14 January 2005    to      16 January 2005

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Another great weekend spent hiking! In the distance one can see the great rock at Bald Ibis that we were to spend a good deal of time climbing and hiking around. As usual Rob had beat us to the base camp on Friday again, but this time only by a small margin! Tender hiker and Petro arrived a few hours later. A nice evening of socializing followed.

Next morning we were off early. It was wonderful to get out into nature again away from the big city and especially the office!

The trail climbs quite steeply and winds its way around the back of the big rock before climbing again to the base of its cliffs. From here it winds its way around to the front. Eventually we were to hike around most of it. We were very fortunate that the weather was partly cloudy most of the day, offering some protection against the sun. It gets very hot and humid here when the sun comes out. In the distance a mountain with its top in the clouds.

Some of the towering rocks.

Some butterflies thought Rob was a great place to propagate the species.

A bit of rock climbing with the aid of a ladder.

Some parts of the trail were very overgrown. That's when we came into contact with some stinging nettles. One rarely encounters them on hikes in South Africa, so for most of us it was quite an experience.

San cave.

One walks through tracks of indigenous forest interspersed with grass that often contain many wild flowers.

After exiting the region behind the big rock a beautiful panorama unfolds.

Lunch time under a hanging rock.

Our Saturday overnight accommodation consisted of a cave of which there are many in this region that form in the sandstone that covers most of the eastern Freestate. Everyone collected wood when we arrived for our braai (barbecue) and fire to sit around that evening. For a bath we used a shallow hole on some rocks about 200m away that had filled with rainwater. The warm rocks had also warmed up the water pleasantly and the view from there was great! A bit later it started to rain and continued for most of the night.

By next morning the rain had stopped but all the grass was wet. Eventually our boots were soaked!

A heavy mist had settled in.

A bit later the mist started to lift revealing some great views.

A rock that had broken off from one of the cliffs.

Basecamp in sight again. All in all it had been another enjoyable hike and weekend away!