SA Adventure (vol. 2)

   Saturday was a bit more relaxed, after a nine and a half mile trail run on a mountain. Janelle (my sister-in-law) is training for a half marathon and David, Aram, and I joined her run. I haven't run on purpose in a long time, and even at a distance pace I was struggling. Aram, Sim, David, and I went to Kalky's for fish and chips for lunch. The run may have contributed, but we agreed it was probably the best fish we'd ever had. We spent the evening at a cold and windy beach with blown sand whipping over the beach wall to sting the face. The water is ~57 F, (about spring temp, for Missouri folk), so the wee folk would have endure a lot of cold to drown. Mostly we played on the playground: I jumped over stuff, Malachi worked on skipping rungs of the monkey bars, and I helped Ezra traverse some of the more intimidating equipment. Right before we left I noticed that Malachi was no longer on the beach adjacent to the playground. I scanned the coast and saw a half-size figure about half a mile down the beach. I chased him down and found out he'd been chasing a flock of gulls. "I chased them, and they would fly and land and I chased them again. And then I couldn't find you."

    We drove to Stellenbosch in wine country on Sunday and enjoyed the incredible scenery. After visiting a market/winery/carnival, we drove between towns while the wee folk napped. The car that Aram and Debbi borrowed is a convertible, and we cruised among the mountains and vineyards with the top down. It didn't even seem like real life.

The next vineyard (Babylonstoren) had extensive gardens with flowers, herbs, fruit trees, all organized in neat plots separated by hedges. It was quite lovely to just wander the isles as the sun lowered, and I even snagged a delicious guava from under a tree. Our supper gave me another reason to move to SA - we went to a "four and a half" star steakhouse, where the most expensive steak was around $17. Eleven dollars got me 300 g of the best steak I have ever eaten, flambéd in front of me with brandy.

    Monday Morning we spent at the beach, throwing a disc, rescuing from the freezing water, and playing with the kids. We even collected some mussels which Aram steamed for lunch. With copious amounts of garlic butter and lemon I could forgive the grit, and the fact that they were mollusks.
    After lunch Aram, Simanelle, and I hiked Chapman's Peak, the highpoint between Capetown and where we stayed. The road to the between Nordhoek and Capetown (which we took to the trailhead) is carved into the cliff around a point of coast. I was really hoping to bike it while I was there, but it never happened.

Chapman's Peak Drive

The 2 hour hike was fairly steep but on a well established trail. Sprinting the last half kilometer to the top turned out to be more than I should have undertaken, and my lungs complained loudly all evening. The top offered a view of the whole peninsula, as well as the far side of the bay. I would have liked to stay at the top until sunset, but we had to head back to rescue Debbi from her five vassals.

    Tuesday we decided we needed to climb Table Mountain; what else do you do when there are mountains within thirty minutes of the city? So Simanelle (with Malachi, Ezra, and Jude) and I set off to meet David at the park. David and I took one of the rougher non-technical routes to the peak - India Venster. After a bit of actual trail consisting of stairs, the rest of the hike was a rock scramble with over 700m of vertical gain in less than two km. Scrambling up the exposed face of the mountain offered a fantastic view as we climbed, and I stopped often to admire my surroundings. Simanelle took the easiest route as the were each carrying a child and Malachi (6) was hiking. Platteklip Gorge still had about the same altitude gain, but consists of 3 km of stairs instead of bouldering. I was amazed when they arrived at the top soon after David and I, having carried two kids all the way up.
    After some coffee and some pictures we headed down. Janelle took the cable car with the kids and David, Sim, and I decided to run down Platteklip. It was a rather thrilling descent. Never quite in control of my momentum, I used muscle tension to break my fall as I bounced from boulder to boulder. Other hikers added obstacles to avoid, as well as encouragement. People we passed cheered us on and inquired desperately about the distance to the top. The route was very exposed and the afternoon sun was intense, so we were quite glad to pause under a bush at a creek crossing and soak our heads. Amazingly, we made it to the bottom in one piece with no sprained joints and only a bit of lost blood.
   David and I had been thinking of hiking Lion's Head that afternoon, but after lunch I was already getting sore and we decided not to overdo it. Instead we did some research for our proposed trip to the Drakensburg mountains. Based on what little information we could find we decided to go for it and figure out the rest when we got there. We found cheap flights to Durban, where we planned to rent a car and drive the four hours to the Drakensburg Escarpment. Predicted weather was not overly fortuitous, with lows below freezing at night, but without camping gear we would have to stay in hostels anyway.

    The weather was lovely on Wednesday, so we decided to go surfing despite the fact that Sim and I could barely walk from our mountain run. For six dollars we could rent a board and wetsuit for the day, so Aram, Sim and I rotated surfing and hanging out with kids. We did our best to use the very small waves, and there was a lot of waiting, but I got up a couple of times. Malachi, Shadrach, and Priska had a wonderful time playing in the waves, and Shadrach was able to ride some of the tumbling mush close to the shore.
I borrowed a skimboard from a guy, slid around in the shallows, fell, and then talked with the group for a while. It turned out they are first year students at a seminary located right on the beach. Several of them were interested in development work fascinated by us three brothers all working in eastern Africa.
    After hanging out on the beach for seven hours or so, Aram, Sim, and the kids went to a restaurant overlooking the beach, and I ran ignoring my legs' increasingly vociferous protests. The sun had sunk behind the mountain, but I as I ran up the beach I escaped its shadow. The sun illuminated the waves and sand warmifying the colors and sharpening contrast. I ran until the sun set behind a farther range and turned followed back whatever footprints the rising tide had not erased. The others were still eating so I watched the waves which now attracted a crowd of sur, gracefully skimming the glassy faces of the breakers. When the much-anticipated ice-cream was finished and the children de-sanded we headed home.