Eight of us set off promptly at 07h30 from Hout Bay’s Sandy Bay parking area, venturing briskly along Rocket Road to above Oudeskip. Our route took us past the old block house and along the rather eroded (in places) coastal path which, since the last fire, is suffering rather sadly from extensive Rooikrantz invasions.
First stop was just above The BOS wreck from where we scrambled up Duiker Ridge for breakfast near the top, enjoying views in all directions! Much lower down we managed to pull out a few small offending Hakea and pine saplings, and near the top of the ridge we paused to admire Stefan’s valiant efforts on a previous meet when he ring barked a big pine tree, putting our rather puny efforts to shame! Also of interest were a few klipspringer spoors – it’s lovely to see these hardy little buck making a comeback in these remote areas.
From the top of the rocky ridge we ‘slogged up’ the final leg to the old Karbonkelberg WW2 radar station where we explored some of the ruins before descending to the view spot below the beacon.
Next leg was a descent to the ‘vlakte’ below and through the lovely little Afromontane forest remnant, ending at Suther Peak for lunch, again with unsurpassed views! We returned via the high level traverse with its fun cracks, nooks and crannies before the final Suther Ridge descent back to the sand dunes and our cars.
photos by Alex le Roux
