MIDLANDS HIKING CLUB NEWS

Volume 2 No. 15 31 July 2013

go hiking

MIDLANDS HIKING CLUB COMMITTEE

Chairman: Brian Henwood (brian@hn.co.za) Vice Chairman: John Fourie (john4ie@gmail.com) Treasurer: Sven Jager

(svendebs@sai.co.za) Secretary: Carolee Thompson (caroleejoy@gmail.com) Activities Organiser: Debbie Jager

(svendebs@sai.co.za) Newsletter Editor: Brigitta Simpson (brigittasimpson@gmail.com)

Website: Rod Hart (rodhart@psyc.co.za) Membership Officer: Peter Rippon (psrippon@gmail.com)

Member: Mark Nellist (mnellist@telkomsa.net)

CONTENTS A CHAMPION FOR THE FRAGILE EARTH; CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER; EDITOR’S LETTER; WE HIKED TO LOST

CAVE, MONTEBELLO, ALVERSTON, ROCKY BAY; YOUR OUTDOOR LIBRARY; YOUR OUTDOOR MOVIE;

CARTOONS JUST FOR YOU.

Page 1

A CHAMPION FOR THE FRAGILE EARTH

My father taught me that nothing is impossible if you had a mind to go after it. What seems beyond you is only un-

reachable if you believe it. Lews Gordon Pugh

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Envromentalist Lewis Gordon Pugh, 40, wore just

trunks, goggles and a swimming hat to swim 1km (0.62

miles) across Pumori Lake. The icy lake lies 17,000ft

(5,300m) up the famous mountain near the Khumbu

Glacier and its waters are around just 2C. He says if he

had gone too quick he could have lost energy and

drowned but if he had been too slow he would have

suffered hypothermia.

His epic dip has become the first ever long distance

swim to be completed under the summit of Everest.

AGMAGMAGMAGM

28 August

17h30

Chairman’s Chatter by Brian Henwood

Page 2

Bria

n

The End of our Financial Year is Ap-

proaching Our financial year ends in

July and is followed by the Annual

General Meeting in August. That im-

portant event in our annual calendar

will serve not only to wrap up the cur-

rent hiking year but will also serve to

launch us into the new year. This will

be characterised by new energy and

enthusiasm.

Our outdoor club is fortunate to have a

stable committee where each member

knows their responsibilities and simply

gets on with it. Yes we do make mis-

takes and sometimes things do ‘fall

between two stools’ but we are not

ashamed to pick it up and run with it.

In preparation for the AGM our com-

mittee members have indicated whether

they would be making themselves avail-

able for re-election. We have also dis-

cussed options for our new committee. I

am pleased to be able to share with you

that we have a keen and committed

bunch with only the chairperson and

vice-chairperson indicating that they

wish to stand down.

remind us of the good times we have

spent together during the year.

Editor’s Letter

I am sure that it is with great

regret that we are almost say-

ing goodbye to Brian as our

chairman. During his term in

office, he proved to be a very

efficient chairman and lead the

MHC with vision and high

regard for every member of

the club. Thank you, Brian,

for all you have done over the

past three years.

To the new chairman and

committee: wishing you only

the best of the best for the

coming hiking year.

Keep hiking!

Brigitta

Visit the MIDLANDS HIKING

CLUB on facebook!

S O S If you are not receiving the regular

e-mail reminders of upcoming events

and other notices, please make sure

you are on the mailing list by sending

your e-mail address to

midlandshikingclub@gmail.com.

Christie

I sent an email to a club member indicat-

ing that we were searching for a good-

looking intelligent and streetwise person

for election to our committee. In a re-

sponse to my suggestion that the mem-

ber may have the credentials to qualify, I

was presented with a long list of ques-

tions including a request to see

the Constitution. After some polite dis-

cussions and not much force I am

pleased to say that we now have two

club members who have indicated their

willingness to stand for election. This

does not mean that we will not consider

any other nominations. What it does

mean is that you can attend the AGM

and be at ease knowing that you will not

be bullied into agreeing to stand for

committee.

We are hoping to see a good turnout of

members at the AGM on Wednesday 28

August. The AGM will be followed by a

light supper with the choice of curry and

rice or a chicken dish followed by tarts

and cakes. Also please bring along a

couple of your favourite hiking group

photos, each printed on an A4 page. We

will pin them on a board at the AGM to

My top of the range Salomon Boots size 9 (male fit) are now for sale at

Bush and Bundu. They are selling them on my behalf. They are brand new, worn once in soft conditions. Too big for me.I

paid R2200 for them and I am sell-ing them for R1500 AND can be bought with a Credit Card from

Bush and Bundu. An absolute bar-gain!

Do YOU know the answer?

