I wasn't on this hike, but Jenny was and she has kindly provided a report.
A quick thanks to Judith for organising this hike in the hills...and for pics received….very pleasant....best accommodation we have had for AGES....the double lounge measured 18m x 9m - I paced it – yooge - we each had our own bedrooms...mostly en suite (!) with a room to spare for Robert and Wynand who had to abandon ship at the last moment (no refund, I'm afraid.....Judith asked...Bit mean I thought....we'll know next time to say someone DIED) Anyway....very spacious with all mod cons and we kept bewailing the fact that there were only six of us.
We had a most spectacular, ongoing, longlasting electrical storm on Friday night...It flashed and growled continuously for HOURS - I was even able to make a good video of the lightning. Next morning, for the first time EVER...we were on the road by 07h00!!?? ("Its going to be hot, we must leave early" ... It was an overcast morning) HOWever, by 07h15 we were irretrievably dug in to a very muddy donga which required multiple rescuers and dramatic and dirty effort, and we eventually set out AGAIN from the house at 08h30, feeling as though we had done a day's work already. (Remind me never to make an early start again…things DRY OUT during those early hours.)
We THEN proceed to miss the sign to turn off into the bush and did a TWO HOUR extra plod and search before we found the right path!! At some stages all six of us were off in different directions!! There were compensations as we were hot on the trail of a leopard hot on the trail of a bok, and could follow the chase in the wet sand in the road....interspersed with other bok, zebra, giraffe and jackal prints so we were quite happily occupied.
Once on the trail the features followed thick and fast. An extensive African village ruin, cool indigenous forest, a Marlotti Aloe glade, a very nice long walk right along the edge of the cliff (nice rocks) and a challenging chain ladder down into the kloof....we climbed down the ladder but only Frans went further on down, to no avail, as no path to be found. We all lunched-with-a-view and then set off back home....only to get lost again, (aaaargh! By this time we were tired) so that in the end we were on the trail for more than EIGHT HOURS!!! And felt absolutely fine afterwards, I hasten to add.
Very yummy communal dinner round table in kitchen, and next day...no takers for more hiking... scared to get lost again ….. so we drove (in two cars) from camp to camp to see the rest of the farm ( which was a mission in itself, given the interesting state of the wet roads ) and saw views and animals and a lovely field of white everlasting-type flowers under the bushes…. Icecream stops on the way home as usual. So all in all a very nice outing, notwithstanding the various glitches.