Adventure with a Purpose SA 9 Peaks Challenge: 8/9 Seweweekspport Western Cape

Seweweekspoort Peak Highest Peak in Western Cape finally in the bag!

Me finally on the summit of Seweekspoort Peak the highest point in the Western Cape

After watching a fellow South African tackle the highest peak in each of the 9 Provinces solo, I was captivated and had all sorts of ideas bouncing around my head. I followed the 9 day journey on his Facebook page. In 2014 I had come up with an idea to showcase our beautiful South African mountains and to do it for a purpose. Hence the SA 9 Peaks Challenge powered by Adventure with a Purpose was born. This challenge would see a team of people drive between the 9 South African Provinces and hike up their highest peaks. The event would take between 6 to 10 days to complete. The first event I did with Sean Disney for charity was in aid of Meals and Meals. The second for charity was with Sean and Tian at the helm and their event was in aid of Code4change.co.za. which is a revolutionary coding program created in communities and clubs in Secondary Schools. Take a look at their website for more details and if you would like to donate or get involved. www.code4change.co.za

Last year in 2016 I partnered with well known mountaineer Sean Disney Owner of Adventure Dynamics International. Together we created various packages that would suit the working person, people of difference fitness levels, corporate challenges and for those who could take 10 days leave to take on the epic challenge. I am very excited about this and look forward to some exciting times and adventures ahead. We are currently preparing for our 2018 all women's team to tackle this challenge for Charity.

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Sean and I on Northcliff Hill Abseiling

Sean and a group of guys, all accomplished sportsmen and some even Everest Summiteers were going for the group challenge which a bunch of seasoned South Africans trail athletes currently hold. They had completed the event in 4 days 18 hours 38 minutes. Sean and his team wanted to go and do a recci on the mountains and had asked if I would come along to Seweweekspoort Peak. I had started this peak during my event but had a knee injury and could not continue. I had to come back down on my own while the remaining 2 team members summited. It took them over 10 hours to complete with one of the team members hurting themselves and they came back down long after dark. Not something you want to do on a technical climb with risky rock faces, gullies, loose rocks and terrain. I was both terrified and thrilled that Sean Disney had asked me to tag along knowing this was one of the peaks I needed to summit to bag my 9 summits challenge. I knew this was going to be tough and could not think of a better and seasoned climber to share this experience with. I have known Diz for almost 18 years.

So plans started in earnest and I managed to get 4 days leave. I caught the Gautrain to OR Tambo airport and joined Sean and Tian Liebenberg at the airport. We flew to George Airport and picked up our car and drove nearly an hour to Oudtshoorn. We had all booked into a B&B Guesthouse Aloe Manor for 2 nights. It is a really beautiful place, very comfortable and the owners very hospitable. I highly recommend it as an overnight stay. The breakfast was fantastic.

The gardens are painstakingly and artistically laid out. they are really stunning with stunning mountain views to boot!

We left Oudtshoorn and drove for an hour until we found the turn off for Seweweekspoort pass. We turned right and entered the long pass with its dirt road that goes on forever.

The landscape is wild and rugged. fynbos and mountains everywhere!!

We entered the pass and the excitement started to build up - what an adventure we were about to experience!!

You are overwhelmed at the huge folded mountains that reach out far into the blue sky, feeling completely dwarfed by their enormity. ancient twisted rock that looked like nature had been at war with itself. Remnants of volcanic activities and huge earthquakes battered the earth millions of years ago, lay before us in a strange, twisted and inviting beauty.

Plenty of aloes and succulents, Keurboom, Waboom are found everywhere on the sides of the road and nestled in the fissures high above the road we were travelling on.

The Huils river (the road crosses over it 23 times!

In 1859 authorities built a pass through the poort and the early work was done by 108 convicts without a road engineer. Then in 1860 A G de Smidt, brother in law of Thomas Bain took over the project and in 1861 they had completed 11km of the 17km. In June 1862 the road was opened to traffic and finally completed in November of that same year. Afrikaans poet and author Louis Leipoldt called it the 7th wonder of the Cape Colony. Driving through it you can see why it should be! It is truly a wonder that you need too come and experience firsthand.

