2009: ONE GRAND ADVENTURE

This was the third year that the Eden to Addo - Great Corridor Hike took place. We were privileged to have excellent walking weather and to see some remarkable sites, to swim in rivers and discover rare and endangered plants along the way, yet most of all to just walk and walk and walk through some of the Cape's finest landscapes and encounter first-hand the interfaces of 5 of our country's unique biomes.

This is the 4th time I have walked this route and it is only now that I feel we have fine-tuned the route to such an extent that it really qualifies as one of the great walks of the world. Where else can you begin walking with the view of whales in the ocean, turn on the spot and head deep into the indigenous forests of southern Africa that harbour the last remaining free-roaming most southerly elephant in the world?

I know of no other walk in the world that takes in 5 distinct biomes (vegetation types - something conservation biologists and the like love to study), and traverses mountains, plains, rivers and gorges of the like we encounter. A route where more than once on each day you can stand and look out to the horizon and see only range upon range of mountain wilderness and yet be so close to fruit farms and smaller towns.

The 2009 hike was by far the best adventure we have had with this annual fundraising initiative. We had 4 guides this year and that proved a great help. The hike naturally would be nothing without enthiusiatic participants, and of those we had 22, all good folk keen on adventure and a passion for the outdoors.

That passion did not always extend to the cold nights we faced on many a mountain ridge. Biting winds and some rain reminded us this is more an expedition than a hike, more a great trek than a stroll in the park. It is these elements that added to our adventure and are the ground for developing lasting friendships.

There is something that happens to you when you spend more than 12 days out walking. You become lighter, the weight of the world and / or the demands of your life start to drift away. All that is needed is to take one more step and breathe and be where you are. This 'distance' from the self gives perspective that on returning you just know what you need to do to live life more fully and more passionately. When you walk for close to 21 days something else happens - you don't want to stop!

The participants on this year's hike were an excellent mix of young and old (70 years was the grand age of our eldest hiker - a fit and strong mountaineer!). Everyone made it to the end in good cheer and were only to happy to take a final swim in the Sunday's River once inside Addo park itself, while keeping an eye out for any wallowing hippo.



2008: BACK FROM THE WILDS AND EMOTIONALLY ALTERED

After 400km of blood, sweat and tears the 24 weary but exhilarated Eden to Addo hikers have returned with not only stories of trying weather conditions and tender feet, but also of breathtaking vistas, new friends and a little more in their souls than what they left home with. MELISSA VAN DEN HEEVER reports. Article reprinted courtesy of CXPress.

ENDING in Addo Elephant National Park after leaving Kranshoek viewpoint in Harkerville Forest 18 days earlier, the second-time Eden to Addo Hike for Biodiversity traversed 60 properties, including nature reserves and national parks, covering five of the seven major biomes of South Africa.

"Although the hike felt a little more luxurious than the first one with much less rain and enough tents, food and toilets, it was still a test of sheer endurance and a true experience of body and mind," says founder of the Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative, Joan Berning. She adds that the hike served not only to bring awareness to the environment and the Corridor Initiative, but also a shift in the emotions and consciousness of the walkers.

"I saw people visibly change as they got in touch with what I call their wild side. They seemed to soften and even speak more gently as the hike progressed. There are no words to describe the experience."

Hike leader and organiser Galeo Saintz, who created the route and designed the hike programme - which included poetry and evening presentations by esteemed conservationists - said: "The unbelievable mountain vistas that changed every day as well as the eight black rhino we found after following their tracks for half a day in the Baviaanskloof area, were some of the highlights of the hike."

"Although my feet are buggered my spirits have been lifted and I have been humbled by the experience," says Gerhard Swart, who recently relocated to the Garden Route from Johannesburg. Swart says the hike brought out the best in people and that lasting friendships were made.

Thanks to Frank Carlisle and his team from Bhejane Adventures, who follow strict wilderness camping practices, the hikers were met with a hearty meal and all the necessary amenities after each tiring day.



2006: EDEN TO ADDO HIKE FOR BIODIVERSITY SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED

The launch fundraising inititive for Eden to Addo was the creation of an opportunity for supporters and adventurers to join us in walking through the proposed conservation corridor region. This took the form of the first ever Eden to Addo Hike for Biodiversity- an epic hiking experience covering 16 walking days through approximately 400km of diverse landscape.

