on Monday so instead I went to Gold Reaf City where you can get a tour of a real gold mine. We descended 226m underground into the mine where they showed us how the storied the explosives, how they cart out the ore and how they keep the electricity going and the air breathable (now dust). Bertrand is a mechanical engineer and works on products for the mines and he said they haven't changed the mining technology too much since then. They look and feel pretty much the same today with the exception of the roof being a little higher.

Picture: Me next to the explosives lockout in the mine at Gold Reef City.

It was funny because before I took the tour I met up with this woman name Laurie from Seattle. She was very friendly and had been intending on going to the Apartheid Museum as well but found it closed. She had also joined our tour of the mine. We chatted a lot and she told me of her daughters who where my age and just a little younger.

Once the mine tour was done we headed off to the amusement park to enjoy the rides. For our first ride I picked the biggest roller coasters. It was hilarious, she held my hand as we went through the first few loops. Once we were done we took a picture of the coaster then headed onto something a little smaller as we both were a little dizzy from the last one. We did the bumper boat and the log ride before we both called it a day because her ride was there to take her back to the hotel and the sun was starting to get low.

Picture: Laurie from Seattle on the Log ride.

That night Michelle cooked a wonderful fish burger dinner and Bertrand and I watched King Lines on his laptop.

Tuesday was my flight date so I woke up and packed my bags. I headed to the Apartheid Museum and arrived in the early afternoon and spent the whole day there till 5 PM. That place is very moving, the courage that many had to resist oppression. So many lives lost and how ruthless it was living under that regime. I felt humbled. I really enjoyed the exhibite on Steven Biko which detailed his life and his moment for Black Consciousness and non-violence. This was a story I had long wanted to hear and see since hearing the Peter Gabriel song about him in my youth.

Picture: Apartheid Museum, "To Be Free is not merely to caste off ones chains, but to live in such a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." Nelson Mandela.

That night Bertrand and Michelle drove me to the airport we where we had one last dinner together and I jumped on my plane to London. I've now been here the past few days staying at Audrey's house with Adrian.

We got out for a day of bouldering on Thursday night and I'm still sore two days later. My ankle seem to be looking much better now that the swelling from the plane has gone down. Tonight the three of us are driving up to Sheffield for a climbing competition that Adrian and Audrey are competing in.

Now only a week away to the Vispassina in Hereford. I'm starting to get excited.

I hope you are all well at home and the sun is shining.

A week to heal and hang with D

My last post I had just dropped Karina of at the Capetown Airport and was no on my own so it was time for another adventure. Once of the things I hadn't yet seen and always wanted to was Penguins. I had my chance in Australia but never made the effort.

So off I went in search of penguins, which I could find at Boulder's Beach in Simon's Town. I had a brochure that showed some of the roads of Capetown and the surrounds. Having a slightly shoddy memory for the name of the town and figuring since this was a tourist destination that there would be a name on the map "Boulders Beach" and that perhaps it was just off the map since most people said it was 30 minute drive.

I started off by heading in the completely wrong direction up the coast and ended up at driving to table view beach where I took a picture. Eventually, I asked a man at a beach pullout how much farther it was and he set me straight. In total I spent 2.5 hours driving in the wrong direction and back.

Picture: Devil's Peak (left side), Table Mountain (center), Lion's Head (right side)

I finally arrived in Simon's Town at 3.5 hours later and made my way down to the beach. Penguins everywhere! Those guys are hilarious. I love how they walk! One trundled right past me on the beach, only 3 feet away. I soaked my ankle in the Ocean to help with the swelling then rested it up on a rock meditated for about an hour.

Picture: Penguin on Boulder Beach, Simon's Town.

I grabbed lunch, phoned Dion (friend from Wilderness), and started making my way to the highway. It was around 2:45 PM when I set out. After a series of bad calls on which route to take to get to the N2 I really started my journey at around 4:00 PM.

I picked up a hitch hiker on the way through Somerset West. The guy it turns out live about 1 km from Dion and was turning his life around. He had just resolved a dope possession case after 2 years and had broken his Meth addiction which is why he had moved away from Capetown. Really encouraging story and I was glad to give him a ride.

I made it to D's at 8:30 PM in time to have dinner and watch the Euro cup soccer match with him. My ankle was not happy with all the driving but we got the tensor off and it raised nice and high. I was totally exhausted so we both went to bed early.

The next few days was relatively uneventful since I was incapacitated with the ankle so I spent most of it focusing on writing update in the blog. Yes, it does take a fair amount of time to write down the experience of the trip. The entries from Boven to this point took a few days of solid writing to cover so that game my ankle time to heal.

