Painting the old prison wall at Project Gateway!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Howick Falls and the Drakensberg Mountains
Waterfalls near our cave.
Rhino's Peak on the top left.
The view from bed.
Hiking up to Pillar Cave.
side.
More photos coming soon...
Howick Falls/Pietermaritzburg/Drakensberg Mountains
A great week for outdoor adventures! Saturday we had our first significant travel day. Leaving at 6:30 so that we could arrive at Howick Falls for an afternoon abseil (repelling) down a 107-meter waterfall! The last week has been really rainy in the Howick Falls area, which resulted in an incredibly powerful waterfall. Geoff Gould our guide said the falls were the largest he has ever abseiled down. About half way down we started to get wet from the spray and the last twenty meters were hurricane like conditions. Spray in your eyes, hanging free spinning around in the air trying to see the boat we are supposed to land in. The water at the bottom was incredibly rough with large waves filling the boat with water. By the time we were done we were soaked through. What an amazing experience!
We arrived late in Pietermaritzburg due to some complications on the last abseil, thankfully no one was hurt and our Geoff saved the day. Vijoy and Paul were the last pair to go and Vijoy got stuck on a knot in the rope about 7 meters from the bottom. Geoff was able to do a pick-off and get Vijoy onto his rope but because of the power of the falls all the ropes had tangled and they could not get all the way down. They ended up having to jump out of the harnesses the final three meters to the water below. Vijoy kept his cool throughout the whole situation, which really impressed Geoff.
Half the week in Pietermaritzburg one half of the group hiked up to Rhino’s Peak in the Drakensberg Mountains while the other half did service projects at Project Gateway, an old prison which has been converted into a mission providing a number of services in the community here. The hike covered three days and two nights. Arriving around 3:30 at the bottom we then hiked up an 1:30 with our packs to Pillar Cave where we spent Monday and Tuesday night. Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early with a beautiful view of the mountains from our beds. We had great weather conditions for the day, warm sun most of the day with some cloud cover here and there and a pretty strong breeze to keep us cool. We left at 7 in the morning for a 12 km hike. The first four km were walking up the trail and then a final rock scramble gaining 1000 feet in altitude. The final 2 km were across a plateau along the top to the outcropping of rock called Rhino’s Peak, which gave us a beautiful panorama view the surrounding mountains and the valley below. Parts of this plateau that we were walking across are considered Lesotho. We ate lunch at the top, took pictures, met some Lesotho shepherds and started the hike back down to Pillar Cave. It was an exhausting day, especially for some who were sick, and a great accomplishment as we all made it up together. When we finally reached the cave at around 4, we took a dip in the river. The water had smoothed over a rock making it a natural waterslide and a great way to cool down at the end of the day.
Wednesday morning we relaxed around the cave and spent some time with God in His beautiful creation before we started the journey back down to the bus. It was a foggy morning and ended up misting on us on the way down. Our shoes and pants were soaked from the wet grass along the path. Just before we reached the end of our journey we heard some baboons squabbling across the river and managed to catch a glimpse of them on the way past. Another reminder of where we are. It was an awesome experience, which was made that much better by a warm shower back at the prison.
Steve
We arrived late in Pietermaritzburg due to some complications on the last abseil, thankfully no one was hurt and our Geoff saved the day. Vijoy and Paul were the last pair to go and Vijoy got stuck on a knot in the rope about 7 meters from the bottom. Geoff was able to do a pick-off and get Vijoy onto his rope but because of the power of the falls all the ropes had tangled and they could not get all the way down. They ended up having to jump out of the harnesses the final three meters to the water below. Vijoy kept his cool throughout the whole situation, which really impressed Geoff.
Half the week in Pietermaritzburg one half of the group hiked up to Rhino’s Peak in the Drakensberg Mountains while the other half did service projects at Project Gateway, an old prison which has been converted into a mission providing a number of services in the community here. The hike covered three days and two nights. Arriving around 3:30 at the bottom we then hiked up an 1:30 with our packs to Pillar Cave where we spent Monday and Tuesday night. Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early with a beautiful view of the mountains from our beds. We had great weather conditions for the day, warm sun most of the day with some cloud cover here and there and a pretty strong breeze to keep us cool. We left at 7 in the morning for a 12 km hike. The first four km were walking up the trail and then a final rock scramble gaining 1000 feet in altitude. The final 2 km were across a plateau along the top to the outcropping of rock called Rhino’s Peak, which gave us a beautiful panorama view the surrounding mountains and the valley below. Parts of this plateau that we were walking across are considered Lesotho. We ate lunch at the top, took pictures, met some Lesotho shepherds and started the hike back down to Pillar Cave. It was an exhausting day, especially for some who were sick, and a great accomplishment as we all made it up together. When we finally reached the cave at around 4, we took a dip in the river. The water had smoothed over a rock making it a natural waterslide and a great way to cool down at the end of the day.
