DAY 1 - Had us teaming up with the Mathias family & other friends yet again at Injasuthi. This time my sidekick was busy doing some wedding plans with her Mom so I was alone with the parentals. 5:30am saw me comfortably crammed up in the back of the bakkie watching "warm bodies" on my phone to pass the time. We stopped off at Mooi River one stop for some brekkie & damn was it cold there, I didn't want to leave because it was so nice & cosy inside the Wimpy. One of the locals even laughed as I gave off a shiver as we were leaving.
Back on route near our destination we took a wrong turn (and no, not like the movie) & headed up a mountain on a really kak, pot-holed road which overlooked this little township. I was stunned at this beautiful sight while the parentals were still checking if we were on the right track. It was in-fact a different route & seemed like a dodgy one at that. It did treat us to some birds & a pair of Juvenile Black-Shouldered Kites (Unknown at the time) sitting on some telephone lines.
Once we were on the right road, we were graced with the enchanting flight of a pair of Secretary Birds that I managed to spot while peeping my head out of the bakkie window.This was my first sight of them flying & my mouth could only say STOP! STOP! STOP! before remembering what they were.
We were the first to arrive & took a look around to see which campsite we would prefer but opted for the usual. First I helped the parentals erect their hippy tent (which they have mastered) before I started my little Setup. Everyone started arriving & getting all their stuff together before we could all relax & start sipping beers & catching up. We were all very fortunate that there was an "entertainment room" for all guests staying overnight so we had the privelage of watching the springboks beat the Italians even though the boks played a shocking game.
It gets really cold in these valleys & having layers of clothing is a must, plus some added heat from the fire is always good, the alcohol also helps. The fires were blazing & Dudley made loads of tender tasty peri peri chicken while the others also sat munching away. Nothing like a braai in the mountains in the middle of nowhere surrounded with good people.
Uncle Dave, Liam & I were the last to stay up, we sat talking rubbish & having a good laugh until about 1am. Deciding that its time to hit the sack, I crept in my little tent, got all warm & had like 5hrs sleep (which felt like 2hrs) waking up to loud voices. This was the worst sleep I have ever had, both my feet became totally numb leaving me freezing cold nevermind all the layers of clothing I had on & oh yes, my blow up mattress that became almost like a water bed, it had semi-deflated. I really felt like a dumbass after realising that I never closed the window so no bladdy wonder it was freezing cold inside!!!! Once I plucked up the courage to actually get out of my tent, it had a thin layer of ice around it & all the vehicles were iced up to - evidence of how cold it actually got.
DAY 2 - After getting some much needed coffee into my system, I hit the shower before munching on some breakfast while everyone was reminding Liam that all they could really hear last night was his voice. Today a few of us planned a hike to Marble Baths, so I packed a bag & off we went. We took a 2 km detour as the path was not clearly marked, taking us to the Dipping Tank where we would most certainly not be dipping in any tank like this!!! This was a man-made structure for what I do not know, maybe back in the day people use to lay in them like if they were hot steamy baths but this was just disgusting water.
Back on track on this hot day, this hike felt long & no one had a map so we just ambled along catching up to another group who stopped for a breather at Grindstone Cave. They were staying ovenight at marble baths & they reckoned it was still another 5km's. We already walked another 3,5km from the Dipping Tank which felt like 6km. Being late in the day, we decided to have our delicious lunch at Grindstone Cave before we trekked back to base camp. I got back a little quicker than the others with a sort of trail run with a reward beer waiting so chillingly in the cooler box for me. While enjoying this reward beer, a striped mouse came out foraging next to the tent.
Tonight I got into those detrimental showers early while no one was using the hot water & got all snug in my layers of clothing as I DID NOT want a repeat from the night before. Liam made a delicious mince potjie for all, with us adding our bits & pieces to the mix. Around the fire, the comedian brothers ( Liam & Jeremy) were talking about Trevor Noah's new DVD. Its never a dull moment with them around as they can & will always make you laugh. The three of us remained awake again until 1:30am drinking papsak around the fire. I was enjoying the fire at my feet but soon realised that my Columbia hiking boots soles weren't & were peeling off. A blessing in disguise I guess as they were peeling already so now I could get them stitched up & re-glued. At one moment a Gennet popped in for a 2 second visit, it was so funny, she got onto the path realising I had seen her & she had seen me, she froze & then bolted away like she was never there.
Another night of being really cold similar to the night before, yip my feet were numb again & my body got the 5hrs sleep but with my mind being awake it felt much less. I really just wanted to sleep but once everyone starts to wake up, you have no choice to get up. I mostly heard Tom talking about the Gennet that had left its footprints on the frost on the camping chair.
As always, breakfast on the last day was a big fry up with all the left over food. It was then the mission of packing everything up & a quick shower before we said our goodbyes headed back home.
Until next time Injasuthi ...
A trip down to Plettenberg Bay for 3 days was a perfect little holiday before we hiked the Otter Trail with Carmen, Stuart & Nox. We managed to score accomodation at a holiday house for next to nothing & ended up being a 100m up the road from the lagoon & close to the main bustling part of Plett, so it was the perfect place.
