Plum Pudding Hill, etc

A heavily overcast sky kept the scorching sun off our heads as we began our hike from Rhodes Memorial to the Prince of Wales blockhouse, via Plum Pudding Hill, but humidity was high and caused considerable discomfort – at least to me, maybe not everyone. For some reason I found the relatively easy hike quite exhausting today and got more than my usual raised heart rate according to the Fitbit. We took the jeep track towards Newlands Forest rather than tackle a steep vertical climb, and so it seemed that we were going in completely the wrong direct for Plum Pudding Hill, until we reached the zigzag that took us up to the next contour and headed towards Rhodes Memorial again.

The steady uphill was not onerous but was seemingly interminable, although there were plenty of silver trees to admire, as well as a few late-blooming aristea. The view was very limited due to haze from various veld fires across the bay and the gloom of the cloudy sky, but our co-leader Brian still managed some great photos to remind us of yet another hiking achievement under our belts. If we have not worked/walked hard enough, we feel a cold beer and light lunch might not have been earned, and that would definitely not do!

The jeep track is particularly steep and treacherous on the way down from Plum Pudding Hill to the old Prince of Wales blockhouse, built around 1640 and armed with a large iron cannon ready to fire a warning shot should an enemy ship have sailed into Table Bay. One can only marvel at the simplicity of life in those days, when any act of war would take days or weeks to play out and all according to strict rules. The land between Devil’s Peak and Table Bay must have been considerably less before reclamation took place, as I doubt if a cannonball would have crossed the Main Road, but I could be wrong.

Sadly, that part of our history is considered of no value now and nothing has been maintained or even kept clear of overgrowth, and it won’t be too long before the entire structure is hidden from view and only those who come across a reference in some ancient archives will know that it ever existed.

The lower track back to Rhodes Memorial took us past a plantation of magnificent, sprawling old cork oaks with wide shady branches and huge trunks covered by especially attractive bark. More old history that will eventually pass from memory.

I took the opportunity to revisit the actual building at Rhodes Memorial, not having been there in some 40 years except to park for a hike, and was pleased to see that it has not been defaced by graffiti or other forms of vandalism, and that the lions still look longingly out over the mountains as if waiting to return to the bush. Couldn’t find a reference to the statue of a horse with a naked man on it, but it must be Major Bumsore.