Friends, when you stay, or sit and take your ease On hill, in kloof or under spreading trees Pray, leave no traces of your wayside meal No bottles, bags, no tins or orange peel No daily journal, littered on the grass Others may view these with distaste, and pass Let no-one say, and say it to your shame That all was beauty here until you came.

Hiking to the pristine Tonquani kloof, I could not miss the board where the above was written.

On my first hike in the Magaliesberg, I remember throwing an orange peel away, and our leader reprimanding me. I was totally ignorant of the impact an orange peel carelessly thrown away could have on the next person passing through. It was, after all, biodegradable. What I didn‘t know, was that it could take years and that it was unsightly.

So, here I was, 8 years after being reprimanded for throwing that orange peel away, and reading the words on the board, I could not stop the tears. I was so grateful for that awareness that was instilled in me that day.

The gratitude lasted the whole day and it was such a pleasure to help eradicate the “Mexican Devil”, giving back to nature. It was so much fun watching the children jumping off the cliffs, enjoying the pristine kloof.

After the hike back, I was tired, but my heart was filled with appreciation. Since that day 8 years ago, I made sure that I only leave my footprints behind. And I was so grateful to the person that changed my life with one sentence.

Please come and join us for this fun filled day where we give back to nature whilst having loads of fun.

PROGRAM:
07h30. Leave Pretoria (CSIR boom gate).
09h00: Meet at Bertrams parking
09h00 – 13h00: Hike up tonquani kloof and have fun clearing the mexican devil and your head.
13h00: Lunch in the pristine kloof
14h00: Hike back

WHAT TO BRING:

• Your sense of humour
• Lunch
• Comfortable clothes as well as some dry clothes
• Gardening gloves, old clothes, garden digging tool with forked end, secateurs, small portable saw if possible, to trim along path and at junction [fallen-over trees]

Contact Karen at 083 975 2700 if you need a map or more information.