AFTER our short stay in KwaZulu-Natal’s Central Berg with our Australian family, our parkrun quest – some might say obsession – saw us spending a bit more time taking a look at the lovely but less-travelled byways of our beautiful province.
We were also getting closer to our target of completing parkruns at 20 different South African venues to become official parkrun tourists. We were also having great fun reaching the target.
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As mentioned in a previous Tent Travels blog, Bill had clocked up 18 different South African parkruns and I was just one behind him by the time we’d done the Ladysmith parkrun just before heading to the Champagne Valley to join our family.
Three years ago, when Bill did the Piggly Wiggly parkrun, I was recovering from an injury so couldn’t do it. I really wanted to catch up to him so soon after our visit to the mountains, we woke early one Saturday morning and drove to Howick to do the now famous and very popular parkrun. Now we both had 18 different parkruns to our credit.
With our Australian family’s visit over, we were focusing on our next adventure, a three-week trip to the Tuli Block and some of our more northern wild places, but we decided to clock up another parkrun before we left.
The new Tinley Manor and its notorious uphill section was much in the news in parkrun circles so a sunny August morning saw us awake and on the road soon after 5am, heading to Tinley Manor to see just how scary that uphill could be.
It was pretty scary, but the course was scenic and enjoyable and it was lovely to see a little of KwaZulu-Natal’s pretty North Coast.
Soon after notching up our 19th different parkrun we went on holiday (more about that next week) but although we’d hoped to do our 20th in Kimberley, gate times at Mokala National Park where we were staying, made that idea impractical.
After a lovely holiday you need to look forward to something, so we decided to turn our much anticipated 20th parkrun into a weekend outing. Friends of ours had moved to Himeville in the southern Beg and we asked us to come and visit them there, so we thought we’d do Pietermaritzburg’s Dusi parkrun, then take in the Witness garden show before spending the night with them.
After another early morning start, we motored to Pietermaritzburg and lined up with great excitement to do some Dusi riverside running. Our aim was to complete our 20th parkrun to achieve our quest.
Of course, the Dusi river is the home of the illustrious Dusi Canoe Marathon, one of South Africa’s most prestigious events.
The brainchild of Ian Player, one of South Africa’s greatest conservationists, the Dusi ‘s history goes back to 1952, when a small group of canoeists set off from Pietermaritzburg to paddle to Durban.
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Dr Player was the only one to complete the expedition, but the concept of the annual Dusi marathon was born. By 1956 it had attracted a field of 48 and since then it has grown into the massive event it is today. Running beside it I couldn’t help but think about Dr Player’s many achievements. to me he is one of our country’s greatest sons.
With a sense of elation, we completed our run, then we headed to Pietermaritzburg’s Royal Showgrounds to take in the Witness Garden Show. It is a lovely annual event and we try to go most years.
This year it didn’t disappoint. Armed with some of the goodies on sale at the gourmet food plus a bottle of bubbly, we then headed off to Himeville to celebrate our 20th parkrun with our friends.
Himeville and its sister town, Underberg, nestle beneath the southern Drakensberg and offer visitors access to this lovely part of our ‘dragon mountains’.
Usually, when we visit the southern Berg we stay at Ezemvelo’s magnificent Cobham camping site. It offers lovely mountain walks and magnificent mountain views and, for us, a special memory. Cobham was where we saw in the new millennium with a wonderful bunch of family and friends.
This time round, though, we wouldn’t be camping but would be staying in great comfort with our friends in their lovely new home.
To be honest, it was quite a relief not to be camping that night. A thick mist had descended by the time we reached Himeville and the temperature had dropped considerably.
Unfortunately it had also obscured the view from the house and we had to wait for the mist to lift the next morning to enjoy this scenic treat.
By completing our 20 different parkrun before the end of the year we had done what we’d set out to do but there was still something missing. In our quest to complete 20 runs, as well as doing three in other provinces,we’d done every single one in KwaZulu-Natal except for one.
We decided to rectify this last week. Saturday saw another early morning start for us as we set out with a group of Uvongo parkrunners to KwaMashu to do the parkrun there.
That event was a very special way to round off our 20 parkrun quest, thanks to the friendliness of the organisers, our fellow runners and the local residents. It is a great parkrun and we really recommend it.
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