Naukluft Hiking Trail 8 - Room with shower

And here we are, about to start day number five.

The path leading away from our overnight spot wound its by now familiar arid, rock-strewn way along hillsides and scenic canyons decorated with sparse clutches of spiky succulents and quiver trees.

Along the way we paused at a windmill hidden among a few dark green thorn trees. It was spinning wildly in the stiff breeze, yet the cement dam beside it was bone dry. All the man-made watering points we passed so far on the trail - mostly leftovers from the area's earlier farming days -  were waterless, meaning it had been a lean summer that had recently turned into an early winter, which was where we were now in the seasonal cycle. It's a tough, unforgiving land, this Naukluft, and I silently admired the pioneers who first settled here many decades ago.

Today's trail was another solid 17km walk but after an hour or two of scaling a steep ridge the going levelled off, especially once we landed on a jeep track meandering its way along seemingly endless stretch of flat scrubland, carrying on for what felt like an eternity. The track eventually turned into a well-maintained dirt road leading into an impressive amphitheatre surrounded on three sides by towering cliffs several hundred metres high. One of the broadest cliffs visible in the distance was the imposing but bone dry Die Valle waterfall, which we had to scale tomorrow.

The first sign that indicated that tonight's stay-over was close by was a water tower with something that looked like a makeshift shower at its base.  Wow! That would be a first. So far our bathing facilities have been limited to water from a two litre fold-up bucket, allowing for rinsing down only the most essential parts of our bodies. I was one of three lads who reached the tower first and it didn't take any convincing for us to dump our packs and before you can say "Lux beauty soap" we were splashing around under the gushing spout of water from an overhead pipe. We were soon reprimanded by the group laggards for wasting precious water but I think they were merely a little jealous having to wait for us to finish and emerge with broad smiles, soaked and refreshed.

You can see all the pics from Naukluft in my Flickr gallery.

Naukluft Hiking Trail #6... Blisters

I left the camp, or rather the slab of concrete we called home the previous night still chewing frantically on a peanut bar, trying to get my energy levels up to a point where I'll be able to walk up the steep canyon for a few kilometers and scale a few chains inbetween. My normal, hearty breakfast consisting of coffee, a generous helping of Futurelife, and my blaster dosre of vitamin pills and energy sweets would have to wait until we reach the top of the canyon, 400 leg breaking meters above us, where we'd agreed to pause at a rock pool to eat and stock up our water supplies. I say 400m up, because the horizontal 14-17km we walked each day wasn't the issue, it was the daily slog of clambering in and out of canyons that took its toll.

On the way up we walked past the ubiquitous quiver trees flowering bright yellow bouquets, the first time I've ever seen them in bloom. Their flowers weren't unique; all along the drably coloured trail small splashes of colour decorated shrubs as if a giant artist spilled droplets of paint among the rocks and boulders that littered the way.

After about an hour of walking we reached the bottom of the first chain, the same one we'd used to descend into Ubisis Kloof the previous day. I felt a bit wobbly having had no meaningful sustenance but managed to heave myself and my kit up all of the chain sections, finally reaching a spot where, as usual, the fast walkers were already lighting their stoves and boiling water alongside a rock pool in the tiny stream that trickles along the base of the canyon.

Here's a tip on how to enjoy the Naukluft: Don't count kilometers. Day after day you'll be cris-crossing canyons that, if you're not careful, will feel like a never-ending rock-strewn eternity. Don't worry, they all do come to an end. And all have stunning landscapes that very few earthlings have ever visited and had the privilege to see. So make the most of your time there - stop often, enjoy the scenery, pause, be in the moment.

On most days the afternoon's hike is generally across flat plains, or runs down-hill. The designer of Naukluft, apart from being a chain fanatic, was also a master at understanding hike philosophy: Nothing breaks a hiker's spirit like a long uphill trudge climbat the end of the day when the hut is within sniffing distance. Here there are none of that, it's always a gentle roll up to the hut.

So it was a relatively easy walk across a few low rises to our next stop, Adelhorst Shelter. It was once again a roofed stone kraal, this time a round one with a hand crank water pump right next to it. By now stringing a washing line had sort of by default become my job at each stop-over, and within half an hour of it garments of all colours and shapes and sizes were fluttering in the wind.

It always strikes me how quickly daily rituals develop on hikes. One of the those on Naukluft  was the regular pre-dinner plaster session, bandaging up the day's blisters. And blisters there were aplenty, and they multiplied as the days went on. Of the eight hikers only two were blister-less by the end, and I wasn't one of them. Boulder-hopping, rocky canyons and sheer distance took it's toll.

Fortunately one forward-looking hiker brought along zinc oxide plasters, which kept the pain and agony at bay. And most importantly, she brought enough along to keep a small army marching. I salute your foresight and sharing spirit, Comrade.

You can see all the pics from Naukluft in my Flickr gallery.