The Harkerville Coast Trail

South Africa has a wonderful setup for backpacking (which is what we call it in the USA; in Europe they call it trekking and in South Africa it's called hiking, as opposed to walking). There are countless trails that offer overnight huts with bunkbeds, kitchens, fire pits with wood (braais), running water, and sometimes even showers! So you need not carry a tent and mattress, and can always count on a cozy, leopardless bed.

So during our visit in the Garden Route we decided to try out the Harkerville Trail...

The first 10 km or so is through lovely rambling forest. Most of it seems indigenous, but a few times you pass through pine plantations. Here we came across a little (figuratively only) reminder of our former home, an experimental plot of California Coastal Redwoods!



I took way too many photos and it was a challenge to distill them. But let's jump ahead in time. We hiked a few hours through this lovely forest and finally emerged into daylight as we reached the sea at a fine lookout point. We inched our way down a very steep path to a rocky beach. Knowing that we only had 4km or so to our hut, we had a leisurely lunch and a nap. From the beach we saw interlocking acrobatic birds tumbling out of the sky. And we saw our first baboons scrambling down the facing hillside! They appeared like a blanket of tiny cousins sweeping across the landscape, making what we knew to be almost-impassable terrain look like a cricket grounds!

At 4pm we started hiking again and quickly discovered that our nap shouldn't have been so leisurely, as the trail became extremely rugged. We were scrambling over massive rocks and shimmying around precipices and clinging to chains with the foaming sea beneath our boots. Here are a few images from that endless and breathtaking section:






Look carefully at the following photo. Go on, click on it! Those are baboons using the trail ahead of us! Are they shy? Are they aggressive? Can they smell our snacks? We don't know, and it makes us nervous.



I love how all along the southern coast it looks like Africa is thrust out and crumbling into the sea.



Here is the Sinclair hut, which we shared with a lovely Danish couple. We were relieved to arrive before sunset.



Day Two started at the hut, high above the sea. And then at the first river mouth we plunged right back down to that crunchy coast.



Evidence of baboons ahead of us. We often see baboon poo in very scenic spots. We imagine if we were free to poop wherever we pleased, it would also end up at the viewpoints where we linger.



Not far past this poo we crossed a narrow path between the bushes and the sea. We enjoyed the displeasure of being barked at by baboons of an unknown size and temperament. Are they saying hello? Are the sounding the kill call? Or is it the maim-and-rob call? We never found out.

Not pictured: Shark frenzy and pools of acid five meters below my feet:



Not pictured: Deranged crocodiles and angry puffadders fighting among the deadly poisonous anemones:



After narrowly escaping all the aforementioned would-be buzzkillers we at last came to the beach at the far end of which ascended our insanely steep climb to the upper regions. That beach was not all peaches and gravy, however. It was more like a mile-long field of bowling balls. Here we see Wendy mediating on the afternoon's ordeals, and on her sandwich.



Up we go:



Back into a few hours of foresty decompression.

We sometimes feel like this, especially lately

South African Homes Have These Great Features

Wood-burning barbeque area made from brick (called a "braai")

A metal cage thingy that holds everything you are braai-ing so you can easily flip it over

Sinks shaped like bowls sitting on the counter

Kitchen sinks with built-in dish drain - no leakage onto the counter!

Electric kettles. Very nice.

Catches to hold doors open.

The Half-Door

Flat wall heaters

Electric towel heaters

Windows that swing completely open, with nice latches

Down comforters and washable duvet covers, simple and nice

Great wooden beds and tables and chairs

Thatch roofs and stone walls

No visible clocks

Rusks everpresent (a rusk is kind of like a biscotti; you dip it in a hot drink)

No window screens


We also like:

Coffee always comes with hot milk

Tipping in restaurants is easy. You write the tip on the bill and they bring back the proper change.

You have to ask for the bill at a restaurant

Sales tax is already included in all prices - no sneaky surprise totals

The dried fruit is great

The eggs are delicious!

