Thirteen friends who find joy in walking and are taking a break after a couple of decades of routine will be embarking on a tough 256km hike though the Hantam Karoo at the end of the month.
The women, who live in East London and Stutterheim, will tackle the punishing Tankwa Karoo Camino, a 10-day South African version of the Spanish pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago.
Participants walk about 25km a day along hot, dusty roads before setting up camp at night and sleeping under the stars.
Back-up trucks carry water for 10 days as well as food and camping equipment, but besides drinking water, each walker is allowed only five litres of water a day for washing due to the region’s blistering drought.
Like the tens of thousands of people who walk the Camino de Santiago every year, those who take on the bi-annual Tankwa Karoo Camino are forced to draw on their inner strengths and confront their weaknesses.
“We are going to find ourselves and to reconnect,” Brakfontein resident Debbie Tuckett, 48, said.
“I am continually striving to work out what I’m capable of and how far I can push it. When you get into uncomfortable spaces you realise what you are capable of spiritually.
“I think the harder things will get physically, the more you expand your soul.”
Tuckett said she and 12 friends had started training for the walk in November.
“We walk between 15km and 25km every Sunday around the Chintsa and Kwelera farming areas and the three Stutt girls walk there.
“Some of us, who have let their fitness levels slide over the years, have reached 45 and realised we have to look after our health and maintain our fitness, and a few women have lost a lot of weight.”
Many of her friends – businesswomen, teachers, an attorney and an estate agent – had reached the stage where their children were older or had left home, and were now on a journey of self-discovery.
Armed with sunscreen, wide-brimmed hats and anti-UV gear, the women will start walking in Calvinia on March 30 and reach Ceres 10 days later, with 48 other hikers.
“We could not do this test of will and strength without a cause, so we decided to raise funds for the wonderful Ross Helping Hands Foundation in East London,” Tuckett said. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Friends to tackle Karoo walk
The women, who live in East London and Stutterheim, will tackle the punishing Tankwa Karoo Camino, a 10-day South African version of the Spanish pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago.
Participants walk about 25km a day along hot, dusty roads before setting up camp at night and sleeping under the stars.
Back-up trucks carry water for 10 days as well as food and camping equipment, but besides drinking water, each walker is allowed only five litres of water a day for washing due to the region’s blistering drought.
Like the tens of thousands of people who walk the Camino de Santiago every year, those who take on the bi-annual Tankwa Karoo Camino are forced to draw on their inner strengths and confront their weaknesses.
“We are going to find ourselves and to reconnect,” Brakfontein resident Debbie Tuckett, 48, said.
“I am continually striving to work out what I’m capable of and how far I can push it. When you get into uncomfortable spaces you realise what you are capable of spiritually.
“I think the harder things will get physically, the more you expand your soul.”
Tuckett said she and 12 friends had started training for the walk in November.
“We walk between 15km and 25km every Sunday around the Chintsa and Kwelera farming areas and the three Stutt girls walk there.
“Some of us, who have let their fitness levels slide over the years, have reached 45 and realised we have to look after our health and maintain our fitness, and a few women have lost a lot of weight.”
Many of her friends – businesswomen, teachers, an attorney and an estate agent – had reached the stage where their children were older or had left home, and were now on a journey of self-discovery.
Armed with sunscreen, wide-brimmed hats and anti-UV gear, the women will start walking in Calvinia on March 30 and reach Ceres 10 days later, with 48 other hikers.
“We could not do this test of will and strength without a cause, so we decided to raise funds for the wonderful Ross Helping Hands Foundation in East London,” Tuckett said. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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