Chapman's Peak

Date: 3 October 2009

Location: Hout Bay

Walkers: Claudia & Helen

**** Route plotted here ****

Today felt like the first day of summer. The temperature was up in the high 20s C and it was bright and sunny. Lovely!

Our starting point for this walk was Chapman's Peak Drive, the last bend before the sharp corner. The road's still closed on the Noordhoek side but fortunately the authorities are issuing day-passes for the Hout Bay side, which keeps this area accessible. I was pleased to see lots of construction work in progress - hopefully the road can be made safe and open again before 2010.

Right near the start of the walk we spotted this peculiar plant. It appears to be a member of the orchid family, possibly Corycium orobanchoides.



We set off. The path headed up towards the Nek. It was a really nice easy climb on stone steps.




The fynbos was looking wonderful - thick and bushy and growing vigorously.



The lower slopes were covered in much of this bright light green conebush, Leucadendron xanthoconus.



The Berzelia lanuginosa was magnificent!



Protea speciosa. I can't resist the fluffy brown beards.



This Selago (or possibly Pseudoselago?) was just coming into flower.



Everlastings. I always though these were Helichrysum, but I've just checked my reference books and I think the correct name for this particular everlasting is Edmondia sesamoides. Aren't they sweet?



The path curved to the right, and as we climbed we could see not only the path we'd just taken below, but also the Sentinel and Karbonkelberg coming into view beyond.



Up here there we patches of pink - small bushes of a rather papery Erica.



We also saw delicate Gnidia pinifolia. (Update: oops, this is actually Struthiola ciliata I think!)



There were also a few spring bulbs around: Spiloxene, Romulea rosea, Geissorhiza aspera...



... and this little darling, which I think may be Geissorhiza juncea...



... and the exquisite Gladiolus debilis.



Before long we'd reached Chapman's Nek, where several paths cross. Our route took us to the right. The path continued to climb at a comfortable pace. Behind us we got a great view of Blackburn Ravine contour path.



Along this stretch were many yellow pincushion proteas, Leucospermum conocarpodendron...




... and a magnificent Mimetes fimbriifolius.




There were many blue-headed lizards sunning themselves on the rocks.



And ants on the path. They were the most enormous ants I've ever seen - at least a centimetre long - and very busy with urgent ant-business.



The views of Hout Bay on this walk are pretty spectacular. Across the bay, above the harbour, we could see the Karbonkelberg and Kaptein's Peak, with Little Lion's Head to the right and the sweep of Hout Bay beach below.



By now the path had more-or-less levelled out to a contour and led us around the side of the hill. We could now see Chapman's Peak itself a little way ahead.



Around here we saw quite a few small flowers growing alongside the path, such as this purple Polygala garcinii and bright orange Erica cerinthoides. There was also Crassula fascicularis, particularly in the rockier sections.




The final climb up the peak isn't difficult, but I found myself struggling a bit, mainly because of the heat. Not smart be walking up a mountain at midday on a hot day. But I'm glad I persevered up, as the views alone were worth it. To the left: Noordhoek, Silvermine and Fish Hoek spread out below, with False Bay in the distance. Wow!



And down below in front we could see the white sands of Long Beach stretching from Noordhoek below all the way to Kommetjie.



There were quite a few people up top - we'd been passed on the way up by a number of trail runners completing the Hout Bay Triple Trouble event. Chapman's Peak was the third peak climbed as part of their 44km route. The winners completed the route in under five hours - that's impressive!



Our pace was a little different. We'd taken it easy on the way up and now we found a little bit of shade and enjoyed a picnic lunch. From our perch we gazed down at Noordhoek and watched the swifts swooping around.



After our rest we made our way back the same way. Down, down, down. This was a very rewarding walk!


(Photos by Helen)
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Kaptein's Peak

Date: 20 September 2009

Location: Hout Bay

Walkers: Michele & Helen

**** Route plotted here ****

Today we decided to drive to Hout Bay and walk up Kaptein's Peak after reading about the route in Mike Lundy's Best Walks book. This was our first time walking in this particular area. We left our car right at the top of Bay View Road in Hout Bay Heights, above the harbour. This meant we started off quite far up the hill already, and the mountains ahead looked very friendly.



