Edinburgh
More Lake District
Sept 9, Longhwaite
My third day in this hostel, so ideally situated and so comfortable. I wanted to see the villages of Stonethwaite and Rosthwaite, on the way I enjoyed the birds in the early morning flitting around in the hedges. Stonethwaite, obviously named for the clearing of the stones, as it is well up the valley towards Scafell Pike which continually tumbles rocks off of its slopes. The thwaites are clearings not crossing as I thought. And a lot of clearing would be needed here. Rosthwaite is a clearing in the rose bushes.
In the Stonethwaite church they indicated that when the Scandinavian settlers came in the tenth century they began the work of clearing the fields. The endless stone fences and stone buildings are the obvious result of the clearing, but more important to the farmers was to get clear fields so the grass could grow. No doubt the work never ends and the farmers have been at it for 1000 years.
After walking up the valley, and spending sometime taking pictures in Stonethwaite Beck, I turned around as today I was heading into the big city, Kewick to do some business. I caught a second bus immediately, taking me through Keswick on towards Grasmere for about 5 miles as I wanted to see The Castlerigg Stone Circle.
Castlerigg is one of the better of the many stone circles in Britain, the most important being Stonehenge that I will not likely get to see. It is about a km off of the main road well outside of Keswick and I got to it by climbing through a break in the stone fence. There were about 10 people sitting around appreciating the setting. One couple were sitting amongst the stones burning incense (I don’t always know what Maryanna smells like) and chanting. I waited for a while but the spirits did not visit me. There are about 20 stones, the largest about 2 m above the ground. The setting, in a green field with mountains in the distance all around, could not be more inviting.
Back through town, very much a tourist town, to pick up a few things and back on the bus to Roshwaite, much nicer in my mind.
I made a lot of bookings from the hostel,
Sept 10 Buttermere
I packed up everything and after breakfast got on the bus and continued on over Honister pass into the next valley where I will spend two nights. I dropped my bags in the YHA at about 9:30 and headed up onto the fell north of the valley. I was headed to Robinson Fell, interesting because it has such an ordinary name. It was mostly grassy slopes up the minor peak, across a boggy flat area and then another push up. It took about an hour and a half. I got there a minute or so before a Japanese woman , wh I have been talking with, who is staying at Longthwaite and doing walks each day. She was on the same bus as I came on and walked to Robinson from Honister Pass, taking a bit more than two hours. This seemed like a good thing for me to do, crossing Dale Head down to the pass to get the bus which I thought I had 1 ½ hours to catch. So I headed off going pretty fast. I crossed an intermediate fell and on up Dale Head making good time as there were very few rocks on the trail. I got to Dale head in good time looked at my watch and noted that I had misread my watch. I still had over 1 ½ hours before the bus arrived and it would only be ½ hour down to the pass. So I slowed down a bit, but still had enough time to eat a meat pie and have coffee at the visitor centre.
In the evening I had long talks with a couple doing a two night bike trip on road bikes with almost no gear. On the other end of the spectrum, at least equipment wise was a guy on an electric bike. He says the best he can get is about 25 miles, but not here where there are steep passes.
Sept 11, Buttermere
Early on the trail, the birds are singing and flitting through the hedges. The mist lies heavy on the green meadows and rises, almost blotting out the sun’s reflection on Buttermere Lake . It is always my favourite time on any hike, these first minutes, and I wonder again why no one else is out.
Soon the hike begins in earnest as I hit the flagstones leading up from the edge of the lake. Through fairly deep forest, it remains cool and fresh. Passing through a gate into a heather field I am soon into the sun as it peeks around the shoulder of High Stile, and the sweat begins to run. I try to force myself to slow down a bit by taking some pictures as I go. I understand, finally, that I do not have to rush in these hills.
I come upon a real live Shepherd of indeterminate age, he too is sweating. He is slowing making his way up the hills to bring his sheep down for lambing. Others are above him, and I can hear them calling, probability directing their dogs. Wrapped up in the community of fell walkers that I have been among for the last week, it is easy to forget that this elemental life is going on, little changed over the years.
The last bit of this way up Red Pike is pretty steep scree which is always good for an extra grunt or two.
Now that I have gained the high ground the walking is easy as I begin to walk eastwards heading for the next fell. Soon I pass over High Stile, and carry on towards High Crag, where I meet three Coast to Coast walkers who are heading west, which means they have only two days left. They are taking a high line alternative and have just come up from Black Sail hostel, just below, in the Ennerdale.
Now I have a major drop where I begin to see quite a few others who have come up from the Buttermere side. Their destination is the Haystacks and I join in. There is some easy scrambling to do, adding yet more variation to this walk. The Haystacks are two major hills of rock with the odd tarn in little rock pockets. They are quite out of character with the other fells I have seen. Finally I get to Innominate Tarn and I stop for a late snack and to soak up the atmosphere.
Alfred Wainwright, the guru on fell walking and the most prominent writer of guide books on the Lake District, has been sprinkled here. This walk, the one I am doing, was his favourite walk, and that is saying something because he did many. His seven guidebooks, beautifully hand printed with hand drawn maps, defined the 214 fells that have come to be known as The Wainwrights, and which many now attempt to walk.
I made my way down out of the Haystacks, on up over another fell and down to Holister Pass to catch the same 2:09 bus that I caught yesterday.
This was a lovely if tiring walk and it deserved a beer in each of the pubs in Buttermere before I staggered back up the road to the hostel for a badly needed shower. I stagger not because of the beer, but because I still get so stiff after sitting for a bit.
I had another enjoyable evening in the hostel, this time with two Wainwright collectors and a wannabe.
Sept 12 Grasemere
I spent the day moving over, on bus, to Grasmere. I had a visit to Ambleside and then a walk along the lakes back to Grasmere, stopping into Dove Cottage for a visit with Wordsworth. A quiet walking day, but still enjoyable.
Sept 13, Grasmere
I am headed up Helvellyn, the third highest mountain in the Lakes. It is Saturday and the bus is running along the Ullswater valley and so I can do a traverse. Very steep but good walking up to Grisedale Tarn, where I turn and head up and over Dollywaggon and Nethermost Pikes to get to Helvellyn. I am actually caught by two walkers and then encounter mtn bikers, fell runners and teams of adventure racers. It is obviously Saturday. As I approached the summit I can see Striding Edge, a rocky ridge that many do when coming up from Ullswater. There are maybe twenty silhouetted bodies along the ridge. I had considered going down this way, but it looks like it would be slow, particularly with all the bodies on it.
