Day 1 - PMB to Allandale Farm



View from Allandale farm house

I've been berated by Fiona for tweeting that today was an easy going day ! Ok so it wasn't a walk in the park but it's all relative. We left our accomodation @ 05:30am for the PMB town hall start and got to Minerva Farm around 11am. Fantastic soup and bread made specially by mother and daughter Belinda and Verna was a welcome respite from the chilli early morning portaging. It was an awesome decent from there into the Bryne village at the bottom of the mountain and then a few rolling climbs towards the Umkomaas river portage. 



Umkomaas river scramble !

There's a fliiippping steep cement track running down to the river - holy crap it's steep and smoking brakes is a real possibility - adrenalin rushing stuff boys !!! We clambered between a near vertical rock cliff and the fast flowing Umkomaas river to pick up the ubiquitous jeep track thru the bush to the Hella Hella bridge, before attempting the 6km climb up the mountain pass. It's a bit easier without a RASA pack but it's still challenging. We were happy to arrive at the Farm to tea, cake, koeksisters and hot dogs for late afternoon snacks - Nyummy !

Tommorrows a big day with two big mountains to get over after the Centecow mission...