Green belts in suburbia

Having made a dent in the excess calories on the toil up to the Table Mountain dams on Tuesday, Friday's walk along the Sillery Trail and up towards Bel Ombre was a walk in the park, almost literally. The green belts that grace the slopes of the Table Mountain chain are a miracle of nature in the midst of suburbia - leafy though it may be. It is possible, while ambling along the streams where acanthus and tree ferns provide shelter for small mammals, under a canopy of ancient oaks, pines and occasional fig trees where birdlife is abundant, to completely forget that the hustle and bustle of city life is a stone's throw away. Even at this advanced stage of summer, the Spaanschemat River is running clear and strong, and Cape Town's oldest dam (a small pond with an earth wall) is full, with dogs and children frolicking in its shallows. Last year at this time it was just a damp patch in a hollow and one can only hope that winter rains will keep it filled.
The trails are favourites for dog walkers and mountain bikers alike, and there are clear notices that bikes always give way to other trail users, and that they must always make their presence known. Unfortunately it doesn't seem as if the riders have read the signs and we always have to step aside as they hurtle past without a warning shout, let alone a ring of a bell. Apart from this, it's generally a haven of peace and tranquillity. It must be thanks to foresight of the city fathers back in the day that these areas still exist to provide easy and safe access for all to enjoy the outdoors, or perhaps it was because each green belt is a water course for the streams that feed the rivers and lakes further down and cannot be obstructed by development. That must be it.
From time to time we cross a road or three to move from one green belt to another, and this affords us an opportunity to enjoy the beautifully landscaped verges and gardens of this affluent area. It's easy to have lush gardens when water is plentiful and the annual rainfall is the highest in the Peninsula, but credit must also go to the hardworking garden staff who take such pride in their work and have a ready smile for the crazy people walking by with backpacks, sticks and boots on a tar road!