Seweweekspoort Pass or Seven Weeks Poort is on of our most beautiful SA passes made up of a spectacular rugged mountain ravine that lies just at the start of the Klein Swartberge and close to the Towerkop Nature Reserve. On the poort's western side is the huge Seven Weeks poort Peak, where we were headed for the day. The peak dominates the Klein Swartberge at 2325m. organised hikes and climbs are done over 2 or 3 days. We were here to do in in a few odd hours.

The ruins of the old Toll house can still be seen at the northern entrance to the poort. It is believed that the ghost of one of the first toll keepers still wanders in its ruins. Many stories have surfaced that on a dark, stormy night (of course when else) a couple of motorists have been stopped by a man with a lantern and as soon as they approach him ...he well....disappears. Big Eish!!

The poort actually stretches on for 18km. A gravel road considered one of the most beautiful in South Africa. it is also a bucket list must if you have not been here, then get here, it is considered one of the top 20 SA Passes. This is my second visit to this pass and I have been awe struck on both occasions. It is really a natural marvel and fest for the eyes.

This pass was completed in 1862. it actually crosses the Huis river no less than 23 times. Pretty epic!! The mountain slopes on both sides reach to a height of between 1500m to 2000m in some parts of the pass you drive through. Your neck gets really sore as rubbernecking is taken to its extreme!!

The gravel road has easy gradients, multiple river crossings and some really mind-blowing geology and every twist and turn takes you deeper in and through every angle of your compass imaginable. This pass was used by farmers to penetrate the Great Karoo. The scenery is wild, with huge slopes or spurs in the mountain which leave a narrow pass just wide enough for the stream to find a passage, while precipices of naked rock tower like colossal walls on both sides. I have driven on this road both in a 4x4 and a normal sedan without any problems, however I am not sure during the rainy season if I would go in with a sedan!.

Quart stone cliffs, curved and fractured in every direction!

It is really breathtaking and takes you back to your childhood Jurassic park movies as you follow the contorted bends of the river and falls. It is exciting to know that this is now a certified Unesco World Heritage site. The area falls under the control of the Cape Nature Conservation ( in particular the Swartberg and Towerkop Nature Reserves).

Huge walls of rock

This was not going to be easy. I just did not know how hard this was going to be, how much this summit attempt would ask of me, ask of my body, soul and mind. The challenge was on. I think I realized this when the boys went very quiet when I pointed the peak out to them, that this was going to be one hell of an adventure and I knew I was already outclassed by these two super athletes, but the game was on and I was going to give it my all and I prayed I would not hold them back too much.

The red vertical sandstone

There are many Folklore stories as to where the name originates from. Some tell of the time it took for the mounted troops (7 weeks) to escort a gang of highway robbers who were being banished from Barrydale, to travel through the poort. While others say a stock thief hid in the poort for seven weeks before he was caught and arrested. Other stories talk about a gang of brandy smugglers, who took seven weeks to return through the poort from Beaufort West (perhaps it was because they drank all the brandy on the way through!) and yet another story was that a farmer in early times got lost in the mountain for seven weeks. Something we were definitely not planning to do today! Then finally another story was that it was named after a missionary from the Zoar/Amalienstein area, Reverend Louis Zerwick. apparently the locals could not pronounce his name correctly and it was corrupted to "Sewenweeks"

That been said and done most authorities seem to accept the explanation that the name is in fact derived from the Seven-weeks fern (Polystichum adiantiforum), called Seweweeksvaring in Afrikaans. It is found in the many moist and damp crevices of this huge mountain pass. Probably the more plausible story, however the others are fun to considered and add a bit of local history and a sense of mystery to the poort.