Without the support of the 40 hikers who participated in various stages, this successful fundraising event would not have been possible. We would like to thank all the hikers for their enthusiasm, commitment and sense of adventure on what is arguably one of the toughest hikes out there.

The back-up logistics were all supplied by "Bhejane 4x4 Adventures" who did an exceptional job in providing the hiking party with tents, hot showers where possible and food that was always beyond expectation. A big thank you to all the team: Frank, Jean, Sebastian, Karmen and Anwill - without you this Mega-Hike would not have been possible.

The communities of Plettenberg Bay and surrounds also played a vital role in the realization of this hiking event - A big thank you to everyone involved from printers to gear suppliers, from community members who helped with transfers to the local tourism office. Thanks also go to the Diepwalle community and the various conservation authorities that gave us permission to walk through their reserves. Not least is a great thank you to every landowner who allowed us the privilage of walking through or camping on their land - your willingness and hospitatlity was a sure sign that a corridor with conservation significance is achievable.

All money raised through this event will benefit the Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative, a Public Benefit Organization, in the establishment of vital conservation corridors and linkages between existing National Parks, private game farms and reserves stretching from the indigenous forests of Knysna to the thicket of Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape.

We are already at work investigating the possibility of making this hike an annual event. Should you wish to receive information about future hikes please email us at: hike@edentoaddo.co.za



Hike Up! - Article by Lara Husted (2006 Great Corridor Hiker)

It was a week exactly since the Knysna floods, and while a dark and stormy night makes a good setting for a thriller, we hikers found it less entertaining.

Nevertheless, we chose to see the rain on the official opening evening of the Eden to Addo Mega Hike - South Africa's longest - as a sign of fertility rather than foreboding. And it was.

We awoke to a fresh sunny morning and off we set on the first Eden to Addo Mega Hike. Our route covered 400km in 17 days and took us over seven mountain ranges, through forgotten valleys, across farms and wilderness areas - from Knysna's Eden district to Addo National Park in the Eastern Cape.

The aim was to raise awareness and funds for a conservation corridor covering the same area.

Our guide had made it quite clear that we would be pioneers - this was a recce hike and its future as an established trail lay largely in our hands (or more literally, in our feet).

As we left Eden's Diepwalle Forest Station and navigated our way through the Knysna Forest, we all hoped to catch a glimpse of the secretive elephants that had partly inspired the creation of this hike. The signs of their existence are there - a stripped tree, elephant dung - but experts are in disagreement as to how many are really left. Some say as few as three.

Bright ferns and twisting yellowwoods sifted the light, and I thought how mysterious forests are and how special this one was that it hid in its shadows a huge and graceful tusked piece of unsolved science. I wondered too whether the dream of linking these elephants to their cousins in Addo would ever be a reality.

The floods of the previous week had disrupted our intended route slightly, and when we descended into the Keurbooms River valley, we saw just how powerfully the waters had rushed through it.

A highway of flattened trees, mud and water made picking the best place to cross tricky. (That, and the fact that the start of our intended path up out of the gorge was washed away.) It took the most part of an hour to hop over, under and around the fallen trees, and then we still had to bundu-bash our way up a steep embankment on the other side.

The wide farm road was reward enough for our scratched and bruised legs, making the last few kilometres to camp seem like a rest.

Our back-up crew was waiting with our tents already set up and buckets of shower-water warming on the fire. This scenario would greet us less and less as the roads they had to negotiate worsened and locations became increasingly remote.

If, from the outside, this looks like regular slack-packing (where your overnight gear is transported to each stop, sup-per is cooked and accommodation is provided), longdistances (culminating in a 40km second last day!), rugged terrain and sporadic bad weather kept us from getting too comfortable.

Besides that, we were often uncertain - even doubtful - whether the backup team would be able to make it to the agreed sleeping points. More than once, we were just debating whether to head back along the path we'd come on (across rivers and in the dark) or chance a night out in the open when, to our great relief, we would hear a faint grinding, sliding and revving and realise our tents and food would make it.

On one occasion, our backup vehicle was hopelessly stuck in mud, but we managed to contact Okkert from a nearby farm. He drove an hour-and-a-half on his tractor, gave us a tug and after a short refusal of both supper and remuneration for his troubles, he chugged home again under a star-bright sky. Okkert even surprised us along the road the next day with enough delicious organic oranges to satisfy even the hungriest of hikers.

