FAGALA VOET NEWSVOL. 1 ISSUE 4 • OCT 2019

Wander where the WIFI is weak

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PAGE 08That's right our lovely Eskom has announced loadshedding is back. So we do apologise if we do not get

back to you quicker than usual.

TRAIL CHEFBREAKFAST . LUNCH . DINNER

Healthy meals for hiking trails

Category: dairy-free, gluten free,paleo-friendly, snacks,

vegan, vegetarian

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Apricot Pistachio SalamiA SALAMI OF A DIFFERENT KIND

We all know preparing delicious nutritious food for a longdistance hiking trip can be tricky sometimes, so we will be helpingyou out with some easy and quick recipes that are very tasty andgives you the energy you need for the hike ahead. You'll need:2 cups dried apricots1/2 cups unsalted and shelled pistachio nuts

nutrition info:calories: 126g, protein: 4.3g,

carbs: 13g fat: 7.6g, sugars: 8.2g sodium: 1mg

at home:Pulse the apricots in a food

processor until you get asticky paste.Mix in chopped

pistachio nuts.Place the pasteat the center of a sheet of

plastic wrap.Tightly roll up toform a ”salami.”Refrigerate 1–2hours until firm.Slice “salami”;

divide into equial portionsand pack.

on the trail:Enjoy!!

servings: 4 | calories: 126 |cooking time: 0 min |

weight: 94 gr

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Organic Litter and Litter on trailsWe've recently seen quite a lot of pictures being posted about organic litter and litter on trails. First of all, litter on ahiking trail is not on, we refer to you as trail trash. It's absolutely disgusting when you are hiking and you have to look ata crumbled up tissue, plastic water bottles, energy bar rappers, coffee cups, banana peels, apple cores and orangepeels. So I stumbled across an article where they discuss the matter of leaving your organic matter on a trail. Now forsomeone who has been brought up with the believe that if you leave your organic matter behind it will decompose or ananimal will appreciate it, the matter needed looking into.

Trail Trash

Pop quiz: You’re hiking with a friend, walking along a semi-rural road, when your buddy pulls a banana from his jersey,peels it with his teeth, and flings the skin into the ditch. What do you say? a. "Dude! That's littering."b. "Dude! What the...?"c. "Nothing, because I don't want to make waves.d. "Nothing, because I don't see the problem.

A lot of people, I think, would opt for C or D. Well, I’m here to make a case for A. Or, if you don’t shy from stronglanguage, B. The old hikers’ maxim “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints” doesn’t make an exceptionfor food scraps—and it shouldn’t. “But it’s just a banana peel,” I imagine some of you saying. “It’s organic, it’ll decompose!” That’s a common justificationfor tossing banana peels, apple cores, and so on out a car window or along a trail. The hypothetical hiker from our quizwould almost certainly reach for that defense. It’s true, technically, that apple cores and banana peels are natural. Butnatural litter is still litter. And this stuff doesn’t disappear nearly as fast as you might think. Some folks seem to assume that fruits and vegetables left outside will shrivel, turn black, and disintegrate in a matter ofhours, like a time-lapse video from middle school biology. In fact, an apple core can take two months to decompose; abanana skin or orange peel, two years, leaving plenty of time for animals who shouldn’t eat it to come along and eat it.Plus, while nature does its thing, that trash—and let’s not mince words, that’s what it is—is an eyesore. It’s also a visualcue to other passers-by that tossing their own trash isn’t a big deal. In other words: Litter begets litter.

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The next time you witness such casual tossage, then, ask the perpetrator: Would you be cool with a stranger flinging a“natural” banana peel into your front yard? No? Why, then, do you think it’s acceptable to chuck one on the trail? Probablyhe’ll say, “Because the woods are huge and I don’t live there and, well…” OK. He’ll be right. But, dammit, he’ll also be missing the larger point—forest for the trees, as it were—which is that outdoor spacesconstitute a sort of yard that belongs to all of us. Can’t we all agree to do our parts to keep it free of garbage? Even thekind that, eventually, will rot? Are we really so lazy that we can’t hang on to a lousy apple core until we find a trash can orcompost bin? Isn’t it just as easy to tuck that banana peel back into the jersey pocket whence it came?These are thequestions I would encourage all of us to keep in mind.By the way: That hypothetical hiker? I know where he’s comingfrom. I regularly discarded banana peels along the side of rural roads, using the old “it’ll decompose” excuse. Gradually, Iwised up—and my little corner of the world got a little bit cleaner, a little bit more pleasant.

