You can’t help feeling the magic of Hogsback, a hideaway village secreted high within the Amathole Mountains of the Eastern Cape. It is a place of foundling forests and cascading waterfalls veiling down steep cliffs, and as close as you’ll ever get to ‘The Shire’ from JRR Tolkein’s novels.
A GPS glitch (read: ‘navigator’) took us on a ‘mission impassible’ bundu bash along the #MitchellsPass, but the#TrailBlazer from Chevrolet South Africa shrugged off the rocks and dongas to get us to the brilliant Arminel Hotel Hogsback, ever so slightly shaken and stirred. It did not take long for us to settle back into the low-key ‘Hogsback Zone’, thanks to their secluded chalets, set deep within the natural woodland surrounds.
A wonderful week of fairy walks, waterfall trekking, Hobbitonsahigh-roping, trail thumping and #MTB singletrack tripping folowed, with generous dollops of red wine, kudu fillet braais, great coffee at Butterfly Bistro, and of course loads of#EmeraldVale Pale Ale on tap.
The snow did not arrive, much to the kids’ disappointment, but the icy weather and morning frost made for a real ‘Xmas in July’ feel. Undoubtedly one of my favourite places in the whole of South Africa, and lovely to share the space where I tied the knot with Karyn Marais with her and her family once again.
All the images were taken with the new PENTAX SOUTH AFRICA #K3II that I was testing for Teltron SA, and I’m blown away by this rugged weather-proof camera. How come theRicoh Imaging Group can manage to make cameras this highly specced at a cost of up to 50% less than the competition? Thank you, Brett Skolmen – much appreciated. Now to get my hands on that #FullFrame #K1!
Click here to view the pics