That's another great hike Edwin! That's the best part of hiking, you can go from easy to hard and from short to long, as you define the path. Great video Fanie Botha looks epic.
Hi Edwin Thank you for your insight and clips. I'm running the MacMac 100mile next week and have never hiked the trail. So your video is much appreciated. Hope to see more.
Hi Natanya. I doubt Safcol would allow it but even if they did I wouldn’t say so. This hike is fairly remote with limited signal in many spots, and you could get lost, and while I don’t think any of the loggers working in the plantations would do anything I don’t feel it’s worth the risk. Also take into account that this is shared accommodation and any random person could be hiking and staying with the group. I would highly recommend getting at least 2 responsible adults with experience to do this trail with the group. I am certain that Safcol will have someone they could recommend!
Reminds me of the old Soutpansberg trail which I did decades ago but sadly no longer exists although 2 of the huts (Hanglip and Entabeni) can still be seen on Google Earth.
Ah, Stephen, the number of trails I have discovered traces of in the history books that no longer exist pains me! It serves as a reminder that we must appreciate what we have in the now and to take the opportunities that are available to us today, instead of constantly saying "One day" as we often do.
@@adolfluderitz8659 Hi Adolf 👋 we have never had any issues on trail. 99.99% of people are friendly and have no alterer motives. When something does happen on a trail it is usually posted about on local hiking forums. It’s always best to do your research before doing a trail, and this research will help you find not only if there were any recent incidents but also valuable information that could save your life, like caves nearby in case of storms, springs in case water is needed and routes that may no longer be safe. A trail like the Fanie Botha however is fairly basic. As much as I would love to hike alone, the dangers are not worth it whether that be from an accident or someone/something. South Africa is an incredible country which is often misrepresented. Yes there is crime, And you should be alert. But it’s not so bad that you shouldn’t hike here. It would be incredible sad if no one was able to experience this part of the world. If you look at my videos you will see we hike often in just twos, in some of the most wildest places in South Africa. And the people we meet along the way are more inquisitive than malicious.
I have been hiking Fanie Botha every year since 2014. Def a classic for me!
Brilliant, thank you for this, hiking fanie this weekend.
Amazing Stella! Let me know how it goes and enjoy every second of it 🥾
That's another great hike Edwin! That's the best part of hiking, you can go from easy to hard and from short to long, as you define the path. Great video Fanie Botha looks epic.
Thanks Mario. If you ever come through to South Africa let me know! Will be great to take you into the Drakensberg mountains and some other trails.
Great hike bud, you filmed and narrated this brilliantly! Love it 🥾
Thanks so much Ervins. Safe travels!
Hi Edwin
Thank you for your insight and clips.
I'm running the MacMac 100mile next week and have never hiked the trail.
So your video is much appreciated.
Hope to see more.
Eck you are a real machine! This will be a walk in the park for you 😉 wishing you all the best. You will love it!
Thanks for a great review Edwin! Do you think this hike would be safe for a small group of girl guides to do without adults?
Hi Natanya. I doubt Safcol would allow it but even if they did I wouldn’t say so. This hike is fairly remote with limited signal in many spots, and you could get lost, and while I don’t think any of the loggers working in the plantations would do anything I don’t feel it’s worth the risk.
Also take into account that this is shared accommodation and any random person could be hiking and staying with the group.
I would highly recommend getting at least 2 responsible adults with experience to do this trail with the group. I am certain that Safcol will have someone they could recommend!
@@EdwinWatson thanks so much!
Reminds me of the old Soutpansberg trail which I did decades ago but sadly no longer exists although 2 of the huts (Hanglip and Entabeni) can still be seen on Google Earth.
Ah, Stephen, the number of trails I have discovered traces of in the history books that no longer exist pains me! It serves as a reminder that we must appreciate what we have in the now and to take the opportunities that are available to us today, instead of constantly saying "One day" as we often do.
How safe are South African trails or how do you mitigate the risk?
@@adolfluderitz8659 Hi Adolf 👋
we have never had any issues on trail. 99.99% of people are friendly and have no alterer motives. When something does happen on a trail it is usually posted about on local hiking forums.
It’s always best to do your research before doing a trail, and this research will help you find not only if there were any recent incidents but also valuable information that could save your life, like caves nearby in case of storms, springs in case water is needed and routes that may no longer be safe. A trail like the Fanie Botha however is fairly basic.
As much as I would love to hike alone, the dangers are not worth it whether that be from an accident or someone/something.
South Africa is an incredible country which is often misrepresented. Yes there is crime, And you should be alert. But it’s not so bad that you shouldn’t hike here. It would be incredible sad if no one was able to experience this part of the world.
If you look at my videos you will see we hike often in just twos, in some of the most wildest places in South Africa. And the people we meet along the way are more inquisitive than malicious.