After some time we made it out to the other side without spotting any ghosts with lanterns, brandy smugglers or thieves. The road forked and we took a left and drove along the dirt road, now with the Seweweekspoort on our left. About 2 km along we found a little stone cottage which had their gates standing wide open. We drove up the driveway and left a message on our windscreen, with our cellphone numbers and details just in case they needed to get hold of us. They never did.

The highest peak in the Western Cape province and we were off already scrambling up the uneven terrain. This mountain is brutal yet beautiful, certainly the more technical of the 9 and we were about to find out just how technical it was.

There had been a recent fire so many of the protea bushes and plants were now blackened hard sticks that dug into us. In some areas it felt as though the bushes came alive and clung onto you drawing blood. It was fairly hectic going and in the 39 degree heat it was proving to be really hot and that 4Ls of water each was going to be used up. It would have been harder if all the bushes were still all there like the last time I tackled this peak. The bushes really scratch and tear at your legs and clothing. In some of the spots the fynbos was starting to recover and little green shoots could be seen. The Protea Aristata, a very rare protea which was only rediscovered in 1950 after it was suspected to have become extinct is found here, however with the burnt area it was difficult to spot.

I expected to see a bit more animal life. We only came across a hare that sprinted out the bush and past Tian at a rate of knots! There was also less bird life except for a few birds of prey hovering above us, perhaps waiting for us!! The fire was fairly recent so I am sure this attributed to that quiet eerie feeling with only the wind beneath you. We were the only living souls up here and it was pretty cool, each in our own thoughts when I was not yakking! truth be told not much talking was done up there I was out of breath most of the time! I had not trained for 6 weeks and had been on antibiotics for a chest and sinus infection and was really feeling it up here as we climbed higher. Maybe not the brightest idea but hell here I was finally up on Seweweekspoort.

We had to go up several steep sides with lots of loose rocks that were a bit ankle busting to say the least. The landscape was a strange and stark one but breathtakingly beautiful.

Taking a breather on the slopes - it was really hot, even sitting on the rock burnt your bum!!

Snack time and the boys eating their sandwich they had bought along the way. It looked pretty soggy by now. I had brought some biltong and fruit along. 3 lts of water with 1lt of energy mix from NPL and at this rate I was going to need all the energy I could muster!

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We were very exposed up here and the wind picked up from time to time giving some welcome relief from the searing and unforgiving heat. My feet felt really hot, but I was really glad I was using my proper mountain boots as I would have fallen and twisted my ankle far more than I did, especially on the way back down, its murder on the ankles! At this point I was still styling!

We had to keep plastering the sunscreen on and Diz used some of my pink lip balm - he looked ridiculously funny and the photo sadly does not do justice as to how bright pink his lips were!!

Tian checking WiFi signal and me sharing a joke with Diz

.....and we were off again into the unknown. We went down into a valley, into what looked like an old river bed that had created a small gorge that initially looked impassable and I thought we might have to traverse much further along. Luckily we found a small gully we could use to cross over. It was a bit messy going but once up and over on the other side we could start to traverse to our left. We were fairly far out to the left. Bearing in mind we had no trails or maps and were trail blazing somewhat to gauge the best way in which to attack this peak during the 9 peaks record. It was tough and really great fun.

The terrain gave way to more ups and downs, ups and overs walls of rocks and boulders. Just when you think you might be close you had to go over another row of rocks.

Tian eating some munchies!

Diz with his infamous and well traveled gloves!!

These burnt out reeds were our only bit of shade for hours!!

Having a breather and catching some shade!!!

The Diz

Tian ...........and there was some time for camera refection time!!

Normally when I hike I take tons of photos, but today was not one of them, so I do not have that many pics of the climb itself. The boyz were also on a mission and I was tagging along and as such could not stop every second for a photo, hence some of the sneaky angled shots!. I dropped my camera and cracked the back glass and then lost my lens cap somewhere near the summit between the boulders with some rather very deep dark pits under them so there was no way I was going to retrieve it.

