I FEEL obligated to write this letter on behalf of all enthusiastic hikers and in the interest of the safety of the public.
I have just recently completed the eight-day Namib-Naukiuft trail as a member of a group of four women.
Firstly. I would like to say that each member of our group was more than moderately lit (two having just run the Two Oceans marathon and the other two regular Nordic w3lkers). All hikers are required to acquire a doctor’s certificate or medical clearance proclaiming each hiker fit enough to complete such an endeavor. However, this medical certificate appears to be rather farcical, as no doctor would allow any of their patients to attempt this hike when considering the following points.
Our concern as a group was as follows: 1. It appeared that the trail was very poorly maintained.
Some spots on the trail were extremely poorly marked (and these were invariably on wide-open plains of vast distances, namely: Melkbos Plains p and Kapokvlakte). We happened to lose the trail a number of Limes and were often purely “lucky” to find it again. We were also dangerously low on water after being told on the map that we could refill our water bottles at Fonteinpomp (however, no water was found at this spot).
When travelling down lJbusis kloof, we were stopped by a significantly deep 2OxlOm pool in the middle of the kloof with no means to get through without wetting our 15-20 kg backpacks. We could thus not push through to the hut and had to sleep in the gorge (Not a pleasant thought after a family had already been washed away by floods in Naukiuft). We were not told at the beginning of the hike that Ubusis hut was not reachable, 2. The sections to be hiked varied from 12 to 17 km in distance per day and the map would suggest an approximate hiking time of five to seven hours per day. Let me remind you that our group was fit and very able, but we never attained these times and found them totally unrealistic given the boulder-littered gorges and steep ascents required. These times could lead unwary groups into lingering at the pools and thus get stranded at nightfall before reaching the shelters. 3. At no time did either NWR or the Directorate of Parks & Wildlife warn any hikers who are afraid of heights, not to commit to this trail. The steep, chained descents and ascents are not mentioned as potentially disabling to someone suffering from vertigo. 4. We had started out as a group of seven hikers and three of our group had chosen only to do the first four days. exiting at the halfway mark. It appears Unusual that no attempt was made to keep track of hikers and check whether hikers safely finished the trail or not. We signed out as a courtesy at the office but it does not appear essential. | 5. The chained waterfall section on day seven is appalling death trap.
Please note, that by day seven, one is totally committed to the trail and an escape route is not or an option. We arrived at the waterfall which j approximately 15 to 20 meters in height, to note in dismay that it was running quite strongly with water. (It has apparently not flowed for 30 years.) I ask, why was it thus not disclosed to the public?
Firstly, we had difficulty in reaching the chain as much of the slope leading to it had collapsed under the recent rains.
Next, it was with great effort and an enormous amount of luck that all four women managed to scale this waterfall without injury. One member of our group had rock-climbing experience and found it unbelievable that a climb of this level of difficulty was open to any novice hiker hoping to complete the trail. Ii was suggested that the Namibian Mountaineering Club assess the climb (whether dry or wet conditions) and advise on how to improve on the safety aspects. No alternate route was provided to get around the waterfall, so a hiker is faced with the choice of a possibly life-threatening climb or being stranded in one of the most arid regions on earth. Not an easy choice.
Many of the footholds were in water and covered with algae, thus unusable. The chain had been lying in the waterfall and was wet, slippery and severely rusted in places. One cannot quite describe the terror involved in committing one’s entire body as well as 10 to 20 kg of backpack and conceivably one’s life, to a chain that is rusted. Also, horror of horrors, the chain had been kindly “repaired” by an obviously well-meaning hiker midway up the waterfall. The chain as o badly eroded that a hiker had taken some Strapping from their backpack and looped it along the chain to give it extra strength!
We were later told at the end of our hike, at the office, that they were aware of the problems for some time, as other groups had also complained. Nothing. however, had as yet been done about It.
Dear sirs, I am a proud Namibian and love this country dearly. It dismays and appalls me that a fellow Namibian or an unsuspecting hiker or tourist may well lose their lives because of negligence and a lack of interest in the safety of the general public. I understand that there is a certain element of risk involved in doing a hike and this I obviously accept. I do not, however, accept that my life may very well be jeopardized because members of your staff are not doing their job.
Please, please look into this matter and rectify the situation. Fiona Nichot
Via e-mail |
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