The weather was just right! It had been raining all week and the forecast said that theirs would be a break in the rain on Sunday. Perfect timing for a walk along the contour path on Table Mountain to Skeleton Gorge to see the Waterfall!!! And boy did it pay off.
I met my sister Jade, her friend Michael, and my aunt at Constantia Nek carpark in the forest. It was packed by the time we met at 8am. We usually hike much earlier in Summer but with the cold weather we decided to sleep in a little longer.
The first hill is the steepest and then the contour path winds up and down along the side of the slopes through the Cecelia Forest. The morning light and sunrise through the still stormy sky was beautiful.
Last winter was our first heavy rains after a 3 year drought. And this winter we have had downpour after downpour causing a lot of erosion to the jeep track. It’s become stony and uneven, making it a lot more technical than in the past.
Around the 4 kilometre mark the path narrows and then splits off into a lower and higher contour. We took the steps up the hill toward the higher contour.
I love seeing the changes in the flowering indigenous flora. It changes subtly every week. The various protea bloom and then die. And now I’m seeing these pale pink heaths in bloom.
Vaalkatkloof river
We had 2 river crossings before getting to the Skeleton Gorge Waterfalls. The first was the Vaalkatkloof River that I have only ever seen running as a very small stream. Well at the moment it’s a waterfall racing down the mountain. Luckily I managed to cross with dry shoes by hopping on the exposed rocks.
Nursery Ravine
The paths were busy with trail runners which meant we would have to step aside on either the steep mountain edge amongst the bush or on the drop off and pray you don’t get knocked off the mountain side.
As we rounded the ridge we found ourselves at Nursery Ravine which was flowing and gorgeous.
The steps up to the left take you up to the top of Table Mountain while the steps on the right continue along the contour towards Skeleton Gorge.
Another river crossing with dry shoes. Hallelujah!!!
The ridge between Nursery Ravine and Skeleton Gorge opens up to some incredible views of one of Cape Towns major tourist attractions, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
The mountain bikers and trail runners were clearly visible on the lower contour and paths into the gardens.
300 more meters and Skeleton Gorge came into view. Before we saw the waterfall we saw the people! Everyone seemed to have the same idea after seeing the weather forecast.
We decided to take a break on the edge of the path for some tea and snacks while the crowd took their photos and moved on.
The 5 kilometre hike to get here was worth it, because the waterfalls were magnificent. I’m so proud of my sister for pushing through and being determined to keep hiking even though her MS has caused some problems lately.
We got our shoes wet and then got back on the path to head home. Back over two more rivers, enjoying the views and the good company.
On the way back we decided to take a fork in the path down a lower contour through the forest which was muddy but much easier to navigate.
It also seemed to be more popular with hikers and less so with mountain bikers.
Here’s little map of our route:
She’s actually the General Manager of a small boutique hotel in Cape Town and with our continued lockdowns and salary cuts she has decided to walk a kilometre for every R100 that she raises through a backabuddy fundraiser to help support her staff.
Most of the cleaning, kitchen and garden staff earn minimal salaries to begin with and they are now being cut by more than 60%.
So if you’ve read this far and think you would like to help support a small business of people struggling to survive in Cape Town, South Africa then feel free to use this link to donate. (No pressure!)
HARTLAND STAFF BACKABUDDY PAGE(https://www.backabuddy.co.za/hartland-staff)
The full story is on her page above. So let’s see what we can do to help.
I’ll be walking a multi-day hike this week starting Friday morning and I’ll be walking all of my 76 kilometres in liew of my sister.
Sending love from the southern-most tip of Africa.
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I just l0ve your shots of the sunrise! They are so beautiful!
Thank you! I can’t believe it was well after 8am. Winter here but it should start getting Light earlier soon.
😮 you look very light dressed for the winter. Does the winter in your areas is harsh and what is the lowest degree that could be measured?
It was around 10C that morning. And stays around that temperature at night. Lowest is probably around 5C but not too often. It also get up to around 20C on sunny days in winter. It rains A LOT!! But no snow here in Cape Town.
D*mn, you have a better winter than us. Our degrees sometimes for a couple of days fall to -10 or even -20, then the weather heats and starts the rains as you said.
We have about 4 months of rain like this in winter and then in Summer it gets very windy and hot. Around 30C. But the wind does cool it down. But we don’t have central heating here. So our houses are cold! We just installed a fireplace and it’s making such a bit difference! It warms most of the house. It’s wonderful! I don’t think I could cope going outside in anything below 0 😳🥶
😁 you just get used to it. I just don't like the burning feeling when you come from the really cold outside in the house. My hands just burn, but when I wash them with cold water everything gets better
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1252.
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