Feedback on Saturday 20th June’s Mid-Winter Sortie to Noordhoek’s Long Beach.

Feedback on Saturday 20^th June’s Mid-Winter Sortie to Noordhoek’s Long Beach.

Despite a cold 6 degree Celsius start to the morning, 29 smiling Trailers turned up for the mid-winter run along Noordhoek beach, though much hand rubbing and foot stomping was evident as the group signed in. With the shortest day of the year just one sleep away, three groups of Trailers set off along the pristine stretch of white sand in the dim morning light towards Slangkop lighthouse just after 7.30am.

Pete had arranged the weather perfectly and there wasn’t a breath of wind to deter us as we scampered along the hard, wet sand.  As the morning developed, the temperature rose to a balmy 10 degrees and our fingers defrosted as our blood started pumping. 

Seagulls and other sea birds were plentiful, as were the horses being exercised – galloping at full speed in the yellow-pink dawn light. It was a feast for the eyes;  the sky melting into the sea in soft layers of pinks, blues and greys, and the frothy waves lapping gently on the pale sand.

 

 

The recovery group stopped for photos at the wreck of the SS Kokopo.

(A short history lesson here: This steamship was on her way to Sydney when she ran ashore on 25 May 1900. A north-westerly gale had picked up and, with visibility impaired by driving rain, the captain mistook Chapman’s Peak for Cape Point and ordered ‘hard to port, full steam ahead’. Instead of sailing into False Bay the boat smacked straight into the beach. The boiler, rudders and ribs can still be seen sticking out of the sand.)

There were a couple of moist toes at the little river crossing despite Neil’s true gentlemanly assistance to the Recovery Group ladies but not sufficient to dampen our spirits, but the most challenging obstacle on this run was the glossy seaweed which lay in large piles on the dry sand as we rounded the little outcrop towards Kommetjie.  

 

This stretch gave us a leg-lifting, heel-sinking workout as we weaved between the slimy green-brown kelp and sent the scavenging birds scattering into sky.

It was just at the turnaround point that the sun made its glorious appearance over the mountain to the north and the flat-topped outline of Table Mountain was visible in the golden glow. A couple of surfers posed conveniently for a post-card photo op. ;)

The return run was even more beautiful and awe-inspiring than the outward one. The sunrise ahead lit the morning sky and the waves rolled gently onto the sand in their hypnotic rhythm. More horses greeted us as we approached the Chapman’s Peak shadows and we enjoyed watching them splash at the water’s edge. It was one of those mornings that could have gone on forever.

The statistics:

The main group of 18 runners did the full distance to the lighthouse - some 15 kms. The leaders managed an amazing sprint in 1h47 and the tail-enders ran up the boardwalk in 2h10 or so. 

The 6-strong recovery group did 12.5 kms in just over 2 hours and the 5-man (and woman) run/walk group did11kms in 1h 57m.

Blog post and photos by Lorraine Nevin                    

(If anyone has any more photos, please share! )