Mont Eco - January 2009 Friday 30 January dawned bright and clear and set the tone for what was to become a lovely weekend in the Klein Karoo at the Mont Eco Nature Reserve. We left our rendezvous point at the Shell Ultra City outside Worcester on schedule and, after some last minute shopping (mainly for wine it seemed!) in Ashton we arrived at Mont Eco an hour and half later. The group was each allocated a private, individual camp site in shady bush. The trip was led by Andy and Veronica Brown (Land Cruiser 105) and the participants were Geoff and Cherry Howell (Nissan Double Cab), Jurgen and Michelle Steinecke and family (Disco), Dave and Judy Pretorius (Disco), Steve and Dalene Newbould (Nissan Navara), Steve and Sue-Anne Edwards and family (Hi-Lux), Charl and Ronel Laas and family(Prado). Friday evening was spent around the fire in the communal Lapa and the group interaction seemed to be instantaneous. We made a leisurely departure (09h00) on Saturday to drive some of the trails in the reserve. There are eight in total although time constraints limited us to five of them for this weekend. We did however select those that had a difficulty rating of Grade 3 and Grade 4 rather than the tracks more suited to 4 x 2’s. Our route took us through the Bulberg Trail which visits the North Western and Eastern areas of the reserve. The typically Klein Karoo vegetation was noticeably greener than we had expected although there appeared to be very little water in evidence in the stream crossings and occasional water holes. The Bulberg trail is approximately 21 kms in length and covers mainly rocky terrain with interesting rock formations along the way. We were advised to watch out for Black Eagle and Steenbok but with the exception of a lone Gemsbok, a couple of sightings of Eland in herds and a few Pale Chanting Goshawks was about all we saw. A couple of steepish climbs and descents into stream crossings got us prepared for the only reasonably technical section of this trail. After stopping at the view site for a mid-morning break we descended steeply down to the knife edge. This section has a couple of tight blind turns requiring some concentration and another short but rough steep descent. All the vehicles made it through this section without mishap. We took a short detour loop to take in the Rondomtalie Trail, again graded as Grade 4 due to a number of steep sided dongas at stream crossings. A bit of bumper bashing happened here, particularly on those vehicles with poor approach and departure angles. After 3 kms this trail reconnects with the Bulberg Trail which we followed to the lunch stop. We had lunch at the Klipspringer Picnic site which is situated on virtually the easternmost boundary of the reserve. This consists of a shady lapa in a deeply formed river bed. The geological formations of the rocks above the river are impressive in this area. From the lunch site we retraced our steps to the main fossil site where good examples of 350 million year old marine fossils are found. One of the children in the group is doing a school project on fossils so this visit gave him some useful first hand experience. Through this entire area fine examples of the Cape Fold geology are also evident. From the fossil site we continued along the Bulberg Trail which was now following and crisscrossing the dry river bed. One particularly tight turn out of the river in loose sand caught Steve N by surprise and the resultant slide into the adjacent donga caused some fairly expensive looking damage to his very impressive signwriting.and right hand side body panels. Ouch! Once out of the river bed we proceeded up the mountain to the Kalkoenshoek Trail, another short detour of approximately 5.5 Kms. This trail rewards travellers with wonderful views across the entire Klein Karoo with Towerkop always standing proud in the distance. Unfortunately, a burst radiator hose on Jurgen’s Disco necessitated some trailside repair. After turning the group around, we retraced out tracks and followed the shortest route back to camp. Many of us took advantage of the swimming pool at reception to wash off the dust from the heat of day. Saturday evening was spent socialising around the central fire. For those who were interested I put up the astronomical telescope and we enjoyed spectacular viewing of the moon, Orion Nebula, Venus and a rather baffling bright and colourful object low on the horizon in the north which had everyone talking. We are researching what this could have been and will let you know when we get an answer back from the astronomical boffs. An earlier start on Sunday took the group onto the Kleinberg Trail to the southern section of the reserve via the Addersfontein Road. This is a really beautiful drive which starts by following a shallow river valley where you experience a noticeable change in vegetation. At the Addersfontein picnic site we relaxed for a few minutes in the shade of giant bluegum trees after exploring the old Addersfontein farmhouse. From here the trail continued in a south easterly direction, eventually climbing to the highest point in the reserve, Following a short stop for pictures, we proceeded to the start of the infamously named THE DOWNHILL. This is a steep but fairly short descent into the valley below. The downhill leads immediately into a technical section of tight turns, deep dongas and rocky terrain which required a lot of guiding to get the vehicles through without damage, with the exception of damage to Dave and Judy’s bull bar on a steep sided donga We took a short detour to the feature of the reserve called “the Wall of Great Mystery” This is a long low stone wall that stretches for a considerable distance over the hillside. There was great speculation amongst the group as to the origins of this, not all of which were polite! From here everyone returned to camp without mishap. After a brief lunch at camp and a swim for those who had the time the group left Mont Eco at 14h30 for the drive back to Cape Town. To those who decided not to risk the decadence of cakes and pancakes, milk shakes and coke floats at Route 62 Padstal in Montagu …………..you don’t know what you missed!!!!! Thanks to everyone in the group for making the weekend so enjoyable. Andy & Veronica Brown.