Another week and another hike in our local mountains. I managed to take the family along on this one as it’s not too long or strenuous but more fun and interesting for everyone.
We joined my sister, my aunt and another friend at the Silvermine Dam carpark and set off at 9am. I’m not used to hiking on weekends and it was a whole lot busier than usual. The warm winter weather between the cold fronts made a gap for everyone to head outside between the cold snaps.
The first section is relatively flat as you follow the gentle gradient uphill, but soon you hit the sharp zig zag up a steep hill. This is when the dam comes into view below.
As you reach the top of the ridge the path to the Elephants Eye cave splits off to the right leaving the jeep track behind. The path becomes sandy and the recent rain added a few streams to cross.
This path lead across a gentle valley and towards the next higher ridge and is the path turns left and up towards the peak the views over the Southern Suburbs of the city of Cape Town opens up before you. It’s magnificent!
The mountain is home to so many beautiful protea and fynbos species. It’s one of the largest plant kingdoms in the world and we are privileged to appreciate it first hand.
A gentle scramble up the hill and the path again splits off to the right to Elephants eye or straight up to Constantiaberg peak.
And looking back you can see the Rangers Lookout hut and the Ocean in the distance. Muizenberg beach is home to one of Cape Towns famous surf destinations for easy surfing conditions that suit almost anyone from beginners to advanced alike.
The path continued around the contour of the peak until the Elephants Eye cave finally came into view.
We climbed up the dusty base of the cave to admire the full scope of its grandeur.
As the group before us slowly meandered out of the depth of the cave we took their place and enjoyed the views below, framed by the cave walls.
The cave was especially dusty and dry so we headed down toward the mouth of the cave for a short break.
There I met the lovely Yolanda. She was on the hike with her group of friends and having a ball!
The walk back was quick and an easy downhill with great views in every direction. We spent some time watching the downhill mountain bikers negotiating a single track down the towards the lower Tokai contour path. One rider was obviously more experienced than the other and made it look easy.
We passed the cutest Miniature Yorkshire Terrier carrying its own stick up the steep zigzag path as we made our way down.
Instead of heading straight to the carpark we cut right and took a detour around the dam. It was such a gorgeous day, we couldn’t miss out on exploring the dam.
We rounded the dam on the wooden boardwalk which made for easy walking after the Rocky and Sandy path on the slopes above. This led to the dam wall closing the circle of this part of the hike.
Here’s the route we took with some of the stats.
This is a perfect hike for anyone visiting Cape Town. Just remember to take along water and R35 which is paid at the entrance gate.
If you’re ever in Cape Town look me up!!! I’m always keen to get out to the mountains and enjoy the fresh air.
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This post is so good I forgot what I was gonna say about it in between.
Cool to see your husband with you again. Uhm.. nice shoes.
Ha ha thanks! Those are my old shoes!!! But I tried out my new ones yesterday and they were 👍. G enjoyed the hike but struggles after 5kms with his ankle because it starts to ache. I’m hoping a few more of these shorter hikes and the old ankle will begin to strengthen. Hopefully it’s not just wishful thinking 😳
The cover fits you nicely.
What an amazing path and a great hike!
Thanks for taking us along!
Oh it’s always a pleasure!!! It’s my favourite thing to do if you haven’t already noticed 😂. I already have 2 more hikes to post! I’ll have a list of hikes for when you make it to our Cape!
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Aaah! Thanks so much. That’s awesome!
Looks like an amazing place to hike!
Some great photos too. :)
Thanks so much! I’ve done another 2 hikes since then so I have a lot of blogging to do!
That's pretty great. :) I will keep an eye on your blog to see more of these posts.
Humm 7Km in 2 hours, that's a very good pace
I can only do something similar when I walk alone
groups usually move slower hehe
you guys look very at ease and used to such journeys, starting by the right outfit for it ;)
I’m so glad you liked them!!