Heart Shaped Waterfall - Postbox Hike #1

(June 4, 2023)

On Sunday Scott and I did our first “postbox walk.” These walks are hikes through different terrains across the island and they range in difficulty on a scale of 1 - 10, there are twenty-one of them on the island and at the end of each one there is a stamp and an ink pad so that you can commemorate the hike with a stamp. The one we did over the weekend was a 3 on the scale supposedly, but didn’t feel too difficult and it was a pretty short one too.

The tree I am pointing to is an endemic species of tree that was almost eradicated at one point, but seeds were collected and continually planted and it has now returned! - it is called the St Helena Gumwood and it is endemic to St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and it is now one of the most abundant trees on the island.

The hike started on a 4x4 track that then turned into a hiking trail with steps that went down into a forest. The hike took about 45 minutes each way, and ended at the bottom of a waterfall where there was a pool with ferns and other plants that were happily growing at the foot of the waterfall. From the beginning of the hike you could see that it was heart shaped, but at the bottom it was harder to tell. It was very peaceful at the foot of the waterfall surrounded by greenery and the rock ledges rising high to meet the sky.

It was a nice little hike through the forest, and a good start to the postbox walks, which I am aiming to do all of them before we leave the island.