"rock hopping"

So for quite a few weeks our program coordinators with Connect-123 have been talking about a fabulous trip to “Bainskloof”. It was intended to be a “rock hopping” adventure followed by wine tasting with the new Connect-123 interns and students. Now none of us really knew what was meant by “rock hopping” we assumed a hiking trail with a few boulders and rocks in the way and a river nearby (because we were informed there was a water source nearby). So we all got up nice and early on a Saturday morning to meet David, our guide, and hop on a “Quantum” (like a 15 passenger van used for commercial or private transportation, made by Toyota, purchase of one is subsidized by the government).

Our hour and a half drive is a spectacular view of the wine farms all around the outskirts of Cape Town. They also include the farming neighborhoods that surround the farms where many grape pickers live so they have a short commute to work. But the wine farms were not our first stop “Bainskloof” was, or as we learned driving up the Pass, was actually called “Bain’s Kloof”. What we learned on our drive up the Bain’s Kloof Pass, first of all, is that the name is redundant. “Kloof” means pass, gap, or ravine in Afrikaans. We also learned how the area got its name. Andrew Geddes Bain was a paleontologist who was more known for his road engineering than his fossil finds. Despite that he believed the area later named for him was rich in fossil-finding potential, so he used his road engineering clout to allow him to dig for fossils on the government’s time and money, while simultaneously building a road. His discovery here contributed more information to his big finding in Port Elizabeth where he discovered Oudenodon bainii Owen, a herbivorous mammal-like reptile.

However, the history lesson is not the interesting part of my story, the actual rock hopping is. So we get to the Bain’s Kloof Ravine and quickly find out why it’s called “rock hopping”, because it’s all rocks. Big boulders, small pebbles and everything in between for quite a few kilometers, and apparently it’s a raging river during the winter. About an hour and a half in to our excursion we came upon a decent-sized swimming hole where we stopped for lunch and where I watched all the other crazy people in attendance jump off extremely tall rocks into the water. After a few hours there, we clean up, pack up, and get headed back to the Quantum.

Now the way there was very slow going for me, as most of the rocks were easily bigger than I was, so trying to scramble over them wasn’t as easy as it was for others, but little did I know the way back would be even slower going. About halfway back to the Quantum, I was the lone straggler who was gaining both confidence and speed (in this area each step must be carefully thought about before executed). So I was climbing up a few rocks, yet I couldn’t quite reach the next one up when I realized that there was a smaller one that would get me about 6 inches closer to the next big one, just the help I needed! So I carefully plant my foot on that rock and prepare to lunge to the next boulder. My right foot is mid-swing to the boulder when the little rock slips out from under me and in between the two bigger boulders below me and my left foot just goes with it. After a flourish of curse words and a few seconds trying to get my foot out, I am free and more or less crawl to the boulder I was trying to get to. Adrenaline kicked in, and I was determined to get out of this rocky death trap, so I quickly caught up to the group lounging in the shade. I sat for a few extra minutes only to realize my ankle was starting to hurt, but we were so close to it being done with I don’t really mention it. After struggling to get out of the ravine I confess my injury to the trail guide and he gives me some ice and an anti-inflammatory. Also, because of my stupidity we were now running thirty minutes behind.

We visited our first tasting site and quickly moved on to the second, but after some directional confusion and then sweet talking by our Afrikaans-speaking trail guide, David, manages to get the second tasting location to at least give us a glass of champagne since they had closed, you guessed it! thirty minutes earlier. Thankfully no one outright blamed me for the tardiness.

We arrive back at Perspectives (home) and David checks out my ankle, says its fine but if it swells much more I’ll have to see a doctor. I then hobble upstairs, put some soup on the stove and put it on ice, and with the exception of an hour or two, I have been in that same position. I can walk fairly well, but I’ll still be making a trip to Campus Wellness Services tomorrow. Until then I’m going to get more ice and enjoy being inside while everyone else goes to the beach. Don’t worry, Connect-123 knows about this and they’re checking up on me regularly, and although a little swollen my ankle is not sprained nor swelled to the size of a balloon. I just get to have a nice relaxing Sunday on the couch before classes start tomorrow.