19 June 2004     to     20 June 2004

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Rooi Ivoor was a really excellent hike! The facilities were first class. The weather turned out great, and the hike itself was very scenic, not to mention the company of a super group! The base camp had all you could hope for,  hot showers and a very nice Lapa with plenty of wood for a braai and fire afterwards.

Tim brought his bottle of something again,

and the garlic snails seemed to go down well too.

The next morning turned out quite cold but with clear blue sky's. For those none South Africans...its winter here at the moment!

The hike went through a lot of bushland

and even though it was winter and the grass was brown, a lot of the trees are still green.

We came across some really big aloes along the way, some of which were over five meters tall with great big orange and red blossoms on the top.

From here on the trail started climbing and eventually we came across a still flowing stream where we stopped for a break. Most of the small mountain streams dry up at this time of the year, so it was nice to come across one that was still flowing.

Some more climbing!

One section had a log bridge across one of the gorges.

Time for another break!

A beautiful little waterfall and pool which in summer would have made a great swimming spot.

Some tree ferns.

After climbing for hours we eventually made it to our hut. This was luxury indeed, with a great big fireplace inside and a "Donkey" for hot water.

The hut is situated near the top of the  mountains so the views were great. The air was quite clean and in the evening the stars were really spectacular!

Everyone was photographing the sunset!

Next morning and almost ready to go.

Out hut receding in the background.

Some more mountains in the distance. It was along this stretch that we came across some small Venus fly trap plants. Certainly the first most of us had seen in South Africa.

A huge wild Fig tree which some of us attempted to climb.

At the end of the hike Alta and Leon treated us to some Boerewors roles that really went down well!