Local hiking in the Outeniquas

 After more than a year of living in George, this weekend I finally went for some proper hiking on the trails - not that far from home - in the Outeniqua mountains that I look at every day.

Most my my activities have been 'confined' to the lower trails and I haven't ventured much into the mountains, with the exception of an up-and-down of Vensterberg a few weeks ago. This is one of the most readily accessible of the '6 Peaks'.

It my friend Erica, who came through from Cape Town, with her friend Soriaya and two other locals, Simone and Daryl. We hit two of the six peaks - Vensterberg and Losberg.

We were dropped at the Sputnik parking at the top of the Outeniqua Pass and ended up covering 26.5km in 10h20 to get back home. It was a day of excellent hiking, excellent company, good luck with the weather and many excellent plant observations for me. 

The Watsonia flowers were out in abundance with colours ranging from pink to a peachy and others with white thrown in. I was after orchids and was rewarded by seeing six different types of orchids.

Orchids

We also saw many spiders - and their dew bejeweled webs. While I'm sure there were dozens of other species, I took photos of four of them.

Watsonias were out all over the place with different colour variations dominating in different locations. I enjoyed seeing them and marvelled at the abundance and eye-catching colours, but I didn't take many photos of them.

I did see some fungi. Coolest was two sightings of small, young Fan-shaped jelly fungus.

Aside from the great floral observations, this was much-needed, hiking outing with really good people.

We got lucky with the weather. Heading up Vensterberg, we got above the clouds and enjoyed blue sky and sun. We dropped back beneath the cloud and fortunately had very little rain or cold throughout the day.

Heading to the top of Vensterberg

Top of Vensterberg

Fun in the sun above the clouds.

A real blanket of cloud.

Photo by Daryl. Heading up to Losberg.

Top of Losberg

Top of Losberg. Photo by Daryl.

Clear below the cloud. That's the Montagu Pass on the far side.

We cam down that spur (you can see the trail) and then up the other side. A good dose of up and downhill.

Starting on Cradock Pass. Daryl's very sweet dog Shadow was with us. 

We walked for a section along the railway track and enjoyed going through two tunnels.

The vegetation and, in some places, cliffs along the railway track are very scenic.

After such a big day, which I haven't had in a very long time, I opted not to do George and Cradock peaks today with Erica and Soraiya. I've been too hesitant to put myself through steep downhills. I had a good day on Saturday and wasn't too worse for wear the next morning. But I figured that I'd rather stay good than load too much, too soon. A good decision. I've got friends coming here next week and the plan is that we'll do George Peak and Cradock Peak so I'll be more ready for it then.

A very good hike. A very good weekend. Onward into the week ahead and the remainder of the year.

One year (and one month) in George

 I missed the train in celebrating on 'One Year in George' anniversary at the beginning of November on my blog. 

Yes, I've been living in George for one year and one month. On Sunday, 1 November 2020, we arrived at night, after more than 10 hours on the road, in George. The next morning, we met the moving truck to load contents from three homes into one house and one big storage garage, collected 10 workers from the bus station and met three superlinker trucks at the factory building that had no roof and no walls - the first of four sections of the building (we moved into the fourth part only in mid-June - instead of late January as expected).

This year has been a ride.

While work is work, I do love living in this area.

I am thankful for the outdoor opportunities that George and the surrounds have to offer. Paddling is scenic with an abundance of options. The trails for trail running, mountain biking and hiking are extensive. There are beaches to visit, peaks to climb and the hot and dry Karoo on the other side of the mountains. The urban situation has a ton to offer - anything we need really.

Cape Town and PE are a hop, skip and jump away. In between are big towns like Knysna, Mossel Bay and Hermanus.

Shortly after arriving, I joined the local paddling club. I'm not very active in the club but they're a good bunch of people. I also joined the George Trail Running group. I've only done two Monday social runs with them. I sometimes do the route earlier with the dogs and unfortunately miss the Thursday session as I'm at dog school. Our George parkrun recently restarted and I spent two pre-event Saturday mornings and two event Saturday mornings as a volunteer and part of the team. Another good bunch of people.

