The Eden to Addo Great Corridor Hike is an epic, 400km trek throughmoist forests and spectacular gorges, across mountain ranges and rivers

- and it's all for conservation.WOROS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DALE R MORRIS

NO WALK iN THE PARKThe appropriately named Eden to Addo GreatCorridor Hike is an annual, never-to-be-forgottentrail dreamed up several years ago by GardenRoute resident Joan Berning and her dedicatedtroop of scientists, conservationists and naturalists.

It begins in the indigenous forest of Harkerville,part of the Garden Route National Park, enters

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,,E,not moo the earth delichts "

feeling your bare feet," announced one ofthe Eden ro Addo mega hike guides whileremoving his filthy boots and smelly socks."I implore you, please, go naked for this, ourlast kilometre of what has been an epic odyssey."

For 19 days we had walked in the idyllicwilderness between Knysna and the AddoElephant National Park outside Port Elizabeth,and for 400km we had paced and slogged.resulting in severely bruised and malodorous feet.

"Let us walk this final stretch as MotherNature intended."

For one horror-filled moment I thought he wasgoing to suggest we strip and frolic across thefinish line in pagan solstice fashion, but thankfullyit was only our shoes that had to come off.

I looked down at my calloused and swollentoes - then across at the other 24 pairs of similarlyunsightly feet - and could not help but wonderif Mother Nature truly desi red such an olfactoryand visual assault. r very much doubted it!

But off we marched regardless, shoes in hand,toes in dust, and heads held very high.

The previous 19 days had seen us walk all the\Nay from the moist forests of Knysna, acrossseven mountain ranges, and on to the baking,open thicket of the Eastern Cape. We had crossednumerous rivers, traversed national parks andnature reserves, and followed more paths andtracks than any of us cared to remember. Therehad been many ups and downs, both physicaland emotional, and there had been elation andsuffering in almost equal doses.

We all felt extremely proud as we were aboutto set foot in Addo, but sadly, the spiritualgravity of the moment was lost when wavesof ants latched onto our toes. 'Ne danced andswore and hopped and ran - eventually mostof us gave up and put our shoes back on. I'msure I could hear Mother Nature giggling.

o p P 0 SIT E The Eden to Addo mega hike passesthrough one of the world's biodiversity hotspots

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the Tsitsikamrna Mountain, crosses several rivers,including the Birou, Keurbooms and Kouga, andthen drops into the Langkloof. After this, hikerscross the Kouga Mountain and proceed throughthe Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve before heavingthemselves over the Groot Winterhoek range.Then, all that's left [Q do is to cross the arid, openspaces of the Springbokvlakte before summitingthe Klein Winterhoek Mountain and on to Addo.Piece of cake eh?

Actually, the Eden to Addo hike is hardlya walk in the park, but it helps that nobody hasto carry more than a daypack with them. Allbags, food, tents and equipment are providedand portaged from camp to camp by a teamof expert chefs, toilet pit diggers, tent erectors,coffee makers and dish-washers. And what'smore, most nights a hot shower is provided,along with a cold beer or two.

Each of the 19 campsites along the route is ina beautiful location. Most can only be accessed

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by path or on mountain tracks that would makeeven the hardiest of 4x4 drivers nervous. As such,trail participants get to see and stay in places theynormally would never have the opportunity to visit.

It's a fantastic adventure, bur it's more thanfrivolous and self-indulgent fun.

"The Eden to Addo walk is a very importantway to raise awareness and funds for the Edento Addo corridor initiative," Joan told me onenight as we sat atop a mountain range amidAowering fynbos. "VYeare endeavouring toconnect the Garden Route National Park, theBaviaanskloof Mega-Reserve anel the AddoElephant National Park via a system of goodstewardship programmes aimed at the adjoiningprivate landowners. Ifwe achieve this goal, wewill have one of the largest conservation areas onthe planet - a place where agricultura i practices,residential plots and ecological processes will beable to coexist in a sustainable manner."

