Words by Camilla Howard
We reunited in Vleesbaai early on the 2nd of January and while Jordyn set up our camp, Mike and I made our way to the mouth of the Gouritz river. We were joined by my sister, Libby, and Damian vd Berg for the first few days. After a quick stop to jump off the bridge into the river to cool off we found our way to the mouth through some private farms.
There were signs everywhere warning us that we were trespassing on a Cape Cobra Breeding Ground which sent shivers down our guests spines. I think the signs were there merely to keep humans out. We rounded the point at the start of Vleesbaai (fransmanshoek), had an amazing swim in a little secluded bay and then found our way up to the campsite.
Roland and Kei are rangers from Cape Nature who look after the local conservancy and they joined us the next day from Vleesbaai to Dana Baai which was a 20km beach walk. The wind howled all day so our 4 fellow trekkers got a real taste of the not-so-nice conditions we are occasionally faced with! We did manage to collect 10 bags of trash though which we left a certain spots en route for Roland to collect. As accommodation was particularly scare and the campsites were bursting at the seams at this time of year we had to base ourselves all the way out at Glentana for the week. This is when the support vehicle becomes very important!
We walked from Dana Bay to Mossel Bay Point following the St Blaize trail all the way. We went off the beaten track a couple of times in search of the Pinnacle Point caves and had to take cover from flying golf balls every now and then. It was only about 16km but a great work out! That night we celebrated Jordyn’s matric results at De Dekke and due to exhaustion, Damian and I declined to join Mike, Jords and Libby on the sokkie floor to dance Gangnam style.
A few jounalists and photographers met us at the Point where we started the next 17km section to Kleinbrak and we got a taste of what it feels like to be chased by paparazi as they popped out from bushes, behind rocks and from under bridges to get ‘action shots!’. That evening we had a delicious farewell dinner at Transkaroo for Damian and Libby. After a rest day it was back to the two of us and we started the week walking from Kleinbrak to Glentana. The Dive Centre brought along a small crew to help us clean up the next day from Glentana to Herolds Bay. They had advised us to walk to the caves and then turn around as the next section was ‘impassable’. Once Mike and I got to the caves though, we decided to risk it and try our luck. It got very tricky, very quickly. We didn’t have the right gear and my shoes were made for muddy trails and not sheer slippery rocks so after nearly slipping 50 times I eventually did slip and gashed my head, leg and arm open.
Eventually we found our way up a cliff and down into Herolds Bay as a storm rolled in so our next threat was being struck by lightning walking on a bare open field at the top of a hill! All ended well and the next day from Herolds Bay to Kwelanga Lodge was far less challenging! Doug and Anne Davis who have 2 family cottages along that route kindly rallied the troops and we were joined by a few of them for a stretch and were fed delicious cold watermelon and drinks halfway! At Kwelanga we took the decision to walk inland on the train track despite being warned by everyone that is was probably even more dangerous than attempting the cliffs on the coast. We got a bit lost through the forest and found a kind man to show us the way before meandering through two townships to find the train tracks which were in a shocking state. We followed the tracks all the way to Victoria Bay around to Wilderness. We had absolutely no problems along the way but we did have Mike’s folks, Gretchen and Francis, walking with us. Safety in numbers…
