Can Do! Trekking for trash Day 23 – 28
It was a 2 day haul to get to Laaiplek so the first day we walked halfway along an incredibly beautiful stretch of beach which started around the point at Elands Bay and stretches all the way past Rocher Pan. We then had to bundu bash inland after 28km to find Erlo on the road that ran parallel to the beach and along the railway tracks. We saw our first dolphins and plenty of seals sunning themselves on the pearly white sand. Mike had great fun creeping up to them and then scaring the living daylights out of them. He tells me he is doing them a favour by keeping them alert for predators. I just think he’s being mean.
I was pushed very close to my pain threshold once again. I knew I should listen to my body which was screaming at me to stop but there wasn’t really an option of pulling out so I limped along and nearly levitated with euphoria when Erlo came into view! The next day we rose very early and drove down to Laaiplek to visit 2 fish canning factories. We did our presentations and then joined the Nampak team for fish and chips on the pier at St Helena Bay. We said a sad goodbye to Erlo and got one of the team to drive us up to where we had finished the day before and we started our 30km trek back down to Laaiplek at 2pm.
At last we found a recycling depot so we were able to empty our bag and refill it halfway. We stopped for snacks and leftovers on the beach close to Dwarskersbos and walked as the sun dropped below the horizon on the brilliantly hard low-tide sand. We only reached our overnight spot at 9pm but had really enjoyed the night walk. I iced my leg in the freezing Atlantic sea and then fell into a coma in our basic yet comfy room. Thanks to Sunset Villa’s for putting us up.
John Moran, an inspirational gentleman read about us in the newspaper and did his utmost to accommodate and support us. He paddles on the Berg river daily and collects trash which he then turns into fun art pieces! On Thursday we joined Andre, Cecilia, Chris and Heleen (our sponsors) at the Laaiplek Hotel for breakfast and then we hitched a ride to the other side of the great berg river. A friendly farmer, Piet, allowed us onto his property so we could walk along the beach. We walked right past a house where a man had been brutally murdered in a botched robbery the weekend before. For the first time in a month we felt a little unsafe and walked rather briskly past the informal settlement towards St Helena bay (where we stopped once again for fish ‘n chips).
We ended the day at Duiker Island and headed down to Oesterwal where our very good friends, the van den Berg family, put us up for the weekend. Saturday was a rest day and we spent the day at the Strandloper with our favourite people who’d come up to see us. On Sunday we had a small crew helping us clean up as we walked which was brilliant! On Monday we conquered the stunning Paternoster/Tietiesbaai stretch but we were pummeled by the wind. Luckily on Tuesday morning the wind had died down for our second school visit. We spent an hour with the little kids at Paternoster St Augustines Primary. We split them into grades and gave them 15 minutes to collect as much trash as they could. The grade 3’s and 5’s drew and we rewarded them with a can of coke each.
Even with our broken Afrikaans I’m positive our message hit home which makes it all feel worthwhile. A friend out from the UK, Gail, joined us for the walk from Tietiesbaai to Saldahna. She picked the wrong day and was a little shell-shocked by the end of the day. The wind was unbearable! It was great to have the extra help when we encountered the big rubbish problem areas north of Jacobsbaai though. We posted a photo of one particular pile of beach trash and it started a very interesting conversation, nearly 200 people have commented on it. We hope by highlighting these areas that people will take action instead of simply adopting a comfy stance from the couch. We were also spoilt with a delicious lunch on the house at the Weskusplek Restaurant, thanks Lydia!