Times like these were encouraging as it became more apparent that the local farmers and farm workers were eager to be a part of our cause.

Many a farmer would meet us along our way to suggest the best place to cross a river, interpret the weather, or they'd let us help ourselves to fruit from their orchards.

Orchard workers gave us hurried explanations of how and why they were grafting new slips into their apple trees, others offered a lift in a wheelbarrow, or shared a piece of fruit and advice on directions.

We didn't always find ourselves on the correct farms, though, and somewhere midway along our journey, our map told us we were almost in camp, but we simply couldn't find the right road. With dark fast approaching, we knocked at the door of the first farmhouse we came across. A heavy white-bearded man with thick white eyebrows answered. We asked if he was perhaps Mr Kritzinger, or if he knew the Kritzingers' farm.

He looked a little amused and replied pointing: "Ek is nie Kritzinger nie, maar, daar's 'n Kritzinger daar, en daar en daaaar oor die berge."

Soon after this, we entered the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area (situated between the villages of Willowmore and Hankey), which turned out a clear highlight for many of us.

Its intense orange hues and greens bright with the recent rain seemed to repeat themselves in everything - the soil, the rocks, the citrus orchards, Knysna loeries and the flowering aloes.

It was all something of a treat for senses bored with city squares and Dulux palettes. Anyone who's been there will agree that its absolute magnificence makes it hard to describe except to say that it is a difficult place to leave.

Days became longer as we neared our goal, until 28km was becoming the norm.

In the beginning, our group surprised me by its diversity: we were grandmothers, business owners, fashion designers, lawyers, stay-at-home moms, a doctor and, to my amazement, a woman with two replaced hips.

But it soon became apparent that all you really needed was a good dose of determination, a sense of adventure (and humour), and a lot of blister plasters. The mixed lot of us managed to successfully finish the launch phase of Eden to Addo and it was an emotional ending indeed.

Family and friends were there to cheer us along the final stretch and celebrate with us afterwards.

It was only really once I returned to the land of the clean and blisterless that I could in all cognitive clarity appreciate this thing: a conservation corridor.

The grand symbol of it is that it connects the last remaining elephants of the Knysna Forests to those in Addo, but it is also much more than that.

The corridor not only bridges the wildlife of Eden and that of Addo, but has the potential to connect land owners and conservationists, farmers and their neighbours, and neighbouring communities.

It is a corridor in the minds of us city slickers - connecting our busy urban life to the natural rhythms of walking and waking in the wilderness, forcing us to contemplate the important ecosystem services our natural areas provide.

And it is a corridor between people: an opportunity for exchange and learning between the like-minded and the dissimilar.

Now that I've been a part of the endless mountains, forgotten valleys, ancient aloe forests and cold streams, and I've experienced the colour of the rocks, the sweet scent of orange blossoms and vast landscapes, I'll be following the development of the conservation corridor and trail with affection and hope we were able to open up the route for others to do the same.

* This article was originally published on page 6 of The Star on October 14, 2006



REFLECTIONS ON CORRIDORS - By Ralph Pina (2006 Great Corridor Hiker)

If Earth is a self-regulating organism - Gaia to some - then ecosystems represent the fabric of its nervous system. Ecosystems contain relationship pathways, energy flows, the accumulated wisdom of ages - memory. Healthy ecosystems with integrity, by offering and exploiting alternatives and options enable Earth's inherent resilience - its ability to evolve to new states of equilibrium and to heal itself.

Ian McCallum, in his poem named after Nature's first-born, Wilderness, repeatedly and plaintively asks: "Have we forgotten . . . ?". Have we forgotten our place in, our dependence on, Nature? Yes - we are forgetting. We are visiting our Alzheimers, on the organism. We are severing ancient pathways, projecting our species' forgetting-disease onto Gaia.

We cut Nature's wiring by fencing, by dominating, coercing, brutalizing, subjugating, raping, by engineering, by slicing and dicing, soiling, atrophying, transforming. We do all this because we are forgetting.

Corridors are a start to reconnecting Nature's pathways like tentative tendrils reaching out to form a snyapse. With luck and persistence perhaps the synapses will fire and reconnect, and the ecosystem will relearn, repair, re-adapt, re-evolve.

Corridors are metaphors for rediscovering our links with Nautre. By remembering we help to allow the organism to relearn and so we help nature to repair herself.



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