25 March 2020
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www.thevillagenews.co.za
Walking for Stanford’s Butterflies Writer & Photograper Taylum Meyer
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he 2020 Lighthouse 2 Lighthouse Ladies Walk took place from 12 to 15 March in aid of the Butterfly Foundation, which is currently building a school on the Stanford Hills farms of its founder, Jami Kastner. The group consisted of 122 ladies this year, many of whom already have multiple walks under their belts. Starting out on my walk for the second year running, I had to ask myself why I was doing this – apart from helping to support a local Overstrand charity, of course. I struggled with the same question last year, when we walked in aid of Camphill School Hermanus, but this time round, I realised that I was not only walking for charity, but also for myself. Plucked out of the routine of my ‘normal’ life and transported to the great outdoors for four days, the 100 km walk offered me the chance to relax mentally and to reset – something I have not had the opportunity to do in quite a while. While it was still physically challenging and my body was pretty tired when I returned home, my mind was at ease and I felt ready to face the real world again. Perhaps the most therapeutic part of the experience was getting away from technology (there was often no cellphone reception along the walk or at camp) and the daily stresses of my job. My fellow walkers and I were mostly blissfully unaware of the status of COVID-19 over those four days. South Africa was just starting to report its first few cases, and if the walk had been scheduled for only a week later, it probably would have had to be postponed or even cancelled. The event was even more special than usual this year as we were joined for the first time by Jami Kastner, whose Butterfly Centre is the main beneficiary for 2020. Jami addressed all of us on the second evening and told her emotional and inspirational story, saying that this walk was a personal pilgrimage for her. She has big plans for the Butterfly Centre and thanked all the ladies for helping her turn her dreams into a reality.
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This was also the first year that L2L, with the help of their main sponsor, Spar, elected an ambassador – former international netball player, Vanes-Mari du Toit, who is not only down to earth with a great sense of humour, but is also patient and kind, and very involved in charity work. Vanes-Mari is married to the assistant forwards rugby coach for England, Matthew Proudfoot, who was also the assistant coach for the Springboks at last year’s Rugby World Cup. Each morning we woke at 05:30 for a delicious breakfast (with everything from oats and fruit, to muffins and croissants) and by 07:00 were on the bus en route to the starting point of the next day’s walk. Day 1 started at Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, where representatives of SANParks and Spar were waiting to see us off. After a quick group photo in front of the lighthouse, we set off on the 18 km walk to Brandfontein. The terrain was challenging, with soft sand and loose rocks hindering our progress, but on the last stretch to Brandfontein there was a beautiful beach with hard sand which was lovely to walk on.
committee handed out spot prizes for the worst blisters, best attitude, youngest and oldest walkers (yours truly, at 24, and Leslie Clarke, at 79 years respectively), and other fun ‘categories’. Day 4 started at Pearly Beach and ended at Danger Point Lighthouse in Gansbaai (27 km), where Overstrand Mayor, Dudley Coetzee, L2L Patron, Nicolette Johnson, the learners from The Butterfly Centre and several of our sponsors were waiting for us with shiny medals and sparkling wine.
The walkers stopped at Buffeljagsbaai on Day 3 where L2L has helped to fund proper classrooms for the Seestrerretjies Crèche.
After all the speeches, we left by bus for the last 1 km of our walk from the mouth of the Klein River Estuary to Grotto Beach, where our loved ones were waiting. It is always an emotional moment for the ladies when they are reunited with friends and family, and all around me couples were embracing and children running into their mothers’ arms. I think L2L has become part of my life now and I’ll be back for my third walk next year. And I will no longer be wondering why I am doing this.
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After getting onto the busses waiting for us at Brandfontein, we headed for Die Damme, where we were accommodated for the three nights of the walk, and got busy unpacking and settling in while enjoying hot coffee from The Beanery Hermanus (a treat we enjoyed every day). Evening came around quickly and at 18:00 we were served delicious chicken pie and salads from The Eatery Hermanus (we ate very well on the walk!). The next morning it was back to Brandfontein for the second part of our walk, which ended at our camp after a 19km trek. We were blessed with beautiful weather and gorgeous beaches and a few of the ladies even took a dip in the ocean. The Eatery provided us with a hearty lasagne for dinner, and we all had an early night to get enough rest ahead of the gruelling third day. At 29 km, Day 3 covers the longest distance of the four days. As the ladies do every year, we stopped at Buffeljagsbaai to visit the Seesterretjies Crèche, which had just moved into its new classrooms thanks to funding from Lighthouse 2 Lighthouse. This year three of the teachers from the crèche joined us for the first part of the walk from Die Damme to Buffeljagsbaai. A warm welcome with watermelon and singing children awaited us at the crèche and we all took a moment to relax before setting off on the rest of the day’s walk to Pearly Beach. Here we enjoyed ice creams – the best Magnum I ever had! – before taking the bus back to camp. Dinner that evening was fish and chips and complimentary wine from Ocean Basket Hermanus, followed by a ‘prizegiving’. The L2L
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1. L2L Chairperson, Ronelle van Zyl enjoying some music on Day 3. 2. Day 2's windy walk ended at Brandfontein. 3. Mayor of the Overstrand, Dudley Coetzee, with the Kastner family, Jami, Peter and Jack. 4. Local Caz Flynn (left) , with L2L Ambassador, Vanes-Mari du Toit (Proudfoot).
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