Hiking the Kziv River with Ori The Galilee Girl

Ori the Galilee Girl, Photo-David Hyman

Its been over a week since we returned from our day’s hike through one of Israel’s most beloved nature sites The Kziv River. I was waiting for an interesting theme to hit me so I could write a nice post, but nothing happened yet,  until this morning, when I realised that all my strongest memories from that day revolve around one of the participants, actually , the youngest member of the hikers. She is our  Seven Year old  neighbor – Ori.

Ori is the youngest daughter of our very close friends, Netta and Gilad . After three boys, they were blessed with their fourth child, Ori, who is called by everyone – Oriki. Our friends are enthusiastic hikers and travellers , and are accustomed to spontaneous whims , and so with hardly any preparations, we arranged our little outing to the kziv River.

We took the paved road down from the town of Maalot, and parked at the Ein Ziv entrance. Its a two Kilometer hike to the Tamir water source = Ein Tamir. Half way to the site, we were all joking about how much fun it is to hike only with our daughters. We too left our two boys at home, and only our thirteen year old girl, Shaked was with us. So there  we were, two couples with one daughter each.   How convenient for everyone.  On the way there, Ori was very busy taking pictures with her dad’s digital camera.

After half an hour of  hiking along beautiful autumn scenery, ancient ruins and fresh water streams , we arrived at the Ein Tamir site, and sat down for lunch. Ori is very picky with her food, she only eats certain cheese in her Pita, and her parents try very hard to please her. But when the herb tea, cooked fresh by her dad on a portable stove arrived, Oriki gulped down a few warm glasses and was ready for more.

It was time to explore the Ein Tamirwater source. This spring of natural fresh water, is at the far end of a long dark natural cave, and considered a challenge to hike through. I was looking for volunteers to explore the tunnel with me, and the two girls looked eager. So the three of us grabbed a flash light and some courage, and we entered underground through the narrow passage in the side of the mountain. The water at first reached  my  knees , but after a few meters it reached my thighs. I looked down at Ori, worried that she might be upset, and realised the the water reached her waist. Her face was glowing with excitement, and she didn’t seem to mind the dark, although I did notice  she was shivering from the cold water. We kept hiking the water tunnel until I felt that the  water was too deep, and then we started walking out again.

We arrived at our picnic site, and Ori was proudly telling her folks about her adventures. But alas, her sneakers were wet, and she insisted walking back to the car barefoot. Her parents disagreed, so a compromise was made, and she started the long hike back wearing her socks on her feet. It was very funny watching her, after ten minutes she started sufferings, but would not give up. Ten minutes later she seemed to have enough, but insisted in continuing and finally she agreed to march the last five hundred meters wearing her shoes.

On our way home  we stopped for a cup of coffee and a baklawa cake, at the village up the road. The small town of Tarshicha has a famous middle eastern bakery – Amir, with the most delicious baklawa and knaffe you can imagine. We had a sweet feast, and while we were all enjoying the black coffee , Ori was treated to a warm cup of Shoko (Chocolate milk)

The Kziv River and the Tamir water source are a wonderful destination for an autumn hike , but if your are lucky enough to be accompanied by a very skinny, blond and blue-eyed seven year-old, you will be able to see the sites and enjoy the experience through her eyes, the eyes of Ori The Galilee Girl.

David Hyman

www.davidhymanisrael.com