That weekend was Dion's Birthday so we set about celebrating. Saturday, June 28th was the date so we got up and went to see Kung Fu Panda with his friends who had children. The movie was hilarious, it was both beautiful and irreverent, it pointed out how some people mistaken Zen for being seriousness and self discipline. Quite funny and a wonderful message.

That night there was a gathering where a potluck ensued with dancing and talking till just after midnight.

My ankle had been improving and after a week I was walking on it with only a minor limp and no tensor. Much of the swelling had gone out of it.

So on Wednesday July 2nd I went out to do some very easy climbing with a friend of Dion's named Brad. We went to the Tauw river to a park and climbing location called Ebb and Flow. Since this was my first time back after a little over 9 days since I injured it I was definitely going to be cautious as a fall on it at this point could put me out for quite a while.

Neither of us had any topos for the area so I stuck to some easy 5.7ish climb on trad then did a second one that was maybe 5.8. Both climbs were lots of fun and it

Picture: Brad at the top of the 5.7ish climb at Ebb and Flow.

We only did these few climb then retired to Brad's house to spend some time relaxing and catching up with him and his beautiful wife Elaine. Brad is an artist and I also got to see a lot of his work. I was amazing, if I wasn't on this trip and had the ability to carry it with my I would have looked at getting one.

Since my ankle was doing better I decided to do a hike on the beach and take a picture of myself there to send to Karina since she was home and I know misses this place dearly. After breakfast I headed down there to find that there were a pair of Humpback whales just off shore. They were swimming in circles and I could see their tails fins sticking up and there heads. I watch and photographed them and then went down to test the waters to see if I could swim out to them. They were really close to shore.

Picture: Humpback whales slightly left of center at the beach 100 meters from where I was staying.

By the time I had reach the water they had decided it was more fun to move on and had started swimming down the beach. I followed along the shore with my ankle in the water hoping the cold would help it. It didn't take long to lose the whales as they were finish their business and I just enjoyed walking down the beach in the cool water for several hours. In the afternoon I went up to see a 800 year hold Yellow Wood tree and do a hike in the forest that surrounded it.

That night I went out with Dion and friends for a goodbye dinner at Knysa Heads. We all enjoyed some very tasty pizza's and then had a few beer at the local pub before calling it a night.

The next day I took my time packing up and took one last walk on the beach before heading up to George. On the way I stopped to take one last picture of Wilderness to say goodbye.

Picture: Wilderness, on the road from George. Saying goodbye to this beautiful place.

In now time I was on the play flying out of George on my way to Johannesburg to meet up with Bertrand and Michelle friends I had made in Waterval Boven. To see the related photo album for this segment click any of the pictures or here.

Cedarberg

Just a quick comment. All the pictures are now liked to the album on crackbook so if you click on them you can see more pictures.

The next leg of the trip was to drive up to Cedarberg with Karina. Julie had flown home and Dion was not able to join us as work and the real world we impressing themselves on him.

To get the trip started I rented a nice new (yes they still make them new here) Volkswagon Golf 1 - AKA Rabbit. We then jumped in and started driving. Dion drew us a map to follow for our travels up to the Oasis Backpackers in Cedarberg. Now for the non-climbers out there Cedarberg is a wild region very close to the world famous bouldering location Rocklands. There are amazing hikes and mountains up there.

The drive was beautiful, we traveled through Oudtshoorn, Montague (both climbing areas), Ceres (the juice making place), Rocklands and through the wilderness of Cedarberg. The drive was a little over 600 KM and took us all day including 50 KM down a dirt road. This place was really remote.

We arrived tired and worn out to this tiny backpacker as the it got dark and clouds overhead. After warming up by the fire and a quick vegetarian dinner owner Gerrit drew us a map for going up the Wolfberg Cracks and to go to the Wolfberg Arch.

I have to say, one of the most fun things about the Oasis backpackers was having Gerrit draw the maps. He knew I was a climber and so draw the map with explicit instructions on where to go and which route to take. He told me that I could climb over some of the cave-ins going through the hard route in the Wolfberg cracks but I should rather follow the route everyone else does by crawling under the boulders. He was such a character.

We knocked off shortly after the map was done in hopes of getting an early start. Shortly after sleep took us I was awakened by the sound of rain rattling against the tin roof. The rain continued through the night and into the next day. No hiking and a day of rest indoors was the order of the day. It was Friday and by night fall the entire hostel was filled.

Saturday was looking much better but we still didn't have a mind to do the Wolfberg. Instead Karina and I opted for a trip to the Stadsaal caves which were a shorter hike and nearby. We figured, cave = cover so they would be nicer given all the rain. The International Medical Students from Capetown decided to do the same hike but were quick off the blocks and headed out.

