Day 58 - What a wonderful day!

When I walk the Camino, I'll be looking out for the yellow arrows and scallop indicators to find my way. Today I was guided by yellow footprints, very discreetly painted on rock surfaces along the spectacular route we hiked in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve just outside of Cape Town.

What a spectacular day! As you probably know by now - Thursday is my hiking day. I don't miss it for anything and the summer hikes are my absolute favorites as it often includes stops at waterfalls where we swim in unpolluted, sparkling, magical pools. Just as God made it. No chlorine, no fancy tiles, no steps. Just rocks, water, tadpoles...and us.

Backpack on the back, boots on and walking stick in hand, I set off early morning with three friends and we hiked for 6 hours. We stopped along the way for 'breakfast' and 'lunch', swam in two pools, chatted about a million subjects and took pictures to ensure that not a moment is forgotten!

Join me on a photo pilgrimage of this very special day!

The Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve forms part of an exciting concept where communities are involved in preserving the areas that they live in. You can find out more at: http://www.kogelbergbiospherereserve.co.za/ and http://www.unesco.org.uk/uploads/biopshere%20reserves%20faq.pdf

Wonderful idea!

Here I am with my young friend Yolanda - she has taught me so much about hiking and also joined me on my Kilimanjaro expedition earlier this year. There's a very good chance that she's going to walk the Camino with me in 2012!

My breakfast!

Untouched...spectacular!

This was just too perfect to pass by!

I could almost touch this little guy - he was perfectly colour coded in his environment and superbly equipped to jump over slippery rocks, able to disappear in seconds. A proud (and loud) member of the orchestra that entertained us the whole day.

This water is as pure as it gets. The dark colour is the result of tannins released by our natural 'fynbos' vegetation. Our fynbos has been declared as one of the six Floral Kingdoms of the world and many of these plants are found only in the Western Cape area. Find out more at: http://www.encounter.co.za/article/38.html

Doing anything next Thursday? :)