My way down, Swiral Edge, still has half an hour of down climbing for me and I didn’t do too well. I am glad I didn’t try Striding Edge.
It is a long steady walk down on a broad path with much rock picking and stone steps. I walked into Glenridding some six hours after I started. I had about 20 minutes, just in time for a beer in a pub before an hour bus ride back to Windermere and then onto Grasmere.
Yet another good day. I had a long visit with my electric bike friend from Buttermere, as we traded stories.
Sept 14, Grasmere
As I am now staying at Grasmere until Tuesday before heading out to Carlisle to catch the train back to London, I have another day to meander. I was slower this morning, still I headed out with my walking gear. Twenty minutes brought me to a sign pointing to the Langdale Pikes and so I made my way through more modest paths onto the grassy slopes above Grasmere. It was a much colder and threatening day and so I continually questioned going on, but after about three hours, much of it not on good paths, I was on the first Langdale where there were a few other people. I headed out across what looked like the prairie to another peak. These flat plateaus are very grassy with the odd boggy section. From the second peak people seemed to be heading off in directions that didn’t make sense to me, and so I went by my map and intuition to another peak and then down where I hit the coast to coast trail and four or five parties that I caught as we picked out way down through the rocks back down to Grasmere. This day took seven hours, much more that I had planned. One knee is getting pretty tired and so I think I have to take it abit easier tomorrow before I head back to London.
My Lake District experience was wonderful. The hostels are great, good food, good drinks, good company. The walking is exceptional and the weather wonderful. I think I bagged about 20 Wainwrights and so I have less that 200 to go.
I have a couple of train travel now. Back to London to get my biking things, onto to Edinburgh to meet Owen and family for the Ryder Cup. And then if Owen is successful in bring Bike Friday I will do a little cycling.
A little activity in the Lake District
Sept 5, Grasmere
Leaving London for the Lake District I had a pretty full load in my Duffel bag /packsack; full because I have been unsuccessful in securing hostel type rooms for tomorrow (Saturday). And so I have my tent, sleeping bag, mat, that I would have left behind if it looked like space was available. I have resisted buying more appropriate trekking type bag because heaven knows I do not need any more packs, and because I do not want to carry this kind of load through the hills here. If I was going hut or hostel to hostel I might have bought a small bag that would handle the smaller load. But with the big load I will try to get into places, hike for a few days and then go by bus onto the next place. I assume that some of those places I may be camping. All of my bike stuff has been left in London, and if I am able to bike on this trip I will need to make a trip back to London to change loads.
It took 4 hours and a high speed train then a short slow connector train to Windermere, where I bought a week long ticket on the bus system that runs up many of the valleys. My first bus ride took me about 15 kms to Grasmere, the only place that had hostel space when I was searching the last few days. I still don’t know where I will be tomorrow. The villages are idyllic, with stone buildings and narrow winding roads at the bottom of valleys (dales) with streams (becks) feeding little lakes. It is all very touristy and I am still in the height of the tourist season, and so the smaller villages are a bit more appealing. It is a mystery to me that the old norse words have remained after 1000 years. I wonder if fell is the old word for mountain and fjell, the modern Norwegian word an evolution. At any rate I hope to spend some time enjoying the features of the Lakes whatever they are called.
By the time I was settled into my hostel, it was about 3:30, and off I went on my first walk, about 10 km around Grasmere Lake. With every step the tension of the last days fell away. The deep forest, first along a quiet road, and then along a well trod trail, no doubt used by Wordsworth and his contemporaries, soothed my woes away. Returning to Grasemere I went by Dove Cottage, where Wordsworth did much of his best stuff. Being in a large city, even as rich as London just does not mean as much to me. I hope I can get settled in somewhere so that I can find a way to do some good hiking. This area is so attractive.
I ended up in a beer festival, attached to a large pub. In a big tent they had about 40 kinds of beer on tap. I selected two half-pints to start and joined four old guys at a picnic table on the lawn. We talked Rugby, bike stealing, beer drinking, creaky body parts and such things that old men talk about. They did not seem to be hikers, but one of them could do deep knee bends to the amazement of the rest of us. Most importantly I learned that rugby starts this week and so I may be searching for some TV pubs in the future.
Sept 6, Keswick
I had high hopes for this day, but it was not to be. I started out with a couple of ideas of how I would hike up the 3rd highest fell; both fell through. The first idea was dropped because of poor bus connections, the second because I got on the wrong road. I did get on the bus back to Windermere and had a nice visit with a woman who had moved to the area ten years ago. Not a hiker but in love with the fells. I took a ferry across Windermere and walked to Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top Farm, having a pub beer to ease my disappointment in not being in a more isolated place. I then had Tea in a hotel near the farm, and then made my way back Grasmere. Not a bad day, except that I was in a bus too much of the time.
Back at the hostel, there was no room for me and they could find no place that would let me put a tent up. I walked down to the beer festival where I had seen a number of tents. Asking other tenters I got the notion that they just put up their tent in an available space. So that’s what I did. While I was doing my tent a motorcyclist came in and started doing his. Then a loud, big-butted woman with a beer in hand came along and demanded to know who I was and what I was doing. So I, politely introduced myself, and asked who she was. She claimed to own the hotel and indicated that only entertainers were allowed here and that I should take off. I entertained the notion of offering to entertain her, but wasn’t sure that that would have been much fun. Besides she had moved on and was working on the motorcyclist.
I packed up and headed off, thinking about getting on a bus, but I was stopped by a nice couple who had witnessed the whipping I had received. They offered to take me down the road to near Keswick (pronounced Kezik), where they knew of a campground.
So, out of the nice part of the mountains and into a large caravan type campground, but at least I had a place to sleep. To assuage my disappointment I went to a pub nearby.
Sept 7, Longthwaite Hostel at Rosthwaite
I started this day with low expectations, but it turned out great. From the campground I had to get a bus into Keswick, thinking that I would get into the hostel there and have them find me a place to stay and suggest things to do. But, in the Keswick bus depot there was a bus labelled Borrowdale, and rather than walking around Keswick, I decided to see what Borrowdale was about. The advantage of having a bus pass is I don’t have to think about this, just jump on the bus. Borrowdale turned out to be a valley of course and one of the villages, Rothwaite, has a hostel called Longthwaite that had space for me. There are numerous “thwaites” around here, from old Norsk meaning roughly crossing.
