Secret world of walkers

A dear friend Sharon, after reading Wild, Cheryl Strayed book about hiking the PCT was quite shocked about the stories of Cheryl's blisters while on the trail.

Another Sharon, who is on the Camino at the moment, is also managing the hardship of long distance walkers - blisters, rain and any number of other challenges.

I asked the women walking with me to list their aches and pains:

• calf muscles, hip muscles, knees, shins, a bunion, a spider bite, heat rashes and blisters, allergies, split lips, flu symptoms, coughs, running noses.

This photo is not for the faint-hearted, but I need it as a reminder of my own personal challenge on this walk, because the shock of the pain will recede as it always does and the beauty of our experiences will be what lives on.

For the lovely ladies: Mary-Ann, Luciel, Sannie, Denise, Caren, Marike, Beverley.

Day 9: 270km of 301km, walking into Clanwilliam

Proteas among the daisies

Our early morning routine was a pleasure this morning, stretches at dawn and on the road soon after, this first 8 or so kilometres of walking are always lovely, we are energised after a good sleep and looking forward to the day.

After breakfast we packed, left our cottages and turned left out of the gate to tackle the next 15 kilometres.

I immediately battled, could not get my rhythm going and the pain of my feet was making me feel ill. Even Fred has the odd blister now! At least the beauty of these proteas and the other flowers along our route were a pleasurable distraction.

At our rest stop among the potato fields outside of Clanwilliam, I noticed that one of the blisters was exposed, so Frik did a quick repair, I took some serious pain killers and enjoyed the rest of the day, far more at ease and particularly enjoying our first time in the Cederberg.

We also had a taste of the dramatic rock formations of the Cederberg, walking past the Soldier's Head. We will have to come back and spend more time here.

Cederberg, Soldier's Head rock formation

• Walking log: 24th August

270km of 301km.

We are now nearing the end of our Eco Ventures Ultra Walk. I can feel the pressure of this event slowly peeling back and finished today with relief. We have this in the bag. 

Finding the huge Clanwilliam Daisy

One of the target flowers during our stay here in the Cederberg is the sunny bright yellow Clanwilliam Daisy. It's a large untidy bush with these massive flowers.

They make one smile.

Day 8: 240km of 301km, Namaqualand Daisies

How I love these happy faces!

We left the Knersvlakte after the first short walk of the day and headed further south to walk along the secondary road into Clanwilliam. The road is wedged between the Olifants River and the foothills of the Cederberg.

Fred was in a happy space finding wonderful flowers to photograph along the way. I so enjoy his excitement when he sees a new bloom and get the 'perfect' shot'!

I had been looking forward to seeing masses of the white Namaqualand daisies, they are a delight and did not disappoint.

I found the going tough though, the weather swings from the early morning cool to the heat over midday and we had some 20km to do along this hot and dusty road.
Even the refreshment stop did not seem to revive me.

Eventually we flopped into our cottage at Boskloof Swemgat, had a lovely meal put together by Frik and a good nights sleep too.

• Walking log: 23rd August

240km of 301km, another day in the bag. 

I have been walking with Luciel from Messina, she and I have a similar pace and we help each other with the pace setting, which makes a difference to the walk.

Walking towards Clanwilliam

Knersvlakte: Finger-and-thumbs and Baby Bums

Vast and flat, glistening with white quartzite gravel, the Knervlakte

Finger-and-thumb succulent

I realised very quickly on this trip that I will not easily retain all the plant and flower names that have been shared with us, but these two succulents on the Knersvlakte, the succulent Karoo, will definitely stick with me, the finger-and-thumb and the baby bum!

This is a unique place of miniature succulents dotted among the quartz, which grinds underfoot as we did our first walk of the day. These plants have an extraordinary instinct for survival which they need for the extreme heat of summer.

Baby's Bum succulent

It was about paying attention to the tiniest details, quite remarkable

• Walking log: 23 August

The change in rhythm today was quite a challenge for walking today. We did not do an early walk as we needed to get to the succulents and we had the comforting breakfast too. So it felt like a rude awakening to be walking on a happy tum!

Even more frustrating for me is that I developed another blister, I am managing 9 blisters....

Message from my sister Doreen, who has been carefully guiding me from afar on this walk:

'Succulents have stored water to see themselves through dryness..you are rich in reserves,,you are an incredibly strong, determined woman and you have everything you need including the most supportive husband to finish the next 3 days. When you see the succulents you will know you are going to be just fine!'