Hiking Educo

One of my favorite parts in South Africa was visiting the Groote Vinterhoek mountain range during our time with Educo. I think all of us were a little surprised when we finally got out of the vans after traveling up the somewhat death defying road. It reminded me of summer camp, but in the best way. The directors of Educo were so nice and quite quirky, but I guess you have to be if you live in the wilderness for extended periods of time. After some orientation they showed us around the camp area where we would be staying in cabins. They explained about the eco friendly green soap and their recycling and water system. In our free time we climbed the tallest peak near our cabins, led by one of the director's daughters, barefoot. Her grit amazed us, but she said she never wore shoes when she hiked. We were led up a fairly steady path to the most amazing and unusual view I have seen in a long time. It kind of reminded me of scenes in Lord of the Rings with endless rocky outcroppings. Here we took tons of pictures and then attempted to climb down since it was time for dinner. On the way down we strayed very far from the path and struggled embarrassingly as those who had stayed behind watched us from below. The director's younger son, also barefoot, was somewhat annoyed that we had gone the wrong way due to the vast amount of brambles in our new path. Gradually we helped him, and he directed us, and we finally made it to the bottom in time for some homemade chicken curry.