Our group of fourteen MCSA members and one guest met at 07h30 at the cul de sac at the end of Baviaanskloof Road in Hout Bay on Thursday 18 January 2018.
Starting on the Constantiaberg side, we hiked up the kloof, crossed over to Skoorsteenberg via the lovely little Afromontane forest, Tierbos, and reached the bumpy plateau, fortunately having completed the steepest part of the hike before it got too hot. I describe the plateau as ‘bumpy’ because Skoorsteenberg is more extensive than it looks from below, with a number of peaks, sub-peaks and interesting places to explore. We then climbed the ridge and bagged the two peaks on either end, but left the westernmost one for another day!
Tea was enjoyed on a shady grassy ledge, near the southern peak, with lots of chat and lovely views over Hout Bay and Constantiaberg. We then returned to the plateau and skirted the top of the kloof to meet up with the Constantia Nek, East Fort path, which contours along the slopes of Constantiaberg. We stopped for a short lunch break, squeezing into a bit of shade on the dry watercourse of one of the main Baviaans River tributaries, before continuing. Near Breakfast Peak, we descended to the Baviaans Waterfall, which offered us almost no water, but plenty welcome shade, before we completed the hike and returned to the cars by about one o’clock.
Penny Brown
Photos supplied by John Watermeyer