I go to dog school with Rusty and Rosy, doing a double class on Thursdays. We don't socialise much with the other participants but we've gotten to know each other and they're a good bunch too. Two of them are trail runners (I knew their names from ages ago and it was just coincidence that we do dog school). Rusty and Rosy absolutely love dog school. I've learned a lot and it has also deepened my communication and relationship with these two girls. We have a third doggy in our household, Bella. She's my mom's old neighbour's dog whose next adoptive mom, after the neighbour, died from covid. 

I know a number of other people in and near George and have made some new friends, but for the most part I don't socialise much. Work and covid really being the two factors for my lack of social interaction.

Physically, I haven't done a fraction of what I would like to do, especially in hiking and running. I started going to the biokineticist in February. I was completely out of balance after last year's not-knee-injury. I'm hugely improved in terms of muscle strength, left and right balance and also muscle group balances. But I'm not 100% right yet and I have swelling flare-ups (fortunately no pain) occasionally for no apparent reason (I don't have gout, uric acid test in the clear). So I don't know why this all started in the first place and why it continues. I'm hiking well, jogging a little but after 18 months of this I'm pretty blue. I'm seeing a lady this week for another assessment to try to get to the bottom of this long-term situation for something that is in balance, has good strength, no pain but still swells and causes discomfort. This has greatly limited my activities.

I've done a lot of digging, earth moving, vegetation clearing and making nice at the house we're renting. We may be moving out come end Jan as the owners need to do some serious damp and water-issue maintenance. I don't really have capacity right now to move, but we'll have to do it if needed.

I am delighted by my discovery and keenly developed interest in fungi and the many fungi that I have observed and recorded on iNaturalit.org. There is never a dull moment out here on the fungi front. The plants too are extraordinary. My citizen scientist contribution. On this, I've done two or three RePhotoSA submissions and I know the location of another that I really should go to get it now that we're into summer (sun position).

For the rest, this year has sped past. I've read a number of books and have listened to a bunch more. It took me three months of every night to complete a special crochet gift project, and I've seen too many 2am (or 3am) mornings, especially the last six weeks) to just try to get on top of work. Being on the go, go, go and made this year go, go, go.

Here's to one year and one month. Cheers!

Great Southern Bioblitz 2021 - Garden Route

I went tramping around the trails above George to observe and log flowers and fungi for the Great Southern Bioblitz Challenge 2021 - Garden Route.

While I appreciate the flowering plants, I do not usually photograph them as I prefer to keep my focus on fungi. In 2.5hrs I captured 85 items (only 3 of them the same in different areas), which took me a few hours to log. My total had been on about 115 observations over the six months that I've been on iNaturalist (an item or two every few days), so Sunday's sightings bumped my total considerably.

On Monday evening, I bagged another bunch of observations on a dog walk to land a tally of 104 observations contributed to the challenge. I've got a number of observations that still need clarity on Genus and species identification or confirmation. I have also delighted in actually being able to help other people confirm their identifications or to suggest an identification. I'm learning.

Thank goodness for the feature recognition and classification suggestions of iNaturalist.org - I would not otherwise have a clue what to name many of the flowers or where to classify them.
The Bioblitz window was only open for four days. There is a time limit (maybe 10 days) for people to log and label their observations and then the results from the participating regions will be out.

Here are some of my observations for the challenge:

Almost time for Find It Checkpoint Challenge

Four weeks ago, my cousin visited the area and asked whether I was organising any events yet. This kickstarted a bunch of ideas that I'd been sitting on for months and has evolved into the Find It Checkpoint Challenge, which I have planned in celebration of World Orienteering Day (8-14 September 2021). 

My first course planning outing.

I've had a blast creating the map, planning checkpoints and learning new things. One of the new things is the MapRun app, which is incredible. I did a lot of ground work initially, learning how to create KMZ maps, the codes used to define type of event, scoring and duration, geo-positioning of the map, uploading to the app system, the app settings, GPS variation and checking control sites. I now have an admin login to post public events and I am proud to be the first event-creator user in South Africa.

