The above was a little active - so we settled on the one below...
Note how once one has toiled down the mountain there are no clouds??
Found guides and jumped on back of bike, this allows us to get closer (less walking - good) so we can climb to the very top instead of the first summit (not good?).
Set off and found the going tough but doable. Stopped twice on the way. Got to the first summit and the clouds started to roll in. Sigh.
Took off again and going was tough as it was volcanic sand - like climbing a very high sand dune. The only way to make good progress was by being energetic. Reached the top and had 2 minute noodles with a blistering chilli source. Watched the clouds get lighter as the sun rose. Had a couple of glimpses of the amazing view when there were very brief breaks (more like slits than breaks) in the clouds.
A brief slit..
The top..
It was freezing! The result of sweat drying in a very cold wind - not easy to imagine being cold here...
Decided to go down as there was no way of knowing how long they would last. Of course coming down the sand dunes was great and Scotts boots were terrific. Naturally the clouds cleared the moment we got to the 2nd summit.
We spent some time at the edge of the crater, seeing cave temple and hot springs. Very Impressive display of nature.
Came home slept, swam, lunch at hotel, just had tea - it's trying hard to rain. Reminds us of kloof. Jen beat me at scrabble. It was inevitable but did she have to do it on my birthday? It's now 4-1, so it's tempting to quit while I am ahead.
It's my birthday and I will cry if I want to. Rain like mother so we ate at the restaurant. We were the only ones there. Jen said she booked out the entire place for me, but I think it was luck, or she was feeling bad about beating me on my birthday.
Very good service and more delicious goreings.
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