SWARTBERG MOUNTAINS

Cape Province, in South Africa, has a very pleasant spring climate in October and November with a good chance of sunny, cloudless days and temperatures of 25-30 C, perfect for relaxed tee shirt and shorts walking, at low level.
The Swartberg Mountains, running east to west for 150 miles ,some 200 miles north of the Cape of Good Hope, with summits in excess of 7000 feet, make a formidable barrier between the fertile Little Karoo to the south and the arid Great Karoo but provide excellent walking trails and fresher air. Being a National Park, a permit-currently costing 30 Rand (approx £2.25) per person per day-is required.
For many years the mountains were considered almost impenetrable until Thomas Bain designed and built, using convict labour, the Swartberg Pass. This unsurfaced road enters through a narrow gorge and winds, via a series of steep hairpin bends, to a summit at 5000 feet where snow often lies for many months. It is considered one of the world’s most spectacular mountain passes and gives access to a variety of marked trails, suitable for day walks or longer hikes. In this mountain environment, with water supplies problematical, the walker must be fully equipped and prepared for all eventualities. Quite luxurious huts-rather like small bungalows-should be booked in advance through the Park Centre and a number of dry caves are also available for overnights.
For walkers, there are rich rewards-an untouched, remote natural setting with extensive views in all directions and blissful solitude. A profusion of plants and spring flowers-mountain fynbos, pelagoniums, ericas and proteas. Abundant bird life, especially in the valleys, small adders basking in the sun and just the chance, perhaps unwelcome, of encountering a troupe of inquisitive baboons.
As sterling rapidly sinks, South Africa still provides excellent value for money with a coffee at 60p ,a pint of beer around 85p. While there is a  certain uneasiness in the larger towns, with their surrounding townships, beyond these the sense of generous welcome remains.
Now that Mandela has retired, the political climate is changing and long term stability is perhaps less assured.  Visit soon

     

Walking in Majorca

The Balearic Islands, lying in the Western Mediterranean, are well known to tourists and have a reputation for sea, sun, sand and Sangria .There is however another side to these beautiful islands.                                 


Click photo for larger image

Majorca, perhaps better known by its Spanish name-Mallorca-is the largest and most topographically varied.. The Sierra de Tramantana range runs North to South along the Western coast ,with the highest peaks touching 4500 feet. These limestone mountains, with pine covered lower slopes, are in marked contrast to the low lying interior farmland and heavily overbuilt Southern and Eastern coasts.
A number of ancient mule tracks cross the mountains and lead down to attractive coastal villages and coves, far from mass tourism. The Government of the islands, conscious of this untouched and unspoilt area, has begun to repair old paths, to place way-marks and erect signage, with a view to welcoming the discriminating and active walker. In addition, approximately 300 km of  quiet rural roads have been designated  as suitable and safe for cyclists.
SportActive , a local company, ATOL bonded and based in Lisburn , owned by David McCall and Martin Birney, has been organising both walking and cycling holiday packages to Mallorca  for the last five years. Holidays are inclusive of flights and are centered , on a half board basis, near Alcudia , on the North coast. Transport to walks is also provided. Each week, five days of walking is interspersed with a free day.
A group of sixteen walkers left Belfast International very early on a Saturday morning in May and travelled most comfortably, courtesy of Thomas Cook Airlines, on a smart, clean, Airbus A320 arriving in Palma precisely on time. SportActive had arranged that seats were allocated close to the front of the cabin and that a meal was provided—little touches of care which were appreciated.
A minibus was waiting to transfer the group to Alcudia , just under one hour away.Walking began on Sunday morning, led by David McCall ,very ably assisted by his partner, the lovely Helen.
As the week progressed ,David’s abilities became clear. A Mountain Leader Award holder and very widely experienced, everyone knew that they were in safe hands and could simply relax, forget about navigation, forget about time, forget about business worries, forget what day of the week it was and simply enjoy wonderful, energetic walking.
A good example of what was on offer involved a minibus journey of twenty minutes to a walk starting point west of Alcudia at Mal Pas. A short climb up through pines to a saddle, where most opted to drop down steeply to the beautiful Coll Baix cove-unfortunately dangerous for swimming- and clamber back up again. A steep climb followed, initially through pines but eventually on to the open hillside, bathed in warm sunshine, with fabulous views across to the Formentor Peninsula .  Finally we reached the summit watchtower and lunch stop.
Descending along the North face of the mountain, views were outstanding and a little detour to the Penya Rotja viewpoint simply added to the enjoyment.  Finish was at Ermita de la Victoria, where a deconsecrated Church had been sensitively converted into a luxury hotel. However, a restaurant, with a shady terrace and long views, provided the liquid refreshment required.14km ,covered in relaxed style, set up appetites for a buffet evening meal in excellent company-we even understood each other’s jokes.
SportActive, offering walking and cycling holidays in Majorca, France, Austria and Poland is, on the evidence of this holiday, to be very highly commended for its quiet professionalism ,attention to the important small details and , importantly, for being good value for money.

