"Thar she blows!" shouted an excited Andre as we ascended Chapman's Peak on the first leg of our hiking trip from the Slangkop lighthouse to Silvermine.
A giant whale wallowed in the swells far below our party, while a collection of surfers caught some massive waves.
Our party of seven hikers had set out at 7am on Saturday morning from the Slangkop lighthouse in Kommetjie, led by Andre and Lulama, two of the 16 guides employed by SanParks, who lead hikers on the second leg of the Hoerikwaggo trail.
We walked the length of Noordhoek beach, stopped to take photographs of the wreck of the Kakapo and climbed the lung-bursting ascent of Chapman's Peak, slowly heading for our overnight stop at the newly constructed luxury Silvermine tented camp.
The views were spectacular and we felt like seagulls, gliding high above the ocean, able to see out as far as Misty Cliffs near Scarborough.
On top of Chapman's Peak, we enjoyed a 360° view, with Hout Bay, Noordhoek and Fish Hoek below and, in the far distance, Hangklip. While we ate lunch, Andre and Lulama pointed out the various plants and discussed the special features offered by each. Both were well informed, patient and stimulated conversation among our party and were, best of all, ready to share their experiences.
Afterwards, we headed for Silvermine and, after several hours of traversing the peaks and hiking up a few gut-wrenching slopes, we looked down at the Silvermine dam and our night stop.
Sydney and Sonwabile greeted us warmly upon our arrival at the tented camp. Sonwabile had met us at Slangkop previously and ferried all our food and overnight gear to Silvermine.
We were shown around the camp and proudly briefed about its eco-friendly amenities that included solar heating and lighting, special dry toilets and its construction that involved the boma having been made out of natural materials and alien timber. Night crept over the mountains and Silvermine was transformed into a real bush experience. People travel across continents to be in such surroundings. And here we were minutes away from the city centre.
After a comfortable night, preceded by a braai, the party headed off on the second leg of its hike to Constantia Nek. We climbed out of the Silvermine valley and were soon heading toward Blackburn ravine high above Hout Bay, offering a further bird's eye views on the tiny harbour below.
We traversed high above Chapman's Peak Drive and eventually climbed out where the famous manganese mine had been worked. To everyone's delight, a pair of black eagles appeared and soared above us, effortlessly riding on thermals.
After a great lunch alongside a waterfall, we again ascended and toiled up the last slope to Vlakkenberg before descending to Constantia Nek where Sonwabile waited with all our overnight gear.
- Level of difficulty: A fit, experienced hiker will find the two-day, 34km trail moderate going. However, an unfit first-timer may find this walk strenuous.
- For editorial and advertising queries, contact Jon van den Heever at 083 301 8626.
- For advertising queries only, contact Pat Bibby at 021 488 4132.