However, do not be fooled by many of the participants' grey hair and/or lack of a sixpack into thinking that it will be a walk-over! They all have wills of steel - or is it just plain stubbornness?
It is one tough mother of a hike! Ignore those cosy fireside camp scenes on Facebook and in the magazines! The camps (often by the roadside) are generally dusty, cold at night, the ground hard and the creepy crawlies many! As for the toilets - very, very basic, usually backlit by the setting sun and embarrassingly close to the tents - except for the nights one had to cross the R355 gravel road to get to them. Washing is done with only 5 liters of warm water in the late afternoon.
In the daytime a variable number of toilets were set up along the route. I could never work out their spacing. At any rate they were never there when I needed one, which seemed to be very often, as I was making sure that I was staying hydrated - especially after one participant had to withdraw on day two due to anuria (an inability to urinate). There is also a good chance that you will suffer from diarrhoea a few days into the race as blood is diverted from your digestive system to your muscles. On that note, if after reading this, you still insist on going, take lots of toilet paper along! Leave your sense of shame behind. The Tankwa has kilometers of nothing but small rocks and occasional very low bushes. Squatting amongst the bushes not only offers scant privacy, but also exposes you to tick infestation. You either have to be very fast, or build a shelter out of rocks - but then you risk disturbing a snake or scorpion!
Also look out for rodent (gerbil?) holes in the ground when you sit down to rest. Cover the openings with flat stones so snakes do not crawl out while you are resting quietly. Remember to remove the stones before you leave, just in case the holes are inhabited by gerbils. Remember to leave some of your food to apologize for shutting their door. Examine yourself thoroughly for ticks after sitting down and again in the late afternoon after pitching your tent and washing in your allotted 5 liters of warm water. Remember that when you hide your bum in a bush when "going to the toilet" you are giving ticks direct access. By day three you will be thoroughly bored by the snacks and lightweight packaged foods you brought along and you won't be very hungry anyway. The evening meals at camp are quite tasty and you will make up for not eating during the day. Bedtime is just after supper - giving the large meal you just ate no time to digest and leading to heartburn. Do not forget the antacids. Also take anti-inflammatory drugs (Dr's prescription) and paracetamol or similar. You will need them. If you take them, you will need to drink even more water to protect your kidneys and liver. (Do not overdose on drugs, tempting as it may be!) Some form of sleeping tablet will also be useful, as aching feet and muscles as well as fluttering tents and snoring participants will keep you awake all night otherwise. You will use meters of elastoplast. Take several rolls and then pack 3 more. The only person I know of who came off blister free, did everything they advise against. She did not walk much beforehand, bought brand new hiking shoes the week before, as well as new socks. She did not wash her socks beforehand. You, however, SHALL get blisters, even if you never had a single one before!
How to prepare? Marathon athletes and speed walkers as well as veterans of many, many long distance hikes suffered from blisters and in general. I averaged about 3 blisters a day, until I covered my feet entirely in elastoplast by the end of day 3! I still managed to get a couple after that. I am losing a toenail and a second one looks like it may be on the way out! I think the repetive motion on the endless relatively level terrain leads to blister formation. The heat and swollen feet aggravate matters. I stopped every two hours and examined my feet and would find new blisters which had developed since the previous stop.
Weather in the daytime will vary from hot and sunny and dusty, to cold and windy and dusty, to cold and wet and muddy. Nights are very cold. Make sure you have enough warm clothing and bedding. Air mattresses are good until they spring a leak. The last three nights I had to get up every two to three hours to blow up my mattress which had deflated.
The R355 traversing theTankwa is notorious for causing flat tyres. Perhaps that is why most people in their big SUV's try and drive through it as fast as possible, throwing dust and stones at you as they roar past at breakneck speeds. In the afternoons, the cooled air rolling off the high peaks of the Cederberg in the west causes strong winds as it rushes to fill the void created as the hot air rises off the baking Karoo earth. Only after the earth has cooled in the evenings, does the wind and the dust settle.
You will be bored often. Everyone will always walk faster or slower than you. Unless you have a dedicated companion who will stay by your side no matter what, you will be alone a lot. The road is endless and the scenery often monotonous. On day 4 I woke up tired. My blisters were many and my muscles were sore and stiff and progress was slow. Eventually all the other hikers had passed me and had moved on out of sight. For a while I enjoyed the solitude.Then I realized that I had not seen another human being or a support vehicle for over two and a half hours!
When I finally reached camp, I objected to being left for the predators. For the rest of the walk, the support vehicle would accompany the last walker (usually me) all the way in. This was a mixed blessing as I now felt guilty about needing a rest and found it impossible to use a low bush when nature called.
Why did I complete every step of the way when I had the option to ride with the support vehicle when necessary? There were a several reasons. My grandson sent me a recorded whatsapp message saying "Ouma, I hope you win." I replied that it was not a race but that finishing was winning. For a while this kept me going. Ego and sheer stubbornness played a role, for sure. There was a stage when I thought that teaching the grandchildren that sometimes it is OK to realise that something you started was a really bad idea and that bailing out is a sensible option, is also a valuable lesson. Then I thought of how my finishing would empower my children. Every time a grandchild whines about not wanting to walk somewhere close by, they could say to them: "but your grandmother walked 260 km through blazing sun and freezing rain across the Tankwa at the age of 66!"
The last few days I kept walking through my pain because I wanted to leave no stone unturned or business unfinished, lest I decided to come back again and finish what I had started another time!
Now that it is all over, and bumping my toes against my down duvet at night still hurts, I do feel a great sense of achievement. I made terrific friends. I enjoyed the social evenings and chats along the road. The Tankwa has a certain fascination, magnificent sunsets, lovely flowers and fascinating rocks. I feel fitter than I have done for a long time. The organizers and support team are lovely, real people.
And I really appreciate my bed, my shower, the roof over my head, my good health, and most of all, my grandchildren. May this act of madness be an inspiration to them!
Long live the Tankwa Endurance Camino!
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| Is this what happens to hikers who do not make it? |
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| Starting point at the giant post box in Calvinia. |
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| At the start of the R355 |
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| Shade! |
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| Road side toilet |
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| The hikers are still enthusiastic! |
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| Some need their first break |
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