hiking

All posts tagged hiking

Starfish Safari at De Hoop Nature Reserve

Posted by 2summers on February 7, 2013
Posted in: Parks and Nature Reserves, South Africa, Western Cape Province. Tagged: , , , , , , . 26 comments

South Africa is a geographically diverse country with eye-popping natural wonders everywhere you look. We all know the big ones: Kruger National Park, Table Mountain, the Karoo, the Drakensberg Mountains. But if  you dig deeper into your travel book you’ll find dozens of lesser known places, offering their own unique versions of dramatic South African beauty. De Hoop Nature Reserve is one of those places.

beach

De Hoop seascape.

Last weekend I spent three days at De Hoop, which is a three-hour drive southeast of Cape Town. Full disclosure: The trip was sponsored by the De Hoop Collection. (Trips like this are what blogging dreams are made of.) Continue Reading

On Top of the World in Namibia

Posted by 2summers on January 11, 2013
Posted in: Namibia. Tagged: , , , , , , . 22 comments

When it comes to beautiful views in Namibia, most people think of sand dunes. I didn’t make it to Sossusvlei — Namibia’s most famous sand-dune viewing destination — on my recent trip, although I did check out the dunes around Swakopmund and Walvis Bay (coming up in a future post).

The dunes are indeed beautiful. But the breathtaking view from the top of the Waterberg Plateau in northeastern Namibia will give even the most dramatic sand dune a run for its money.

resting on plateau

Beat that, Sossusvlei. Continue Reading

Crack-a-DOOO!

Posted by 2summers on November 7, 2011
Posted in: Parks and Nature Reserves, South Africa, Western Cape Province. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 19 comments

Part 3 of a 3-part series about the Cederberg Heritage Route. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

When I left off, my travel companions and I had spent a magical evening in the village of Hugel-Bugel (a.k.a. Heuningvlei). We awoke early the next morning for the final installment of our Cederberg adventure: a hike across Krakadouw Pass.

Our guide for the day was Abraham, an ageless, salt-of-the-earth kind of man. Abraham has lived in Heuningvlei all his life. He has worked tirelessly to encourage conservation and responsible tourism in the Cederberg.

Abraham.

Continue Reading

Rock Art and Donkey Carts

Posted by 2summers on November 2, 2011
Posted in: Parks and Nature Reserves, South Africa, Western Cape Province. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 20 comments

Part 1 of a 3-part series. Read Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

It’s time to tell you what I was doing in the Western Cape last week, besides bumming around Bo-Kaap. The real purpose of my trip was to visit the Cederberg Wilderness, 240 kilometers northwest of Cape Town, and participate in a hiking adventure called the Cederberg Heritage Route.

The Cederberg Wilderness.

Continue Reading

Hogsback Packing

Posted by 2summers on September 16, 2011
Posted in: Eastern Cape Province, Markets and Shopping, Parks and Nature Reserves, Restaurants, Bars and Food, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 15 comments

I’m back in Joburg, recovering from jet lag.

Since I had to leave for the U.S. in such a rush last month, I didn’t get the chance to share all the stories from my road trip around South Africa. So even though it’s technically old news, I hope you’ll enjoy this post about my recent visit to the magical village of Hogsback.

A slightly edited version of the post appeared on TravelWrite.co.za – you’ll notice it has more of a travel-magazine-y feel than my other posts. Thanks to TravelWrite editor Caroline Hurry for coming up with this clever headline.

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It’s a chilly morning in Hogsback. Joe and I just finished a pre-breakfast hike to a majestic waterfall at the top of a mountain. We’re hungry. We are the only customers in the quirky Butterfly Bistro, sitting at a cozy table next to a clay fireplace. Continue Reading

Kruger at Ground Level, Part 3: Mineral

Posted by 2summers on June 29, 2011
Posted in: Limpopo Province, Parks and Nature Reserves, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 11 comments

Welcome to the final blog post about my hike through the Kruger Park’s Pafuri Triangle: the mineral installment. Most of the facts in this post were gleaned from Brian, our Pafuri wilderness guide, and Wikipedia.

