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~ I dont blog about things to be liked. I blog about things that I like ~ ... so that one day, on my death bed, I will have said and done what I wanted to do, and die peacefully without regrets.
Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says..' Oh shit....She's awake'

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Crime warning signs for Cape Town beach

Cape Town - Noordhoek Beach in Cape Town is to get warning signs indicating it is a mugging hotspot, it was reported on Tuesday.

The signs come after at least eight people were mugged in separate incidents at the beach since February, the Cape Times reported.

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato said tourists were most vulnerable.

"Specifically tourists don't know the dangers of the area. What we will have to do is put up signboards that say: 'Only walk in these designated areas' or 'Please don't go beyond this point'," he said.

Plato was also looking at the possibility of installing quad bike patrols but said this would not solve all crime.

"Attacks are happening almost any time of the day. If criminals want to attack, they attack."

In the most recent incident, a father and daughter were attacked by a knife-wielding man on the beach on Saturday. The father was stabbed in the right leg and a cellphone and ring were taken.

Table Mountain National Park spokesperson Merle Collins warned people to walk in groups of four or more and not to carry valuables.
- SAPA
 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Cederberg Wolfberg Cracks Hiking Pictures

 The Easter weekend stumbled upon us and it was a tough decision of 'where to go' or 'what to do'.

My advice, if you want to visit this area, book Cederberg Accommodation or Citrusdal Accommodation far in advanceCitrusdal info takes you to 22 km away and further from all the main attactions of the Cederberg.  Cederberg Accommodation puts you in the heart of all the action... its up to you.

 This time around, we found self catering cottage at Keurbos about 50km from where we wanted to stay.  The advantage of this was, we were forced to enjoy the majority of the cederberg valley from Clanwilliam, pass Algeria, right up to the heart of the Cederberg. The cost was R350 per night for a cottage that sleeps 5, with electricity.



You need a permit to hike this route, and on the permit is the code to get into the gate.  I take no responsibility for information shared on this blog, but I do hope it will help you to enjoy this hike as much as we have always done.  Take plenty of water and always something warm for the unpredictable cold wind at the top.


Once you have parked your car (see the carpark below), the clearly marked path will take you to the top.  This massive square rock is your halfway landmark to the top.

Once you start to reach the rockface at the top, aim for the gap in the centre of this image.  Here you will find a sign to point you to your next stop.  At the sign is a 2m scramble onto a ledge where most people give each other a hand to get onto the ledge.  The ledge will then take you to the right of this image, where you need to immediately climb upward (easy walk) again back in the direction of the middle of this image.

This is me ontop of the ledge heading in the direction of the photographer.  If you look carefully far into the crack by the fallen rocks (of this image), you will see there is a person standing ontop of the rocks.  These people have already completed the route and are heading down already.
While walking along this ledge there is one section (the size of A4) of rock that is very narrow, where you need to cross the path to continue your way up.  views are spectacular all the way...

After surviving the narrow A4 size ledge, continue to head up the mountian in the direction of this big hole in the rock.  Here you have to again scramble over the rocks as seen in front of me.

Thankfully, as seen above, I managed to get over those rocks and into a section that resembles a rockfall and an amphitheatre.

Aim for left side of the rock in the middle of the image.  Look carefully and you will notice Zita sitting there enjoying her lunch and even more carefully and you will see the white arrow painted on the rock behind her.

Some clever hikers before us painted a white arrow in the direction that you need to follow. Best you put your torch on in here, the very narrow passage has about 5 meters of complete darkness and many boulders to negotiate.
Once you have got yourself through that dark narrow passage, you will reach a sandy patch.  This is where you will find the beautiful wolfberg cracks.
 Dont make the mistake that everyone makes when they get here - and just rush through.  Stop and enjoy!
When you are ready to move on, follow the loooong passage on the left behind me.

This passage continues up the mountain and gets narrower to the end. There comes a point where you need to again scramble over a 2m high rock, so its best you go with someone to give each other a hand.

The final obstacle of this walk is where you need to reverse your body into a hole and wiggle your way under a fallen rock, to get back onto the now very walkable path.
Once you reach the top, again, stop and enjoy the view. 




The way back down is to head about 50m outside of the cracks and then turn left.  Follow the path back down.


From here, give yourself about 1h30min to get back down.


A romantic full moon greeted us as we drove out of the Sandrift area...


Route co-ordinates can be obtained if you contact me.


Alternative Route to get to the Cederberg (and much easier than the other one which I wrote about in my other posts) is the following:

Take the N7 to Citrusdal.
Pass Citrusdal about 25km and then turn right onto the Algeria road.

This road will take you through the Nieuwoudts pass... stunning and easy driving.

 At the bottom of the pass you will see a sign that shows you the direction of the Cederberg.

 This is where you will also pass the Algeria resort, but continue with the road in the direction of the Uitkykpas.

Once you have reached the top of the Uitkykpass, you will be about 20km from the Wolfberg Cracks.


Keep your eyes open for a view of the Wolfberg Cracks in the mountain on your left, which is about in the middle of the image of the sheep above.

Remember to stop at the Sandrift Farm to get your permits during office hours.


Enjoy!

New to reading blogs?

I have heard so many people saying they are new to reading blogs. Here is the 'low down' of what you need to do:

1. The blog is written in date order. Latest posts are at the top and older posts below them. Older posts have a link to them - find the link if you scroll right to the bottom of this screen - see Older Posts.
2. Click on the post header if you wish to make comments below the articles. Comments are most welcome :)
3. I blog our hikes to help other people find nice hiking routes, but also because we love taking pictures on our hikes.
4. On the right column are images of some of the hikes we have done so far. Click on the images to read about those hikes.
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Thanks for reading my blog and hope you enjoy the read.

There is an old saying...

The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know.