Suikerbosrand

When I was around about the age of ten I was taken on a hike that would change my life forever!It was with Robin my great friend in life and our chaperone Mitchell his elder brother. Robin was doing his 30 odd kilometre badge for Cub Scouts and Mitchell was obviously the long term Scout where we found our selves under his watchful eyes.We were terraining an area that I would find myself going back to time and again, and with the Lords Blessing hopefully for a long time still to come! Suikerbosrand, what a story it can tell not just from our selves but surely from the colossal amount of people that go there.

We went to Suikerbosrand once again but this time I was pleasantly surprised!
It was the most beautiful I have seen it in the 20+ years I have been going there.
The whole west side of the reserve burnt down in winter this year and all the green grass was coming through against a soot background.
With these virgin blades arriving so was all the wildlife! Usually you would not see much game on a short hike as you do not venture deep enough into the reserve, but on this hike we saw Eland, Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Gemsbok, Zebra and Hartebeest to name a few.
It was the hike of ‘firsts’ as it was the first time we used our poncho’s…quite an interesting exercise if you have never put one on before! The time it took us to get them on gave enough leeway for the rain to cease!
All and all it was a great hike with great friends, and ‘Suiker’ will definitely see us again.