We celebrated winter in spring. Our off path route took us onto an unnamed ridge twice removed from the Skoorsteenkop ridges – I have named it Air BnB after the sheltered ‘room’ on top of the ridge and also the ‘air’ diving board on the south side. In thick cloud and light rain we negotiated our way from the Baviaanskloof waterfall onto the 360m level traverse and then along the Vlakkenberg Trail path towards Constantia Nek. We then took the path towards Skoorsteenkop and followed an off path route to the remote Air BnB ridge. The burnt out vegetation framed wonderful sightings of colourful wild flowers springing up from the bare earth. Once on the ridge we headed towards the western end that offers lovely views into Orange Kloof on a clear day but we had to fall back onto the cloud effects.
Unfortunately we could not reach the interesting cracks cutting across the ridge at the end due to the unsafe lichen covered rock. It calls for a repeat visit on a warm day.
After a leisurely tea break we decided that the conditions did not warrant further exploration on Blockbuster Ridge next door and took a direct line back to intercept the Skoorsteenkop path and our descent route.
The cloud began to clear and we had glimpses of Hout Bay in the distance to remind us of the views we had missed out on top. The 16 intrepid mountaineers arrived back at the cars at 12:30 with a considerable amount of wet gear.