There was a carpet of these pop-poms at the start.



And this. Can you see the little guy here? Pretty good camouflage I'd say!



We could see across the bay to Chapman's Peak Drive, and spotted the path we took on the Blackburn Ravine walk a couple of months ago.



The road up was a steady climb at a comfortable gradient.



The Sentinel was on our left, with Long Beach and Kommetjie visible in the far distance.





Of course we stopped to look at the flowers we saw along the roadside on the way up. This is Scabiosa africana.



Another Polygala... Polygala myrtifolia I think. September bush!



More pink... Pelagonium capitatum, new and in full bloom.



A bulb called Ornithogalum (could be one of several varieties).



Oxalis obtusa. The verges were covered with it - loves the sunshine.



A mystery bulb! Not yet open... possibly Ixia paniculata?



More Lobostemon. I haven't pinpointed which variety this is, but am captivated by the delicate papery feel of the flowers and the subtle pastel shades of blue and pink. As a child my bedroom had taffeta curtains in just these colours (oh so 80s!).



And Cyphia bulbosa again, a beautiful specimen.



This is Muraltia heistria, seen everywhere this time of year.



We saw this exotic flower growing on the rockface, near a trickle of water. It looks like something in the orchid family - Satyrium coriifolium.



Once we got higher up onto the plateau, there many restios and metalasias.




The fynbos on the plateau area was very interesting. We saw a ground protea, Protea acaulos.



This shrub is Staavia radiata.



I'm fairly certain I've identified this unusual plant correctly as a Psoralea, probably Psoralea restoides. It does indeed resemble a willowy restio.



And these are Salvias of course.



Up ahead was Karbonkelberg. We continued towards it, on the road, for a short way. Then we took a path to our right. We were expecting it to be very clear as our guide-book had described two parallel paths on either side of a fire-break. Well, we didn't see much of a fire-break at all, don't think it has been burnt for years! (Time to buy a more up-to-date edition of that book I think). But we found our path nevertheless, and continued to climb. It was very sandy up here on top of the mountain.



And growing in that sand we saw Nemesia affinis.



Also vygies, such as this one Dorotheanthus bellidiformis.



And Hyobanche sanguina, a very peculiar woolly flower spike.



At the top of the hill we made our way to the right, towards Kaptein's Peak. We kept losing the path as it was all rather overgrown. The shrubbery, particularly the restios, have encroached on the path and we had to fight our way through. It was fun! Luckily we knew more-or-less where to go, that is, round the right side of the outcrop and then up a steep gully, to reach the top. I'm no fan of exposed heights or rock scrambling and found it a little scary getting up this little bit.




But up I got! There was a lot of bushy shrubbery on top of the peak also.



And great views in all directions. To the right we now looked down on the Sentinel, and could see our path far below.



On our left, a panorama from the back table across to Vlakkenberg.



On the way down a minor wrong-turn took us to the Karbonkelberg path. Wow, some serious erosion has occurred here! It's in a state of some disrepair and possibly a bit dangerous. Luckily we only had to follow it for a short way before we got back onto our road.



Then we took a detour to the "long drop" lookout point. A side-path led through the restios to the edge of the cliff. From here we could look back at the hillside we'd just come down (not sure how we'd made a wrong turn earlier - the paths look so clear from this vantage point).



The views out were breathtaking. The rocky coast (the base of the Karbonkelberg) looked so far down, and so wild.




And below us the sea was a lovely turquoise blue.



Up top the cliff I was excited to see a Drosera cistiflora. This was the first time I'd spotted this type of sundew. They are carnivorous plants - small insects are attracted to and then caught in the sticky liquid they secrete on their leaves. For more info on these fascinating plants, see here.




After this we headed back. We took the short-cut paths and were down in no time. This was a wonderful walk.

(Photos by Helen and Michele)
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