Gerrit drew us a map as was his way. He told us that with all the rain we would not be able to pass any of the rivers around our valley and the the only chance we had to make the caves or anywhere for that matter was to pass over the high road to Kromrivier. So our map was draw to go to Kromrivier which was good for me because I got to pass by Truitjieskraal, the best sport climbing area in Cedarberg. Unforetunatley for me the area was closed because of a fire last year so I wasn't able to get too close but there was fine boulder on the road opposite to the location.

When we arrived at the Kromrivier bridge we found the cars belonging to the Internation Medical students and the river flowing a good 8 inches over the top of the bridge. Clearly this river was too high for our little Golf One. We instead turned back to Truitjieskraal for some bouldering and exploring.

Karina did most of the exploring while I jumped on some of the craziest boulder formations I have seen. The sandstone here really is amazing. Much of the climbing in this location was quite easy or just a little to exposed to try the harder stuff. I did pop on a few really cool problems. I even crawled under a boulder that was the size of a small bus that was supported by a finger of rock only 4ft by 2ft. Really cool.

After bouldering and treking around for a few hours we jumped back into the car to check on the flooded river. The sun was shining and the rain had stopped so we were able hopeful that the water level had dropped. Sure enough, the water was now a couple inches below the bridge surface and we were able to cross.

Picture: Karina showing the amazing Stadsaal Cave formations.

We headed to the caves, covering the 10km in short order. We skipped the Bushman paintings and went straight to the caves. The formations were really unique; pillars carved from winds creating domes and what looked like hallways. Truly amazing. We also saw Bushman paintings that were about 1000 years old.

We headed back to Oasis as the night came, had dinner and went to bed as we were keen to do the Wolfberg Cracks and Arch the following day.

We were up earlier for the cracks but the a little slow off the blocks. We arrived at the base of the cracks to start our hike at 10:30AM. The woman who sold us the permit was a little wary that we were starting so late and told us that we would just make it back before dark.

Off we set up the steap hike to the base of the cracks. There were switch backs so the hiking wasn't all that hard. For though at home you would make quick work of it if you can do the grouse grind.

After 45min of slogging up hill (would have been faster if I hadn't been drooling over the beautiful multipitch trad climbs that were 4-7 pitches long) we reach the branch point to where you can go to the hard crack or turn left to take the easy road. We moved out onto some easy 4th class climbing to get to the start of the hard crack.

The hard crack was great, you start up hopping over a few boulders then squeezing through a dark crack tunnel into a sandy openning. It feels like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. once through the crack you are in this sandy clearing where you find that you two giant arches, maybe 25m high, that join to a parallel crack. The rock towers over you going up a 150m hiding most of the sunlight.

Gerrit told me in particular I must climb through the second cave in as you have to slide on your back then get up through a gap in the rock pulling yourself the whole way. He said it is fun and rediculous like you are going through a birthing canal. He said I could climb over is I wanted to but it would better to experience the hike as other non-climbers do. After climbing over the first cave in we came upon a single boulder with a gap underneath. Karina and I figured it was the birthing canal but since it was only one boulder was a touch easy to climb over.

Since Gerrit was so adamant about us passing through this cave in instead of over we did it. I have video footage that isn't included here but I'll show you guys. it was hilarious, but was we were to find out not the birthing canal.

Another 30m up the crack we found the real birthing canal and had to crawl through. Since this place is so dark and deep water tends to build up here. I had my jacket but was still very much in a puddle when I passed through the canal. I left my jacket down so that Karina could go through without soaking her butt as I did. The whole this was quite fun and good for a laugh.

We negotiated the next cave in as the crack got more and more slim. As we neared the end of the crack we found that my feet almost wouldn't fit at the bottom. Word to the larger people out there, be careful about taking the hard crack, it might not allow you to pass.

Having finished the cracks and reaching the top we now had a good 1.5 hour hike through the most beautiful terrain to reach the arch. There was amazing featured boulder of all kinds and overhangs along the way. I stopped to play on one but we were eager to make the arch in good time to climb it.


Picture: Me bouldering on some of the amazing formation at the top of the Wolfberg Cracks.

Karina is quite the champ hiker and we made good time. Me lagging at times because I would day dream about climbing some of the boulder but we arrived in good time. I go my shoes on and scaled the right side of the arch while I was still warm from the hike. We then state down and ate a good lunch.

Picture: Me after climbing the right side of the Wolfberg Arch.

