I spent an amazing day in Laerskool Olifantsvallei, a primary school located in Citrusdal. Citrusdal is a largely black, coloured and Afrikaans community about 30 minutes south of Gecko Creek. It is a farming community, mostly Oranges and Lemons, with a large (by African standards) fruit processing plant. There is a very high population of […]

Gecko Creek Wilderness Lodge is what is called in South Africa, a self-catering camp. It is a wonderfully eclectic collection of cabins, permanent tents and safari tents that people may rent or they can come with their own tents or camper vans. It is a collection of buildings nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains […]

Thursday saw me return to Cape Town for a few days with my friend there. Cape Town is an amazing city full of culture and diversity. You can see or do just about anything you could imagine there and tonight, Kat had a treat in store for me. Ingrid and I met Kat at her […]

Sunday was again a beautiful day and I took advantage of the weather by exploring the back half of the Gecko Creek property. The recent rains have meant that water is running freely off of the mountains and the guests and I had been hearing the sound of running water from the cottage and the […]

After relaxing in the Cederberg, I was looking forward to a trip to Cape Town to spend time with Kat and Ingrid. The rainy week last week was the perfect excuse to put away my hiking boots and return to city life. On Thursday morning I travelled the N7 to Cape Town. Usually I would […]

Wednesday was a beautiful day. Sunny but cool with no sign of the rain clouds that had been with us for a couple of days. It was a perfect day for climbing! After my usual morning walks and enjoying a cup of Roiibos tea with rusks on the lappa lawn in the sunshine, I grabbed […]

After a solid week of sunshine the locals here were very glad to see a day of rain. It is the rainy season but even so, rain is a scarce commodity and so necessary for sustainability here. Generally, one inch of rain a MONTH is considered good. Sunday evening saw us sitting around the campfire […]

My first week in the Cederberg has been a glorious one with brilliant sunshine, temperatures between 25 and 30 and beautiful blue skies. Perfect hiking weather. I have been out and about at every opportunity making up for the lost time last year when the weather was so bad that hiking was out of the […]

My return to the Cederberg would not be complete without a trip to the local town of Clanwilliam. Besides, I needed supplies. Wilderness life if great but there is no running down to the corner store if you run out of something. Planning and forethought are essential, as well as filling up at the gas […]

Despite my good intentions to leave Cape Town in daylight on Saturday, we were having just way too much fun, so it was 5:00 p.m. before I was on the road to Gecko Creek. The N7 is all very good highway except that it is undergoing major construction to accommodate the water project that will […]

After a lazy morning, Kat an I ventured out on the town. She had a hair appointment that morning so I said I would come along. Her hairdresser’s salon is part of a little mini mall attached to a plant nursery. While she was having her hair done I wandered through the plant nursery which […]

Or should I say, “In the air again”. I am finally back in South Africa after more than 24 hours travelling. The short hop from Toronto to New York’s Laguardia Airport was great however leaving at 6:30 a.m. meant that I left for the airport at 1:45 a.m. and would travel all night just to […]

After I returned from South Africa last time many of you said that I was different, that I had changed. The truth is, I didn’t really change. South Africa had just reminded me of who I really was. She has a way of doing that. South Africa is not an easy country. She is a […]

Lack of sleep and my emotional morning meant that by the time I had dropped Sampson off at the train station and found my way to the airport through Cape Town traffic, I had a splitting headache and felt totally crappy. It was not a good way to be starting off my journey and I […]

Thursday morning rolled around all too soon. I had been up since 5:00 a.m. having slept poorly, being desperately sad to be leaving South Africa and my beloved Cederberg. I was tired and emotional. I knew it was going to be a very hard day. Ingrid, as always, was ready with a hug and gentle […]

Wednesday … My last full day at Gecko and the day John is leaving to go diving on the east coast for a few days. I knew John had made plans to go fishing with friends so it came as a surprise when he said we were going to do the river instead. (I told […]

Been there … Done that … Did it again! I arrived back at Gecko on such a euphoric high after flying that when John asked me if I was game to climb Leopard Rock again I told him I didn’t have to climb it, I could fly up there without an airplane. A quick change […]

I have been sitting here staring at my computer screen for twenty minutes and I am no closer to being able to describe what it meant to me to fly again than I was twenty minutes ago. I know some of you will be laughing at that because I am seldom at a loss for […]

Monday dawned rainy and gloomy. I decided to go back to the schools that I had visited earlier in my trip as I had purchased an atlas for each school library on my trip to Cape Town and this seemed like a good day to do indoor things. At Sederberg Primer I was met warmly […]

Sunday had promised to be an exciting day as I had made arrangements to fly with Linton’s friend, Johan. We were to go at 9:00 a.m. but the day dawned with a heavy fog cover and it became obvious that flying would have to wait for another day. Flying was one of the things I […]