Rusty and Rosy have been super scouting companions. The distances putting out checkpoints and testingthe app have been a bit long for Rusts, so I've just had Rosy with me this past week.

I have also learned new way to capture aerial imagery, and I've discovered a means (QGIS) to get contour lines, although I didn't grab them this time - thank you Mark for educating me and doing this for me.

Another aspect of my learning curve included the creation of two videos! The first explains how the event works and the second how the app works.

My video editing skills are capable - I don't get enough practice. I do have many videos that I want to do for YOLO and Vagabond, but I just don't get around to it and I am definitely held up in making these because of confidence, 'getting it right' and putting-yourself-out-there issues. Making these videos for this event has really been good for me because I feel comfortable in this event and navigation space.

 The boost that making these has given me spurred me to finally create a video for Vagabond using my kayak and why I chose this model as the base to educate the viewer about things to consider when choosing a kayak.

With the MapRun app, having physical flags at the checkpoint sites is really not necessary. I have put markers out for those using the paper map but I also find that there is a real kick, especially for beginners, in actually finding something at the location. So, for this specific event, I have put out flags.

I chose this checkpoint position for the stand-alone tree at this location. Well, it was a tree until at least two weeks ago.

I put out almost half of the flags on Sunday afternoon and the rest this evening. This evening I was under pressure to get the flags out before dark. I ran the hardest since July/Aug last year - and I felt great too. 

I'm really curious as to what strong runners will be able to do on the course. It is definitely possible for reasonable runners to get about 23 of the 28 checkpoints in two hours. To get the others... that will take a bit more effort and a tidy route choice.

What was also fun this evening was meeting a chap early on who saw me with a map in my hand and asked, "Is this orienteering?". Oh my heart - someone who actually knows what orienteering is! I extended an invitation to him to give this a whirl. 

And then I saw two running women. I told them that they may see some flags on the route ahead.

 "We've seen two of them already" they declared with big smiles.

They're going to give this a try and will tell their friends. 

Tonight I uploaded the maps and courses to the MapRun server and I've scheduled posts for Facebook for Tuesday evening giving links to download the maps.

I do hope that people will give this a go.

As luck would have it, I'm not going to be here. I head up to Jo'burg and Parys for a few days for some visiting around a feature event, my dear friend Allison's wedding. 

I'll let you know how it all turns out. Cross everything.

Paddling the Goukamma River

It is about time that I paddled the Goukamma River! 

I parked at Goukamma SANparks - great location - and paddled upstream from there. It is a good spot for an after-paddle picnic and there are ablution facilities for changing.

While the river lacks rapids, channels and islands, it does have meandering bends, pretty scenery and good birdlife.

Out on the water I saw many cormorants, darters plus Egyptian geese and ducks. I also saw a pied kingfisher and some or other birds of prey (at least three types). I always hope to see some of the brightly coloured kingfishers and I was treated on the return route when a half-collared kingfisher flashed his brilliant blue as he flew from one side of the river to the other - right in front of me.

For this scenic out-and-back route, I clocked around 16km.

Flat and still when I headed out. Had some headwind on the return but also protected in places.

Cormorant drying its wings in the sun.

Still and pretty.

End of the 'road' - as high up the Goukamma River as I could paddle.

Leftovers for breakfast on the water.

River Deck, near the N2, is a great spot on the water for brunch or lunch. There are a few accommodation locations and towards Buffelsbaai and the sea, there are options at Cape Nature to picnic, hike and overnight.

Lovely morning out. I'm glad that I got out to paddle this morning. Goukamma is about a 50min drive from George.

Outeniqua Power Van ride

I tend to favour doing 'experiential' outings with my mom for her birthday. This year, I had a treat in mind. The train track from George, through the Outeniqua mountains, is very much in our minds as I cross it almost daily on the trails that I most frequently access. It runs past the Botanical Gardens where my mom meets her Run/Walk For Life group. We've seen the little power van - a small diesel-engine train that runs on the tracks -  a few times and my mom has mentioned in the past how nice it would be to take a trip.

