Captivate The Cape Hiking Tours

12/09/2023

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take some time to say welcome to all my new followers!

Thank you all so much for the support you've given me and wanting to follow along on my Guiding journey.

I must say though that my page is not the most active social media platform as I've decided to sift and sort through my photos and albums so that I can try to post at least once a month (I may have neglected it for a bit, oops), and I will get back to it as soon as I am able to!

It has definitely been a busy year and I am super grateful that so many of you are choosing me to give you the natural Cape Town experience through touring our magnificent mountains. I even booked myself for 2 back-to-back tours today!

If you really want to follow along and see where I go and the pictures I take then do be sure to follow me on Instagram . I update it frequently and on the day of the tour (if I'm not too worn out!)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

16/03/2023

01/01/2023

Happy New Year 🎉

I thought I was photobombing someone's photo but turns out he was live 😅 oops!

2022 is a blur to me. I've been gratefully that busy and wish to thank everyone who supported me as tourism recovered. Especially the guides and agencies who trusted me to take their guests up the mountain and give them the best possible experience 🤗

Thank you to the guides who assisted me with the bigger groups and doing the tours I was not available for. I appreciate you all 💖

May you all have a prosperous year ahead filled with health, love and laughter 💓

PS: I'm still most active on Instagram as fats_on_a_mountain

16/10/2022

My booking for today got cancelled so a friend said at least I can rest...no, I ended up doing the laundry, cleaned and making lunch. ...with a bit of admin.

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iSimangaliso, the Place of Miracles and 5 ecosystems.

Post 2 of 3 (turns out I only have videos of the whales and as per FB settings, I will have to upload those in a separate post sigh)

For our last day in St Lucia, Teshni from Under African Skies booked a boat based whale watching tour with Advantage Tours.
(I didn't know that this would be an actual tour with fun facts about the whales and the Indian Ocean!!! I was pleasantry surprised)

The lazy whales didn't want to show their heads, tails or breach for us sigh but it was still amazing to see them up close! I did however see whales having a whale of a time in Gansbaai a week prior. I've uploaded 1 tail pic lol.

WE HAD A BLAST!!! Launching from the beach and over the waves was sooooo much fun! Told the Skipper, "We go agane!" xQc quote haha
Landing on the beach what seemed at full speed as just as much fun! And learned a lot from our Skipper Kyle.

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Then it was off to the Lake, Estuary & Swamp for a Hippo & Croc tour and learned even more about the 5 Ecosystems. That there are even Bull Sharks in their waters. That when cyclone Domoina hit in 1984, the waters flooded the bridge connecting the Western and Eastern shores!

We saw quite a few hippos and only 1 small crocodile lol. We also learned that if a female Weaver bird doesn't like the nest a male built, he will destroy it and start all over again lol.
I only have videos of the bridge so that will also have to be uploaded in next post sigh.

I would have loved to do a Cultural Tour, hike to Bat Cave, Turtle Tour (but this is only from November) and scuba dive in Kosi Bay but alas, time didn't allow.

And returned to Durban for spices and supper at Whale Bone Pier in the icky wind before our flight back home.

14/10/2022

iSimangaliso, the Place of Miracles and 5 ecosystems.

Post 1 of 3 (broken down to land, boat and videos)

I could have self driven but I wanted guided tours. I wanted to learn from a local about the 5 ecosystems and take in the beauty of my surroundings while the guide does all the hard work like driving and spotting the wildlife and giving us information without us having to Google or do extensive research on the routes we have to take.

I was connected with Teshni from Under African Skies and she booked all my tours for me.

Day 1 we arrived late in St Lucia and settled in for the night.

Day 2, our guide Siya from Shakabarker tours collected us from our guesthouse for a full day tour through iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
He gave history of the Park together with fun facts about the various wildlife we spotted in 37 degree Celsius heat. We were grateful that he braai'd our lunch while we cooled off for a bit of snorkelling at Cape Vidal.
We didn't see any Elephants or leopards as it was a Sunday and rest day for the animals we joked. Also, way too hot for them to posing for us. He even spotted a baby crocodile on the sand bank which just looked like mud to me until I saw it through Binos lol. This is the benefit of a guide, they we can hear and see things we are not trained for and they can answer questions we may have.

