SNOW HIKE 9–11 September

Leader – Paul Menge

Check out the super photos in the gallery on this snow hike.

A group of 16 people made their way to the Witsieshoek Hotel on the 9 September. We were warmly welcomed by the ever charming Paul and his lovely wife Shirley.  After a ‘Happy Hour’ in their hotel room, we all made our way to bed and looked forward to a wonderful hike in the magnificent surrounding area of the hotel.

At breakfast the next morning, we noticed that there was great excitement as the first runners who had set out from Mahai at 06h00 had started to pass the dining room windows.  We were in the middle of a marathon in which over 300 people run from Mahai to Witsieshoek and then up to the Sentinal, where they climb the ladder and run down the gorge.  They then run on to the hotel and back down to Mahai.  It is a 50 km circular route.

Paul decided that we could not do the Sentinal hike on the Saturday, because of the race, so we opted to walk down the mountain passing through the ‘Mud Slide’ and coming back up through the ‘Crack’.  The weather was perfect and the hike was superb with lovely views and lunch at Gudu Falls.  We were able to cheer some exhausted runners on a short stretch of the path and we certainly admired these adventurous athletes.

We all enjoyed supper at the hotel and swapped stories about the day.

The next morning a group of hikers set off to do the famous Sentinal hike and got back to the hotel at about 14h00.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend and we are all grateful to Paul for his great leadership and good sense of humour.

Gwyn Clarke