After a good hour of repose we started back. The Int Med Students could be heard approaching the arch in the distance. They had left at the same time as us but were a little slowering making their way through the climbing and cave in sections. When we met them on the hike out they were eager to get there and head back. The one from Trinidad in particular looked a bit finished with the hike.

We took the hard version of the easy Crack on the way down. Gerrit assured us there was a cave in that would require us to jump a couple meters to get down but we never found it. The return trip was quick and easy. We had completed the entire journey in just a little over 6 hours including a 1 hour break (so if you are in shape you don't have to adhere to the 8 hours they estimate for the hike).

For our last day in Cedarberg we decided to do the Maltese Cross hike. This one was quite a bit shorter than the Wolfberg Arch which was good because we were a little more run down. The 30 minutes of stretching we had done after completing that hike saved us from being sore but there wasn't much reserved left in the tank.

Gerrit wrote us up another map. This time he added some treats for us; a hike up Sneeuberg (Snow mountain) to see the snow protea; a rare and endangered species of the protea flower. We set out, got our permit and started hiking having a good laugh at the sign say we shouldn't even THINK of the hike without a permit (see picture album for this one).

The hike was mostly uphill following a stream bed which was partly filled given the rain of previous days. After a couple hours we had reach the Maltese Cross and stopped for lunch. The route up was pretty but not as exciting as our trek the previous day but there were more attractive boulders along the way. One next to the trail with a stream running next to it had been climbed as evidenced by the chalk on it but we pressed ahead hoping to see the rare fauna at the top of Sneeuberg.

After our lunch we hiked on to find the trail up Sneeuberg. Gerrit had been given clear instructions that we were to talk exactly 1090 meters past the Maltese Cross then turn left up and unmarked trail towards the summer. He also indicated there was a trail at 1000 meters that we "must not take". After crossing a high plains that was very marshy from the rains we made over shot the trail because it turned out that it was in fact marked quite well with cairns.

Guessing that we had the right path we headed almost straight up the step path and found our way to a beautiful high mountain river. ALong the hike up we saw a mountain deer of some kind which had been grazing on the path we were hiking. It ran up higher looked back and then continue to run away. We continued on to find what we believe are snow protea. It was getting late in the day and we didn't want to push onwards up the mountain as walking in the dark down the team terrain was not a good option.

Picture: Karina and I up at the snow protea's. You can see the Maltese Cross directly left of my should in the background.

We turned back and hiked down slightly off trail the ridge line and keeping the river on our right. We reach the plains below and stuck to the left side where a trail carried us around the marsh that we had walked through to get there.

About 500 meters past the Maltese Cross on the way down to the car we stopped for a bit near one of the boulders I was interested in. We hadn't brought our climbing shoes up since we didn't want to carry the weight on the hike. So I took my shoes off and began climbing in bare feet. The problem was beautiful, maybe a V2 up this nice overhanging sandstone boulder. The feet are not great but he hand holds are quite nice.

You pull up on a two hand juge before you cross left over to a small jug then bump the right up to a crimp. Then a big left hang move to a jug. Your feet track to the starting hold then the righ hand crosses over top again to a medocre open hand jug. I then made a big left hand move out left and up to bring my hands almost even. The is where my feet cut off and I'm hanging mid air about 12 feet in the air. I get my left foot onto the only hold which is far left, hooking my big to on a teardrop shapped hold. The next move was a left hand to a big jug about 2 ft higher on the boulder.

I looked at it and allow a split second of fear of whether the hold was strong enough to hold me. I was high up. That would prove to be the distraction that would make sure I didn't make it. I attemped the move and my hand hit the hold but didn't latch it. I have a nice blood blister where the side of the jug ran down my finger. I was off and free fallling. I remember seeing a flash of the ground before I landed with an explosion of water.


Pictures: Boulder near Maltese cross that I fell off the top and sprained my ankle. The stream is just in the shade on the left side.

I had landed with my right foot on the bank of the stream below had torqued my foot back so that I took the entire weight of the fall on my heal and ankle. My left foot had landed on a boulder which was in the river but I was able to soak up some of the fall by collapsing onto it. I knew I was 'ok' as in not seriously hurt but that both heals were bruised and my left ankle which had landed heal first was sprained.

Karina had done a good job to orient me as best she could for the fall but did the right thing in not getting underneath me which would have just injured us both. I soaked my ankle in the cold stream water for 10 minutes till it began to swell despite the cold. Karina bandaged up my ankle with a tensor she carries on her hikes and gave me her shirt to keep me warm since I was all wet.