If you’ve read parts 1 and 2 of this series, you know that the Pafuri Triangle is chock-full of majestic African wildlife and awe-inspiring trees. But Pafuri also has rocks. And water. And an amazing geological and archaeological history. Geology and archaeology aren’t my specialties, but this post is an excuse to show you some of my favorite pics from the trip that don’t feature animals or plants.

Water is a mineral, right? Either way, I really like this picture.

Continue Reading

Kruger at Ground Level, Part 2: Vegetable

Posted by 2summers on June 26, 2011
Posted in: Limpopo Province, Parks and Nature Reserves, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 20 comments

Announcements:

1) A story about my Kruger trip has been published on travelgurus.co.za. Please check it out.

2) 2Summers turned one today! I wrote my first 2Summers post exactly a year ago, six weeks before moving to Jozi. If you want to know how it all started, click here.

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On to Part 2 of my hiking adventure in the Kruger Park: the vegetable installment.

I experienced some pretty incredible (and adrenaline-inducing) animal sightings on my four-day hike through the Pafuri Triangle (see Part 1). But as I sat on the flight home and thought about it, I decided my favorite sightings in Pafuri were plants, specifically trees. Continue Reading

Kruger at Ground Level, Part 1: Animal

Posted by 2summers on June 23, 2011
Posted in: Limpopo Province, Parks and Nature Reserves, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 32 comments

A big thank you to travelgurus.co.za and Wilderness Adventures for making this blog post possible.

Last weekend I visited Kruger National Park, the largest park in South Africa. This wasn’t just any old Kruger safari, either. I went to the remotest and most beautiful section of the park — the Pafuri Triangle.

A view of the Limpopo River, just before my plane landed at Pafuri Camp. The Pafuri Triangle is in the far northern corner of the Kruger Park, wedged between the Limpopo and Luvuvu Rivers and the borders of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Continue Reading

A Day in the Life of a Quirky Melville Tourist

Posted by 2summers on May 25, 2011
Posted in: Arts, Culture and Sports, Johannesburg, Markets and Shopping, Melville and Surrounds, Restaurants, Bars and Food, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 17 comments

A few months ago, I promised to write periodic posts about Melville guesthouses, restaurants, and shops. I’ve strayed from that commitment — the majority of my posts these days are about the Joburg city centre or more far-flung places outside of town.

So today I’m getting back to my roots. Melville is one of Joburg’s wackiest neighborhoods; it straddles a divide between tree-lined suburbia and urban grittiness. Melville is constantly changing — there are always quirky new places to visit, along with well-loved old standbys.

I’m not a Melville tourist, but I’ve just spent a few days wandering around pretending I am. Here is a recommended itinerary for a one-day visit to the place I call home in Jozi. Continue Reading

Clouds, Powerlines, and Pretty Dead Trees

Posted by 2summers on April 26, 2011
Posted in: Johannesburg, Johannesburg Outer Suburbs, Parks and Nature Reserves, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 14 comments

Before I start, let me alert you to a guest post I wrote for a blog called “Notes From Africa”: What Your Cat Wants to Know: An American Ex-pat Perspective. It’s a departure from my normal subject matter — please check it out and browse through Lisa’s lovely blog while you’re at it. Thanks again, Lisa!

Easter Monday was the first nice day we’ve had here in weeks. The air was balmy, the sky was azure, and the clouds looked like that gauzy cotton that people stretch across doorways on Halloween. Hiking was necessary.

We considered going to Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, a park in southern Joburg that we visited a few months ago. But while searching online for a Kliprviersberg trail map (which I never found), I stumbled upon a listing for Kloofendal Nature Reserve on the western outskirts of the city. Joe had heard of Kloofendal but never been. We decided to give it a try. Continue Reading