A birthday walk

A man with his own chair.

We are back in Johannesburg.

A birthday weekend and Fred celebrating.

Special knives, an ice-cream maker from Shawni and Craig, a walk to Voodoo Lily, his customised chair, eggs benedict, lots of well wishers.

A weekend long of being with friends and family.

• Walking log: 11 April

11.5 morning walk. Using a protein shake before long walks to improve energy levels. Good walk.

Total kilometres to date: 621.5

Walking between the piers

A cooler day in Durban and good for walking.

We were back on the promenade for another stamina outing and walked two lengths and a bit to make up a 15km non-stop walk. Half the daily distance that we would be doing along our Eco Ventures Ultra Walk in August.

Fred was running up and down dunes and the beaches to get me photos of the piers along the way, his energy always amazes me, but today I found it demotivating me as I do not have his stamina and strength and never will.

• Walking log: 7th April

The walk did not flow easily, I was aware of aches and felt each of the 15 kilometres.
So even having walked more than 600 kilometres, I have to work on each and every walk.

Total kilometres to date: 606

Post script:

• Walking log: 9th April

Had an indulgent rest day with my sister Doreen and her kids so this morning Fred and I were up early for a fast power walk which felt great. I also had a revelation that I need to eat something like a boiled egg before our long walks, I think that the coffee and rusk before the 15 km early in the week contributed to my lack of energy.

Total kilometres to date: 610

Durban piers along the Promenade.

Back on the Beach

Moody view from the Loft

Moody day in Toti.

The temperature has dropped 10 degrees, even a little fine rain on our walk, not many people around.

It has not felt busy this Easter.

Easy beach walk and always such a pleasure to be beside the sea.

• Walking log: 6th April

5km along Warner Beach.

Total kilometres to date: 591

Easter Sunday, Lindt Bunny and a power walk

The Lindt Bunnies ready for Easter sunday and our morning visit to Dad.

We have a vista from the Loft across the river and the sports fields here in Toti. So we went out early this morning to walk the fields and the cycle path next to the river.

Also the walk up steep Gordon Road is certainly a nice power challenge and good to get the heart rate up.

And we added in a couple of circuits of the cricket pitch at pace.

• Walking log: 5th April

7km power and speed walking around the suburb and fields below the Loft.

Total kilometres to date: 586

Walking our 'view' from the Loft in Toti

Two beaches walk and not in the sea

Warner Beach at low tide

Sometimes the tide is low, the weather cooler and the timing right to walk from Warner Beach to the mouth of the Illovo River. 

And today was just such a morning, overcast, not as hot as yesterday and we were on the beach early.

Love the way our map looks like we swam this morning. 

We did take our shoes off for the last few kilometres and my pedi is ruined. Will try get a repair done.

• Walking log: 3rd April

10km beach walk, mostly nice firm sand but at times soft and more challenging. 

The stretch of beach to the mouth of the Illovo River is one of the nicest around, so it was good to be walking.

Total kilometres to date: 574

• Walking log: 4th April

Warner Beach at low tide this morning. Sea was beautiful.

Good 5 km walk.

Pedi redo and a nice foot massage.

Total kilometres to date: 579

My first Half Marathon Walk

uShaka to Blue Lagoon, scenes along our 21 km walk, Durban Promenade

It is the 1st April but my first half marathon walk is certainly not an April's Fool joke.

We were up early to get to the wonderful Durban Promenade, such a special place to walk.

A beautiful late summer's day, warm with a slight breeze.

Lots of people and dogs out on the paths, all of us enjoying the pleasure of being out and about.

uShaka to Blue Lagoon Beach is about 7km, so we 'promenaded' 3 times to make up the half marathon.

Not only is this my longest walk to date, our first break was at 18.5km, which is the longest single stretch I have attempted.

Goodness me, my toes ached like crazy when I removed my shoes during our stop.

We had brunch at the hugely popular Circus Circus, which is always a treat.

I am now quite weary but pleased to have reached this new milestone in my walking adventure.

• Walking log: 1 April

21 km walk. 

Shoes holding me well. 

Feet did burn but did not hold me back, same with my left knee, just kept going. 

Total kilometres to date: 564

2nd April, a rest day with a special treat, massage and pedi. Body and feet saying thanks to both.

Time for new shoes

I have given away my walking shoes.

The Sweat Shop.

Bobby.

Measuring and analysing feet. Buying a shoe a size bigger and wider as recommended by Eco Ventures.

We came out with our Asics Gel-nimbus shoes. Light, flexible and cushioned.