The hike down was funny actually, since I was the hop along kid and the sprain wasn't so bad that I couldn't weight it. The hike in that had taken us only an hour now took two and the sun had set when we reach the car. Karina drove us back and along the way we saw a big bushy tailed Jackel on the road. It bounced its way down the road tail huge and fuzzy.

That night I spent with my ankle in the air and on vitamin I. The next day Karina and I were to go back to Capetown so she could make her flight to Joburg the following morning. She drove like a champion (sure glad I had her on the rental agreement) and we made our way back using a map Gerrit drew for us. We got to go through this crazy pass on the way to Capetown with shere cliffs on the one side and steep mountain face on the other.

We arrived in Capetown with time to spare but decided to take it easy and organize so that Karina's flight the next morning would be painless. I was a little concerned that my ankle would still be too swollen and painful to drive but the next morning I was doing much much better.

We had breakfast at the Airport and kissed and parted ways. Not too sad a parting giving the joy we had together and knowing that October isn't too far off. Distance isn't too much for connected hearts.

The Trankei and Bulungula

So I'm not breaking a for a moment with this updating blog thing. I just posted the bungee jumping and the Kichaka game reserve and now we are onto what I would call our first dive into something that feels a little more like Africa: The Transkei.

The Transkei is the section of land just being the Kei river and is characterized by big rolling hills with what looks like lots of pastel round houses no top. This is one of the only places in South Africa which was not conquered and is home to the Xhosa people. The X in Xhosa is actually a click so all you guys back home who've seen Russel Peters second live performance; this is the the language he's making jokes about. Enough with the history, back to the trip.

We woke up at Buccaneers before dawn and packed up and hit the road in time to watch the sun rise again. Our first destination was Coffee Bay to see the 'Hole in the Wall'. We reach Coffey Bay sometime around noon, ate lunch and head on to the Hole.

The Hole in the wall is a beautiful beach with an maybe 50 meter off short that has a giant hole through it. The beach was amazing: sandy with rocks surrounded by the most inviting forest with opening for camping. On the far left of the island with the hole there was some see cliffs made of what looked like Basalt. They were almost begging to be climbed.

Picture: Karina, Dion and Julie at the Hole in the Wall.

We spent some time wandering the beach and through the forest, soaking up the beauty of the place. After maybe an hour we had to move on as there was a 45 minute hike into Bulungula the backpackers were were going to stay at this night. I didn't want to leave but if we stayed we wouldn't have been able to enjoy the afternoon at Bulungula.

Bulungula is the best backpackers in South Africa. This is a bold statement but having been there and had the like of Buccaneer's backpacker(another very good packpackers) staff tell me as much I don't think its far from the truth. The backpackers is located at the mouth of a river and is made up of traditional Xhosa huts (mud and dung floors and walls) with beautiful beachs and bays to either side. Its protected from the winds off of the Indian oceans by a burm and a stand of trees. They have drums, amazing local Xhosa food cooked by the nearby village, a fire pit and great music.

I will only cover the highlights since this place to me was so special and sharing it with my Karina, my sister and new friend Dion was amazing and can't capture the magic of the place.
The first night some other people staying there, Dion and I drummed by the fire for quite some time. Joseph and Lindiley being notable characters.

The next morning Karina and I saw dolphins feeding and jumping in the bay just beyond the river mouth. After breakfast we hiked part way down the beach towards a hidden beach but never made it. Instead we did some body surfing and soaking up the untouch beauty of the place.

On our walk back we met a group of children from the nearby village and they started playing the drum we brought with us for the day. Dion and I did some cappoeira with the kids on the beach. Doing cartwheels and rolls to the beat of the drum. That night we ate an amazing vegetarian Xhosa meal with striking flavours and texture.

Picture: Me and the kids from on the beach at Bulungula.

The next days we resolved to make it to the hidden beach. Set out earlier this time and move quickly. The kids from the previous day joined us as did a german software programmer (forgot his name). After not too long we felt the need to break away from the kids and asked them to give us some space. We crossed a headland and onto the next beach.

At this point the beach ended and we all hiked up onto a steep hill overlooking the beach and looking back towards Bulungula. The wind was gently blowing off the water. We took in the beauty and untouch nature of the land here. It was an amazing experience. Karina and I walked to the top and then found a beautiful place to look out over the Indian Ocean. We stood there side by side taking in the smell, sound and beauty of the place. We probably wouldn't have left till night fall but Julie and Dion reminded us of our destination.

Picture: Beachs looking back at Bulungula at the tip on the upper left of the picture.

We continued along the hill top for another 5 minutes before we spotted 4 butterflies sitting on three blades of grass. We again paused to enjoy such unique beauty in such an amazing place. With some light left we continued on to find the hidden beach as the sun grew close to the horizon. With the beach in site we turned back resolving to visit the beach tomorrow and stay another day.