And now we hit those bounders and smooth cliffs. My climbing at City Rock was coming in handy. I was feeling quite brave and proud of myself until the big one.

Tian running the gauntlet and setting the pace

Time to take a breather and check whats up ahead and strategize!!

Game on - was really cool listening to the boyz as they planned and strategized their future fast pace attempt for later on!!!

A room with a view - the first bit of shade and our lunch stop and a chance to put the feet up for a short while.

Diz looking decidedly chuffed with-himself!

On the other hand Tian looking like he is wondering what the hell is he doing here and me looking like one step from deaths door. Behind Tian you can see one of the "smaller" rock cliffs we had to boulder over. We were starting to run out of water and had to share and ration. It was incredibly hot.

Hugging the beautiful sandstone rocks faces. We had perched ourselves a bit awkwardly on a steep slope to enjoy this little "cave" feature to sit out the sun and wind for a while. It was a welcome rest as we had been working hard to get to this point and more was still to come. Seweweekspoort peak was toying with us up until now and we would soon be hanging onto rock faces and cliffs wondering if this was how it was going to end....splat.

The terrain eased a little, then we were bouldering again the entire time on steep slopes and slipping and sliding became the norm.

One of my favorite pics of the trip! Living the South African dream, exploring our beautiful mountains. I was still feeling very brave and could not see what all the fuss was about yet. I was about to feel real fear, face it and overcome it - well sort of!

We had to climb up several high cliffs like this to the top ridge without ropes, holding onto tufts of grass you see on the ledges. This was by far the most technical hike I had ever done and to put it mildly, I was shitting in my pants. Earlier in the day I had told Sean I had a small short rope with me - in case we had to pull backpacks up or just to help each other up. (this made me feel very prepared and rockstarish). His words were, "if we need those we are in trouble". Well on one of the final rock faces the step up was really too high for my much shorter legs. Diz all of what 6.5m of him was now perched perilously a few metres above me and I was instructed to climb up. I froze, I could not look down, move down, back down, only up. I was flippen shaking so much I did not have the strength to pull myself up and take the huge step required with my wobbly legs. At that stage we were now pulling ourselves up on jutting rock, pushing our hands into holes - I really did not care if I woke up a snake and it bit me on my bum at this point, it was damn side better risk than the fall below that was going to be lekker eina or actually end in splat and my Western Cape rescue buddies would need to fly in and scrape me up. Diz told me in a super calm voice (shit he should have been a therapist with that voice, even a hypnotist!) that I was doing a great job, (under that calm I am sure he wanted to swat me, I know I would have). Then he produced the rope he always carries with him. I nearly kissed him but instead threw a few swear words at him for holding out on me for so long. I was dying here and sure I had pooped my brooks. Hell's bells talk about leaving surprises until the end. So Diz made a figure of 8 and I just had to retrace another figure of 8 after I had put the rope around my waist (another mammoth task that Tian below me was talking me through). I could not look down at the rope so everything was done by feel and I did not trust my muscle memory at that time, much less my sphincter control. Luckily my face was plastered to the rock face (I hoped a Dassie had not pee'd all over the rock) and I could not see the boyz faces or what they were saying to each other. It must of looked really comical, but kudos to the two of them they showed complete sportsmanship, immense patience for men and ubuntu to this old duck and I was up and over somewhat wide eyed and glad to be alive. This section the boyz named Kim's cliff - we came back down here in the dark. Unbelievable! I kept the rope on for a while just as a safety net and knowing I could use it anytime gave me that little dutch courage to complete the task to the top and back down again.

Just in cased you don't believe me take a look at the drawn in bits - you can see Diz in blue shirt circled in red, looking all accomplished and in control on one of the several cliff and rock faces we had to climb up. Also check out the face in the rock above Diz's head circled in white. This epic photo was taken my Tian with his cell phone. At this time I had now completely given up taking any photos. I needed to overcome my fear of heights. As Diz said if my fear of heights had not been conquered today nothing else will.

