I had never heard of this particular peak before, despite having lived here for 60 years, and that is probably because 59 of them were not spent hiking. It is always nice to do a fresh route and this one was particularly pleasant with a variety of surfaces: gravel track, sandy track through knee-high fynbos, muddy track with stepping stones through head-high fynbos, a little rock hopping across the flattish sandstone rocks at the peak, and a fairly stiff climb up a short hill or three. It kept the heart rate rising and falling and provided a good selection of beautiful flowers to observe along the way. Unfortunately I didn't have my expensive camera as this doesn't go on any walks where there is any slight possibility of losing it to an unworthy criminal, and so my photos today are poor quality, to say the least. However, they allow one to see the amazing colours and markings that nature offers those who care to look, so I will post a few.
The weather was variable, as it is in Cape Town in November (actually, any day of the year), and we alternated between rain gear and shedding all outer layers on a number of occasions, but the rain never became more than a light smattering and we would have survived without all the extra PT. The icy southeaster made for ideal walking temperatures, making the uphills not so arduous and the downhills easy enough to allow for a lot of pleasant chit-chat along the way. Sometimes we have to concentrate so much we can barely remember who we walked with, so this was a nice change.
The views from the peak were breathtaking - from the far mountains of Stellenbosch to Simon's Town to Slangkop to Chapman's Peak and, in the gap, the Sentinel and Karbonkelberg of Hout Bay, with the Fish Hoek/Noordhoek valley stretching out below. Well worth the effort and one of many spectacular vantage points in the Silvermine reserve.
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