We hiked back, watch the sun set from on top of the hills. The colour of the sky and clouds was beyond words and by the moon light we hiked back. This time not taking the same way we had come we waked over top of the hills instead of crossing the rockie head land we had used to come. Now this whole hike to this point had been done without shoes on and we continued into the night this way. The grasses and land in this area was so gentle but we soon discovered there were parts at the top of some of the hills that had prickle bushes. Rocks, soil, prickles, grass, sand, they were all amazing to experience through our feet. The sensations were amazing, something I had never realized I was missing. How many of us in Vancouver have hiked barefoot. I also realized I have never slept under the stars before. The closest thing I had come to this was in Australia where I slept in a swag.

Picture: Karina and I watching the stars at sunset.

Picture: Karina loving the beach and Ociean at Bulungula.

Wound our way back down to the beach after crossing many hill tops. Then Dion, Julie and I went skinning dipping in the surf. Dion and I stayed out in the water body surfing. Julie and Karina were cold and headed back to Bulungula early. Dion and I headed in after enjoying the surf and arrived back to Bulungula just before dinner. That night Dion played music for us from his iPod till the wee hours.

The next day I discovered I had forgotten the Rayban sunglasses that Karina had given to me as a gift on the beach when we were body surfing the night before. Dion and I went back to the location to see if we could find them but they were not there. Instead we spent the morning body surfing together.

Julie and Karina had gone to the beach in the opposite direction of the hidden beach near a sand dune. They had made this into a nudist beach and were relaxed into soak up the sun. Dion and I joined them and we did some more body surfing. We returned from the day to eat and relax. Our time at Bulungula was drawing to a close and we had to pack up for our 7 AM shuttle back to the car.

The car drive back was long as we made the entire return trip home in one long push. The beds of Wilderness were welcome when we arrived back late that night. The next day Julie flew home and Karina and I started planning for our trip to Cedarberg.

Kichaka, and Bungee Jumping...

Well this should amount to a busy post. I'm trying to catch up after nearly a month of amazing traveling.

I'll start this post with Julie, Dion, Karina and I leaving Wilderness to head up the Transkei. Our first day wasn't far, we were going to Bloukrans bridge to do the highest bungee jump in the world - 216m (720ft).

This road trip would be done South Africa style; rolling out in Dion's little Nissan truck, Karina and I sitting in the back with Dion and Julie in the cab. Karina was wearing these awesome tiger pants and some overall shorts. The reason I'm describing this is that she looked a bit like a character from a childrens television show. It was hilarious! The Bloukran bridge was a short drive away; maybe 2 hours and in short order we were out and getting our gear on.

Picture: Karina and I in the back of Dion's Buckie (truck)

Now I have never bungee jumped before so I don't have any idea as to what to expect but I have been getting really calm like I do before a big multipitch climb. It seems that through climbing I've started to relax before doing things I perceive to be scary. I have jumped out of an airplane before when I was in Australia. The 14000ft sky dive was great but I think it was easier since I couldn't see the ground and I was attached to someone. I think the decision to jumping off a perfectly good bridge and you can see the ground below you takes a different level of commitment.

To warm up for the jump we took a zip line to the center of the bridge. the zip line was called the Flying Fox and covered the distance from the edge of the ravine to the jump platform. The 30 second ride was a nice warm up and in moment we were all at the Bungee platform.

They do the jumps by weight and since I was the heaviest I would have to go last. Karina started going to the edge and without hesitation did a beautiful swan dive off the edge. Julie and I were able to watch on a close circuit video feed that was showing on the platform. She looked effortless and graceful.

The brought K back up and got Julie into position for her jump. Karina and I watch this time from the other side of the platform where you can look down to see the jumper. Julie jumped and sailed into the abyss below.

My turn came soon and I was standing at the edge. You can't walk to the edge so you have two guys drag you there. These moments leading to the jump where they attache the cord to you feet was good. It was a nervous excitement, the anticipation of something while not letting my brain hijack my precense with thoughts of how it would be. Now at the edge looking down I realized how how we were.

The technicians allowed the cord to gently slide off the platform to hang in the air below. A gentle weight tugs my feet as I stand at the edge resisting the urge to pull back against the tug. The technicians the count to three and I launch myself into the space below.

Picture: Me Bungee Jumping.

The thing I remember was seeing the concrete fall away above me as I accelerated down and the rush of the wind. I'm not afraid but I feel myself tensing up as the weird tickle in my stomach takes hold from the acceleration. I tell myself to relax and enjoy the moment of freedom. My jaw unclenches not having realize I was tense there. The moment is quite and I feel the next 4 seconds of free fall at peace knowing I am here.