Day 3, Teshni gave us an exciting private full day tour through Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve which is the oldest game reserve in Africa. The wildlife was a lot closer to the road than in the Wetlands and I was beside myself seeing baby elephants and buffalos and rhinos that aren't de-horned. On a related note: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-11-godfather-and-sa-man-nabbed-in-major-rhino-horn-busts-in-new-york-singapore/

I could have not been more grateful to Teshni who got us safely out of the Reserve after being surrounded by herds of Elephants. Yes herds as it happened twice on different roads! She went back and forth so many times and just when she thought it was safe and take the corner, a bull was waiting in the road!
She eventually decided to turn around and take another road just for us to be jack-knifed between ellies ahead and behind us. The adrenalin I tell you shjoe! We even passed 2 fighting ellies who threw the other down! and drove past 1 that camouflaged behind a tree, so close that Teshni could have touched it but she was too busy keeping us all safe. I don't think I would have known what to do if we were self driven.
We would have not have seen the Elephant graveyard, the rhino toilets, the rocks where they rub themselves. The markings from Porcupine on a tree. Why a zebra has that 1 spot on its legs. Why the Warthog graze the way they do. Why the most dangerous animal (after humans) are old, tossed out lonely Wildebeest.

We didn't spot any Lions or Leopards but we're not even disappointed as the guided tour with Teshni was 5 stars in itself. The same way I have to make sure my guests are enjoying a hike when there are no views.

04/08/2022

Yesterday, Aquila Private Game Reserve hosted the CTGA - Cape Tourist Guides Association for breakfast, lunch and a 1 hour game drive. And venue for our monthly members meeting. They also gifted us with Beanies and T-shirts.

I am honestly so grateful to Chantel Stander for making this happen, together with the friendly staff and of course the organisers of CTGA.

Just a 2 hour drive from Cape Town, we saw hippos, elephants, lions, giraffe, springbok, wildebeest, zebras and rhinos. (also baboons and ostrich)

Thoroughly enjoyed the day out with my fellow tour guides!

07/02/2022

So this happened thanks to CTGA - Cape Tourist Guides Association and University of Johannesburg Confucius Institute - UJCI

10/01/2022

Compliments of the Season!

Rather late than never right?!

Once again, when I'm late for posting, Welcome to all the new members! If you want to check out what I am up to, rather go to Instagram lol. Find me at Fats_on_a_mountain :D

My New Year's Resolution should be keeping this page updated but I'm not good at sticking to resolutions either so I make no promises hehe

28/12/2021

I'm on page 56 😬

Joomag digital interactive publication

29/11/2021

Once again, Welcome to all my new followers! Thank you!

As I've been so terrible keeping this page updated (still most active on Instagram), I have decided to recap tours once a month.

Just to give you an idea what a schlepp this is, I had to sort through 1087 photos just to upload this album lol.

Thankfully, it has been a busy month of tours and it almost feels like pre-pandemic!

Super grateful to be working and earning an income again and so grateful for the bookings via Atlantic Outlook who not only offer guided hikes but kayaking and tandem bike rides as well.

27/11/2021

A shared post from Ian Wallace via Zania Collins.

COVID STATUS SOUTH AFRICA.

I have posted an article below from a South African media outlet for the internationals that follow me and are interested to hear it from our perspective.

In short South Africa has been fighting a viral pandemic since the 1990’s “HIV/Aids”.

We have the best scientific and medical brains in the world when it comes to research and development in fighting pandemics. We have almost 40 years of experience at this.

It is no surprise that our scientists would be the first to identify strains and mutations but we do not own these strains and mutations wherever you are in the world that strain or mutation now exists.

Africa has approximately 17.5% of the world’s population and we have only accounted for 5% of global confirmed cases and 3% of global deaths.

You are a lot safer from this disease on the plains of Africa than you are in a crowded football stadium or on the center court at Wimbledon.

If you want to escape away from the madness of this virus then Africa is exactly where you want to go to.

25/10/2021

Once again, Welcome to all my new followers! Thank you!

As I've been so terrible keeping this page updated (still most active on Instagram), I have decided to recap tours once a month.

Just to give you an idea what a schlepp this is, I had to sort through 1087 photos just to upload this album lol.

Thankfully, it has been a busy month of tours and it almost feels like pre-pandemic!

