Pipe track ramble

Another sparkling winter's day on the mountain! A light southeaster brought the odd cloud to the southern Peninsula with showers, but we were walking along the pipe track above Camps Bay and only had a spit and a spot as we finished our walk. The clouds were cottonwool cumulus and snowy white, reflecting in the glassy sea below, where ships passed on the distant horizon and small fishing boats were visible as their wakes parted behind them. The deep shade of the Twelve Apostles kept us cool as we made our way along the easy gravel track from Kloofnek, with the odd ascent and descent as we passed through the ravines separating the buttresses. Strangely, there were no streams except in the first ravine, and the rocky river beds further on were dry - our rainfall is still way below the average for winter and drought lurks still. Further on the path becomes very rocky and you have to tread carefully to avoid a twisted ankle or worse, and old wash-aways have necessitated diversions that are narrow and slippery when wet.

The pipe track was built in 1887 to service the pipeline (still there, with newly installed valves and other equipment all along the track) bringing water from the Disa River on Table Mountain's Back Table through the mountain via the Woodhead tunnel to Slangolie Ravine (not for slouches!) and eventually Molteno Reservoir on the front slope in Oranjezicht. One can only marvel at the work done in those early years, without modern machinery, in this rocky terrain with sheer ravines.

It was a popular walk today, with a number of other hikers (more like runners!) overtaking us along the way, and not being seen again for the duration of our 3-hour walk, but they were about 50 years younger than us! We met a German man who was passing the time before his flight home - he thought a walk along the pipe track would be a fine idea before sitting on a plane a few hours later! Casual longs, a good shirt, normal shoes - dressed for travelling, not hiking, and no water or backpack - a sensible man who doesn't waste a moment, it seems.

The flowers are really starting to appear now, and in a few weeks we will be in for a treat at Spring shows off on the mountains of the Peninsula. In the meantime, we are enjoying warm winter walks under blue and white skies - a little bit of paradise!