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The Fynbos Finders

CapeDoc

By CapeDoc
in South Africa

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besem

besem

Posted
Posted

The time has come for Besem's Grand Muizenberg Caching Spree! I will be visiting Muizenberg from 9-17 July, and I will have the days of 10-12 July available for caching. The plan so far is to spend a day doing the Silvermine caches (puzzle ridge in particular) and finally bagging Sentinel View and another day doing other caches in the area.

 

...

 

I have arrived in the Western Cape and while the weather has played havoc with my initial plans, Monday turned out to be the perfect day for caching in Silvermine. Crisp cool day with virtually no wind. I haven't solved all the puzzle ridge caches, so I was in no hurry to find as many as I can, since I plan to come back for the other puzzles - if I managed to solve them, that is. q: I started off by finding the first waypoint of "Follow the Dog!" and then proceeding up the hill to the two puzzles I did manage to solve. Up to the elephant's eye, then to his other eye and down to Sentinel View and from there back to the car. I still had the legs to climb a hill or two, but I wanted to show my girlfriend the Chapman's Peak drive, and time was running out.

 

I'll do a cache or two in the next few days, but my conference is keeping me busy until 18:00 each day, so it'll have to be nightcaching! And of course the cache "Muizenberg Multi #2" which is around the corner from AIMS, where my conference is (I've already found the first couple of stages in the break over lunch). Ooh! And I see that "Muizenberg Multi #1" has been replaced! Thank you SawaSawa! :)

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Gr8Scot

+Gr8Scot

Posted
Posted

Just over six weeks ago the family and I had a brief brush with being lost on Table Mountain. We got caught by the darkness while decending through Newlands Forest after finding Jonathan's Log. At the time I had three maps loaded in the GPS, none of which showed many trails in that area of the mountain. As a result of this experience, I decided to see what I could do to improve the Open Street Map of the mountain tracks and trails.

 

Pooks put me in touch with Larks, and he kindly sent me a fantastic set of gpx data covering the whole of the TMNP, which he had built up with the intention of creating a similar map to what I was trying to acheive. With Pooks' help I was able to convert the data into a form that could be uploaded to OSM. For the past few weeks I've been incorporating the traces onto the map and it's now reached a point where the area from Constantia Neck to Signal Hill is complete.

 

The next step is to have the map tested by people familiar with this area of the TMNP and this is where I would like to ask for some help. I'd like some feedback on the map's accuracy, trail names, POI's that need added, warnings about dangerous sections, etc.

 

I've compiled a Garmin img file suitable for upload to the likes of the Oregon and Dakota (and others?) and can also make the files needed for Mapsource uploads to older models available. If anyone is willing to assist with the testing of the map, please contact me so that I can send the files to you. Can anyone suggest a file sharing site to which I could upload the files to make things even easier?

 

Here is a link to the OSM map of the area so that you can get an idea of the information that's now available

 

TMNP on OSM

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trevorh7000

+trevorh7000

Posted
Posted

 

I've compiled a Garmin img file suitable for upload to the likes of the Oregon and Dakota (and others?) and can also make the files needed for Mapsource uploads to older models available. If anyone is willing to assist with the testing of the map, please contact me so that I can send the files to you. Can anyone suggest a file sharing site to which I could upload the files to make things even easier?

 

Here is a link to the OSM map of the area so that you can get an idea of the information that's now available

 

TMNP on OSM

 

 

Did you take a snapshot of the map before you added your data - so we can see what you did? Always nice to see the difference.

 

How big is your data - I presume quite small if you just selected the area of Table Mountain.

 

Have a look at Dropbox - it has a public shared folder and you get 2GIG storage for free. Also your testers can install Dropbox and they will get your updates as soon as you drop them in your public dropbox.

 

Trev

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Gr8Scot

+Gr8Scot

Posted
Posted

 

Did you take a snapshot of the map before you added your data - so we can see what you did? Always nice to see the difference.

 

How big is your data - I presume quite small if you just selected the area of Table Mountain.

 

Have a look at Dropbox - it has a public shared folder and you get 2GIG storage for free. Also your testers can install Dropbox and they will get your updates as soon as you drop them in your public dropbox.

 

Trev

 

I didn't take a snapshot, but I have a map that I downloaded form OSM before I started. Just got to figure out how to show a comparison of the two, as in a zoom that would fit on a page, a lot of the detail disappears. Most of the trails I added were in the Cecelia, Kirstenbosch, Newlands, Devils Peak areas and then along the Atlantic side. Also Signal Hill and Suikerbossie. Most of the Back Table was already there, but a few links between paths were added as well as the path up from Kloof Nek around the back of the table to the top.

 

The image file is about 0.5Meg when zipped, so pretty small.

 

Thanks, I'll look into Dropbox. It sounds like the right sort of thing.

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the pooks

+the pooks

Posted
Posted

Re Table mountain OSM maps: I am most pleased with all the collaborative effort going on here. I've had much good use from Lark's excellent maps of the paths and tracks on Table Mountain and with the OSM enthusiasm from gr8scot and some footwork and linkage on my part these maps become available on OSM (which is accessible on any/most smartphones via GClive - I think). There was a query re the admissability of the tracks but as they tracks were personally and independantly surveyed by the originator and they are used with permission, I would think that query has been sorted. In my experience so far I have found the tracks that gr8scot are referring to to be very accurate.

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CapeDoc

+CapeDoc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Here is a link to the OSM map of the area so that you can get an idea of the information that's now available

Wow that looks like quite an improvement.

Having a quick look, there is still plenty missing. Some of the tracks from Larks that I have walked, that are missing...Agatha's Gully, Caveman's and Hole in the wall, and quite a few more. Will discuss with Pooks.

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Gr8Scot

+Gr8Scot

Posted
Posted

 

Wow that looks like quite an improvement.

Having a quick look, there is still plenty missing. Some of the tracks from Larks that I have walked, that are missing...Agatha's Gully, Caveman's and Hole in the wall, and quite a few more. Will discuss with Pooks.

 

Thanks Doc.

 

If you (or anyone else) has gpx traces that you are willing to share, please send them to me and I'll add them.

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the pooks

+the pooks

Posted
Posted

 

Wow that looks like quite an improvement.

Having a quick look, there is still plenty missing. Some of the tracks from Larks that I have walked, that are missing...Agatha's Gully, Caveman's and Hole in the wall, and quite a few more. Will discuss with Pooks.

 

Thanks Doc.

 

If you (or anyone else) has gpx traces that you are willing to share, please send them to me and I'll add them.

 

I recommend that tracks like Caveman's Overhang, Hole in the Wall and Agatha's Gully are not put on OSM as one could end up with inexperienced people coming unstuck - the tracks look all too friendly and flat on OSM. Just thinking of the accident in Skeleton Gorge during the world cup and the accident earlier this year on India Venster. The OSM tracks should be pretty safe and accessible - and leave the more exposed routes to those who have more experience, or accompanying people with more experience.

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tomtwogates

+tomtwogates

Posted
Posted

 

Wow that looks like quite an improvement.

Having a quick look, there is still plenty missing. Some of the tracks from Larks that I have walked, that are missing...Agatha's Gully, Caveman's and Hole in the wall, and quite a few more. Will discuss with Pooks.

 

Thanks Doc.

 

If you (or anyone else) has gpx traces that you are willing to share, please send them to me and I'll add them.

 

I recommend that tracks like Caveman's Overhang, Hole in the Wall and Agatha's Gully are not put on OSM as one could end up with inexperienced people coming unstuck - the tracks look all too friendly and flat on OSM. Just thinking of the accident in Skeleton Gorge during the world cup and the accident earlier this year on India Venster. The OSM tracks should be pretty safe and accessible - and leave the more exposed routes to those who have more experience, or accompanying people with more experience.

 

I agree with Pooks on this one - keep the more difficult stuff off the OSM and just give it out to folk who you know can do it - this is why those routes were left off the old "Official TM" map a few years ago.

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Gr8Scot

+Gr8Scot

Posted
Posted

This all sounds like good advice. The last thing I want is someone getting into trouble by following a dangerous route. Hence my request for those in the know to check the map for me and let me know of any suggested changes.

 

I just got permission from Mountain Meanders to include their gpx files into the OSM map as well. So I've plenty more work to do.

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Gr8Scot

+Gr8Scot

Posted
Posted (edited)

I just found this nifty site that lets you create a pdf of any area of the OSM map that can be printed and taken along on a hike. Either to be used as a backup paper map or to make notes on that can be used with a GPS trace later when updating the OSM map. For example, here's the area we walked last week. On the way down we were debating which route to take and it's sometimes hard to get an overview of an area on the small GPS screen.

 

Could also be useful as a link in a cache description to describe the best route to a mountain cache. E.g. Moss and Tears, Spilhaus or The Girl's Route in this case

Edited by gr8scot
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tomtwogates

+tomtwogates

Posted
Posted

Thought I'd share this - went past my Toll View cache on Tuesday and met some of the Parks folk clearing the path near East Fort - checked the log and the last entry was to the tune of - We are the folk that built this path - enjoy the view! The cache had been closed and hidden away again - so maybe the covering note about "if you find this by accident" really works. Thanks to the parks people for a job well done!

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Gr8Scot

+Gr8Scot

Posted
Posted

 

I just got permission from Mountain Meanders to include their gpx files into the OSM map as well. So I've plenty more work to do.

 

Silvermine North area is now complete. Here is a link to the OSM page. I'll have the .img file containing both the back table and this area available shortly for anyone who is interested. Moving on to Silvermine South next.

 

As ever, please send me any input, corrections, gpx tracks of these paths, etc.

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Gr8Scot

+Gr8Scot

Posted
Posted

If you look at the Table Mountain Parks brochure handed out at Silvermine they talk about Silvermine West (the dam side) and Silvermine East (the waterfall side) checked Slingsby and he does not label - maybe this should be standardized?

 

You are correct. The above should read Silvermine West.

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Gr8Scot

+Gr8Scot

Posted
Posted (edited)

I've now completed Silvermine East, so all the tracks I currently have have been added to the OSM map.

 

To take a look at what's included, go here

 

I've created two Garmin .img files of the area from the Cape Town Harbour to Clovelly and west of the Blue Route. This includes the whole of the TMNP as well as all roads, etc. One is routeable (1Mb) and the other (.5Mb) isn't. These can be uploaded directly to the newer Garmin GPS's. There is also a Mapsource installer for older Garmins for the routeable version. I hope to soon be able to create the maps for other makes as well.

 

The files are downloadable from the links below:

 

Non-routable TMNP

Routable TMNP

Mapsource installer

 

Please send me ANY feedback, especially if you find something wrong :anicute:

Edited by gr8scot
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MnCo

MnCo

Posted
Posted

Is there anyone that is thinking about this one?

GC2G0ZA

Methinks a group effort is needed.

It is safer to do in a group I suppose, and...

One can't sheepishly turn around like you would if you were alone...

 

Any takers? Any ideas?

 

Could be a fun day out, with plenty of other caches to do along the way.

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Getheron

+Getheron

Posted
Posted

I've now completed Silvermine East, so all the tracks I currently have have been added to the OSM map.

 

To take a look at what's included, go here

 

I've created two Garmin .img files of the area from the Cape Town Harbour to Clovelly and west of the Blue Route. This includes the whole of the TMNP as well as all roads, etc. One is routeable (1Mb) and the other (.5Mb) isn't. These can be uploaded directly to the newer Garmin GPS's. There is also a Mapsource installer for older Garmins for the routeable version. I hope to soon be able to create the maps for other makes as well.

 

The files are downloadable from the links below:

 

Non-routable TMNP

Routable TMNP

Mapsource installer

 

Please send me ANY feedback, especially if you find something wrong :)

 

Hi Gr8scot, I gave a Nuvi 500 and will try to test your .img files.

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trevorh7000

+trevorh7000

Posted
Posted (edited)
From Cape Town it is 175km, going through the Tunnel and then turning South at Worchester.

Two hours plus extra time for roadside caches.

 

 

Ok Where we will we meet up - no point everyone going in their own car,. My bakkie can take 2 and is not scared to travel - but if theres space in a car all the better to reduce the carbon foot print!

 

Trev

Edited by trevorh7000
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Henzz

+Henzz

Posted
Posted
Ok Where we will we meet up - no point everyone going in their own car,. My bakkie can take 2 and is not scared to travel - but if theres space in a car all the better to reduce the carbon foot print!

 

How 'bout we meet up at the Wild Fig... That is fairly central... The cars staying behind would be safe, and everybody will have a short hop home from there when we get back...

 

I have space for 3 in my car...

We could maybe meet up at let's say 09h00...

Then there is more than enough time to stop at some caches along the way...

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MnCo

MnCo

Posted
Posted
Ok Where we will we meet up - no point everyone going in their own car,. My bakkie can take 2 and is not scared to travel - but if theres space in a car all the better to reduce the carbon foot print!

 

How 'bout we meet up at the Wild Fig... That is fairly central... The cars staying behind would be safe, and everybody will have a short hop home from there when we get back...

 

I have space for 3 in my car...

We could maybe meet up at let's say 09h00...

Then there is more than enough time to stop at some caches along the way...

 

And for those meeting there, at the cache, 1pm as previously suggested?

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trevorh7000

+trevorh7000

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

How 'bout we meet up at the Wild Fig... That is fairly central... The cars staying behind would be safe, and everybody will have a short hop home from there when we get back...

 

I have space for 3 in my car...

We could maybe meet up at let's say 09h00...

Then there is more than enough time to stop at some caches along the way...

 

And for those meeting there, at the cache, 1pm as previously suggested?

 

Meeting at the Wild Fig will be fine. There is plenty of secure parking there. Meeting at the cache at 13h00 sounds fine for those heading alone or making other plans - but no sneaking into the tunnel before the rest of us get there!!!!

 

Any thing special needed for this cache apart from a towel and some dry clothes for afterwards?

 

Trev

Edited by trevorh7000
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Henzz

+Henzz

Posted
Posted
Any thing special needed for this cache apart from a towel and some dry clothes for afterwards?

 

Some Surf-and-Diving shops offer Wetsuits for hire.

And from what I hear it is not too expensive.

I'll be going around some in my area tomorrow to find out about it.

 

Spending a fair amount of time in freezing cold mountain river water in just your shorts could be looking for trouble..

 

Waterproof Headlamps.

 

An ice cold beer in a cooler box for afterwards.

 

Good Company. :lol:

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Henzz

+Henzz

Posted
Posted
Some Surf-and-Diving shops offer Wetsuits for hire.

And from what I hear it is not too expensive.

 

Spoke to my local surfer dude this morning...

I explained our little adventure to him, and here is the deal...

 

Go with the surfing wetsuit, as it is more flexible than the rigid diving suit.

Make sure it fits you like a glove before leaving...

You don't want a too big/too small wetsuit when you get there..

We should be all right for up to about 3 hours..

Cost... R150.00 per 24 hour period..

If your surfer dude is cool, you too can pick it up Saturday afternoon, and return it Monday morning..

 

Cheers.

Hennie.

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trevorh7000

+trevorh7000

Posted
Posted
Some Surf-and-Diving shops offer Wetsuits for hire.

 

We should be all right for up to about 3 hours..

Cost... R150.00 per 24 hour period..

 

 

I have emailed capeccr and he said he did it in a pair of shorts - he said the water is not too cold - but then capeccr did swim at clifton in the middle of winter with the bug Polar Bear Swim...........

 

I'll not be using a wetsuit. Also if it is gonna take three hours I think we will be in more trouble than just getting a little cold!!!!!

 

So what is the plan - who is coming?

 

Trev

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malo mystery

+malo mystery

Posted
Posted (edited)

So we have Trev, Henzz & ..........

 

MnCo (including mini-me) and SawaSawa will be meeting you there.

 

and malo mystery

 

I was once told that the water at Clifton is actually warmer in winter than it is in summer, I have not tried it in winter so can not confirm that.

Edited by malo mystery
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