After positioning cars at our end point (the Chapman’s Peak trail head), we started walking from Hout Bay’s East Fort at 08h15, and up the ‘East Fort/Constantia Nek path’ from which we branched off right, just below the main cliffs, and contoured towards Blackburn Ravine.
We were treated to a spectacular (not often seen) panorama of waterfalls along this section (Alfie’s Track) as a result of quite substantial rain over the previous few days. A slight drizzle set in for a while threatening our destination ‘skyline route’ (the actual Panorama/Skyline Route!) which had disappeared in high cloud. Fortunately the mist cleared just before we intersected with the Blackburn Ravine path.
Just beyond the intersection we stopped for a few minutes to clear a patch of invasive Hakea saplings below the path (with great enthusiasm I might add), allowing the slower walkers to continue and get a small head start! In all, we cut down or pulled out 66 Hakea (some of them being hacked elsewhere en route) and one Pine sapling – bravo team! I had asked participants to bring a saw if they had one, and it really paid off, and was fun!
Tea was taken sheltering from a cool sea wind just beyond and up from Blackburn Ravine nek, and then we enjoyed the ups and downs of the skyline path, with spectacular views in all directions, continuing to and down from Noordhoek Peak, below which we connected with the forestry road until the descent path which took us down to Chapman’s Nek (had a second tea/lunch in a sheltered spot near the small peak to the left of the path) and then continued down to Chapman’s Peak Drive arriving at the cars at 14h55 (duration being 6 hours 40 minutes).
Thanks to the participants (members Caitlan Comrie, Aidan Horn, Helene du Toit, Olga Antoniceva, Salma Ismail, Mark Blecher, and Ezan Wilson, and our guest Daniel Cohen) for a lovely winter’s day on the mountain, and for helping to clear some invasive aliens.
Penelope Brown
Photos supplied by Aidan Horn