The cable starts to elogate and I'm slowing down. My smile spreading across my face as the blood rushes to my cheeks and then I go sailing back up in the air. I try do spins in the air on my way back up using my arms as a skate would in a spin. It works but only marginally.

A minute of bouncing and wigging like a worm on the end of a hook and then a smiling face shows up to clip me in and raise me back up to the jumping platform. I relax in the harness and wait; enjoying the last moments of hanging in free space.

Picture: Julie and Karina doing one of their legendary self portraits. Notice Tiger Pants

Having all jumped (Dion was taking pictures only) we headed back to the car for some Sparking Wine that J and K had bought for the occation while on the wine tour in Robertson. The time getting late we headed back to Nature's Valley where could get out and walk on the beach before retiring to a wonderful backpackers called the Wild Tongue.

The next morning Karina and I were up before the sun. We started the day by doing some stretching and yoga on the deck while watching the sun rise over Nature's Valley. This would prove to be a good start to the day since our destination was Kichaka private game reserve. We hoped to be there by 2PM so we could go out on safari in the afternoon.

The drive was not terribly exciting with the exception of getting slightly lost on route due to sketchy directions from the cook at the lodge. We arrived around 3PM to meet Darryl who would be a guide while at the reserve.

I have to say, Kichaka was top shelf, a five star establishment. Our bag were carried into our rooms which was breath taking. I regret not taking a picture of the interior but that is life. The wood finish was amazing. The decks look out of a water hole where the animal would come to drink. The bathroom was beautiful and raise up just behind the bed. The windows were massive, you could see out into the grasslands from any point in the hut.

We had a quick tea and set out on Safari. The wind was really blowing so we weren't holding our breath that the animal would be out since they usually take cover when its windy.

Darryl was extremely knowledgable and taught us about the local plans and insects as well as the animals. We tried eating termites which I have to say were quite good. They taste of cinnamon. I forgot most of the plants he told me about. I could remember them if I saw them but I couldn't recall the names.

In short order he had sported a mother and baby rhino which we were able to approach quite closely in the truck. We got some good pictures before moving on for a nice sundown location where he broke out the bar.

The sun down was breath taking in South Africa. The sun changes such a wonderful shades of organe and red, something that we miss because the show is hidden by the mountains in Vancouver. On our drive back to the compound we saw an Ardvark running through the night.

Dinner was rich and we didn't stay up late because the sun-up Safari started at 6 AM. The morning was cold but we had a few glasses of tea and coffee to warm us up. The predawn light was tickling the horizon when we started out.

Picture: Lions

We drove across the property stopping only to take in the sunrise which was as glorious as the sunset. Darryl in a short time had located the two male lions on the property. We found them lieing in the grass at the bottom of a valley.

They were HUGE and beautiful. We were able to approach them to a distance of maybe 15 meters and got lots of great pictures. I have always loved cats and this was one of the biggest I had ever seen. We took the Lions in for about 20 minutes before setting off to find the Elephants.

Darryl was amazing at tracking the Elephant herd. We moved along the valley floor and found the herd at a branch in the road. It was funny to watch them tear clumps of grass from the ground with their trunks and then beat clump against the ground so that it would release the dirt from the roots before eating it. We saw some quite young elephants as well.

Picture: Elephants sniffing the air.

We drove out of the valley to find a location overlooking the Elephant herd to have morning tea and watch the herd through the binoculars. On the way back to the compound we saw some Hippo, Giraffe, Zebra and Hartbeast.

After a generous breakfast we packed up and hit the road as we had to cover some ground to make it up to the Transkie. We made it as far as Buccaneers Backpackers before we lost the light. So we spent the night.

That is a nice section for the first leg of our trip. I'm going to make another entries for the next few weeks. For more pictures click this link: More pics.

From Boven to Capetown.

I'm making a quick version of this entry and will post it but will likely make and update shortly to include pictures and more detail like the climbs I did on the ascent of Table Mountain. This will do for the quick update for now.

Karina joined me in Waterval Boven, it was good to finally see her in person instead of chatting on the internet all the time. Climbed a day, hiked the next. During our hike we found someone's stolen climbing equipement and thankfully though the Roc n' Rope lodge was able to return it to its owners.

Trip from Waterval Boven to Capetown was a little strenuous since we stayed up all night in the Joberg airport waiting for a our flight in the morning.