After dropping my bag I headed down the river on a part of the Cumbian Way Coast to Coast hike. After some time I turned off heading up, hoping to get onto the fells. The trail I picked out go more and more sparse, and then ended up hanging over the valley with a 2 m wide trail going up. Rather than falling down the cliff I turned around and made my way back down and around to this trail. Past something called Castle Crag and then onto Honister Pass, before I made my way back down, picking of the Coast to Coast again, completing a nice 4 hr cycle walk. I had beer and dinner with a nice couple from Manitoba who are on the third of 17 days doing the Coast to Coast., and then later talked with an old guy who has done many of the walks I am interested in.
A fine day, finally.
Sept 8, Longthwaite
The weather is holding and so I headed out to try Scafell Pike, the highest mtn in England. With no car, I had an hour’s extra walk to get to the parking lot normally the start of the hike, but I got away early, and so was not too worried. From the parking lot, the trail almost immediately was paved with dinner plate sized stones that makes for a very stable erosion free trail, but at the end of the day tend to catch your boots putting you on your nose. I did appreciate the big stones on the steeper section where they became random steps and made for fast going early in the day.
I was soon out of the trees and shared the grass and rocky meadows with sheep and the odd other hiker. Because of its height Scaffell Pike is very popular. I caught and passed about 20 hikers and was passed by one fell runner. I need to go fast up, because I am slow coming down, particularly in the boulder fields of which there were about three small ones. I was surprised the top was not more spiky, as Pike refers to a pointed mountain. At the top there was a fair amount of mist floating about, blocking the views, but not enough to appear rain threatening.
It took me about 8 hours from hostel to top to hostel. Tiring enough for me to plan a less ambitious day tomorrow. I think I will find a short walk and just relax and plan my next days. I do have to get a bike here and hopefully before I leave here I will have a plan.
Trouble in London
Sept 1, 2014 – London
The plane touched down at Heathrow about 9:30 am. I slept not a wink on the 9 hr flight, but did see two good movies that had been on my list. The first apprehension of the trip slid away as my bike, first off even before any bags, seemed to be in good shape. The second apprehension, getting into London, proved as groundless. A new, to me, express train which was almost empty took me to Paddington station. At the station I removed the bike from its plastic bag and put it together. My big duffel pack was loaded onto the carrier and I pushed the load to the 72 QT Guest House; my tires were a little too low to ride, and it was only about a 15 min walk. The small single room with a shared bath is just fine, and given that my bike, unloaded, is very light the one set of stairs that I carry it up is no problemo. I share the room with my bike, the shower with people I have not seen.
When arriving at the starting city, for a trip like this, I have a number of things to do or buy, and these seem always to crowd out the tourist oriented objectives that I have. I picked up my train ticket to Penzance at Paddington so that was dealt with quickly. After settling in, I stopped in at the Bayswater Arms for a snack, steak and kidney pie, and my first pint of bitter. Two ticks on the to-do list. I kept on walking, in the light mist, into Notting Hill, to have a look at this tourist area, but basically in the hopes of finding a good bookstore for a road atlas. I stopped into three bookstores, including the one frequently by Hugh Grant and Julia Rogers. Apparently it is on the tourist trail. No luck, and I missed the chance to get a sim card as well. I had a bit of a crash in my room and then headed out for an evening walk about in Kensington and Hyde Park. It was now late in the going home rush hour; it was gradually turning dark and the mist was now a light rain, but neither stopped the runners, cyclists, duck feeders, parents with young children. I hit my second pub of the day and then had a long nice sleep.
Sept 2, London
A full English breakfast, and then I headed off on my bike into a basically sunny day. Two blocks gets me into Kensington Gardens and I merged into the commuter bike traffic, on what they call tariff free paths, riding through Kensington, Hyde, Green and James Parks. I stopped to take a few pictures and followed bike commuters as they wound their way around a few traffic circles connecting the Parks. Once close to my first objective, Stanfords, I had to head through a few blocks in the centre of town, but that was also pretty painless, with bike lanes painted on most roads, and cars and buses pretty used to cyclists. I spent two hours in Stanfords; it is a three story map store that has no end of travel books.
I bought my Britain road atlas and a cycling book, but could have bought a dozen books that would be useful on this trip and numerous others that I would love to have. A few doors away I got my sim card and around the block I bought a light weight cycling jacket, as the one I was going to bring is still hanging at home. From there I continued cycling to the Globe Theatre and was able to pick up a ticket for tomorrows play. They were sold out on the internet but I got a returned ticket I guess. I had Haddock and chips and …wait for it… a pint of bitter at a pub on the Thames and then spent a pleasant couple of hours at the Tate Modern, before cycling leisurely, this time in the evening commuter traffic, back to my guest house. I had my best pub experience at the Churchill Arms, close to my guest house. I spent a lot of money today, but got rid of all my to-dos. My first two days in London, have been thoroughly enjoyable. I love cycling here, and I forgot, or never noticed before, how beautiful this city is. One more tourist day before leaving.
Sept 3, London
It was a little cloudy as I headed out on my bike for a ride around Regents Park before a couple of hours in the British Museum. I basically only did the European part spending most of the time in British History. They have done a lot of expansion and modernization since I was last here. Riding on, back down to the Thames I had street food along the river front and on to the Globe.
The Globe is a pretty good re-creation of the original Globe that Shakespeare would have held his plays in. It is open air, with three levels of rough plank seating and an open court yard for standing room. My seat was in the middle level. I really enjoyed “Comedy of Errors”, based on an ancient Greek play. Twin brothers with twin brother servants, separated as infants come in contact in Ephesus where there is much confusion and many errors about who is who. Loads of action. I could not tell the difference between the actors playing both sets of twins; exceptionally well done.
Coming out, the comedy turned to tragedy (do they all?), as my bike was gone; the lock, neatly cut, and my helmet were lying on the ground. The security people told me they would have taken the bike into a secure area; nice to know that now. I walked for about an hour as the emotion boiled within me. I then figured out how to take on the rent-a-bike system and rode back to my guest house. The bike is gone, no doubt the work of professionals. The question is now what to do. I spent much of the evening mentally trying out possibilities, on the internet searching answers including used bikes, really in hope that something would occur. I did’t sleep much.