And you will see us coming around a corner.

Gave the shoes a try today. Couple of niggles to work through.

• Walking log: 28th March

10km easy walk to Voodoo Lily for breakfast.

Total kilometres to date: 532

• Walking log: 29th March

11km bridges walk to Europa for morning coffee. Still doing adjustments to laces, almost there. Feet ok, knee tight. On track.

Total kilometres to date: 543

Regrouping after some indulging

Lovely people.

I spent an indulgent Sunday with friends and gave no thought to walking. We converged from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and even London to spend time together.

Monday's pilates class was quite different. Farrell called it a '500', 10 exercises with 50 repetitions each. From squats to sit-ups to push-ups, lifts, lunges, all I can say is thank goodness I do not need my triceps for walking.

To take pressure off my achy knees I did 3km on the bicycle at the gym.

So I needed to regroup and get walking again today.

However, we were up at 2.30am to watch the first semifinal between South Africa and New Zealand, so I lazed on the couch until the last nail biting ball. Anyway I did a short walk to Killarney to get past our loss even though it was lunch time and not ideal for walking.

• Walking log: 24th March

6km short walk, mindful about a sore left knee.

Total kilometres to date: 509

• Walking log: 25th March

Fred's back still not great so I went for a 5km speed walk around the golf course and 3.5km static cycle at the studio.

Total kilometres to date: 514

• Walking log: 26th March

Our power walk today, up and over Munro Drive and down through Houghton back home. 8km and Fred was fine on the walk and was good to have him on the path again.

Total kilometres to date: 522

A walk to Greenside and 500km clicks over.

Flower along our route.

Another milestone reached this morning.

We have now done 500km of preparation over a 10 week period.

Even getting to this point, I still am intimidated by the thought of 30km a day for 10 days.

• Walking log: 21 March

Our second longest walk to date, 18.5km.

The walk did not flow easily today, my knees were aching from pilates exercises yesterday and also my feet did not feel great.

I think my little inner socks are too tight and once I removed them it felt better walking.

I was weary and even feeling a little downhearted at some point.

Time to rest up now.

Total kilometres to date: 503

Farewell to Millstream

Moodiness of an afternoon storm over Lake Millstream

I am missing the wonderful walks at Millstream as I get ready to walk from home this morning. Yesterday was a rest day and I am restless when I have the recovery day, almost as if I worry about not getting going again.

Anyway, also cool and a fine drizzle on our walk, coffee was a treat.

• Walking log: 19th March

9km at a good pace.

Total kilometres to date: 484.5

Otters of Lake Millstream

Another special early morning view with coffee

A family of otters made a quick appearance this morning on Lake Millstream as we were planning our walk into Dullstroom for breakfast.

The main road into Dullstroom is not ideal for a walk, but we needed to get in our weekly longer distance for stamina.

I can recommend Charlie C's yummy spicy chicken liver breakies in Dullstroom.

We were getting hot on the return leg and so appreciated the swim at the recreation centre.

• Walking log: 17th March

15km round trip from our unit at Millstream to Dullstroom. 

Total kilometres to date: 475.5

Sunrise at Millstream

Sunrise at Millstream

An early start to the day and quietly sitting on the veranda watching the yellows and pinks of the sunrise.

A shorter walk this morning as Brian and Di needed to starting heading back to Greyton.

• Walking log: 16th March

Fresh morning walk with a few short steep sections. 

Walking companions: Bri and Di Dawes.

Total kilometres to date: 458.5

Fierce afternoon thunderstorm with hail, kept us indoors for lazy reading on the couch. Rain was followed by a swarm of flying ants. We eventually walked at dusk with the bats and an amazing sky.
Gate and back at a fast pace.

Total kilometres to date: 463.5

Another perfect walk here at Millstream

Another beautiful morning, and a perfect reflection on Lake Millstream.

We headed out for our walk via the crane enclosure, which has a pair of Crowned Cranes being rehabilitated. They are such lovely birds.

We had excellent mammal sightings this morning, a Black-backed Jackal, a Grey duiker and a small herd of Grey rhebuck, along with close encounters with the zebra. And a Long-crested Eagle overhead.

Walking at its best.

• Walking log: 15th March

A particularly fine 10km walk and felt strong.
Walking companions, Bri and Di Dawes.

Total kilometres to date:  449

Afternoon showers cleared up for a late 4km walk to Tintern Waters with Di, saw a few Scrub Hare on the way too. The guineafowl calling were a treat.

Total kilometres to date: 453

Close encounters with Zebra along our walks.