Ronnie Carser 

The following article has been contributed by Dorothy Eccles (Mid-Ulster Walking Club).  Dorothy has been a keen walker for many years and has an adventurous streak.  She has recently returned from a cycling expedition in the Middle East .  These are her thoughts on a trip to Chile with Ramblers Holidays last winter. 

Chile              January 2008

                       

I don’t know why more people don’t choose to take holidays in January instead of July, and thereby miss the cold, dark, dreary days which winter brings, and go somewhere that is sure to be sunny.
On January 15 I left Belfast on a cold damp dark day with four friends, and, 36 hours later travelling via Heathrow and Madrid, arrived in Santiago de Chile.  It was a very long journey and economy class does not afford one much comfort for a 13 hour flight-but compared to the months of discomfort which early explorers endured on sailing ships, it would be churlish to complain. Ramblers Worldwide Holidays run a very efficient company. Alf,our Scottish Spanish speaking guide, was waiting for us and quickly had us and our luggage in a bus and on the way to a hotel in the city centre. We were the third group he had lead in Chile this season so he had any problems well sorted.
Santiago de Chile was hot, sunny and busy.  We stayed there 2 nights and then flew south to Pucon , an hour’s flight.  Road journeys in Chile can be very difficult so flying is a sensible option.  Now we were ready to “ see ” Chile.  For the next seven days we walked in what is known as " The Lake District of Chile ”.
Chile has a mixed-race population. Only about 1% of the earlier Mapuche Indian people remain. Settlers have come from all over Europe to farm, to work, and to have a better way of life. In this area of Chile, a German influence is very strong. Our Hôtel could have been transplanted directly from the Black Forest.
The landscape in the Lake District is dominated by volcanoes. They are exactly like a child’s drawing-perfectly symmetrical snow-clad cones with wisps of steam coming from the top. Our walks through the forests took us past lakes which reflected the volcanoes, and cameras were ever ready to record the beauty around us. Chile is the home of the Araucaria, better known to us as the Monkey Puzzle. It only grows at higher levels and like our own much loved specimens, many showed the same age related problems, a heavy canopy with straggly dead lower limbs.
We visited Chiloe, the second biggest island in South America. The chief industry here is salmon farming. Thousands are employed in it and the product is exported all over the world. Hundreds of new low cost houses have been built to accommodate this explosion of the population. Surprisingly we did not eat a lot of salmon, and also very little lamb, in spite of seeing lots of very large flocks. We saw some large beef herds, mostly black and white Freisian look-alike animals. One day we visited a llama farm and as we left the bus I heard the unmistakable “put-put” of a milking machine, a legacy of my farming background.  On investigation I found a man in a tiny milking parlour, using four units and working his way through about a dozen cows. He was putting the milk into cans, something I haven’t seen for years. I was so sorry not to have some Spanish.
Another flight, this time a three hour one, still going south - this country is not called “ a long thin country” for nothing-and we arrived in Puerto Arenas, Patagonia, the most southerly capital in the world. Only  ?%  of Patagonia is in Chile, the remainder being in Argentina.
It is a huge area, 1,000,000km square. We visited the area known as Torres del Paine. This was the place we were all looking forward to seeing and we were not disappointed. The beauty of the scenery surpasses one’s expectations. The park has been a UNESCO Biosphere for 30 years and is considered to be one of the most beautiful, uncontaminated and unique places on the planet.
The dining room of our hotel had huge windows in which were framed the famous 3 Torres-Sur, Central and Sud. In the mornings food remained untouched as we watched the rising sun firstly gild the peaks and then pour down the hillsides as it rose over the horizon.  In the evenings we watch the sun set, and light drain from the valleys and once again the tops were gilded before disappearing below the horizon. Tired after a day spent outdoors and with a glass of Chilean wine to hand, this was as close to perfection as one can get.
In Patagonia we watched the condors glide high in the sky, seeming almost to be suspended by some invisible wire. We heard and saw Magellan Woodpeckers-thump, thump- the tree trunks. We walked among herds of Guanacos-Andean llamas-and quite a few Rheas-members of the ostrich family. We glimpsed a puma slink through undergrowth, but did not get the chance to photograph it.
As has happened in New Zealand, some unwise settlers brought gorse to Chile to use as a quick growing fence. Quick growing it certainly is, and indestructible. It covers acre upon acre and has survived every attempt to remove it. Wild blue lupin grows in profusion and beautiful pink foxgloves, rather better imports.
Glaciers cover many valleys and, as it was summer in the southern hemisphere the rivers were full of melt water and the roar of waterfalls fill the air. Icebergs calved off the Grey Glacier floated like crashed planes in Lagos Bay. Willie Grey, our friend, felt very much at home here. Surprising for me, the icebergs were an incredible iridescent blue-internally reflected light, I was told.
Chile is a land of great diversity. The driest place on earth is found in Northern Chile, there are snow covered mountains, glaciers and icebergs, enormous waterfalls and wide open arable stretches of land. One of the reasons it was able to remain a distinct region was because explorers found it difficult to cross the Atacama Desert in the north or the Andes mountains which run from the north to the south.  The people are friendly and welcoming wanting to share their beautiful land.