Not so long ago, great herds of elephants moved

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freely between the Garden Route coast and whatis now the Addo Elephant National Park, butover the past few decades fences have been erectedall over the place and roads have been built.The herds of yesteryear are no more, bur thereare still perhaps a few individuals hiding amongthe manifold wrinkles of the mountains.

"The elephant is our flagship species," Joansaid, "a sort of rallying figurehead for the peoplewho may support us. However, elephants are byno means our major focus." She explained thatthe Eden to Addo corridor project was not aboutindividual species, bur rather "the preservation ofecological processes". It's about the way all thingsnatural interact with each other. "It's aboutnature, about its complexities and how thesecomplexities can, and must be conserved."

A CELEBRATION OF NATUHEThe hike is an amazingly diverse romp throughnatural histor-y. Characterised by stunning

scenery and superb isolation, it is a great sootherfor the soul, if perhaps not for the sales. On manyoccasions I broke away from the incessant chatterof the group and walked alone to better reflectupon the splendour and beauty around me.

Once up in the mountains, among theswaying fynbos plants, the blooming proreas,misty forests and rolling peaks, it's quiteeasy to imagine you are in one of the wildestwildernesses on earth. Waves upon waves ofcrescent mountains roll across the landscape likesilent tsunamis. Touraco birds and guinea fowlengage in vocal battles while their more elegantcousins, sugarbirds and robins and the like,flit among the Rowers. I listened for elephants.r heard none. But I did catch the throaty soundof a leopard roaring once or twice.

"We're walking through one of the mostbiodiverse regions on earth," said Joan,interrupting my reverie. We were in a particularlystunning part of the Baviaanskloof, where buffalo

ABO V E Joan Berningatop the Winterberg range

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and black rhino and other big game were present."The Cape Floral Kingdom (fynbos) has moreplant species than the Amazon rainforest," shecontinued, her voice a whisper so as not to disturband potentially enrage any rhinos that may havebeen lurking nearby. "And the succulent Karoobiome is almost its equal."

In fact, there are more animal and plantspecies along the Eden to Addo route thanalmost anywhere else on the planet. It's justthat 1110stof it is small. "Take time to look atthe plants, insects and birds and you won't bedisappointed," Joan said. And she was right.The beauty was in the detail. The flutter ofa butterfly's wings, the smell of a tiny bloom,the trickle of a tiny mountain stream.

On my last day of hiking, J felt stiffer thanfrosted laundry, but I also felt content despitethe unprovoked ant assault on the soft bitsbetween my smelly toes. We all trotted withrenewed energy for that last kilometre until,eventually, we reached the banks of the SundaysRiver within the Addo Elephant National Park.

Suddenly, our monumental odyssey wasat a painfully abrupt end. It was over andeven though after all the hard work my bodyyearned for it to be so, my mind had becomeaccustomed to the freedom of the trail. r wasgoing to miss the camaraderie, and being outin the glorious wilderness in and around theSouthern Cape mountains.

The idea of linking a large area of privatelyowned land with three separate nature reservesmay seem an impossible one, but then again,walking 400km in 19 days is also no mean feat.It was Joan's determination, encouragementand vision that made it achievahle, a nd ir willbe that same sense of purpose that will turn herconcept of a giant, contiguous and ecologicallysound landscape into a reality.

Perhaps one day in the not-too-distant future,Eden to Addo hikers won't just have to watchout for puff adders and spiky plants. Maybe,they'll also have to keep an eye open for thereturning herds of elephants ... now wouldn'tthat be something? _

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FACTS ANDFIGURESDates: 31Aug -21Sept 2013Distance covered:

400kmMountain ridgeslinked: 7

Number of biomes: 5Hiking days: 20

National parks &

nature reserves: 6

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To find out more about the Eden to Addocorridor initiative

0445331623www.edentoaddo.co.za.The Great Corridor Hike starts in September

every year and is limited to 25 people. Thereis also a shorter hike which departs on the

same day but for a duration of seven daysonly - the Taste of Eden to Addo Great

Corridor is from 31Aug to 6 Sept 2013.