We have anewestablishmentand hikingtrail

We have hiked high and low to bringhiking trails from all 9 provinces, so youdon't have to. We are now taking bookings for: Western CapeMisty Mountain Reserve, TSITSIKAMMA To book one of these amazing trail,contact us onbookings@fagalavoet.co.za / 082 7765540 / 081 894 9801.

Misty Mountain Reserve

Misty MountainReserve

MM*

Editor's Notes • P2

The Perfect

Brew • P3

Mastering the French

Press • P4

Dealing with Unruly

Customers • P6

Misty Mountain ReserveT S I T S I K A M M A , G A R D E N R O U T E

Misty Mountain Reserve situated in a Marine Reserve along the famous Garden Route. Nestled above the ruggedTsitsikamma coastline, 230m above sea level, bordering the Tsitsikamma National Park. With breath-taking viewsof the Indian Ocean, Tsitsikamma Mountains and indigenous forest. Comfortable accommodation, excellentcustomer service, good value and wonderful experiences in nature.Whether a family holiday, adventure escape,romantic breakaway or simply to rejuvenate in nature, we offer the perfect accommodation to suit your needs

Eastern CapeWe will be looking at some of the beautifultrails we have in the Eastern Cape Backpack Trails"Antjie se Voetpad Hike", OYSTER BAYAlexandria Hiking Trail, ADDO ELEPHANT PARKStrandloper Trail, KEI MOUTH Long Distance TrailsCastaway Hike, PORT ALFREDStrandloper Trail, KEI MOUTH To book one of these amazing trail, contact uson bookings@fagalavoet.co.za / 082 776 5540 /081 894 9801.

"Antjie se Voetpad" Hike

Alexandria Hiking Trial

Strandloper

Castaway

"Antjie se Voetpad"Hike

AV*

Editor's Notes • P2

The Perfect

Brew • P3

Mastering the French

Press • P4

Dealing with Unruly

Customers • P6

"Antjie se Voetpad" HikeO Y S T E R B A Y , E A S T E R N C A P E

Antjie se Voetpad is a 3-day / 2-night hike. It is a moderately difficult hike, with the day layout as follows: Day 1 =12.5km, Day 2 = 12km, Day 3 = 10km. The route is suited for people with moderate hiking fitness. The trail islaid out in a figure 8. A maximum of 8 hikers is permitted on the trail at a time. The minimum number is 4. There is also aSlackpacking option.

Day 1 – 12.5kmDay 2 – 12kmDay 3 – 10km

Estimated climb you will be taking? There are a few climbs on the hike. Day 1 you will climb from 464m to the height of 810m. A descend to 579m follows toend off the day. On day 2 you will ascend to 910m, descending again to 579m at the end of the day. On day 3 you willonly ascend to 788m and then finally descending to 484m. In between these heights you will experience other ups anddowns – but not as severe. We aimed at letting the road follow the ridges of the mountain.

Alexandria HikingTrail

AH*

Editor's Notes • P2

The Perfect

Brew • P3

Mastering the French

Press • P4

Dealing with Unruly

Customers • P6

Alexandria Hiking TrailA D D O E L E P H A N T P A R K , S A N P A R K S

Hiking the two-day Alexandria Hiking Trail in Addo Elephant National Park is an unforgettable experience thatleads the hiker through three distinctly different environments ranging from forest to coastal dunes, to seashore.No other trail in the country can boast this diversity, as you clamber up the desert-like dunes and stand aloft cliffscrumbling into the sea, trek through high forest, and along spectacular beaches... This two-day and 36-kilometre circular hiking trail is perfect for a weekend getaway and boasts desert-like dunes,lush indigenous forest, dune cliffs crumbling into the sea and spectacular untouched beaches. Alexandria hikingtrail can accommodate max 12 people and min 3 people. This is a Circular route of 36 km. 1st day 19.5km, 2ndday 16.5km.

