Pilgrimage ends on a high
Eight "pilgrims" arrived in Mossel Bay on Tuesday, 24 October, looking bright-eyed and enthusiastic, despite having completed their last stretch of a long hike.
Three of the eight had started off their two-week hike from Uniondale and the rest of the group started their five-day hike from Nature's Rest, on the Heimars River, near Oudtshoorn.
The last stretch of the hike was from Dias Beach in Mossel Bay to the St Blaize Lighthouse.
Mana Perold, daughter of Broekies Visser, who is a Mossel Bay legend, accompanied the group from Dias to the lighthouse.
It is customary with every Pilgrim of Hope hike that someone local accompanies the hikers for part of their hike. Mana is a member of the NG Moedergemeente church in Mossel Bay.
Before ending their hike at the lighthouse, the group stopped at the NG Moedergemeente church in Church Street in the town centre to enjoy coffee and partake in holy communion - bread and wine - together.
The group of eight included three friends who had known one another since their school days: Lynette Kapp, Henriette Moore and Annette van Wyk.
The full Garden Route Pilgrimage of Hope starts in Uniondale, crosses mountains and the Karoo and then traverses the coast to the lighthouse in Mossel Bay. Accommodation is provided at the end of each day and a brunch halfway through each day's hike.
In September, a group of hikers set off from the St Blaize lighthouse to the Agulhas lighthouse. This route is called the Lighthouse Pilgrimage of Hope.
The Pilgrimage of Hope hikers can be distinguished by the red hats they wear. They are all given a red hat with an embroidered lighthouse on the crown before the hike. For more information on the Garden Route hike, see: https://pelgrimstogvanhoop. com/the-garden-route/.