DK hike day 1 night

Toothpicks are abundant in South Africa. They come in your biltong packs; they serve them with your bill. 

We got up at 4:30 and met our hike guide outside the hotel gates. Darren used to have a desk job, and had that classic moment of clarity. He started this touring company to always be traveling and seeing sights around the world. He's always "chilled out," as he says. 

We drove two legs southish, catching a lot of rural views through Zulu country. It reminded me in many ways of rural China. 

There were many tiny villages or neighborhoods with round thatched huts as well as more modern leaned tin roof houses. Some houses even had solar panels up -- traces of our modern age have crept into even this languid, distinctly non-Western society. South Africa has a lot of lessons to teach about multiculturalism. 

Folks walk around everywhere. You see the occasional hitchhiker. Seldom see bikes, even though they'd seem very practical to use. 

An old reliable Toyota Pickup. 

This ornery goat was on the road. 

A few views from the breathtaking hike:

Cathedral Peak in the distance, to the right of the bell-shaped col. 

After this glamor shot, we tried to stepping stone the creek. Only Darren made it across without dunking shoes in. This is a real hike. 

Our base camp, after a short but intensely paced hike:

Yep, an open faced cave. We're sitting here resting up for the much longer hike tomorrow, which Darren says is much harder than today's.