Super grateful to be working and earning an income again and so grateful for the bookings via Atlantic Outlook who not only offer guided hikes but kayaking and tandem bike rides as well.

26/08/2021

Tell the world

"South Africa’s lockdown came into effect on 27 March 2020, and passed the 500-day mark on 9 August 2021. The national state of disaster has been in effect for 17 months." ~ Business Tech

17 months and counting of uncertainty, anxiety, stress and fear for us in the tourism, hospitality and events industries.

We NEED to work. We NEED the income.



Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for those supporting local tourism 🤗❤



I am fully vaccinated and ready to be your guide!

07/06/2021

Firstly, Welcome to all the new followers. Thank you!

I know I've been neglecting this page but I do keep my Instagram and personal accounts updated. Each time I want to update this page, I think of the thousands of photos I have to sort through and abort mission lol. Then, Facebook keeps changing page settings sigh

I am still hiking regularly and trail run once a week. Bit of guiding here and there but not much international tourists....yet.

Yesterday, we went up Suther Peak with a detour to the old WW2 Radar Station ruins in gale force winds! BUT we were rewarded with phenomenal views!

PS! The first pic is not blurry, open to see the Panorama 🤗

01/04/2021

"Along the Coastal Journey, you will catch a glimpse of the Cape Winelands, delving into the Cape Overberg and exploring the famous Garden Route & Klein Karoo discovering coastal caves and the underground cave wonder known as the Cango Caves."

I went a bit overboard with the photos on day 3.

It started with red & orange skies before sunrise from The Bayview Hotel in Plettenberg Bay and then onto Robberg Nature Reserve for a 'private guided tour' (I wasn't supposed to have one haha) of the hiking trails before heading down to Nelson Bay Cave where Homo Sapiens occupied the cave 18 000 years ago.

Also, https://www.hikingsouthafrica.co.za/fountain-shack/

Lunch was had at the delightful Die Pot. (The Pot) in George.

Next up, distracting views along Outeniqua Pass and Klein Karoo, through Oudtshoorn heading to the Swartberg Country Manor with even more distracting views of Swartberg Mountains.

When I went to bed, I was not mentally, psychologically or spiritually prepared for day 4....

30/03/2021

"The Cradle of Human Culture includes several archaeological and palaeontological sites in the Western Cape. The three major ones are Diepkloof Rock Shelter in the Cape West Coast (Weskus), Blombos Cave and Pinnacle Point on the Southern Cape Coast. However, a trip to the Cradle of Human Culture includes more than these three sites and the development and expression of human culture can be traced across all sites."

First things first, swim in the rock pool before sunrise!!!!

Followed by breakfast, ziplining, quick visit to the Aquarium, all before continuing our Cradle of Human Culture Journey.

Next up is Cape St Blaize Cave (I have to wonder how many locals have actually been there considering it's open access and easy to get to). Then onto The Pinnacle Point Cave with even more fascinating history plus a show and tell how they count the age of the cave! Ok not so much the cave but how long ago homo sapiens occupied the cave. Also got to do my very own rock art with legit ochre!

We had lunch on the bus as we made our way to Knysna for Oysters, checked into The Bayview Hotel in Plettenberg Bay and Adi's Kitchen for supper.

27/03/2021

Sneak Peek.

In the meantime, I have over 1000 photos and videos to sort through...

10/03/2021

Windy!

25/12/2020

Season's Greetings to all those celebrating today 🤗

May your day be filled with love, laughter, peace and most importantly, health.

xoxo
❤️

22/12/2020

Didn't realise I'm so behind with my posts....oops! When I'm not on the mountain or doing admin, I'm running errands and doing chores and thoroughly distracted by reading the Harry Potter series hehe!

Last week Sunday, I freelanced for Path & Peak Adventures and guided a family through Newlands Forest and the day after, I did a guided tour up Elephant's Eye, Elephant's Brown Eye and Hout Bay Lookout.

Unfortunately, the clouds came over so no lookout views to be had.

I am do super grateful for bookings that I have been getting which has mostly been word of mouth or repeat bookings.

Few weeks ago, I guided Malani (repeat booking) and friends and one of the friends. Tonya booked the above hike with me and brought her friends, Hennie and Debbie. Unfortunately, Pedro could not join due to a knee injury.