What is a yak? Send your answer to

brigittasimpson@gmail.com and collect your prize at the

AGM.

AGM

28 August

17h30

R25 pp

We hiked to … Lost Cave Exploration Central Drakensberg uKhahlamba

World Heritage Site 24 – 26 May 2013. by Dave Sclanders.

Page 3

The firebreak burners had

been this way, but had

seemed to have left gaps of

unburnt grass along the

way. The colours of the au-

tumn grasses are always ex-

citing, changing constantly

with the moving of the sun

and time. In the middle of

nowhere we came upon

the “green steel trunk”, se-

curely locked and fixed into

the ground. One must won-

der – what secrets lie and

locked forgotten green

box ??????????

Not far from the tents

we crossed a stream and

filled our water containers

for the night. In the darken-

ing, black hollow of the

stream, a bright red floret of

some plant stood out in stark

contrast to the dark sur-

roundings. Later that eve-

ning as we prepared to go

to bed, a group of patrolling

Field Rangers passed our

tents. They were as surprise

at seeing us, as we were of

seeing them. After greetings

and introductions I asked

them about “the cave”.

One of them said he

thought he had seen a

cave on the other side of

the crest from that which we

had been looking at, half

way down the valley with a

stream not far off.

We were up early, and

climbed a nearby hill to

watch a beautiful sunrise

on the mountain tops. Then it was breakfast, and

we headed off first to the

area indicated by our Field

Rangers. In this part of the

and steep – not for the

feint hearted. We dropped

down into the valley

crossed a stream and bat-

tled across the side of the

slope, and eventually

came to the area – but

again , not what we were

looking for. Climbing back

up, we took time to catch

our breath and enjoy the

incredible views around us.

We now headed

down the other side of the

crest to the area we had

seen late yesterday after-

noon. Again, after some

hard cross country walking,

we eventually came within

sight of our rock face. As it

was some distance down

the slope, Keith offered to

go down and investigate,

there was a cave, it could

sleep up to 5 people, it had

water, but it was not the

cave we were looking for.

So after another long day,

Back at the tents we en-

joyed a magical sunset. It

was time to head home.

My report for the hike

"Injisuthi Exploration" 6 – 8 April

2012, described a 3 day hike

we did last year to find the

“lost cave” noted in a Dra-

kensberg book written in 2003.

The cave was described as

large, well protected, and situ-

ated close to water. Our 3 day

search last year did not yield

any fruit, but on the last day,

we saw what seemed to be a

promising cave area far

across the valley from where

we were, and as I said in the

Newsletter, we would head

into this area next year.

Again it was with great

excitement that my 3 hiking

partners and myself set a date

for our trip, unfortunately, due

to an accident, John could

not come with us so 3 of us

started our quest – all of us

young minded (average age

of 70), fit and strong hikers –

ready to explore another un-

known area.

It took us some hours to

get into the area where we

would pitch our tents, then,

head out with day packs to

look for this “cave” in the mid-

dle of the vast Drakensberg

wilderness. On the way up into

the berg we passed a pair of

rare and endangered Oribi

antelope, and a group of fire-

fighters starting to burn the

winter firebreaks.

However further down

the valley and some way

away was another very likely

overhang, that would have to

wait for tomorrow.

It was now time to head back

to our tents. Walking along the

slope was now tiring, and we

were feeling the long day that

we had had.

Go to

www.gohiking.co.za

for the final lines as to

what happened

next…

&

Magnificent photographs

Alverstone Wildlife Park

14 July 2013

by Brian Henwood

With mild weather and a

cool breeze Sandy Miles

lead a well-attended hike

through the privately-owned

Alverstone Wildlife Park at

Assagay on 14 July 2013. This

was a new hiking venue and

an unfamiliar experience for

most of her group of 18. Im-

pala, wildebeest and bles-

bok were plentiful on the

upper flat grassland areas

although the wildlife were

somewhat timid in our pres-

ence.

We descended quite

steeply into the valley,

crossed the stream below

the dam and ventured

along a circular route which

lead us through indigenous

forest and back to higher

ground. Once we had

climbed out of the valley it

was time for a relaxation

break. The short grass

around the upper dam

was an ideal place to rest

and enjoy the company of

our hikers in the tranquility

of the wildlife park. Look-

ing south across to Hillcrest

and beyond, if it were not

for the hazy conditions I

am sure we could have

seen the ocean.

Once back at the boma

the fire was lit and 13 of us

tucked into our braai

meat and salads before

drifting off to enjoy the rest

of the day in the comfort

of our homes. Some weary

hikers would probably

have fallen asleep in front of

the 'tele'.

