Goodness Gracious Gum Drops!

I can hardly believe it myself….

 

The final countdown has begun…..

 

We’ve hit single digits….

JUST

And no one says it better than these guys…

Goosebump stuff!

Building Momentum

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.  But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.  Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes.  All is a miracle.” ~  Thich Nhat Hanh

With just 10 days to go our momentum is building and excitement levels are so far past ‘through the roof’! On Sunday, finally after a week and a half of no hiking for me due to illness, we headed out to Kommetjie where we hiked the Slangkop (Snakehead) Trail. It was a very chilly, windy and rainy day and everyone, except for Donna and I, cancelled due to the weather. Paul, who was taking us on the hike was still keen to take us despite the weather. Our logic is that when on Kilimanjaro, no matter what the weather, we are going to have to get up, get dressed and hike! Why should our training be any different?!

The start of the Slangkop hiking trail.

The start of the Slangkop trail.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Donna and I are often stopped and asked if we are training for something so to build momentum and to answer people’s questions we designed something and bought the t-shirts and got the design printed on it. As Donna hiked on Saturday I went to collect the finished product and was crazy-excited when I saw the finished product for the first time. They were exactly as we wanted and looked amazing!

The front of our newly designed t-shirts.

The back of the t-shirt.

So Sunday was our first opportunity to show them off.

A cloudy, windy, cold and wet Sunday on the mountain but the views were still beautiful.

Icy cold hiking is good practice but no doubt nowhere near cold enough for what we are going to experience!

Viewpoint over looking Kommetjie below, showing off our new Kili t-shirts.

Showing off our new Kili t-shirts.

After a short walk zig zagging up the hill, we reached the old ruins of the Radar Station that was used in the World War as part of the defense of the important Cape sea-route.  Sadly, these ruins, like many others around Cape Town have been vandalised with graffiti but despite that and despite the misty clouds rolling, beautiful views of Kommetjie unfolded before us and the Slangkop Lighthouse below. Standing on the cliff edge, although not too near as the wind was howling here. As we stood there taking in the views, Donna who was just in front of me, turned around and with eyes sparkling she beat her trekking poles against the rock we stood on and in that moment I thought she was going to say Lara, the views are so beautiful views from up here, because it really was beautiful, but in true Donna style she turned around, drumming her trekking poles on the rocks we stood on and she sang out in this excited voice “Laaaarrrrrra, we climbing Kilimanjaro!” I laughed out aloud, man I love this girl’s excitement and can’t wait to get on the BIG mountain with her!

View of the Slangkop Lighthouse.

Views from the ruins of the old Radar Station left over from The World War.

Misty views from the old Radar Station.

Views from the ruins left over from The World War.

Standing inside the old Radar Station ~ Incredibly windy as you can see and icy cold!

Standing inside the old Radar Station.

Out of the wind, I could show off our Kili t-shirts without freezing to death!

After taking a few photo’s at the old ruins we continued to follow the trail, heading up and over until views on the other side unfolded below us.

The clouds rolled in and we knew the rain wasn’t far off.

The misty clouds rolling in over the mountain side.

Beautiful bushes that looked almost lumo in the grey light.

The rain had arrived and although not hard, it was wet enough!

Finally reaching the dam, we stopped in the rain to have a quick bite to eat.

A wet and rainy lunch stop by the dam.

As it was raining and we were pretty cold by now, we stopped only for a short while to have a quick bite to eat at the dam. Once our tummies were full we headed back at a nice fast pace to warm ourselves up again. Heading back to the cars we faced the rain and wind head on, but luckily the closer we got to the end the rain dried up and we walked the last stretch in a misty haze with the rain starting again just as we reached the cars.

On the way back we left the mountain side to walk through a bit of the suburb, Ocean View, and came across this stop sign, which someone changed to Stop Worrying!

Climbing Kilimanjaro ~ No problem, stop worrying!! :)

Donna celebrating ~ the car was in sight, another cold, wet but great day on the mountain side!

The final countdown has begun, a busy week ahead buying the final little things I still need for my trip, assignments for my studies to be completed, mid-week hike, volunteer meetings and lots to do at work. Nothing like a stretching myself a bit to get it all done!

Thank you to my latest donors, Ciro and Dave & Margi Sawyer ~ Thank you for helping me make a difference in the lives of those living with Cystic Fibrosis and bringing us closer to finding a cure, my heartfelt gratitude!!

I am just R6640.07 away from reaching my fundraising goal for those living with Cystic Fibrosis.

If you would like to make a donation please click HERE.

All amounts are greatly appreciated and donations can be made safely from any country.