Hiking, South African Break Aways

HIKING – Oorlogskloof: 5-Day Hiking Trail (Nieuwoudtville, SA) Night 2

October 2021

Day 2 of our Oorlogskloof Hiking Trail will follow shortly … but the second night on the trail definitely deserves to be a post on its own!

The night of horror!

We went to bed at around 21:00 and the moment we turned off the lights, we heard little footsteps … like in mouse footsteps! Switched our headlights on to check, but nothing. Lights off and ‘tippy-tippy-tippy’ it goes again. Lights back on, nothing.

This continued for about an hour, until Berto decided it must be a busy mouse (or mice) on the roof, because we can’t see them on the floor. But trying to sleep with all of this commotion was almost impossible. And, so it continued until almost 3:00 the next morning – we falling asleep for a couple of minutes and then wide awake again with our 4-legged ‘friend(s)’ running like mad!

Then it got quiet … or maybe we were just so tired that we did not hear anything further.

When our alarm went off at 6:00, we could hardly open our eyes … until we smelled something familiar (a nice smell, but not necessarily early in the morning) … WINE!

I took my 1l wine box out of my backpack last night (because that’s packed on top) and left it on the table … it was still full last night, but now it was almost empty! Wine on the table and on the floor … and a few small bite marks on the side of the box. Yes, the mouse (or mice) were in the house! And they had a royal time:

  • Drank my wine,
  • Ate half of the one packet of Game powder (energy drink), and
  • Stole one of my tea bags!

At first, we could not believe our eyes! Then thought how to rescue the last bit of wine, but alas, I was not sure what else (except for wine) was left over in the box, so I throw the last bit out. Like a friend said, you can always replace water (by sipping dew drops from leaves early in the morning), but how do you replace wine in the Wilderness?

Well, I’m not sure how the mouse and his friends feel this morning … but my backpack is suddenly 1kg lighter!

My (empty) box of wine – do you see the little eye? The bite marks are on the right of that …

Ok, that was quite a long story … but I just had to tell it! We had a good laugh and when the day got tough on the trail, Berto would just mention the word “mice” and I would start laughing again!

We will see you shortly on the trail for our 2nd day!

You can read about Day 2 here

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61 thoughts on “HIKING – Oorlogskloof: 5-Day Hiking Trail (Nieuwoudtville, SA) Night 2”

  6. I’m sorry you didn’t get a good nights sleep, it’s vital to rest your feet and body while out hiking and exploring the great outdoors, but this is a hilarious story, and you’ll be laughing about it in the years to come! I once read that mice have very strong teeth that can chew through a variety of materials, and once a mouse gets indoors, it may create holes in furniture, cabinets, and baseboards. It can also chew on the rubber insulation that surrounds electrical wires., imagine that! Anyway, making memories and having fun is what outdoor adventures is all about! Thanks for sharing and have a lovely day 🙂 Aiva xx

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    1. When I think back on it now, it’s quite hilarious (although I didn ‘t think so at the time 😉). Yes, I’ve heard mice chew on anything – it’s amazing what those little teeth can do! And you’re absolutely right about making memories – we will remember this incident forever when we think back to our Oorlogskloof hike 😁. Thank you for reading and hope you have a wonderful day too. Corna

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  7. That’s too funny. Sounds like the mice had quite the party!! I had no idea that they were even interested in wine. Good to know for the next time I’m in the backcountry. A bad night’s sleep I can handle, but the lack of wine …?

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    1. 😅 Maybe they thought there was something else in the wine box … or maybe they were just plain bad mice! At least my husband was willing to share some of his wine from the (newly appointed) wine bladder – a good thing we both took some wine 😉.

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    1. That wine bladder was probably the best investment ever on this hiking trip 😁 … from now on, we will pack that first! And yes, we did made all sorts of plans with our food for the next 4 days … but it looked like the mice were only “active” at our first hut!

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  10. This is a great story 😂 I have to wonder how the mouse (mice?) felt after drinking the wine – I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a drunk mouse!! But at least your backpack was lighter, so there is a silver lining to the tale. I have to add how much it reminds me of our own ‘mouse mishap’ in Senegal (https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/the-tragic-tale-of-a-senegalese-mouse/) which I know you read at the time of posting 🙂

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    1. Haha Sarah 😂, I remember that story well (just read it again now) … and had to admire your stunning photo’s on this post again! Maybe all that running we heard in the early morning hours, was in fact how a drunk mouse sounds! Yes, the lighter backpack was for sure a bonus (especially on a very tough second day)!

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    1. Angela, that was indeed a great party (and they did not even invite us 😅). If I knew they were close to wine, I would definitely left them your suggested cheese and grape! But you’re right (in hindsight), it was quite funny 😂.

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      1. I’m sure there was a great party and they should sing on the end 🤣🤣or you can seat together around fire pit and sing.
        It was funny story and it lift my mood up 😀😀👍

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  14. Pingback: OORLOGSKLOOF (Day 2) – Wet and Dusty Roads

  20. I’m so sorry to hear about your disruptive sleep but what a story! It sounds like the mice were nesting and collecting food, not sure about the wine 🙂 the teabag make sense though for the material used for nesting.

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    1. Henrietta, on ‘normal’ days I need a good nights’ rest … so you can imagine how I felt after this night and still had to hike 11 hours! So, you are the clever one that knows why the mouse stole my teabag 😁 … I couldn’t figure it out! Thanks for popping in (and giving clarity on the movements of the mouse/mice).

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  25. Pingback: HIKING – Oorlogskloof (Day 1) – Wet and Dusty Roads

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