First day in Capetown was organizing our rides out to the garden route and Wilderness which is supposed to be amazing (on the Garden Route). I also tracked down a climbing partner and yesterday climb table mountain. Did the whole day from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM. You have to hike about 75% of the height of the mountain to get to the start of the climbs. Needless to say I'm a touch tired today. I also was leading trad which means I was placing my own protected gear which is WAY more scary especially since I haven't done that type of climbing in 9 months. (Paul C will be so proud). ;) I did three routes that day. Two of which were 20-21, 19 but I don't know the names of them. The third one was the ultra classic "Jacobs Ladder" which got us to the top of the mountain just in the knick of time as the sun set and the last cable car was leaving.

Today we are going to Cape point and chilling on the beach before heading off down the garden route and doing some wine tours.

Cranking in Wonderland...

This weekend has proven to be the best couple of days climbing since the trip began. The Satuday was the first day back after spending Friday resting.

For our first day back on we headed up to the "Gym" sector near the Restaurant area. This proved to be a bit of an adventure as the map is not altogether too acurate and the trail down is not marked. So we ended up doing a bit of bush whacking to get to the crag.

The gym is a short crag, maybe 8-12 meters at most giving it the height of most climbing gyms and hence the name. To warm up I cracked off a pair of 19s (5.10a) called "Any Objections" and "Monkey Monkey" both overhanging jug hauls. Once warmed up I jumped on a climbed called "Lithium" 24 (5.11d). This climb went up an overhanging wall on good crimps but no feet to the second bolt. Then a high left foot and a hip level high left foot which your rock over on thin crips and a rounded side pull to stand up and back to a juggy finish. I got the flash but the climb felts a bit soft.

To round out the day I got on a slab climb called "The Dark Side" 22 (5.11a) which climbed the steap slab on the other side of the river from us. I have to say, I have gotten out of practice of climbing thin slab as I got spit off at the first and second bolts. I decided I needed practice and should get back on but was shut down again at the third bolt. I did get the red point on the third attempt. Then ended the day cleaning "Any Objections".

Yesterday Klaus, Anna and I went to the Hallucinogen sector up near Tranquilitas campground. We hiked and by 10:30AM we at the base of some of the best looking climbs I have seen in Waterval. The lines are clean and much higher than yesterday's outing standing at around 15-18m.

To warm up I did "Old Crusty's Last Stand" 18 (5.9) which moved up an arete next to an offwidth crack. The climb was a touch technical as it involved laying back off the offwidth.
Klaus climbed Old Crusty's up, down and up again before cleaning it as his warm up. He then moved on to climb "Be Quick or Be Dead" 24 (5.11d) which was right next to Old Crusty. This climb looks to be quite a push with thin and blancy face moves as well as bad side pulls and thin crimps. The draws were put in but not without a few falls.

Still not totally warm I moved on to my second warm up "Doom" 19 (5.10a) which proved to be much more fun because of the exposure of climbing the arete that sticks a bit out from the main wall. I then moved on to climb "Be Quick or Be Dead" 24 (5.11d) the moves were wonderful and thin, requiring balance and good core strength to keep yourself in on the open hand side pulls and thin crimps. I fell at the lower and upper crux but worked out the sequence on the excellent climb up top.

For the button I had decided that the wall where you climb up Old Crusty's was in but after re-reading the description in the guide book, it states that the face is only to be used. So now I had to rework my beta for for the bottom. The new sequence involve a high right foot which rock up onto using a half pad side pull crimp and a one and a half finger crimp which gets you onto a incut 3/4 pad crimp. Another two things moves with feet tracking the crimps gets you to a nice incut flake where you get a shake before moving into the open hand sidepull sequence. Which I fell on. I lowered and made another attempt after a short rest.

My third attempt proved to be clean execution of the sequence and I felt good and in the moment. I moved through the top sequence of powerful high steps and side pulling to finish the route. This is the hardest climb I have red pointed yet on this trip. The only climb I would say I have worked harder on was "Je Suis Un Communist" in France, but this climb certainly felt better.

Klaus red pointed called "Fat Annie" a 25 (5.12a) and then another 24 (5.11d) called "Women Ain't Nothing But Trouble". He left the clips in "Women Ain't Nothing But Trouble". After five attempts at the thing crux off the second bolt I manage to get high enough to dyno for an incut rail next to the third bolt to pull past the crux and then finish with 8m of beautiful laybacking through a series of rooves and the red point.



To cool down I finished with "Rat Palace" a nice 20 (5.10b) which moves through a some thin balancy moves at the start and pulls a small roof at the end.



To celebrate my best climbing day yet we made our way down into the Township of Waterval and bought some "Chicken Dust" chicken which they sell from BBQs on the side of the road.



I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.