Finally done - I am on top of the world - thanks to Diz and Tian you boyz rocked! the hardest summit I have ever worked for. I don't even remember Kili being this hard! I look super chuffed but still had thoughts of the really tough decent we would be making and more than likely in the dark. Remember the summit is only halfway. At this point I did think of calling my mate Natasha Kriel, part of Western Cape Rescue to fly the heli to pick me up but I had no injury except plead mental insanity, so I was not sure how I was going to explain the reason for their mission. I would just need to suck it up and put my big girl panties on, besides I was with two incredible mountain men and Diz is one of the best mountain guides in the world so what could possibly go wrong?

Me on the summit of Seweweekspoort Peak with my two heroes! Sean Disney and Tian Liebenberg one half of the epic team to smash the 9 peaks group record later in the year.

The boyz first Seweweekspoort summit photo the other summit photo was to follow a few months later in deep snow and freezing weather, poles apart from what we experienced today!!

Love this photo that Tian took of Diz as the sun set.

It was time to descend and we needed to pick up the pace. Diz tried to guide us down safer less hairy bits but sometimes it was just not possible and with a chuckle he would say "here we go balls to the wall". We crossed over another big challenge for me it - was literally two rock sticking out of nowhere that kinda crisscrossed and another huge rock sticking out above - it creating a window. Hence the boyz named this Kim's window - they were getting really good at this. At this rate the whole of Seweweekspoort would become Kim's mountain. As I made it clear without falling down the rock face I hit my head really hard on the rock above. We all chuckled that I had survived all of this only to get knocked out hitting my bloody head. Diz would go and scout for the safest sections and Tian hung back with me as we slid down and over rocks hanging onto burnt branches and clinging to rocks. I was impressed my pants and backpack did not tear. Many times it was an act of faith in my part sliding down to catch the heels of my boots on the edge to stop myself from going over the cliff. We were utilizing our trekking poles to their optimum and some rather creative moves to boot. Tian was awesome in keeping me in one piece, I think if it was light and I could see what I was doing I may have had a heart attack. We had a spectacular sunset and now had run out of water completely. Our mouths were dry and parched. Tian put on some Christian music to take our minds off our troubles and we made our way down a gully where it looked green. We were hoping to find a little water. amazing that we actually did even though it was oozing out of dark mud. we pushed our faces in, bums in the air and drank feverishly. It was like manna from heaven. I did not care if it made me sick later, we sucked it up, mud bits and probably micro bugs and all. we ended up it fits of laughter checking each others muddy faces. It was just what we needed. I managed to fill up one of my water bottles and we were now on the last stretch home.

Diz and I had hidden the car keys and lots of shouting for joy when we found both our keys and the car still standing where we had left it. Luckily the gate was still standing wide open and we now made our way back to Oudtshoorn looking for the biggest steak ever and cold beers. Sadly it was after 23h00 so nothing was open except for a petrol station. You should have seen their faces when the three of us with blackened faces walked in to buy burgers and iced cold cokes. what a hoot. Once we had explained "Seweweeksport" they all nodded in awe and told us what a crazy bunch we were. If only they knew!

Once we got back to the B&B we had a hot shower, then sat and chilled on the patio for a while unpacking the day. What a crazy and fantastic adventure, one that I will treasure for my lifetime and how incredibly blessed I was to share it with two really great human beings.

Tian took these great pics and I played around a bit with them to give them an arty spin.

The next morning we enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast and left for George airport to fly back to Johannesburg. What an adventure. We are really blessed in South Africa with so many adventures big and small just waiting for you. Time to go out and explore. Please note should you wish to take part in one of the 9 peaks adventures, for charity or for your own bucket list please do not hesitate to contact us via Sean's company Adventure Dynamics International https://adventuredynamics.co.za/ or inbox me on face book https://www.facebook.com/Adventurekim.com777

The morning after while the boys got ready I sneaked in a few photos with my now broken Nikon coolpix L820