Wednesday morning we relaxed around the cave and spent some time with God in His beautiful creation before we started the journey back down to the bus. It was a foggy morning and ended up misting on us on the way down. Our shoes and pants were soaked from the wet grass along the path. Just before we reached the end of our journey we heard some baboons squabbling across the river and managed to catch a glimpse of them on the way past. Another reminder of where we are. It was an awesome experience, which was made that much better by a warm shower back at the prison.
Steve
Soweto Pics
Lisa, Janell and Shayleen being escorted to the bus.
Lisa, Josh and Janell.
A fairly normal area on the outskirts of Soweto.
The twin power plants.
Thami, our tour guide for the week.
Waiting for the Bus.
Lori and Kevin.
The Gumboot Dance!
Dave, Josh and Charles playing games.
A Market type area in Soweto.
Soweto
Our week in Soweto has been the highlight of South Africa so far. There were some mixed expectations on the table after learning some of Soweto’s violent past, and receiving some wide-eyed looks from Afrikaners in Pretoria who discouraged us from going. However, Soweto turned out to be much more than it was portrayed to be. We soon realized this as we began the week with Gospel harmonies ringing through our ears at a Sunday morning service at the Soweto Vineyard Church, where we stood and were out-sung despite our best efforts. Here we got a sermon from Pastor and Outtatown speaker Mpho. It was amazing to see what versatile speakers there were, the sermon was translated by a talented local translator back and forth from Zulu to English. We then packed our gear and camped out at the Ipelegeng Community Center for the week. Here we found time to re-group after being at separate home-stays the week before. I was surprised to find the people we encountered here to be some of the more friendly and fun people we’ve come across so far. Many of us joined in on some community aerobics classes in the gym while others were invited to do fun things such as watch a comic play put on by some local actors.
From our community center we toured Soweto, gathering out front every morning to jump on the bus. The first days we spent learning about the town, we saw the miniscule wealthy area and the vast poverty,which surrounds it. I had my mind and heart filled from our trips to the Apartheid Museum and exhibitions on the Soweto uprising of the 1970’s. These experiences were some of the more meaningful ones, and helped to put into perspective the stares and gestures our group received as white people walking down the Soweto streets. On the Wednesday we ventured to a region of Soweto known as Kliptown where we were entertained by the phenomenal “Gumboot Dancing” presented by some of Kliptown’s youth. We were bombarded by their boisterous culture as they sang and danced and every young kid found an Outtatowner to cling to and follow all the way to the buss. This was an entertaining time for all of us, and it was a gib part of what made Soweto a unique experience for me.
To close the week we spent two days in service both at an HIV/AIDS hospice, and down in Kliptown again at a nursery where we served food, played games, and laughed until the kids were tired and slept. Overall, the week was a very enriching time, and I think that everybody else would agree with me when I say Soweto was Soweet!
Aaron Streight
From our community center we toured Soweto, gathering out front every morning to jump on the bus. The first days we spent learning about the town, we saw the miniscule wealthy area and the vast poverty,which surrounds it. I had my mind and heart filled from our trips to the Apartheid Museum and exhibitions on the Soweto uprising of the 1970’s. These experiences were some of the more meaningful ones, and helped to put into perspective the stares and gestures our group received as white people walking down the Soweto streets. On the Wednesday we ventured to a region of Soweto known as Kliptown where we were entertained by the phenomenal “Gumboot Dancing” presented by some of Kliptown’s youth. We were bombarded by their boisterous culture as they sang and danced and every young kid found an Outtatowner to cling to and follow all the way to the buss. This was an entertaining time for all of us, and it was a gib part of what made Soweto a unique experience for me.
To close the week we spent two days in service both at an HIV/AIDS hospice, and down in Kliptown again at a nursery where we served food, played games, and laughed until the kids were tired and slept. Overall, the week was a very enriching time, and I think that everybody else would agree with me when I say Soweto was Soweet!
Aaron Streight
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
