17:08.963N 062:37.894W
Whisper
Noel Dilly
Tue 26 Mar 2013 16:10
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"Nevis - 23rd
March"
When does a walk become a hike and a hike become a scramble? Golden Rock was one of the beautiful plantation homes converted into a hotel which we visited yesterday. We had read that there was a 30 minute circular trail and a longer one which you could hike from there back down to Charlestown. We thought that if we took a taxi up there, walked the circular walk in the rain forest, had lunch and then walked the 2 hours trail back to town, that would make a nice day. We set off about 11.30 and avoiding several taxi drivers who wanted our custom, we went in search of Teach at the taxi rank. We were surprised and pleased to see Barry, we told him what we were doing and he was very happy to take us to Golden Rock, but he wasn't sure if the walk back to town existed so he waited while Noel went into the hotel to check the walks. He was told that the circular walk was closed as it had now been included into the gardens and the route back to town appeared to be non existent. However, there was a 4-5 hour round trip hike up to the water source which supplies Charlestown and its surrounding areas with water. Agreeing that this was what we would do after lunch, Barry was happy to come back for us and we arranged to meet him at 5:30pm. We had a splendid lunch sitting on the veranda overlooking the water garden with distant views across the countryside and out to sea. It was a scorching hot day but the cool mountain breeze kept us cool and I could have stayed there all day but we had a schedule to keep! As we set off, one of the gardeners wished us good luck and said that he would come and look for us if we did not return by 5:30! We left the hotel by a small pedestrian gate and immediately we were onto a rough grass track going up! As we passed a small hamlet we saw two greenback monkeys leaving one of the gardens, they crossed the road and disappeared into the bushes and trees so quickly that there was no chance of a photograph. These were the only monkeys which we saw, there were none visible in the rain forest. We saw several humming birds and some other larger birds but overall it was very quiet. The only sound was our feet crunching on the dried leaves and us puffing and panting up the hill. We followed our map, trying to reconcile it according to where we were, it was always a great moment when we came across the next mark on the chart, even though we thought that we had passed it earlier. The several dry stream beds which we crossed over were not mentioned and the two water tanks which were key in our navigation turned out to be three. We carried on ever upwards, the nice grass track became very rocky with the occasional sighting of a 10 inch diameter cast iron pipe which was buried under the track, this was a good clue that we were at least on the right track, especially as the sound of the water gushing through could sometimes be heard. A note on the map warned that we would get a view of the ocean at one point and then the track would go steeply down hill and should be approached with caution as it could be very wet and slippery and that this was a good place to turn around! We eventually arrived at the ocean view and the wide track became very narrow and before long we were no longer climbing up but picking our way cautiously down hill. Fortunately it has not rained here for sometime so the ground was not slippery. Thank goodness for buttress trees with their large roots trailing down, they make excellent hand holds as well as supporting ones feet. The first of three steep sets of concrete steps appeared, showing evidence of a previous existing hand rail, this certainly has not been replaced, balance was becoming more important by the minute. It was good to stop to catch my breath as it meant that I could look around and enjoy being in a rain forest, it was impossible to do so whilst moving. The water pipe was becoming more exposed now, sometimes suspended on pillars over the dry river beds. It was often repaired with modern plastic sections and fittings, otherwise it was iron. At one point as we were clambering down one side of a steep gorge and I was reminded of our abseil down a narrow gorge in New Zealand. It smelt and looked the same, the vegetation so bright green, new shoots of ferns everywhere, droplets of water gently sliding over the rocks and plants clinging to the rocks, whilst long aerial roots cascade down from above. At least there, I had a rope and harness and felt safe! Having traversed down safely, we then had to clamber up again, now I was remembering our walk on Bequia, when Tony had taken our Christmas group of friends for a walk, two of them gave up and went back down and the other couple would have liked to have gone back but didn't. As I looked around for a hand hold I was starting to wonder if I would manage this section on the way back, my thoughts were soon diverted to concentrating hard on where I was walking and not to look down to my right where I was getting the impression that it might be just a little steep. At last we appeared to have reached the source as water cascaded out of the rocks and down the gully. This was not it, we were below the dam wall. We scrambled up some more and came to the third set of steps leading up to the dam wall. This is it I thought, but no this was not the source, we had to cross over the dam which was about 20 feet long and continue around a narrow sloping track which ran beside a levada. We could have been back in Madeira! Balancing along the narrow edge of this man made water course I was beginning to wonder if I was mad to be here miles from anywhere. A few minutes later and safely on firm ground with good footing I looked about me, the beauty of it all, the tree ferns, the trees, the birds singing, the bright red and yellow flowers seen in abundance in gardens, were here wild in the forest with humming birds extracting the nectar with their long bills, the sunlight sparkling through the canopy above. No, I assured myself I'm not mad, I'm very happy to be here, nature is a wondrous and beautiful experience. Finally, we really were at the source, the trail ended and leaning vertically against the rock side was a very, very old wet rusting ladder, several rungs were broken that I could see and it stretched way up into the overhanging ferns. It appeared to be tied to a piece of plastic pipe, or the pipe was tied to it. Either way it would have been madness to attempt climbing up it, so we didn't. We set off back to the hotel and as we walked past the levada again, memories of the levada walks with our friend Harald flooded back, he would have enjoyed being here. Despite the tricky parts, we made good time and once back at the ocean view, it was all down hill! A beer and ice-cream were enjoyed in the cool by the fish pond at the hotel and Barry arrived at 5:30 to take us back to the harbour. We arrived back on Whisper just as the sun was setting. Whether it was a walk, a hike or a scramble, it was hard work but so very enjoyable! Tomorrow will be a rest day! Photographs: "Levada"
"Precarious Ladder to Water Source"
"Source Dam - Last Guy?"
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