Biltong. It's their version of jerky but so much more tasty.

Gasoline prices are fixed all over the country -- no need to shop around

To the Bottom of the Continent

Next we headed east along the south coast of the continent. It's a very sparsely-populated stretch of the world. To a Californian, it's so wonderful to see miles and miles of coast with not a condo nor a military base in sight.



Most spectacular was that we could see whales from the shore! These are the winter mating grounds of the Southern Right Whales, and some were still hanging around here before making a break for Antarctica for the summer.



Do you San Diegans out there recognize this plant? This is the iceplant we all grew up with, holding back freeway embankments and suburban hillsides. Well, it is native to South Africa so here it is in its native environment. There are all sorts of incredible plants around here. They're thick and hearty and called FYNBOS, and they resist the heavy winds with their stockiness. The Cape has a semi-Mediterranean climate, like Southern California, so what we call iceplant is a convenient groundcover there.



And here are four images from Cape Agulhas, the southernmost extremity of Africa. I'll always remember the rocks on this southern coast. It's as if the entire continent is tumbling into the sea, like the ruins of an ancient temple being toppled by the forces of time.





Some people say that Cape Point is the divider between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and others say it's Agulhas. In actuality, its all one great southern sea around here and it's not as if there is a border drawn to divide the two. But in case you wanted to believe there is in fact a big dotted line, here's some evidence for you:



And here is Africa's southernmost portable toilet:



We liked Agulhas so much. It's a beautiful place. And since we'd been driving all day we decided to stay. We drove around and found a little bed and breakfast right on the shore. It's called Ou Pos, which means "old post office"...





...and the mayor's basset hound took drink orders directly from our bedroom window. We slept with the window wide open and drank in the sound and salt of the sea, which seeded our dreams with sailing adventures and desert islands.

Here's the Cape L'Agulhas light, just switching on for an evening of preventing disasters:

Cape Town and thereabouts

Ah. I can spare a few moments away from this summery existence to finally add some commentary on these previously anonymous photos.

As soon as we recovered from jetlag, Wendy and I headed to Cape Town for four days. My friend Sybrandus kindly lent us the keys to his (and Terry's) house and we made ourselves at home away from home away from homeless.

Cape Town is set in an amazingly picturesque bowl, nestled between the sea and a giant flat-topped mountain named Table Mountain. The scenery is constantly changing, as clouds come and go across its heights. (This is called the "Tablecloth".)

The first day we walked over the entire town, and on day two we climbed the mountain. Then we took a drive around the Cape.

Mobile bedroom, complete with napper:




Meet Charity, one of the many excellent cats we have had the pleasure of visiting this year. She lives with Sybrandus and Terry.





Heading up Table Mountain. Notice that my bag looks conspicuously like my old rear left pannier...


I love these plants:


Here is a view, from the top of Table Mountain, of part of the city and of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years:


Here's what they call the "City Bowl". I love this city.


To the southwest, you see the peaks of the Twelve Apostles, part of the mountains that stretch on down to Cape Point, where baboons roam.




This is Devil's peak, next to Table Mountain and just behind Sybrandus's house.


Hout Bay, where Stefan grew up!


More scenes along the Cape. These thatch roofs are popular here. Stefan has one.




In the old days, at the time of year when ships could not anchor snugly at Cape Town, they went around the peninsula to Simon's Town, about 20 miles away on horseback. The South African Navy has a base here.


Also, Simon's Town is host to a colony of penguins! These are called jackass penguins:




And this one is molting.


more to follow very soon...

Today's backyard hike

Back up behind Stefan's house is the amazing Helderberg, and you can hike through the nature reserve on its slopes.


Typical Cape Dutch architecture


This is what they call a "dam".


Proteas are part of the collection of plants called fynbos, which are stout and hardy to resist the heavy Cape winds. You kind of have to see them to believe them.


Blesbok?