There's been a heatwave in Cape Town, but still we hike! Today it was fractionally cooler than yesterday's 39 degrees in the shade, and I studied every available weather forecast to ensure that the temperature around Lion's Head would be manageable. A northwesterly drift in from the sea was predicted to keep temperatures at 24, with the Cape Flats and Winelands soaring to the mid-30s again. So all good. We walked here two weeks ago in another group, but today only 6 turned up (they obviously thought it too hot), and to ring the changes, we walked in the opposite direction. This meant that the steep uphill section would be at noon with no shade to speak of. Oh well.
After Tuesday's exhausting yet quickly recovered from scramble to the top of Vlakkenberg, this was a doddle. The sea was like a pond, with patches of smoothness so still that it reflected the pale blue sky, amid swirls of disturbance creating an effect of oil on water. Tankers waited patiently in the roadstead, sunbathers dotted the beaches far below, and the sea was a clear turquoise, the result of a few days of fierce southeaster.
The walk was not at all tiring despite quite high steps on the uphill and it seems as though my fitness levels are good! Perspiration levels were also high towards the end as the sun beat down on us relentlessly. Maybe the clockwise walk is wiser!
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