1 July 2006    to      2 July 2006

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Silvia had again taken Friday off so we arrived at about 3 : 30 at the base camp for the Serendipity trail. Although we had done this trail about two years ago, at that time the area was suffering from a sever drought and we were a huge crowd. This time we had had very good summer rains and best of all it was only three of us. We were in for a very pleasant hike! After sorting out a little water problem we all relaxed around the camp fire for the evening.

The next day remained cloudy most of the day. The base camp hut can be seen on the other side.

After leaving the base camp a small climb follows. I would say the first day is bit easier than the second.

This time some of the streams had water in them.

A Fever tree. According to legend the tree got its name back in the days when the early white settlers reached the lowveld in the old Eastern Transvaal and tried to get to Maputo (then Lourenco Marques) and came down with Malaria. They then blamed the fever on the tree.

Rob madly in love with a Fever tree.....well it is a hot tree!

Lunch time next to a stream by a giant Fig tree.

From here on the trail follows a beautiful valley.

One crosses the stream a number of times.

Along the high cliffs one can sometimes see the nesting places of some Eagles.

No Silvia was not hunting Koedoe! We came across this dead Koedoe a little further on. It could not have been dead long as there was absolutely no smell coming from it yet. Some predators had been feeding off its rear end though already.

A little further on we came across something amazing. 48 Caterpillars were marching front to rear. They were coming down a tree and then crossing the path. The whole length of them must have been about a meter and a half. Maybe someone has seen this before and can let us know why they do this and the type of Caterpillar.

Lots of water this time round.

We got to the hut at about 14 : 30. The view from the hut is really great as you can look across the valley. That evening we sat around the camp fire talking well into the night.

Next morning was quite cold until the sun reached the hut over the mountains.

The second day is quite hilly so its up and down most of the day.

Today the sun was out which gave the area a very different look from the previous day.

Lunch time and then the last few kilometers back to base camp. This had been a great weekend for all of us!