Kloofing!

Friday December 10th.

Chris, the American from yesterday and our guide Dan, picked me up at 9:00 and we went off for our kloofing adventure. We drove an hour east out of Cape Town and stopped at a gas station market to pick up our other guide, "also Dan" and some food and drinks.

The four of us proceeded to Steenbras, part of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. We hiked into the canyon there that they affectionately call Kamikazee Canyon. We hiked over really rough terrain for an hour or so, climbing up into the canyon. Finally we reached the first of three pools of water formed by the river flowing down the canyon. The spot reminded me of the Big Chute spillway by the Marine Railroad north of Coldwater.

Here we had a snack and then did some cliff jumping. There are a series of jumps ranging from 3m to 22m. One spot was about three metres in height. We jumped the three metre height and the ten metre height. Is a bit scary because you have to scramble out over rocks to reach the launch points and leap off. The water was really refreshing and a great place to swim.

From there we continued up the canyon to the next pool. Here the first cliff is 15m, and the highest is 31m!! I jumped off the 15m one. Again you had to climb a ledge to reach the spot, rest your back against the rock and then take one strong step to launch yourself out into the pool. Amazing, but five stories was high enough for Chris and I. Also Dan did a backflip from there and a jump from 22metres!

Then we had a lunch of sandwiches and snacks and Gatorade, before continuing up and past the next pool. It was really steep and rough climbing to reach the peak. Dan left us there as he climbed higher and out onto a really scary ledge in order to set up the ropes for abseiling again! Chris, who is in the US Navy Reserve, is a pilot and has served in Iraq, was very nervous on the high jumps, but was really scared here. He said that he never had a fear of heights but he does now and that he'd never been so scared in his life!

'Also Dan' went down first, to test the ropes and be our guide from the bottom. Then it was my turn. This about half the height of the Table Mountain cliff, but scarier in some ways, because you can see all the way down and it ends in pool of water that looks tiny at the bottom! Out over the edge I went. You spread your feet, bend your knees, lean back until you feel your weight supported by the ropes and then you begin to walk down the cliff. All the while Dan is instructing from the top. A couple of places you have to push off the rock face to clear another rock, then you are clear and suspended from an overhang. Further down, you move to the left and wind up in the waterfall! As you are descending the cool water is falling on you! You get drenched. Then finally you lower yourself into the pool at the bottom. What a great descent! Really an amazing ride. The enthusiasm of Dan's cheer from the top echoed all through the canyon. Chris conquered his fear and made the descent too. I got some great shots of him coming down. Unfortunately, 'Also Dan' was only able to get a couple of me because he was the anchor.

After packing up all the gear and descending to pool two, we had another snack and they all smoked. Then we spent another hour and half climbing back down to the car.

At 6:00 we drove back to Gordon's Bay, where we had a beer and said goodbye to 'Also Dan'. When the three of us got back to Cape Town, we picked up my laptop, went to a grocery store and Dan bought some steaks, salads, beer and snacks, and we headed to Chris's hostel for a BBQ. Steve the owner of Amber Tree Lodge is a mate of Dan's. We had a great dinner, a couple of beers and then Dan drove me to my hostel by midnight! How is that for value for the day. The whole trip cost 700Rand or $103.