The Otter Trail - Day 4

Day 4 of the trail is the longest and most strenuous (so far at least). The day is complicated by the crossing of the Bloukrans river, and unfortunately low ride was around 07:30 this morning (or at 20:00). The river itself is a grueling 10km hike from the 3rd day rest-stop - which is itself longer than any of the other day's hikes.

We started at 04:00, and it was quite disconcerting  to hike in the dark, while hearing the waves crash into the rocks below. With a spotlight, it was easy to see the bottom of the cliffs, and the path was often quite high up. 

Although the trail is well marked, it is quite difficult, with rocks and mud; and I lost my footing quite a few times. I was also quite tired - although not in pain as such - and unfortunately ended up slowing my friends quite a bit.

We made it to the river by 09:00, and the tide was coming in. We further managed to miscount the number of survival bags (2 less), and although RS and D shared a survival bag, they had to come back with a bag to get me. By this time, the crossing was even more difficult, but we did manage to get across safely - although my bag managed to get wet (courtesy of a few holes from rocks) and I managed to loose my glasses courtesy of a wave that was well over my head.

After some coffee and rusks on the other side, and some rudimentary attempts at drying (I was not the only one with a wet bag) - the hike to the next stop started. The 4km was even more strenuous given the exertions already undertaken; carriage of wet items, and some fairly steep climbs. We arrived at the stop in dribs and drabs - but were having lunch by 14:00 ... And complaining of all the pains and aches.

The Otter Trail - Day 3

Day 3 was rather short in distance, and quite relaxed - we only started after 9:30 and made it to the next rest stop by 14:30. 

Unlike the previous two days where the hike was through forests, most of today's hike hugged the coast, through fynbos and grasslands. The coast is quite rugged, making for some amazing scenery.

The day starts by crossing the Geelhoutbos river, which flows right past the rest stop. The crossing is simple - just walk across a the river resembles more of a stream than a river. The next two rivers are harder - for the Elandsbos, we had to wade through at ankle height, and the beach was a good place to stop. The Lottering river, right next to the next rest stop, was a harder affair, with the water at thigh high (although there was deeper parts). 

Later in the afternoon, a large pod of dolphins swam past the river mouth - adding to the whale we saw earlier in the day to our marine mammal count for the day.

The Otter Trail - Day 2

I woke up this morning with, what I thought was the wind howling outside. It actually took a fee minutes to realise that it was just the waves crashing into the rocks below the cabin. Relieved that I didn't have to trek through wind and rain, I strode outside to try catch the sunrise. Unfortunately east was more behind a hill, spoiling the perfect sunrise on the water imagery!

I managed to get a cellphone signal on the edge of the rocks, where I managed to update my blog. But I also got unfortunate news of an attempted fraud on my credit card - and so spent the next few minutes of my flaky signal canceling the card!

After a decent breakfast of oats so easy and instant cuppachino (our standard breakfast for the hike) we finally got walking. The second day route features a number of climbs, and is hopefully the most strenuous day of hiking. 

The climbing starts immediately, and quite difficult at that - and is only the easiest of the three big climbs. After the first climb, there is an amazing rocky lookout point overlooking the area. 

As we were leaving the outcrop, we met some rangers who were doing trail maintenance who assured us that only the final climb was bad; and it was actually pretty easy going until then. Our experience was unfortunately the opposite - and I certainly feel that the section between the outcrop and the bottom of the last major climb was the most difficult stretch. 

Just over the 75% mark, at the bottom of the last climb, there is a well marked detour to an amazing sandy beach. We spent a good couple of hours; and even though I am not a big fan of beaches; I think. The beach itself was worth the hike.

The final climb was actually not too bad - and the final lookout point had some amazing views. The way down to te second night huts, once again on the beach, was a bit steep - but otherwise unremarkable (in otter trail standards I suppose).

We had dinner of Chinese instant noodles; with some biltong; and even had a visitor in two genets that seemed to be very friendly. They were pretty easy to photograph - and it seems that at least some of the hikers feed them.

The Otter Trail - Day 1

About 14 months ago, D and I were chatting, an I mentioned that we should do the Otter Trail. D took the initiative, and here we are. There are 6 of us in total, with R, RS, Ju and Je joining us.

The first day is pretty relaxed, walking down from the park gate, through some fairly dense forest,  until hitting the sea, with a small cave to the right. The rest of the route is pretty rocky, especially to a spectacular waterfall; which is the end of the day trail. The overnight trail continues through more forest, before ending at the first overnight huts; where we could spy two whales frolicking in the sea.

The scenery has been amazing, with the combination of sea and forest. The weather forecast was for clear skies and sun; but it has been a cloudy day so far.

Dinner was a combination of classic camping food (smash and baked beans) with lamb chops and boerewors on the braai. That's it for luxurious food though; carrying that much weight for two days was never on the cards.

Storms River Village

In 2007, when I was traveling from Cape Town; Storms River Village was my first overnight stop. Not much has changed in this rather quaint village, although it does seem to have more accommodation, including 2 backpackers, than what I remember it having. It is stil quiet, and sleepy town - a nice start to a holiday.

Port Elizabeth's Beachfront

It's my fourth time in PE, and this is the first time I have actually spent any time at the beach front area. There doesn't seem to be much really - a paved walkway, some restaurants facing the beach, and the beach off course.

The Broadwalk Casino is one of the better casino complexes; with a wide open promenade and a number of restaurants. It isn't much; but somehow it seems to be better than the beach.

JPO's Fundraising Concert

In collaboration with University of Stellenbosch Symphony Orchestra, the JPO held two fund raising concerts last week; featuring soloists Pinchas Zukerman and his South African born, Canadian wife Amanda Forsyth. The tickets were on the expensive side - this was after all a fund raising concert - but both nights were sold out; although it was not as full as the Joshua Bell concert from a couple of years back.

The evening started with Pinchas Zukerman conducting Beethoven's Egmont Overture. It's a lively piece to start off, especially as Beethoven manages to fill a rather short piece with great symphonic orchestra elements - and the performance was simply superb.

Amanda Forsyth strode on to the stage in a regal flourish, dedicating the performance to her late father - Pietermaritzburg born Malcolm Forsyth - the composer of the cello concerto; Electra Rising.  For the first 3 movements, the piece (to me at least) was the tantrum - of a irate queen for instance, aided by percussion; while the orchestra plays the part of someone desperately trying to calm her down. This scene was further added to, when Amanda Forsyth asked a mother and her small child to move, due to the child's distracting movements in the front row! The last movement is very different - it is as if the tantrum is over, and everyone is ready to sing in happiness together - the symphonic movements are so different, that it is hard to believe it is the same piece! Officially, the piece is meant to mirror the fight against apartheid culminating with the dawn of democracy - but I prefer my interpretation :) As a modern piece, it was actually quite brave for the JPO to put on a concerto of this nature - especially in the context of a fund raising concert - but this is something the JPO needs to do more to survive.

After the break, Stellenbosch University's Corvin Matei conducted Pinchas Zukerman's performance of Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1. It was one of the best violin concerto performances at the JPO, and hands down the best performance of Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1, that I have attended. The performance was simply mesmerising, and fully deserved the standing ovation. 

The fund raising concert had a bit of everything - a very popular piece, a piece from one of the most feted composers, and a modern piece - with very impressive soloists. Hopefully, the JPO has many more!