Huts: The Langebos Huts, situated within the forest, are the base huts for the trail and it is recommended that hikers stay at thesehuts the night before leaving for the first day. The huts are equipped with 12 beds with mattresses (six each in of twohuts), a hot water shower, toilet and a braai area. Hikers are welcome to spend the night at the Langebos huts at the end ofthe second day's hike and the huts are also available for hiring separate to the trail experience. The Woody Cape hut is situated at the end of the first day's hike, overlooking the sea and Bird Island. This hut isequipped with 12 beds with mattresses in two bedrooms. It has a rainwater tank for drinking and cooking water only andtoilets. No shower is available. A gas two-plate stove and basic utensils, cutlery and crockery are provided. No fires maybe made at this hut. A minimum of three hikers (for safety reasons) and a maximum of twelve hikers are allowed on thetrail per day. The trail will not be booked exclusively for one group, unless they are twelve in number.

StrandloperHiking Trail

ST*

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Brew • P3

Mastering the French

Press • P4

Dealing with Unruly

Customers • P6

Strandloper Hiking TrailK E I M O U T H , E A S T E R N C A P E

For the next four days you will join the ranks of the Strandlopers as you discover their world of wave washedshores, exquisite tidal pools, pristine estuaries, leafy forests and wild white sand dunes. Each section of the trail has been designed to reveal special aspects of our coastline so that you may capture acomplete Strandloper experience. The Strandloper Trail has been described as “the trail where you can savoirthe feeling of solitude on an unspoilt beach and down a bar, lunch in a cosy pub barely an hour later”. The trail isalmost 59 km in total and takes 4 days to complete. It is clearly marked with little painted white on green bootprints and be be walked through the year. The best weather is between January and May which have warmwindless days.

Distances to Hike:First Day is 13 kms from Kei Mouth to Double MouthSecond Day is 9 kms from Double Mouth to Haga HagaThird day is 22 kms from Haga Haga to Beacon ValleyFourth Day is 15 kms from Beacon Valley to Gonubie

Climate:Warm months with rain: Dec, Jan, Feb, March, April

Cool months: May, June, July. Warm days, cool nights, less wind or rain. Sleeping bags and track suits for the evenings.Cool with wind and rain: August, September, October, and November.Best months to hike – May, June and JulyAverage annual temperature is 22 degrees

CastawayHiking Trail

CA*

Editor's Notes • P2

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Brew • P3

Mastering the French

Press • P4

Dealing with Unruly

Customers • P6

Castaway Hiking TrailP O R T A L F R E D , E A S T E R N C A P E

The basic hike is a 5-day hike, however the requirements for the shorter days (min 2) is also enjoyed. Why do our Hike:

The splendour of the “unknown” eastern cape and Woody cape forest Numerous shipwrecksDiaz CrossFamous Shelly bayKasouga, Kariega, Boesmans and Boknes estuariesSafeClose to Game reserves (Addo , Sibuya and Kariega Park)Unspoilt coastline with minimal pollution.Prolific Birdlife and indigenous game.

Day 1 (Hike and Paddle) - 6km hike, 6.5km paddleDay 2 (Hike beach and boardwalk) - 12km hikeDay 3 (Hike on beach) - 12km hikeDay 4 (Hike on Beach) - 18km hikeDay 5 (Hike in Forest) - 10km hike

How to tell remaining sunlight

Wrap duck tape around your

lighters to save space

Throw your spices in

straws and melt the

ends for a bit of extra

tastiness to those

hiking meals

If you have a tip, trick or diy hack for hiking, please share it with us, we like hiking hacks. Send thosehiking hacks to bookings@fagalavoet.co.za