Trekking up to Kanonkop

One good reason to join a hiking group is that it gives you the opportunity to walk among the fynbos and fauna of Cape Point nature reserve. Without the discipline of having to show up and keep going despite all odds, I would never have seen things from the footpaths and would have been confined to a view through the windscreen or the occasional baboon-infested braai down at Buffels Bay. Today we were lucky to only see a large herd of eland grazing peacefully in the distance and a male ostrich accompanying two of his ladies down to the beach. Oh, and three very shy tortoises.
The circular walk from the information centre up to Kanonkop, down to the beach and back up the road was about 7km, and relentlessly uphill in places, with a very steep descent, but the view down to Cape Point, across to Hangklip and Danger Point in the far, far distance, made every step worthwhile.

A cluster of fishing boats from Kalk Bay was close to shore in near perfect conditions, and a whale waved its tail nearby. I'm still waiting to hear from a fishing friend what was being caught, but presume it was yellowtail, if not too early in the season.




The 'kanon' on Kanonkop was put there in about 1804 to send a warning signal to Simon's Town of any ships approaching. It was definitely an era when time moved slowly and it probably took a day for a sailing vessel to get from Cape Point to Simon's Town, ample time for the troops to muster for whatever action they deemed necessary. The mind boggles when considering how the small but still incredibly heavy cannon was brought to the top of the mountain, as it is liberally littered with rocks and boulders, preventing even the most rudimentary road from being established.

The flowers were once again a joy to behold, with many more varieties than seen on Red Hill, but the main characteristic was that they were generally very small, no doubt an adaptation to the harsh conditions experienced on this exposed part of the Peninsula.

Each flower less than 1cm

Zoom in!

Includes ant!