After meeting at the gate of the Cape Point section at 08h00 nine of us set out from the Rooikrans carpark around 08h35 for the descent to the ledges. The wind was gently from the SSW, nowhere near the predicted speed, and the sea was very calm. After checking the main ledge, we decided to visit the Cave and scrambled a short way up before traversing southwards. We then descended slowly and carefully on the awkward pitches. Three members chose to view the Cave from a few pitches up, with six of us making it safely to the bottom. It’s always an awe-inspiring experience to enter the Cave and especially so for the first time.
After soaking up the special atmosphere for a fair while, we joined the others and ascended to the halfway mark for our beverage break. We then climbed up to the car park and finally headed out on the planned route towards Smits. We followed the coast through Buffels Bay and Bordjiesrif to the Venus Pool parking spot where we turned inland and upward to build an appetite for our lunch stop at Kanonkop.
Despite being refreshed, it was decided (in the interest of time) not to go to the top of Paulsberg after lunch. It was unanimously agreed that the Cave visit was a worthwhile trade-off. We skirted around the western base of Paulsberg and Judas Peak after which the three drivers accelerated ahead. The drivers reached Smits at 16h45 and went to fetch the cars while the principal fragment arrived at 17h00. They continued down to the gate and didn’t need to wait much for the drivers to reach them around 17h10.
