Day 2: Places the teams have been
posted Sunday, August 10, 2008 by adventurelisa @ 2:27 AM -
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To give you a bit of information on the places the teams have been through since Saturday evening.
The all-night hike started from the Hogsback village. The area is famed for its forests and hiking trails; a fabulous outdoor vacation destination loved by South Africans. Unfortunately most teams wouldn't have seen the area in its glory (neither did I) as they would have been through this under the cloak of night.
The region surrounding the village of Hogsback is watched over by three ridges, said to resemble the bristles on a hog's back. Thus the town's name. Another theory suggests that the village was named after a Captain Hogg, commancer of Fort Mitchell. Whatever the origin, hogsback has become a geological term to describe the rock formation typical of these ridges.
Check out this website should you ever been keen for a hiking holiday in this area - www.places.co.za/html/hogsback.html
The hike takes the teams past the Kettlespout Falls (lots of falls in the Hogsback area). The water flows down the falls through a natural spout in the rocks and, when the wind picks up, the water arches up in a feathery plume. This region is very, very dry at the moment so there ain't no kettlespout happening.
The finish of the hike is in the village of Thomas River, where I am sitting right now. It is a one-horse village, decorated with only a few buildings.
The village was named Thomas River in 1801, after an English deserter, Thomas Bentley. He was killed by a poisoned arrow - shot by a San ("bushman") while crossing the river. The original railway station was established in the late 1870'sand a new station was built in 1926. Sadly, the town welcomed its last train in 1948 when a new railway line was opened.
The village was subsequently deserted, falling to ruin. The silver lining to this tale is that the town was bought in 2003 and most of the buildings have been restored. The town can sleep about 30-people. It's is a divine weekend getaway; quaint and charming. And I can highly recommend the chicken lasagne.
The all-night hike started from the Hogsback village. The area is famed for its forests and hiking trails; a fabulous outdoor vacation destination loved by South Africans. Unfortunately most teams wouldn't have seen the area in its glory (neither did I) as they would have been through this under the cloak of night.
The region surrounding the village of Hogsback is watched over by three ridges, said to resemble the bristles on a hog's back. Thus the town's name. Another theory suggests that the village was named after a Captain Hogg, commancer of Fort Mitchell. Whatever the origin, hogsback has become a geological term to describe the rock formation typical of these ridges.
Check out this website should you ever been keen for a hiking holiday in this area - www.places.co.za/html/hogsback.html
The hike takes the teams past the Kettlespout Falls (lots of falls in the Hogsback area). The water flows down the falls through a natural spout in the rocks and, when the wind picks up, the water arches up in a feathery plume. This region is very, very dry at the moment so there ain't no kettlespout happening.
The finish of the hike is in the village of Thomas River, where I am sitting right now. It is a one-horse village, decorated with only a few buildings.
The village was named Thomas River in 1801, after an English deserter, Thomas Bentley. He was killed by a poisoned arrow - shot by a San ("bushman") while crossing the river. The original railway station was established in the late 1870'sand a new station was built in 1926. Sadly, the town welcomed its last train in 1948 when a new railway line was opened.
The village was subsequently deserted, falling to ruin. The silver lining to this tale is that the town was bought in 2003 and most of the buildings have been restored. The town can sleep about 30-people. It's is a divine weekend getaway; quaint and charming. And I can highly recommend the chicken lasagne.
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