Despite having grown up on the slopes of Trappies Kop in Clovelly (so named because of the steps (trappies) that had to be negotiated at the northern end of the beach before a road was made to access the sands of the Fish Hoek valley long, long ago), I have never explored this little mountain except for the area behind our house. I went up with our hiking group about a year ago to the beacon and it was a marvellous hike with sweeping views in all directions. Yesterday we set off to circumnavigate the 'globe' by taking the track along the firebreak from the wetlands around to Kalk Bay.
Apart from a few rocky scrambles, this is a very easy walk along a narrow sandy trail, falling steeply away towards the road side, and obstructed by thick vegetation on the mountain side. Being winter, most of the walk was undertaken in deep shade until we reached the sunlit slopes above Kalk Bay, but being yet another stunning sunny winter's day, we appreciated the shade and light southeasterly breeze. With an unobstructed view of the bay from Fish Hoek to Simon's Town and across to Hangklip, it was the perfect opportunity for whale watching. These wonderful creatures have been a part of our community for as long as I remember, and the first whales arrived a few days ago. The southeaster made the sea choppy, with an uninviting shade of grey, but we were lucky enough to see one gigantic splash before the whale settled into a period of wallowing!
There was quite a bit of activity further out in False Bay, with the SA Navy deploying a ship or two (fish for lunch?) and a steady stream of Kalk Bay fishing boats chugging back to harbour in a picturesque scene worthy of a postcard.
When we eventually arrived at the point where the track meets the road at Boyes Drive, it was decided to hike back to the cars via the saddle between Trappies Kop and Clovelly Mountain. This involved a good 15 minute slog through a somewhat overgrown path and then luckily a beautifully laid stone path taking us easily over the top and down into Clovelly for the remaining half hour or so.
Not many flowers out yet in this shady area, but a good patch of pretty podalyria above Kalk Bay and the odd moraea provided some colour. The total distance back to the cars was close to 7km and we took almost 4 hours to complete this moderate trail, although we did dawdle at times. Well worth it and will do it again at a different season.
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