Lightning flashed, thunder struck, and the heavens opened.There was morning and there was evening, the first day.
As luck would have it, after 20 months of no rain in the Grahamstown/Kenton-on-Sea district - the night we lay in our reed hut before setting off, the drought broke. Since I had my parents on
their first hike in one hut and my in-laws in the other, I lay awake wondering what on earth we were going to do on our 2 day hike, if not walk.
The rain didn't let up until about 10, and we decided to go ahead and take the gap. The friendly farmer-folk transported our luggage (yes, yes - it sounds like slackpacking and I blame it on the
'old folks' but I wasn't going to be a martyr either) and we had a lovely misty walk through the farmlands, thicket and forest. The trail was not at all what I was expecting owing to the drought. The enormous dam in front of the reed cottages had completely dried up and of course the "2 rivers" were no more than a near-stagnant trickle. Its what is called a green drought though - the grasses are
still green but there has been no run-off to revive any water-bodies so the scenery was still beautiful and it felt good to be in the Eastern Cape again.
Night 2 is spent in a characterful old settlers hut. Part of which looks almost untouched - glassless windows and all. There is a long dining table in this old space and we had a roaring fire using the honesty box wood. The huts are fully equipped and even have bird and nature books to reference the day's spots. Staying at this old settlers cottage was a real highlight for me, as was the friendly Moss family (all 3 generations).
Day 1: 18km
Day 2: 12km
S4NBR8SXCRKS
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