A few weeks ahead of her birthday, I made our booking and only told my mom that we would be doing something. She began fishing for clues closer to the time, thinking that we would be going paddling or hiking or riding ostriches in Oudtshoorn. She breathed a sigh of relief the night before when she knew that she would instead enjoy a motorised-transport experience.

The Outeniqua Power Van trip starts from the Transport Museum in George. We were to meet at the museum at 11h30 for the 12h00 trip (there is also a 9am trip) and so we had 30 minutes to walk around the museum. It is spectacular. We only saw part of it and look forward to returning to see more. It is clean, tidy, neatly presented and there is so much variety on display - from trains and carriages to classic vehicles.

Leaving the train yard.

The trip accommodates 20 people - to allow for social distancing. There is the engine part with seating and a smaller carriage. Both have big, clean windows so that you can see in every direction.

We cross the railway line just up ahead regularly - walking or driving past the Botanical Gardens.

The trip heads out from George on the meandering track, which climbs up the Outeniqua Mountains. The views of the town and the mountains are spectacular, and seeing the historic Montagu and newer Outeniqua Passes from the railway line is really neat. 

Snow on Craddock Peak

Outeniqua Pass visible across the valley.

Our tour guide was superb. She gave such interesting information on the track, the passes, the mountains, history and plants. The train stops at its highest point where it crosses the Montagu Pass and then it heads down. Halfway back, the train stops at their picnic site. We were told in advance to bring our own picnic basket and refreshments. I had prepared a bunch of treats for us to enjoy for lunch.

We had about 40 minutes for a picnic stop. That's the Power Van waiting for us.

We were blessed with unbelievably clear air and skies so mom got to see the sea. I often see it from the trails but rarely have I seen it as blue or clearly visible.

That's the sea in the background. George is a 'coastal' town but it isn't on the sea as there is a steep drop to the rocky (no beach) shore. The main part of town is a few kilometres inland. There are nice beaches at the nearby towns of Wilderness, Glentana, Herold's Bay and Groot Brak.

I can highly recommend this trip when you visit this area. They are currently only running on Saturdays (two trips) but they would schedule more trips on week days during the holiday periods. 

My mom celebrates a milestone birthday next year. I wonder whether ostrich riding may be in order? hahaha (don't worry mom, I'll take this one off your to do list)

Happy birthday mom xxx

Why I need to start a women's paddling group

 Yesterday evening, I joined the local canoe club, my new canoe club, for time trial on a private farm dam. 

I arrived early to test a new setup that I've done to my footrests for our rudder-pedal system. A husband-and-wife couple were already there in their car. As I don't know any of the local people, I have no idea who people are and at what level they're paddling.

On the dam, I saw them in a K2 looking very shakey on the water. Going around the top, I came up alongside them and asked if they were ok. They said it was their second time in the kayak.

Let's hold it right there and digest this.

• Two brand-new paddlers in a K2 together. The Knysna Racing Thor is not a kayak that I know. It is listed as being "very popular for beginner paddlers. Big, stable and very comfortable. This legend is ideal for larger beginner crews who want to take on big water". From the look of it, I don't think that it is as stable as the Accord K2, my favourite. I'd need to get into it to see.
• Him - significantly heavier - in the front, her - smaller than me - in the back. We usually put the heavier paddler in the back.
• No PFDs (I was the only paddler there wearing a lifejacket; when Celliers has paddled he has been the only one too). If you capsize, you've got 6.5m kayak full of water to guide and swim to the bank.

I know what it is like to teaspoon around a dam, wiggling and trying not to capsize. It isn't nice. Worse with waves and a side wind. And it is exactly this that results in hundreds of people being lost to the sport of paddling each year. 

I offered to them that once they were done, they were welcome to give my Marimba sit-on-top a try.

It started drizzling and I saw them get off the water. I got off to chat to them.

The wife seemed keen to give my Marimba a shot but the husband was not (and he prevented her from having a go). He is of the "We'll get it right eventually" camp. The problem is, it could take them weeks and weeks. They are paddling once a week. It will take them even longer. During this time, they are developing bad posture, bad form and bad habits that will be a nightmare to get out of them (I did tell them this). They have no skill, no technique and no confidence. And, if they stick with it, they'll go from paddling one unstable kayak to the next, thinking that this is what paddling is all about. 

