Kalk Bay Harbour and Boulders

Date: 26 June 2011

Location: Kalk Bay and Boulders, Simon's Town

Walkers: Helen and my aunt and cousins

Previous visit to Boulders here, to Kalk Bay Harbour here and here.




Doing the tourist thing with family visiting from KZN... first stop Kalk Bay Harbour. We took a stroll around the quays and enjoyed seeing the seals in the water and the colourful fishing boats. The boats had been out that morning and there was fresh fish for sale.



Without any prompting the boys lay down on the harbour wall and looked down at the sea on the other side. I always do exactly the same thing!



After the harbour we travelled a bit further down the coast to Simon's Town to visit the penguin colony at Boulders. From the entrance at the parking area it's a pleasant stroll along the wooden board-walk to reach the main look out point.



From the board-walk we looked down on the beaches. Easy to see where Boulders gets its name isn't it.




I still haven't explored the mountains above Simon's Town... looks inviting... I would love to go up there one day.



Even though it was a sunny day there was an icy cold wind blowing, so we were wrapped up warmly.



We were at Boulders to see penguins of course and we soon spotted them in the bushes. Several were making use of the special nesting units.



And there were also a large number on the beach. Plenty of babies!






I find penguins very entertaining.



Just look at the cuteness of this little fellow!


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St James to Kalk Bay

Date: 16 October 2010

Location: St James and Kalk Bay on the False Bay coast

Walkers: Helen & Dorothy

Previous walk along this route here.

Dorothy and I took a stroll along Main Road, from St James to Kalk Bay.




On our right: the gracious homes of St James on the slopes of the mountain. On our left: the railway line and the blue ocean.



It wasn't long til we reached the new one way system, which has been put into place while the road is being upgraded.



This arrangement seems to be working much better than the stop-go system they had before. Traffic was flowing very smoothly. Also, it is much nicer for pedestrians and cyclists - well, at least over the weekend when the construction stops.





Main Road is one-way all the way through to Boyes Drive.



When we reached Olympia Cafe we met Tony, took a table outside in the sunshine and had a spot of lunch.



After lunch we meandered around a bit, popped into our favourite shops, and then strolled slowly back to St James.



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Kalk Bay: Spes Bona Valley

Date: 26 September 2010

Location: Silvermine East, from Boyes Dr, above St James and Kalk Bay

Walkers: Delphi, Maralie, Dorothy, Michele & Helen

*** Route plotted here ***

Previous walk up into Spes Bona Valley here.



Starting off from Boyes Drive, we took the easy Old Mule Path up into the mountains above St James. On the way up we saw lots of flowers!




Polygala myrifolia.



Cyphia bulbosa.



Bolusafra bituminosa.



Struthiola ciliata.



This one comes with flowers from white, to yellow and pink.



Felicia aethiopica.



Pterygodium catholicum.



Adenandra uniflora.



Aristea africana.



Satyrium odorum.



Pelargonium lobatum.



Anaxeton laeve.



We followed the path signposted towards the Amphitheatre via Spes Bona Valley. It's a good steady climb up. But then it began to rain...




... so we hurried on into the yellow-wood forest.



The trees gave us some shelter so we decided to wait it out, and ate our picnic lunch right there on the path.



As soon as we left the forest the rain began to fall more heavily and I suggested we pack it in and head down again. Of course, after a while, the rain stopped and we saw some blue sky again!




Everything looked clean and sparkly!



We continued heading down though.



At Ou Kraal we detoured to the rocky outcrop and had a bit of an explore around the rocks. I know some vagrants had been sleeping here a while back, and, while it didn't look 'occupied' at the moment, there was quite a bit of litter and broken glass around. Not so nice.



Rather good views from on top though.




We could see the Old Mule Path very clearly, snaking along the hill.



And we hurried on down as more rain was on the way. We were lucky: shortly after we got down it bucketed down; if we were still up there we would have got completely drenched!


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