MONTEBELLO

HIKE

23JUNE 2013

by Annie Waterhouse,

photos by

Brian Henwood

The hikers included: Bushy

Kirby (leader), Chris Dob-

son, Rob & Nelly Melis,

Brian & Veronica Hen-

wood, Philip Grant, Christie

Exall, Linda Bruss, Jeff Ma-

yall, Stephanie & Nikki &

Maxine (visitors), Annie,

Carolee (plus Sundae, of

course).

One can always rely on

Bushy to find interesting

and out of the way places,

this was no exception!!! The

longish drive was rewarded

with a spectacular hike on

the edge of Mqeku river

valley. The geology and

geography of the area was

impressive, with steep cliffs

and rocky outcrops. Most

extraordinary was ‘The

Crack”, a deep fissure run-

ning from the top of the es-

carpment to the valley be-

low. Some braver members

ventured part of the way

down.

The return trek took us

through ploughed fields,

burnt sugar cane, gum plan-

tations, and pristine grass-

land always with temping

views ‘just over the edge’.

Many thanks to Bushy, a

great outing enjoyed by all!

We hiked to …

Page 4

We hiked to … Rocky Bay Caravan Park,. Rocky Bay Caravan Park,. Rocky Bay Caravan Park,. Rocky Bay Caravan Park,. Report by Christie Exall, photos by

Brian Henwood

Rocky Bay Caravan Park is

without a doubt one of the

most popular Caravan Parks on

the KZN South Coast. Dave

Coward chose it for a members

weekend away from home be-

tween 19th to 21st July.

11 Members had a very

relaxed weekend and enjoyed

glorious sunny weather. A

beautiful moon, waxing to

nearly full and the ever present

ocean right in front of our

camp site, set the scene.

On Saturday morning we

left for a walk in a southerly di-

rection along the beach to-

wards Pennington. A few swim-

mers braved the sea for a stun-

ning swim, others continued a

little further along the beach

while the hungry found the

beach kiosk for refreshments.

Eventually all of us gathered

there for something to eat or

drink.

Our dear hiking friend,

George Archibald, who hap-

pened to be in the area, came

to greet us all while we were

eating. Hopefully George will

join us on a hike in the near fu-

ture.

A very successful braai

was held on Saturday evening.

On Sunday morning we

drove to Umdoni Park, in the

Pennington Conservancy, for a

short walk. About two and a

half hours was spent walking

thru this pristine Nature Reserve.

We were promised a

lunch at the Umdoni Golf Club

House. The fish and chips for

R50 was suggested. We all

opted for this dish and nobody

was disappointed.

We left for home, well fed

and contented.

Page 5

Page 6

YOUR OUTDOOR LIBRARYYOUR OUTDOOR LIBRARYYOUR OUTDOOR LIBRARYYOUR OUTDOOR LIBRARY

Ha

ha

Ha..

Ha

ha

ha ha

Cartoons/Comics just for you!

Lewis Pugh has 10 seconds before he plunges into the freezing Arctic Ocean, where he

swims a kilometre across Antarctica, wearing nothing but a Speedo and a swim cap, a

feat never thought possible. ‘Ordinary’ humans would probably die within minutes in

this icy water! How can his naked body cope with these conditions for so long? And

why on earth would anyone want to do such a crazy thing?

This documentary provides a visual experience of Lewis as he swims to draw attention

to the oceans and raise awareness about climate change. Ice Man documents the ex-

traordinary physiological and psychological journey of Lewis’s long distance swims in

the freezing waters of both the south and the North Pole. With the support of cutting

edge science and an incredible ability to believe in himself he hopes to unify the

potential of mind and body.

He has gone where no one has gone before and achieved a new understanding of the

human body.

W

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G

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YOUR OUTDOOR YOUR OUTDOOR YOUR OUTDOOR YOUR OUTDOOR MOVIEMOVIEMOVIEMOVIE

Lewis Pugh knows oceans. He was the first to complete a long distance swim in every ocean

of the world, and has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other person

in history. He swam across the icy waters of the North Pole to highlight the melting of the

Arctic Sea ice, and across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to draw attention to the impact of

climate change on the Himalayan glaciers. It was there that he met his first yak.

Trekking behind them up the icy slopes, watching them cross skeletal bridges over dizzying

ravines, and listening to them breathe outside his tent each night, Lewis got to think about

the things he most admires in a yak. And found that those qualities were not unlike the ones

that enabled him to meet his own challenges - and achieve things that people believed to be

impossible.

In 21 Yaks and a Speedo, Lewis shares his ability to dream big dreams, build crack teams,

and get the job done. You'll be inspired by his devotion to excellence, his loyalty to his crew,

and his belief in never giving up.

amazon.com

Iceman: The Lewis Gordon Pugh Story

Quest for the lost cave ...Quest for the lost cave ...Quest for the lost cave ...Quest for the lost cave ...