And their wine is gorgeous.

A trip to Scilly Isles

The Isles of Scilly, situated 120 miles south of Rosslare and 30 miles west of Land’s End, may not, at first sight, appear to be a walking destination.

Travel to the five inhabited, low lying islands is relatively expensive and accommodation is scarce but the rewards, in terms of scenery and an ‘away from it all’ feeling, are suitable recompense.

Whilst it would be possible to take a car, using surface transport to Great Britain and a subsequent long drive, costs of flying to Bristol or Exeter and then hiring a vehicle, will be very similar. As Jet 2 has opened a summer service to Newquay in ’09 from Belfast , this provides an ideal entry to both Cornwall and onward to Scilly, using the twin otter aircraft of Skybus. The ability to have perhaps a weeks’ walking on Dartmoor and a few days on the islands is tempting.

A more unusual approach is to take the big British International Helicopters Sikorsky 61 from Penzance and enjoy magnificent views from less than 1000 feet. If ‘choppers’ are not your thing, the sturdy little Scillonian 3 sails daily from Penzance, taking just under three hours to reach the islands.

The first impression of the islands will be the clarity of the air and surrounding sea, pollution being less evident. On the largest island-St Mary’s- there is, surprisingly, much farmland, with little fields surrounded by high hedges, producing early spring flowers. The tiny island capital, Hugh Town, has most shops and facilities available, with daily boats leaving for the neighbouring islands. A limited variety of accommodation is available, mostly in the town and early booking is advisable. The Tourist Information Centre (01720422892) will provide the necessary brochures.  A particular recommendation might be Star Castle, built in 1597 in the form of an eight pointed star, on the hill top above the town. With its solid,  thick walls, surrounding battery and wonderful views, it has been loving updated to become the winner of the 2009 Island Hotel of the Year award. It is very expensive—but impossibly romantic-the venue for a special occasion?

Walking is varied on St Mary’s with beautiful rocky coastal paths and extensive views leading to secluded bays of fine white sand or along quiet lanes in the interior, with virtually no motorised traffic. Tresco has downland, castles and of course, the famous Abbey Gardens while St Martin’s is noted for long sandy beaches and boasts the most southerly vineyard in Britain. Bryher and St Agnes are also well worth exploring on an afternoon walk.

To follow a long tree shaded lane to the seaside graveyard at Old Town on  an early summer evening, with nothing but birdsong and a distant calling cuckoo in the ears, to sit quietly near the grave of the late Prime Minister Harold Wilson and absorb the utter peace and tranquillity of the surroundings, is a reminder of how Mr and Mrs Wilson , in the midst of busy lives, returned each year for forty years to their humble cottage near Hugh Town, to find a slower pace of life.

That tranquillity is still available and what better way to enjoy than on foot.

Ronnie Carser