Sept 4, London
I was not getting onto the train this morning, no refund on that ticket. I cancelled my reservation for Land’s End. In the end after many mind changes I bought a train ticket for the Lake District for tomorrow. I now had more maps and guides to buy, so it was back to Sanfords. At least this was enjoyable. I bought better shoes for hiking; the ones I have are ok for short walks, but now I hope to do longer ones. My struggle is now finding places to stay; it is still high season in the lakes. I have one night booked only, and so I guess I will need to take my tent. The pack I have is more of a duffel bag, and so carrying a heavy load very far is not very attractive. By 10:00 pm my plans were set, at least for tomorrow.
I ended up using the rent-a-bike system for almost my full 24 hrs (2pds). You can take a bike as many times as you wish for periods less than 30 minutes. I must have had 8 or 9 trips, as I flashed around much of London putting together my patch job of a trip. I am now pretty comfortable about getting around here. There are 1000s of these bikes at stations everywhere. You stick your credit card in a machine, it checks to see that your 24 hrs has not lapsed and then gives you a code and off you go, sticking the bike back in a rack near where you are going. It is a very well used system. In hind sight (wouldn’t it be nice) I should have left my bike in the room and used this system. Oh well, it is off to the lakes for a while.
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In Search of Britain
It has been a bit over nine months since my last entry on this site; I guess the longest I have gone in ten years without an adventure outing of some sort. Back in March, three days before I was to fly to Norway for a month of hut-to-hut skiing, I fell on the ice beside my house and tore the rotator cuff in my right shoulder. Thanks to the work of a wonderful physiotherapist I am somewhat more mobile now and so it is time to head off again.
1964 … “I can’t stand to see you off, likely forever, standing on the side of the road.”
My mother would not go with my dad and sister who drove me to the outskirts of Calgary, in August 1964. I was going to hitch-hike to Montreal where I had a one-way boat ticket to Southampton, England, for the beginning of a walk- about that had no planned route or duration.
So, a bit over fifty years ago I headed out of London on a newly acquired bike, with a wood framed back-pack, strapped to a rear carrier, that lasted about half way to Brighton, where I had hoped to get in one day. I had 80 lbs of stuff I considered necessary for summer and winter in any part of the world. Among these essentials I remember the complete works of Shakespeare and the first volume of the ‘World of Mathematics”.
The bike was more suited to light riding around London and so every cobble-stoned village in France that I hit claimed a number of spokes. I could ride pretty fast, but I knew nothing about bikes or bike travel. In Spain I traded in the bike for my thumb and rode around Europe, N. Africa and the Middle East on it for the rest of my year away.
2014 … In the last 15 years I have put about 200,000 kms on four well researched bikes and have pared down my travelling needs to about 30 lbs. On the downside, the 50 years on my body balances the advantage good equipment and experience makes, but I am still going and that trip fifty years ago proved to create an appetite that has never abated, nor been sated.
I am flying to London in a few days and will spend two months cycling with a little hiking in Britain. I will start by attempting Lands End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in Scotland (LEJOG), a cross Britain cycle trip that draws thousands each year. There is no specific route. You make your own way, but it is about 1000 miles, and I will try to do it in a little over two weeks. I am meeting my son and family in Scotland to watch the Ryder cup and will then continue cycling back and forth, with no real agenda, south towards London. I hope to find some nice cycle routes through places Like the Yorkshire Dales, and possibly hike a bit in the Lake District and possibly Snowdonia.
Every inch of Britain had been trod upon and written about, and so as adventures go this might be pretty tame, but I am on a bit of quest. During my short cycle ride across the south of England fifty years ago, on my way to France, I fed my thirst and flagging spirit with frequent visits to country pubs that were such a surprise for me at that time. Wish me luck in my search for interesting spots, pleasurable experiences and the ultimate in British pubs.
I hope to make the odd post to this blog, so join me if you will.
Posted in Britain, LEtJOG
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Drakensberg
Nov 7,8 Giants Castle, Drakensberg
We continued on the N2, now a divided toll road, through Durban onto the N3, another divided highway that runs all the way to Johannesburg. We were going about 1/3 the way and then we would be heading into the Drakensberg mountains for some hiking. We did not have reservations and did not know whether we would be camping or staying in a lodge. Of the 5 or 6 places you can go into the Drakensberg we chose GiantsCastle because this is where the highest mountains are. We had about 60 km of narrow side roads to drive, always climbing higher as we got closer to the mountains. The last 20 km was very pot-holed. At last we arrived at the resort, one of about 30 run by the province in KwaZulu Natal. There was no camping so we are in our most expensive place of the trip for two nights. Still it is good value for where we are and what we are getting. We did a couple of hours in the afternoon to get the lay of the land. We bought a good contour map showing the hiking trails to decide what are options were.
In the morning after a great breakfast and a packed lunch we headed off to LangalibelePass, of if we didn’t get there just a nice walk. The morning was bright and clear and we went pretty well, climbing steadily. There were lots of visas and flowers to take pictures of, but no birds or wildlife. The rolling hills heading up to the cliffs and above that the mountains that form the border with Lesotho. Somewhere up there is the highest mountain in SA. Rich was going well, and I struggled to keep up while stopping periodically to take pictures.
The trail was good and pretty easy to follow. Our route up to the pass was pretty obvious. We hit the junction of where a trail contoured across the mountain front to other trails and one of our options, but we were still doing well and so kept going. Soon we dropped into the ravine that cut through the cliffs and up to the pass that we were heading for. Now the steep trail got steeper, but still not technical and about four hours after starting we were at the grassy pass and could look into Lesotho. We didn’t stay long, as the clouds were building and we picked out way down to where we left the ravine and had our lunch there. My knees were pretty wonky; thank goodness my hip was fine. At any rate from here on, it was still steep, but not so slow going and the weather looked good so we didn’t need to hurry. Our hike was about 20 km and we gained and lost 1100 m in the process. By far our best hike and we felt good because of that.
Nov 9,10 Royal Natal Pk
It took about 4 hours to drive out of the mountains, pick up some groceries and then northwards back into Royal Natal Pk, still in the Drakensberg. We booked into the Park for two nights, this time we are camping. We went for a short walk after setting up our tent and then headed back out of the park to a hotel about 5 km away. It was Saturday and we were hoping to find a place to watch South Africa play Wales in Rugby. We arrived a bit before 4:30, the time we had been told. The hotel is definitely upper end and we were a bit out of place as we asked the bar tender to find the rugby game, while we ordered our first beer. Finally a game came on, but it was England vs Argentina. We were disappointed but stayed to watch most of it. During the game a young man staying at the hotel with his family told us that the SA game was not until 7:30. We considered leaving and then coming back but a sign had indicated the park gates were closed at 7:00.
