Solole Game Reserve

After work we walked from Welcome Glen through the Glencairn stable and up to the top of Black Hill (aka Glencairn Express way for the newbs) 

From there we took the path popular with horse riders (mind the horse-sh*t all over the trail!). 

This winds around through the old Solole Game Reserve. 

Along the way we saw a huge variety of flora. In all the colours and shapes you can imagine! We also came across a tortoise, a few porcupine quills, some really weird looking spiders and bugs (we cleverly stayed away from those!)

Again (I'm saying this with each post, aren't I?) the views from this angle were outstanding.

The path winds around and eventually joins up on itself and we can easily make our way back onto Black Hill.

From there we simply retraced our steps back to Welcome Glen.

This one took us 2.5hours to complete.

Lion's Head

We did an awesome hike up to the top of Lion's Head in Cape Town this Sunday.

We hiked up for the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean, overlooking Camps Bay and the famous 12 Apostles.

After sun down we scooted over to the other side of Lion's Head for the Moon Rise. A gorgeous Big Orange Full Moon rose up over the Northern Suburbs lighting up the city bowl.

It was incredible! Unfortunately my point-and-shoot just wouldn't come to the party, so no pic's I'm afraid. But I can say that it was better than you could imagine it to be. 

We hiked down at night with the moon to light the way on one side and our handy (heady?) headlamps on the other side!

I have blogged the FULL STORY with some additional pictures here:

http://travelblog.portfoliocollection.com/Blog/Sunset-from-Lions-Head

Welcome Glen to Elsies Peak & back

First day back at work after a nice Christmas & New Year's break. It wasn't too bad returning to work, actually. What with school holidays still on, it seems most of Cape Town has taken another week or so off work!

Slaap-Stad!

We're not sleeping, though - today we walked from Welcome Glen to Glencairn Heights. From there to the top of Elsie's Peak & back home again. This trip took us in 2hrs and we're estimating our route was around 7km long. Not bad for an 'after work' hike.

Glencairn, Red Hill, Da Gama Park

This is the most gruelling walk we've done in the last few days.  We walked from Welcome Glen, past Glencairn, towards Simon's Town, Up Red Hill (3kms up!) over to Da Gama Park and then back to Welcome Glen.

It took us 3 hours to complete 13.5km's. What made this a really tough walk was not only the pace and elevation, but the fact that it was all on the road. We didn't realise until now that hiking in the mountains and on soft sand offer up a lot more absorption with each step than the road does.

After 13.5 km's when we got home our feet were really, really tired. Ice-cold baths for 4 hot feet and some time out before using them again was called for.

Let me also add that we've been walking with loaded backpacks. We've tried to carry nearly everything we would need to take up with us, so that includes water (2-3 liters), food, first aid kits, spare clothes (socks, rain proofs, hats, beanies etc), cameras, maps, torches and whatever else we can think of.

It makes a huge difference lugging all that extra weight around with you - especially if you're not used to it. It gives you a valuable opportunity to get used to the weight of your pack - it allows you to experiment with adjusting your straps, packing your items in an optimal manner.

Even figuring out which socks will work and which are simply going to take up too much room in your boots is something you want to figure out before you're 1/2 way up Kili!

The Waterfall on Ou Kaapse Weg

Dassieskasteel Traverse in Silvermine on Ou Kaapse Weg. 

We took the little detour to the waterfall, but alas, there was only a water-trickly. Still very beautiful with views overlooking the Noordhoek / Kommetjie side.

The route then circles around to the top of Ou Kaaps where you can overlook the Southern Suburbs and Constantia areas. The path follows around just above the Ou Kaaps road and then swings back to the car park.

The short hike took us 2 hours to complete and is about 6 km's long. (Although we kept the pace up quite a lot and according to this very informative website, it can take 5 hours to complete)

There is also an option to veer off and walk towards Muizenberg / Bouyes Drive. But on this occasion we were too hungry for steak and Peroni's at Flukes Restaurant to add on another few hours' hike, so we cut it short and headed out for some relaxing!

We will  have to back back and do that one at some point!

The routes are very well marked in all directions so no worries about getting lost here. Also the 180 degree views all the way around allow you to judge where you are.

Elephants Eye

Day 2 sees us trekking up to Elephant's Eye cave from Tokai forest. This is a 7.6km round trip and is very vertical - straight up and straight down. This one took us 3 hours to complete.

Most of the hike is through the forest itself which at least gives some shade in the midday heat (yes, we hiked in the middle of the day -> mad dogs and Englishman, what now?)

As you reach the top of the forest, you get some stunning views across the South Peninsula the Southern Suburbs and the Cape Flats. It's here that you realise just how far you've come!

After that you haul your tired ass the rest of the way to the cave, which is nice and cool (a glorious relief!) 

It is also the perfect place to stopover for a bite to eat (remember to bring something!!) before heading all the way back down again!

Olifantsbos in Cape Point

Happy New Year!!

And while almost everyone else is carefully nursing a hangover, we're already out and about training in all seriousness.

The next few posts will cover some of the hikes we're going to do in preparation for Kilimanjaro.

This trek was along Olifantsbos in the Cape Point Nature Reserve. 

We spent the first 2/3 of the hike walking along the beach in our hiking boots. In the mid-summer heat and on really soft beach sand; that was really hard work!

The beaches are stunning - hardly anyone there. We walked very far down, but you don't have to go far before coming across a number of shipwrecks right on the beach. 

There is even a whale bone that has long ago washed up on the beach.

The circular route eventually takes you up along the cliff tops and then back to the car park. In total it took us around 3 hours to walk and we estimated this to be a 6km route.

Walking on the soft sand in big boots is very challenging, but really good exercise!

The great thing about hiking in and around the Western Cape is that we are spoilt for choice and the views are just unbelievable!