Interesting Places to Hike

Hiking can take you to those interesting nooks and crannies which most people never discover. Near to Port Elizabeth, there is a nature reserve that was proclaimed at the same time as the TsiTsikamma mountain reserve down on the Garden Route. This nature reserve is called Groendal Nature Reserve and is located right next to Uitenhage which is part of the metro of Nelson Mandela Bay. It is roughly the size of Port Elizabeth and has some of the most beautiful hiking trails that I’ve seen. It consists of Fynbos on the higher slopes and Montane forest in the ‘kloofs’ or ravines where lush vegetation can be found. Uitenhage’s main dam is sited running through the middle of it. The wildlife that can be found there are mainly Babboons. Mongoose, small Duiker and Blobokke, which is a buck the size of a smallish dog, the 2 latter animals are small buck which move in amongst the ferns and bush. sometimes come out of the ticket to drink at a stream and this is where they might be seen. The spiders are quite amazing as they can spin their webs within seconds of a person walking through and breaking it. The streams that flow throughout the reserve have water that is sweet to drink and very pure as well, so replenishing your water bottle is quite safe. Lower Blindekloof which when translated means blind ravine follows the course of one of the many streams in the reserve and has many places to stop to swim and more  rest up during your hike. That can be done either as an afternoon hike or a casual day hike. Then there is upper Blindekloof which is a more strenuous hike with several pools to swim through. Vyeboom which means fig tree named after the wild fig trees that grow there, is a day hike where you can either hike up through the stream or on a very tricky trail that winds along the edge of the cliff. Just be careful or you can fall off the edge as is what happened to me one Wednesday afternoon, which was not a very pleas ant experience as I ended up with 2 bruised ankles and a swelling on the ball of my foot which took 3 months to heal. Then there is Waterkloof as you realise is on a stream and can only be accessed by wading thigh deep through reeds over submerged logs and a deep stream bed. 

Hiking in the wilderness.

Hiking out in the wilderness areas is one of the greatest adventures that most people don’t even know about. I just love going out with some friends into the wilds of Africa. You won’t find any big animals like lions or elephants there but rather the mongoose and baboon that frequent the ravines. just about half an hour from where I live is Groendal a very large nature reserve. There are some awesome trails there both half day and full day trails. Beautiful pools to swim in and the water is pure.Some are trails within the ravines or ‘kloofs’ as we know them and other climb up the hills around the reserve. apart from the various animals, there is much flora abounding out there like Cycads a protected stone age plant and different types of Protea. Around Port Elizabeth where I live there are 5 different biomes making for a vast diversity of plant life. I’ve often taken overseas travellers out with me as for them it’s a way of meeting ordinary people. Most of the time they tend to join tours where they would meet only more tourists.