Advertisement
Hogs Backs
The 3 Hogsbacks Traveling from J Bay to Hogsback was interesting,the roads to Hogsback are “rural” and it was a bumpy ride towards the end, but we finally arrived at Away With The Fairies Backpackers.
Hogsback is rumored to be the place that inspired J R R Tolkiens Lord of the Rings. The 3 peaks (1836 m, 1 824 m and 1 937 m) in the pictures are responsible for the places' name as they look like the backs of the bristly hogs(pigs) that roam the area at night. The backpackers is set on a steep hillside opposite the 3 Hogs backs (see pics). We walked out to the Viewpoint when we arrived,which is basically just a path out on a steep cliff,even after the bungy jump, I was wary of it and stood back!!! But the view was magnificent. You can imagine fairies and elves running through the shady forests below,there are wooden walkways and waterfalls and small brooks and wonky bridges everywhere.
Our first night there began with a great meal served by the backpackers,it is run by a British couple, Jemma and Dan,and the resident “entertainers” in the form of bar staff are Randy,Candy and Ed - you guys know who
Viewpoint
From the Viewpoint you REALLY are!!!
After supper we gathered around the cosy bar,the Wizards Sleeve, with a fire behind us and started with Jagermeister and ended with their house shooters which have funny names like “Give your liver a break “ and “Little Girl Pink”, which confused the hell out of me and subsequently I spent the rest of the night offering every Tom,Dick and Harry, “Little Pink Girls”, which seemed to cause quite a stir as some foreigners began to think I was the local madam!!!
Our first real day in Hogsback only began at 13h00 with us managing to drag ourselves out of bed out of sheer hunger and venture into town to find food.
Town is one road basically, with a few local shops and restaurants, we had some great food at The Enchanted Treehouse and got bombarded by locals trying to sell these tiny wooden warthogs to you...a bit annoying actually, as there are like 20 of them with 50 of the same thing and 2 of us!!!!
We made it back intact and Dave, being wise, went to bed early after a delicious pizza from Ninas Pizzeria in town, to rest for our planned day of hiking
Walkway
Walkway to Madonna and Child Falls the next day.
Me, being unwise,went to the bar and stayed until closing,got 2 hours sleep and looking and feeling like death, set out for 5 hours of hiking. It was rather arduous,not only due to the strain of hiking on a hangover, but we had 2 different maps, one that we got from the backpackers and one from the tourist office and both gave different directions, so we got a bit lost at one point and I started to despair that I would die of thirst BEFORE my headache killed me!! The paths are well hidden and badly labelled. But the indigenous forest is amazing and the trees are labeled in places,there are dassies and monkeys everywhere.
Our first stop was Madonna and Child falls which involves a LONG walk down on a rather sketchy wooden walkway which is broken in places and in some places involves using a rope to go down!!! This was a very hectic walk back up!!! At the top, we bumped into some locals who were selling walking sticks and ..here is some info you can choose to use or not use...they also sell Magic Mushrooms the size of fists for R30... Next we
Walkway 2
Walkway to Madonna and Child Falls went to the Big Tree,which is an 800 year old Yellowood,we combined this hike with a visit to Bridal Veil Falls. At the end of this, we took another turn in the “path” and ended up on what was labeled on the map a “difficult path”, at the end of which, I was on my hands and knees, crawling up!!! Not amused!
Due to the beauty and sheer size of the tree and the waterfalls, I have included videos of them, as pictures couldn't quite capture the brilliance.
Our last night started well with us meeting up again with our Canadian friend Kyley from J Bay and went downhill from there, with more shooters, and more shooters and more.....and so, I ended up on a car trip to Kei Mouth with a mean hangover ..again!!!Good Times!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.089s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0556s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb