Howick Meander
8 hikers, 14km, approximately 4.5 hours, Grade 2
Sunday morning was cold and with slight drizzle, but 8 hardy souls pitched up at 08h15 outside Maggie’s Tea Room for the 2ns Howick Meander of 2022. Hiking in the Symmonds Stream Conservancy, Beacon Hill and Umgeni River Walk.
Team members were:
Rona Lang
Peter Wedge
Ali Engelbrecht with Willow (this young Alsatian – very friendly and energetic)
Kate Brown
Dave Langstone
Bheki Gcumisa
Margaret Ashton
Keith Ashton (photographer)
Bheki Gcumisa – Bheki is a new member, and it was good to see him participating so soon after he joined Midlands Hiking Club. Bheki and his Mpophomeni Youth Group had done a lot of cleaning of the Symmonds Stream walk after Alfred Zuma and Liz Taylor had done some valuable initial cleaning work.
We set off from Maggie’s with the path now clear in terms of viewing where to walk but there is still a lot of exotic plants, bug weed etc which needs to be eradicated in due course.
The path runs alongside the stream, but the original walk continued by the gated communities off Gush Avenue – this part (approx. 750m) still needs clearing. However, the new temporary path crosses the wetland area and then returns to the original walk and comes out by the old bridge over the stream at the end of Andrew Street. This is a part of Howick rarely seen by people and some of the houses are rather quaint in design – probably the habitat of artists and hobbyists?
The stream walk then skirts the new Stables development alongside an electrified fence and exits onto Gush Avenue. This part of the walk takes about 30 mins and if its possible to get Nikki Brighton – well known botanist – it could be very rewarding in terms of the myriad trees and bushes which align the streams flow with her knowledge of their uses for both culinary and medical uses.
We walked then up Curry’s Post Road for about 1,5kms and crossed over just before the Municipal Tip and up the grassland area to Beacon Hill where we had a 15-minute break to take in the panoramic view of Howick, Midmar Dam, Mpophomeni, Hilton etc.
For people who haven’t been up Beacon Hill it’s a real gem and Eve Hughes of the Beacon Hill Conservancy regularly takes a small group to the top for the glorious views.
We then descended down to Lake View Road and along the Howick Main Road for about 1km and then past the High School and down to the Umgeni River.
The river walk is kept in good condition and regularly mowed by the River Conservancy Group led by Bill Speight, a long-standing Howick resident. There are also several river view sites with welcome benches for a 10 min reflection of river life.
Unfortunately, the complete river walk is no longer possible as the original exit point about 2 to 3 kms from the Scout Hall is now blocked off – there is a new proposed development so you can only walk about 50% of the original track. However, it’s still a peaceful and worthwhile experience.
We left the river walk before the Mills Falls and then back into Howick town after approximately 2 kms of urban roads and then retired to the Village restaurant for coffee and a well-earned rest.
About 14kms in total and with further input from WESSA staff to complete the stream walk – this is a valuable Howick asset which needs to be maintained.
These additional photos were taken on a previous occasion on the same hike led by Peter
Approximate route