Celliers wrote an excellent article for The Paddle Mag on this point. In the article he says, "If a paddler can’t put 100% of their pulling power into a forward stroke because of the need to use some energy to maintain their balance, the paddler is in the wrong boat".

Just as a baby and then toddler first crawls, stands, walks and then runs, so too can new paddlers take a step-by-step approach. In paddling you need to learn technique first.

In this whole situation there are a bunch of issues. New, keen paddlers who have been welcomed and given access to a kayak sans hand-holding or instruction (and I totally understand limited club resources - it is usually a struggle for clubs). No PFDs. Him overruling her. Closed-mindedness to trying another kayak and accepting my offer of assistance. I don't take it personally - they don't know me either.

What to do?

My solution would be to paddle the kayak with one of them. It helps to have a more experienced paddler to stabilise. But, I don't think he is going to 'release' his wife to paddle with me. 

I've had it in mind to start a women's paddling group. My friend Nicola has a Monday morning women's group in Cape Town. It totally rocks.

I saw a couple of women at the time trial last week (the first that I've seen). Two in a double (I didn't see which double) were slower than I was in a single plastic. I didn't see the others on the water. I did pick-up that the one was learning to paddle - paddling a K1 from the club trailer - and seemed to be challenged and possibly taking swims. She said something about "trying again next week". That made me sad for her because it is unnecessary to be in that position.

A women's group would offer a more supportive (and fun) paddling environment. It also removes interference (psychological or otherwise) from the faster, more experienced male paddlers who may be their partners / husbands / brothers. I've found all the paddlers that I've met to be very friendly but this 'interference' is a real thing (even if totally unintentional and unconscious like giving the woman an unsuitable kayak to paddle) that can inhibit the women in their lives and prevent them from finding their paddling preference and confidence. 

There are already too few women in paddling. We don't need to lose more of the keen ones.

(I've been in George for three months and already I can't help myself from organising something!)

Good chameleon karma

 Yesterday, while on a phone call, movement on the fence outside the window caught my eye. A chameleon.

I grabbed my camera and got a few shots of this determined fellow. Chameleons are super cool reptiles with their funny shape, colours, whacky eyes and jerky movements.

An internet search revealed this guy to be a Knysna Dwarf Chameleon. Its body  (nose to base of tail) was maybe 10-12cm long. 

That's my first chameleon sighting here and I hope to see many more.

Exploring new trails

 One of the main reasons that I chose the house that I'm renting for the next year is its location. 

Location, location, location.

I'm a block up and a block across from the start of a trail, that leads up to more trails. Within 10-15 minutes walk, are entrances/exits for trails too. 

The weather here is weird. It can be crystal clear one day and the next is deeply overcast with misty drizzle. Or the morning can be overcast and wet with a completely clear afternoon and evening.

We usually head out around 5pm (or even 6pm) and have another two hours of light with these long days. We sometimes see other people (walkers, runners, mountain bikers). Sometimes not. Yes, I have my yawara stick in hand plus pepper spray in easy access. 

There are still so many trails to be explored that I can probably do a new one everyday for a month and still not cover them all!

I really, really like these flowers.

The path next to the railway line is our closest trail access - five minutes from home (walking).

A small, old dam on the mountain side. We visited it for the first time two days ago.

Some tracks are like this lower down. The higher you go, the trails are single track.

One of my close-to-home trails. This was our first time on this route and the flowers here were so pretty. They are past their prime now.

Rusty loves a view. We love the scent of pine in the forests around George Dam.

Walking with friends visiting the Garden Route for their year-end holiday.

Wilderness beach, before lockdown.

Groenvlei, in Sedgefield, is about a 30-minute drive. Nice trails around here - still a lot to be explored. My old running friend from Jo'burg, Rob, lives in Knysna now. This is a great meet-up location between our towns. 

Paddling with my doggy girl on George Dam, one of our favourite places.

Another pretty route.