By Emily Setona
BLOEMFONTEIN – Turning 50 didn’t slow Pamela Mayiyane down. It gave her a bigger mountain to climb. The Bloemfontein resident is preparing to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, with 5 other Free State women from 22 September to 4 October.
For Mayiyane, the Tanzania expedition will be the highlight of her hiking journey so far.
“I honestly do not know how I feel right now. At the moment, I am just going through the preparation plans as best as I can,” the 50-year old said.
She turned 50 in January. Since joining Maoto Mpe Ke Tswa Hole Hiking Club in 2022, she has tackled some of Southern Africa’s toughest trails.
Her CV reads like a hiker’s bucket list: Royal Natal and Sentinel in the Drakensberg, Moshoeshoe Walk in Lesotho, Amatola Trail, Fish River Canyon in Namibia, Tsitsikamma, 14 Peaks, and Rhebok in Clarens.
What started as a love for walking grew into a passion for endurance, nature and community.
“Walking has always been my favourite activity. Being part of Maoto just enhanced and sharpened the already existing passion,” Mayiyane said.
“I have met and hiked with amazing people who are passionate about nature, cleanliness, peacefulness, challenge, endurance, good laughter and plain sense of camaraderie.”
For her club, hiking is not just about summits. Members run clean-up campaigns and donate sanitary towels and school shoes to communities.
Her boots have already crossed borders into Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia. Now it’s Kilimanjaro.
Mayiyane says she respects the physical and mental demands of “Kili”, and is focused on preparation.
For her, reaching Uhuru Peak won’t just be another tick on the list.
It will be proof that 50 is not the end of the road. It’s the beginning of another chapter — and another mountain to climb.
