Ivy League 4.6 Outeniqua

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Well excuse me speaking with my mouth full.

Cyclops is a guinea fowl with one leg, who lives on the banks of the Touws River in the Ebb and Flow National Park in the shadow of the Outeniqua mountains. His lack of a limb does not worry him too much. He is a seasoned beggar and enormous as guinea fowls go. He also has a very clever looking-after-my-family tactic. Three quarters of the way into consuming the cracker being offered to him by Gogo, his family arrived. All 42 of them; including 11 ever so cute little chicks, but it is the teenagers who take the cake. They lined up in disciplined fashion in front of the car and systematically picked away at the kamikaze moths and insects who had splattered themselves against the car on the drive down to Wilderness on Friday evening.

Jip! My humans dumped me again. This time with Colleen, she does not give me forbidden goodies like Pat did last weekend, Gogo has been too strict with that in the past, but she also lovingly tends the vegetable garden which means I get to have company for a little longer.

Anyway, in search of Gogo's elusive 10th Comrades medal; they used the Outeniqua marathon as a training run. They raved so about the run; I am going to have to quote from Tom Cottrell's Runners Guide just to whet your appetite too.

"Nothing can beat the vista of the soaring Outeniqua peaks mirrored in the tranquil water of the George Dam.
The race is run mainly along one of Thomas Bain's passes of 1867. It tumbles down from Saasveld (where Cell is studying nature Conservation) just outside George, and winds its way through the magnificent indigenous forests. You run past the deep gorges of the Kaaimans and Silver Rivers along old tar and dust roads. There are stretches when it's just you, the forest and the mountains around you, and the sound of running water in your ears. (at one stage Gogo was convinced she had taken a wrong turning because the track was so deserted)

On this course, you will find a rare gift in the closing kilometres. (Uwi just loves the twisty turning downhill stretch through the forest) There is a secret beauty when the Indian Ocean, Garden Route lakes and the winding serpentine river combine with a heady mixture of ocean mist to give you a running high found only in those spectacular, singular moments when you are at one with yourself. (Both Uwi and Gogo agree that the last three kilometres are illegally long!!!!)

A few hundred metres from the end, you cross the bridge used by the famous Outeniqua Choo-Choo. Finally, this odyssey comes to an end on the grassy banks of the Touws River in the heart of Wilderness."

And Uwi and Gogo both say amen and amen, that is why they came back for more, and will God willing do so again. Any other takers? If you don’t want to run; there's kayaking and plenty of mountain biking opportunity.

Naturally Uwi and Gogo did not do any of the extras but spent Saturday afternoon lazing on the grassy banks of the Touws River with books, camera, biscuits and cheese waiting for Cell to arrive. Dinner was steak, chips and a couple of beers at a hidden away restaurant in Sedgefield.
They had a lazy start to the day, sitting on the steps of the hut, sipping coffee, dipping rusks and looking up at the forest clad mountai and bewailing the fact that they had forgotten to bring a pair of binoculars. After a big grocery shop at George Mall (shops are 34 kms away from home) they made their way home - to me. I got 3 hooves stuffed with yummy stuff to chew.
Crunch and ciao until next time.

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Photos

Cyclops
hopping around on one leg in the shadow of the Outeniqua mountains

Gogo
resting, thinking, being

Uwi
relaxing on the grassy banks of the Touws River

Caryn
splitting up the mirror image

Indigenous forests
in the Wilderness

Comments

[Hennelie Evans]

Sjoe, Lyk vreeslik lekker. Dankie ook vir die interessante inligting. Gaan goed hier met ons.net meer besig as wat ek verwag het veral as jy in ag neem dat ek nie eers werk nie!! Ek ondersoek nog paar goed en maak intussen huis skoon. Groete, Hannelie Ek sien jy is oppad Comrades toe. Baie sterkte.