On our way into the park we told the guy manning the gate how disappointed we were, and he told us that the closing of the park was only for day visitors and that we could come and go at will. We quickly went on and shuttered up our tent, had a shower and were back before the game started. We had the hotel buffet dinner for 170 Rand ($20) and joined about 8 other fans for the game. SA won pretty handily, but it was a very tough game as both teams had injuries. All good fun.
The next day we did a good 5 hour hike into a deep gorge. Having had a very tough hike two days earlier we took it easy, but still had a good workout. I took lots of photos of flowers in addition to the colourful canyon and ramparts of the Drakensberg rising above us. We were still on the border with Lesotho. We are getting a bit tired of pasta, but still did one more.
Nov 11,12 Golden Gate Nat Pk
Again we had to drive out of the mountains and then more north heading to Golden Gate Nat Pk, still in the mountains, but not the Drakensberg anymore. The terrain, as we approached was all quite different. Much more eroded rock formations. Many table top areas with overhanging cap rocks and eroded sandstone cliff faces. We checked into our campsite early and did a two hour hike up through the cliffs to a table top view, then a drop down into another high end hotel where we had lunch. Later in the afternoon after a scenic drive we did another hike to a tight ravine. We saw a new ungulate, the Blesbok, and a few knew bird species.
As usual the best birding was at our campsite, as species after species took turns entertaining us.
In the morning, the sun was shining and I had a pot of coffee watching and snapping birds, before Rich got up. In a number of campsites there are kitchens with stoves and even better, boiling water on demand. You can take your pot to the kitchen pore in the boiling water and you have pressed coffee. Sitting out early in the morning with the birds is one of my favourite things to do on this trip.
When Rich got up we drove 20 km into Clarens, an up-market town with lovely guesthouses, restaurants, galleries and gift shops. It is probably a destination in itself. We had a lovely breakfast, caught up on emails, bought some books and gifts and were back at our campsite to have lunch and watch more birds. We got caught in an early afternoon rain, and so our hike did not occur until late in the day. Following that we went to the fancy hotel for their buffet dinner, which is kind of our last high-end meal.
Nov 13 Harrismith
We packed up and headed back out of Golden Gate the way we came in. On the road, still in the park we saw lots of the animals we saw on the way in, but did not see where we were camping. We saw a different wildebeest than we are used to, lots of Zebra and many Blesbok, plus the odd other ungulate.
We were heading for a hike called the Sentinel Hike, which took us about two hours to get to. We drove to 2500 m, and then hiked for two hours gaining altitude the whole way. We were again in the Drakensberg and again up against Losotho. It was clear but very windy. The trail was good but had lots of exposure as the drop into the valley was considerable. Finally we reached two chain ladders that went up about 30 m, and disappeared over the ledge. This is not something that we like to do, and so that was the end of our hike. Another two hours got us back to the car. We didn’t get to the summit, but it was another great day in the Drakensberg. We have been here now for seven day, six nights and hiked every day. It has been a wonderful conclusion to our southern Africa trip.
We drove on up the road, towards Johannesburg, where tomorrow we will return our car, and the next day we will depart for Canada.
I have a trip summary that I will do, and I hope to post a few of my 4000 pictures, but that will wait until I am home.
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Addo Elephant Park
Nov 3, 4 Addo Elephant Park
We stopped on the way out of JeffreyBay for some birding and then meandered slowly north and east, by-passing Port Elizabeth. Addo was not far and so we could take it easy and still get into the park by noon. Addo was set up about 60 years ago to protect a handful of elephants that still roamed wild in the south part of SA. Now there are about 450 and they are trying to expand to handle the growth. It is about 100 km long and maybe 40 wide.
Right in the car park I saw two new birds and countless old friends. Our reservation gave us two nights camping and three days entry permit. The full sized camp spots are booked months in advance, but there are ten tent sights, still with electricity. Most were taken, but we found a good one right beside a cook shelter, that had electric stoves, a freezer and boiling water on demand.
We had lunch in the restaurant and hung around, until about 3:30 looking at birds in the camp vicinity and then went for the first of four game drives, each about 2-3 hours. Zebra, Kudo, Red Hartebeest, Ostrich, Warthogs, were everywhere. But the main attraction is the Elephants which we saw in large numbers each time we went out. And of course birds were everywhere. We got a number of new ones, and I got some of my best photos. We had a cursory lion siting.
Perhaps my best birding experience here was on the first morning. I was up early, in part to answer natures call and in part because of the raucous bird calls. I pressed coffee with the always ready boiling water and then sat watching and listening to the birds. Probably a dozen varieties came in waves. It had been raining for a few days before we came, and there was a cold night followed by a bright still morning. Possibly this was what was so special this day. It was no where near as good the second morning.
We had saw at least three kinds of raptors, various little black and white birds that we mostly sorted out, but that will be hard to remember, and we talked with more knowledgeable SA birders.
Nov 5, Chintsa
We left our campsite at about 7:30 and drove about 50 km south through a part of Addo that we had not seen before. This was very quiet compared to the traffic around main camp. We saw a few more elephant a and other animals, but importantly we had a distant view of a hillside full of eland, the largest of the African ungulates. We had not seen them before on this trip.
Once out of the park we were back on the N2, the main highway that goes along the coast, although not very close to it. For the past week and some we have been taking side roads but now, to gain some distance, we stuck to it for a bit over 300 km, past East London before heading off down to the sea, at Chintsa to The Buccaneers backpacker used by surfers, where we will relax overnight before heading off on out last week of the trip. We ate the communal meal, Indian with about 30 other residents, walked the beach a bit and wondered at the complexity of the backpacker world here.
Nov 6 Warren Beach
This is primarily a driving day, as we finish driving through the Eastern Cape and into KwaZulu/Natal Province. We were on N2 all day, but it was pretty slow with construction tie ups off and on, something like yesterday. There were also a few bigger towns with markets overflowing onto the road. We saw a lot of township type living and many people waiting or walking on the road. This is a SA that we don’t experience very much. The people we deal with in the service stations, game reserves and back packers are all very outgoing and friendly. Not to say those in the communities we see along the road are not friendly. We just don’t have the opportunity to interact in any way. To us SA is like any other European or North American place. It is possibly a little cheaper in some ways, but we never have any communication problems and everything is available. Our whole trip has been a trip for us. We have both, particularly Rich, have experienced a very different Africa; where getting things and dealing with people can very confusing. In all three countries here there have never been any of the issues that we would sometimes refer to under the explanation…”Well it is Africa”. We have been driving on good roads for the last days, and there is significant road work underway that will turn good roads into excellent roads. There is obviously money and infrastructure here to get this done.
