A clamber at Cape Point

We are finally into official Spring and to celebrate the new season, our hiking group went down to Cape Point to scale the heights overlooking the lighthouses. Of course, it was a cold and windy day with light scattered rain, not what we envisaged for Spring, but miracles do happen and although we got damp while mulling the situation over at the entrance gate, by the time we had driven down to the Point, it had cleared slightly. It is always a relief to make the right decision to hike even when it looks bad, as the alternative - a day without a hike - is too awful to contemplate!
The hike covers the end (or beginning) of the Hoerikwagga Trail that runs along the Peninsula from Table Mountain to Cape Point and our coffee break destination was the overnight hut overlooking the Buffels Bay area of the reserve. A gentle uphill wound through dense vegetation, with glimpses of the rocky ledges far below and white water swirling at the edges. The view across False Bay, usually so breathtaking, was conspicuous by its absence, hidden behind a fairly constant curtain of rain which blew southwards away from us. A watery sun broke through the overhead cloud cover from time to time and the fresh northwester still awaited us on the other side of the ridge.
Soon the trail turned into a rock scramble, where both hands had to be used to haul ourselves up through narrow openings and large boulders, typical of the sandstone mountains where weathering has broken and tumbled the terrain. I find this much more enjoyable than a flat walk and especially a flat incline, as it is easier to pull myself up with thigh muscles than whatever else it is we use for ordinary walking! But I don't think many others enjoyed it too much, finding it 'invigorating' and 'arduous'!
As we crested the ridge and began the descent towards the hut, we felt the full force of the cool wind, but still the rain swept away on either side of us and left us dry with patches of sun and a lovely view over the western coastline, Bellows Rock, and the impressive reefs off Cape Maclear far below. Nearly two hours after setting off, we reached the hut - not that far as the crow flies, but a good few kilometres up hill and dale. After the descent, which was quite hard on the knees, it was mutually agreed to cut the walk by an hour and go for a convivial lunch instead, and so we returned to the car park by way of the road rather than the beach and cliff climb we had planned. Not ideal, and we will definitely do the rest another time!