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Thanks for this lovely welcome-home note. I’ve circulated it to the group I hiked with, and this is the consolidated feedback:

WHAT WORKED REALLY WELL

  • Communications. The fact that the GoBaviaans team were so wonderfully responsive to emails, calls, and inquiries; and so proactive in sharing material that helped us prepare properly. Even this after-the-fact mail is an example of this; and the Facebook page was a great resource.
  • The great care taken to mark the paths – very reassuring to those who’re less confident in their wayfinding ability. There was a real sweetness in this evidence of care taken.
  • Giving Willem host responsibility.
  • The campsites – beautifully laid out, and a real lure to sleeping in the open.
  • The labyrinth. Most of walked it, and one of our party, who lives on a Karoo farm, was inspired to build one herself.

 

SUGGESTIONS

  • Give more focus to the “back story” of the social impact intentions of the hike. It’s a lovely story, and a bit of a feelgood for hikers.
  • In the showers and loos (which are also sometimes changing rooms), it would be helpful to have some hooks (nails hammered into the wood) for hanging towels, clothes, etc
  • If we had done this hike in cold weather, cold showers would have been hopelessly intimidating. Perhaps gas-heated showers? It’s a luxury not out of place in slackpacking, and could increase take-up. But we LOVED those showers.
  • Most of us are keen recyclers, and were disappointed that although this is clearly part of your own way of being, we didn’t have options in the camps to separate recyclables from organic (compostable) waste from non-compostable organics. Would this be an option?
  • When you build the huts, we think you should retain the campsites to give hikers the option (and the greater privacy of some distance is a lure).
  • Again, when you build the huts, we’d suggest putting Camp 2 at base camp, rather than a small distance away, as this could potentially increase take-up by making two-day hikes possible.

I think that’s it. Thank you, again, for a wonderful week.