We stopped today at Warren Beach, 30 km short of Durban, at a backpackers called the Blue Sky Mining Backpackers and Lodge. This is another eclectic place with great people. We took advantage of their Indian night, wandered in the gardens and looked out over the Indian Ocean. Incredible these backpackers; so much value for the cost. We are paying about $25-40 for a twin room with bath for the two of us.
Tomorrow we head into the mountains for some exercise.
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The Garden Coast
Oct 27 Langebaan
We had a leisurely breakfast at the old Mill guesthouse in Springbok and then headed down the road. It was quite a change for us after weeks of desert. Not exactly the Garden Coast yet, but still lots of green and the hue of yellow and violet caused by tiny flowers on bushes. The road initially was not too busy and so it was very restful coasting along on the narrow paved road. The sides of the roads here, as they were in Botswana and Namibia is completely free of litter. I think only once have we seen people picking up litter, mostly people just don’t litter; unlike in so many of the countries we visit.
Suddenly, cresting one of the many hills we saw a whole large valley filled with orderly bushes, which proved to be grapes; we are in wine growing territory. The mountains rising in the background added to the idyllic scene. After some hours, close to Cape Town, we left the highway and headed towards the coast. We had read about a National Park, known for its proliferation of birds. As the day waned we were in the hopes of finding a campground but ended up in a small hotel, our room looking right out on the lagoon. We walked the beach, watched another incredible sunset and had a great seafood meal.
Oct 28 Near Paarl
It was raining a bit when we got up and so we hung around for the 8:00 breakfast. We spent much of the morning in the West CoastNational Park. We had four bird hides that we sat in, and we saw quite a few new species. Some walking and a little driving in the park. It is mostly a shore bird park, but we did see some nice song birds as well. I particularly enjoyed a little swallow that would fly in through the first hide we were in, and sit for a few second on the window sill giving me a chance to snap him. Normally with swallows they move so quick you cant see anything.
We were near Cape town, but Rich in particular did not want to struggle with the traffic, even though it was my day to drive. For the last week or so we have been taking turns driving the whole day. We headed off and soon were on back roads heading for Paarl. The roads were narrow and quiet. We wanted to see Franchhoek, as I remembered it to be mountainous. We ended up with a long drive to get to a camproung where we had to promise that we were not lesbians, and they were not allowed.
Oct 29 Swellandam
Off on more back roads; we are in meandering mode now, not trying to make big distance gains. Through Franchoek, into Garenderdal, where we spent some time in the most detailed community museum imaginable,following a detailed introduction by its creator. Onto Greyton where we had a nice lunch and picked up a couple of bottles of wine at the recommendation of the restaurant owner. Onto another back road we saw three new birds in a bull rush thicket. Into Swellandam, we camped at a backpacker and went for a quick two hour hike to a waterfall.
Oct 30 Mossel Bay
Another couple of hours in BontebuckNational Park where we saw a new ungulate, the Bontebuck and a new bird, and then some back roads driving that was good mostly for its remoteness and some flowers. In MosselBay, it is raining and so we are in a Backpackers, where we did steaks over a |braai, that the manager helped us with. We are now at the beginning of the GardenCoast and have promised our selves we will do some hikes. We shall see.
Oct 31, Nov 1 Knysna
It is now raining for the better part of most days. We did not have far to drive to Knysna, but made it interesting by again choosing some back roads. We chose a backbacker in Knysna and settled in for two days. Knysna, possibly the most important town on the Garden coast, has lots of places to stay. We ate in both nights we were there. They first night we did our normal pasta feed, but the second we did a full braai. We bought steaks and boerworst, started the braai ourselves, which is different in that they use a hardwood that is tough to start but burns with lovely coals. It worked out pretty well.
On our day in the region we headed into the forest, once important for its Elephant population. Now there are only a few left, the southern most in Africa. It took us about three hours to walk a tough 7 km trail. It had rained much of the night and then off and on while we were walking. We had five stream crossings and so walked in our boots without socks and just walked on through each stream. None of the crossings were tough, but we were careful, as falling is not a good idea for old folks. We saw almost nothing as we were in deep forest the whole time.
Nov 2, Jeffrey Bay
We left the Garden route, and entered the Eastern Cape area, still mostly on the coast. Our first stop was the world’s highest bungee jump. Rich was going to jump, but then decided not to. I guess he is getting old. I’m more of a spectator in life and so the thought never occurred to me. The fact that is cost about $100 didn’t help. We stopped a bit at a few others of the coast’s prime towns, but didn’t do much. We had nice hour walk around the third of the Garden Coast Nat Parks that we have stopped at. All were good. A few more kms and we were at JeffreyBay, one of the world’s best surf sites, but at this moment the surf is not great, although the waves look incredible to us. Possibly if the surf was up Rich would have gone. We are in another backpacker and they arranged a nice seafood meal for us, after we watched England beat Austalia in rugby. They sent us off in a taxi so we could drink, or should I say continue to drink, having started during the rugby game. Possibly you have noticed that I have been writing under the influence.
We have enjoyed our slow meander on the coast and will head inland to another game park, Addo Elephant Reserve, tomorrow for a couple of days.
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Through Namibia
Oct 21 Swakopmund
Our visit to the NWR didn’t yield much. No camping reservation for Sossusvlei and a questionable park permit. We did enjoy our quiet visit to Swakopmund and the very nice guesthouse we are in, so that was fine. We did a drive to Walvis Bay and back (36km) with a good birding drive out in the Walvis lagoon, which is being used heavily to produce salt, using evaporation pools. We acquired a bird map as we entered the area and drove about 10 km, right at sea level, with salt pools alternating with seawater pools which shelter many kinds of water birds. We saw thousands of both lesser and greater flamingos and a number of smaller water birds. Back in Swakopmund we gased up, bought supplies, had another good meal. We are now ready to head off on our next camping venture, likely our last before returning to South Africa.
