Upper Tyume Falls Woman's Day was celebrated on 9 August 2009 resulting in a long weekend on Monday, so with a description of "magical Hogsback... eco-destination par excellence" in the Lonely Planet, how could we not visit?
Hogsback is a tiny eco-friendly, tree hugging town located in the Amathole Mountains at 1300m. The town is nestled within the mountains with stunning views of the surrounding forested valleys. The town bears it's name from the peaks of 3 hills which boast 'bristles' known in geological circles as a 'hogsback'- refer to photo below.
Our lodgings was in a brand new self-catering chalet at the Arminel Hotel which was ideal seeing we are now +1! Unfortunately we were 2 weeks too late to see the town covered in snow, however we still enjoyed the coziness of our chalet and quaintness of the small town.
We went for short walks to Madonna & Child Falls and Upper Tyume Falls which were both pretty, although they seemed to leave little impression on Harrison. He slept the whole way! The Ecoshrine is an odd concrete sculpture and garden built by an eco-friendly artist local. Whilst the artwork was not our style, the garden did offer beautiful views of the surrounding valley.
Harrison asleep in his sling whilst we had coffee at Nina's in town
The sculptures & winter garden at Ecoshrine
Views of the Hogsback from the ecoshrine
Stunning flowering magnolia tree at the ecoshrine
Our cozy chalet at the Arminel Hotel (complete with traditional thatch roof)
Views of the Hogsback from Robinson Dam
Pete & Harrison at the Madonna & Child Falls
Tyume River
Harrison taking in all to see at Upper Tyume falls!
The valley surrounding Hogsback