Hashing in Northcliff
I was honored to set another hash in Jo’burg this weekend. The easy option would have been to set the run in Emmarentia, but I instead chose to start at Albert’s Farm. Now primarily a nice park, it’s also at the foot of Aasvoelkop, or Northcliff, which, at 1807 meters above sea level, is only one meter lower than the highest point in the city at Observatory ridge.
Needless to say, the views from the top are spectacular. But the run was destined to be a long one, ending up being some 7 kilometers, perhaps a bit more. And to make it even better, a few Rambos, well, myself, Yoda (a young girl) and Bubbles (her mom) went down the steep end of the cliff, just to prove we could do it. The guys chickened out.
To offset the pain which would undoubtedly follow from climbing this mountain, Whispering Thong had agreed to drive up the hill to provide the sweating crowd with a few enjoyable beers while enjoying the view. Directionally challenged, she however never made it even close to where the beer stop was supposed to be.
And then, while setting the run, I suffered the tail end of a huge passing storm, moving from the CBD towards Pretoria. Standing on top of the mountain, I could see the storm slowly rolling by, with rains so thick they were hiding most of Jo’burg from sight.
After the hash we had a decent curry at a nearby curry shop. The owner, South Indian, was the spitting image of a slightly clueless version of Data.