Oct 22 Namibgren Mountain Park
We drove about 300 km, mostly on gravel roads into the NamibNakluftPark. The Namib is the oldest desert in the world and runs the length of Namibia against the sea. The Naukluft is the mountain range that separates it from the central part of Namiba. We took side roads to get to our camping ground and saw some interesting desert scenery, some mountain zebra, a tiny deer and a few birds. We went over a very steep pass that got us up to 1800 m, where we camped. Each campsite is set in its own cluster of rocks and has its own enclosed kitchen area with a table, a sink, and Braai pit. We also have our own toilet and sink and a shower that is heated by a wood, which was fired up by the staff soon after we arrived. We were able to walk a bit, and when Rich came back he had a nice dog, that spent the evening with us and was still at our campsite when we left in the morning.
Oct 23 Sossusvleis
Our back road wandering continued as we headed towards Sossusvlei, the site of the largest sand dunes in the world and one of Namibia’s prime tourist attractions. We passed over another high pass and continued on very quiet roads. Then we saw what looked like two small dogs in the road. On closer look they were cats. I got a couple of shots through the window and then we saw the mother; a Cheetah, coaxing her cubs on. I took a few hurried shots out the window as they headed through the brush and over the hill. This was a real treat. We didn’t expect to see Cheetah and certainly not out here far from the nearest game reserve.
We had no trouble checking into the campground within the Sossusvlei Park Gate, in spite of being told they were full. We can now head out towards the dunes, 60 km into the park, before dawn, with the hope of getting some nice lighting as the sun rises on them. In setting up our tent we discovered that we had left behind our sheet and pillows, which we just had washed. We put things on the truck rood while packing up. Bad idea for two absent minded old fools.
Oct 24 Aus
We were in line behind about six vehicles at 5:15, and a few minutes later we were off on the 60 km to the biggest dunes. It was still quite black out, as we blasted down the 60 kph paved road at 110; I was keeping up with the tail lights ahead of me. A couple of big buses pulled off at the first viewing area and a few others stopped at the end of the pavement. We now had 5 km of 4×4 driving in deep sand and were still following a couple of vehicles with people who knew what they were doing. We parked grabbled our cameras and headed out to follow those ahead towards one of the dunes. The sun was now creating some light, but it was still below the mountains to the east. We began to realize what we were doing. We were going to climb one of the edges of the dune and be up high on it when the sun poked up. This was good fun, but I think I got better photos yesterday and later as we wandered around.
There are many dunes and we couldn’t pick out the highest. They are all lovely with their graceful arcs and severe ridges. In the early and late day sun they are a deep red in colour with sharply defines shadows. We left the line on the sharp ridge and plunged off of the dune to seek our own photos. After an hour or so we had had enough and began the drive back to the campsite. All in all it was great experience. The magnitude of these dunes is unsurpassed.
After a late breakfast we headed on down the high quality gravel road for the rest of the day, stopping periodically to appreciate the desert/mountain environment. We probably passed another vehicle every hour. Finally we popped out on a paved road which took us in a few kms to a campsite. From the campsite we had another short drive to a waterhole which attracts wild horses. They have been in these hills for close to a hundred years, and their origin is not known for sure. Horses are not native to Africa.
Oct 25 Fish River Canyon
We started out this morning heading towards another large desert park in South Africa, but soon changed our mind again. Too many kms for what we would get. So we turned south on another gravel road and by noon we were at FishRiverCanyon, exceeded in size only by Grand Canyon in the US. We had to backtrack to get gas, and had lunch in a funky Canyon Roadhouse while being gassed up. The visit to the canyon, in three different spots was interesting, but I am getting tired of rocks. We have seen very little but rocks for many days now. There is a 90 km long hike along the canyon floor that can be done in mid winter, but not now or for most of the years. It is too hot and there is the risk of flash floods at times. It does look interesting though.
Oct 26 Springbok, RSA
We continued on gravel, in the early morning light. At one point a herd of Springbok ran out on the road and with us for a while, and then minutes later, some Gemsbok did the same thing. We have passed countless of these animals, but never had the act this way. We finally hit pavement 70 km before entering South Africa. Even though there is a good pavement road the length, north/south through Namibia we had driven the whole way on side roads seeking out the attractions we were after. The border crossing was easy and an hour or so later we were in Springbok, and we stopped to get money and to check out the Namaqualand flowers. The height of the flowering wild flowers here is late Aug, early Sept, but we wanted to have a look anyway. On the road in, for the last 50 km or so we saw quite a few green and flowering clumps, and after the rocks of Namibia they looked pretty good to us. A small park was mentioned close to Springbok so we drove out, to be told by the young girl at the gate that there wasn’t a single flower on the 14 km drive through the park; we were two months late. But, she said, there was a formal succulent garden and a few things to look at. So we headed off, greatly enjoyed the formal garden, watching workers installing a new thatched roof.
We then headed off on the park drive. A one lane dirt track, through the park, wound its way through the country fields and amongst small rocky hills. We saw flowers everywhere and could only wonder if this was no flowers, what it must be like in peak times. Along the way we saw more Gemsbok and Springbok. This is a delightful small park.
We are now in a lovely guest house in Springbok washing away four nights of dusty camping and hopefully catching up a bit on internet doings. Tomorrow we will head on towards Cape Town, likely bypassing the city, heading for the Indian Ocean Side for our last days here.
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Etosha
Oct 14 Waterberg Plateau
Monday, after the weekend in Windhoek, Rich dropped me off in front of the Namibian Wildlife Resorts (NWR) Office in the hope of getting camping reservations for Etosha Pan. He carried on to a supermarket in order to get our most important camping provisions; beer and wine were not sold on Sunday. I was lucky at NWR and was able to get a night at each of the three campgrounds in Etosha and a night at Waterberg on the way up. After an hour driving around Katusha, trying to find our way north we were on the way. Katusha is the community in Windhoek where, similar to Soweto in Johannesburg, people come and build shacks while they try to find employment. Katusha is where over 2/3 of the people in the city live.
Three hours took us to Waterberg, a game reserve set on a plateau about 150 m above the surrounding country side. A few species like eland, sable, roan antelope, and rhino have been introduced here. We took a four hour game drive that was pretty painful. Basically sitting in a big game truck with only a couple of 20 minute sessions in game hides, where we had close encounters with giraffe and water buffalo. We did see one roan and a few sable.
Oct 15 Namutoni, Etosha Nat Pk
In the morning before breakfast we did a two hour walk up through the interesting cliff bands to the rim of the plateau. Our walks are so infrequent that they all feel so good. We did see some apes and dik dik and a few birds, but mostly it was the view and the hike that was most appreciated. We had another four hour drive, including a gasing and provisioning stop. The entry into Etosha brought us to our first camp spot, Namutoni. We set up our tent and then hung out for a while trying to stay cool until it was time to head over to the waterhole. Each of the campsites is set on a waterhole and viewing areas have been created. We went back twice to this one and saw a few zebra and antelope species. There was also a nice sunset.
Oct 16 Halali, Etosha Nat Pk
After a brief visit to the waterhole and breakfast we were off on the drive to Halali, the campsite in the middle of the park. It is only about 75 km, between the sites, but along the way the information map shows all of the waterholes and these at least double the distance driven. At the first we saw a rhino and some hyenas. At each of the six or seven stops we saw some and sometimes many animals. We almost always saw birds as well. At times the drive took us along the Etosha Pan itself, which is a great salt/mud flat that extends northwards to the horizon. It shimmers with differing colours depending upon the sky, temperature and composition of the flat. You could get lost appreciating its shifting moods. At one five or more km stretch we followed along with thousands of primarily zebra and wildebeest on a slow meander westwards. These were among the prime species that we saw each day. We also saw giraffe, springbok, black-faced impala, ostrich, in proliferation. And of course the birds were endless in number.
Our final venture on this day was a fruitless 37 km drive through the bush without seeing much, but the day was still wonderful. The campsite at Halali was similar to others we have been at, with the main challenge being to get out of the sun. We had lunch are the restaurant. Each of the campsites is actually a resort with rooms and chalets of differing calibres, restaurants, swimming pools and kiosks as well as the camping areas.
Oct 17 Okaukuejo Etosha Nat Pk
At our first hole, on the way to Okaukuejo, we saw a couple of sleeping lionesses. They were some distance a way and we would have missed had they not been pointed out be another visitor. Along the route, as we drive through the park, are about an equal number of private vehicles like ours; although a 2wd is adequate on the gravel roads. There are also many in open game trucks out from one of the camps, and finally there are quite a few closed tour buses. So the roads can get busy at times, but much of the time we were on our own. The second water hole on this second day we had a distant male lion pointed out. You could easily mistake these for a log lying amongst the rocks. Without binoculars and a high powered lens you can not really see anything. On the road we came to about four vehicles stopped along the road. We crept alongside one and asked what they were looking at. “A lion”…”where is he” we asked …”right beside you” came the reply. He was about 2 meters away, under a tree beside the road. Rich could almost reach out and pet him. We turned about and got in line for our few minutes of look and photo op.
At the camp, earlier today, it was again very hot and so before we set up camp we each retreated to some shade; Rich to a shelter to work on his notes, me to a pool where I sat and cooled my body temperature. Late afternoon we headed over to the water hole and it was active.
As I was getting there about 40 elephants were stretched out on their march into the pool. An old matriarch had preceded them and greeted them as the came. There were about 15 young ones and they were having trouble keeping in line, in anticipation of the fun. Once at the pool they drank, swam and rolled in the water but mostly played, exactly like the young of any species. A group of older males, none of which was really big, stayed at the end of the pool drinking. Mothers and babies were the centre of activity here. After half an hour of this, they began their dignified parade from the pool, letting the zebra, springbok and the rest have their turn. One lone bull stood on the horizon all the while. What I would give to understand that story. Elephants have to be the most communal of the mammals, and the intricacy of their activity and interactions with each other and with the other animals is fascinating.
This waterhole, of all that we saw here is a wonder. There was never a time when things were not happening. It is not hard to understand why Okaukuejpo is the most popular site in Etosha.
We stayed between a Scots couple with three young boys and a British couple who have a vehicle on a seven month guaranteed buy back deal. Something both Rich and I are interested in.
Etosha is the last of the big game parks for us on this trip, and it has proven to be the best experience in some ways. Rich says that he has never seen the multitude of game even in Kenya or Tanzania.
Oct 18 Uis
We had another nice hour and some at the waterhole in the morning before heading out of the park. We did not really have a destination picked out when we left, but as the day rolled on, and we got onto the gravel roads west and a bit south of Etosha we finally picked out a B&B in a town down the way and headed for it. On the way we were on some scenic routes and basically had a driving day.
Our B&B in Uis a small mining town, the White Lady, is named after a San paining in the mountains nearby. This is our first hotel after four nights of camping, but I have had some troubles sleeping in hotel rooms, struggling between the noise and cold of air conditioning and the heat of rooms shut up to keep the mosquitoes away. I always sleep well in our tent.
We arrived at about 6:00 and after some time our hostess asked if we wanted to join a German party in a braai (BBQ). Not much hesitation on our part after our continual meatless pasta dinners that we have while camping. We had Oryx steaks, pork ribs and boersworst sausages with potatoes, bread and a salad bar.
Oct 19 Spitzkoppe
After a great breakfast at the White Lady, and a short drive on which we saw some new birds, we entered SpitzkoppePark, named for its Matterhorn, like mountain, although we do not think so. The small group of mountains is a proliferation of red rock boulders stacked on top of each other, in a wonderfully random way. All of the campsites are in little niches in the rocks. All very neat, but we picked one and set out for a walk. It is a bit cooler here, now that we are getting close to the sea, but still hot at mid-day when the sun is out. I scrambled down a ravine, snagging myself at times on the prickly bushes and then found some nice easy scrambling up to a natural arch. After a couple hours of this, we drove around most of the park, Rich had his walk and we had a fine pasta dinner. We also found new birds. This is a wonderful place, even though you have to bring your own water.
Oct 20, Swakopmund
We had another easy breakfast, entertained by the cheeky Startlings, this time the Pale-Winged. At our campground I think I got photos of seven different birds, from my camp chair. We drove an hour an a half down to Henties Bay, almost imperceptively dropping 1000 m in the process. Still it got colder as we approached the Atlantic coast; the weather here dramatically affected by the cold Bengguela Current coming up from Antarctica. This is the same current that keeps the sea moisture from dropping on land, creating the Namib desert that runs along the coast from South Africa into Angola.
Another short drive got us to Swakopmund, the prime sea-coast and recreation centre for Namibians. This is an old town, still with heavy German influence, historically and as a favourite destination for German tourists. We checked into a B&B to get cleaned up, stocked up with food, more camping permits acquired and emailed.
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kenmyhre 