INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Chapman's Peak drive in Cape Town. Picture: Matthew Jordaan

There are so many good hikes and short walks in and around Cape Town that even an avid wanderer need not repeat one that often, but this past Sunday I revisited a favourite, the clamber to the top of Chapman’s Peak.

The hike offers wonderfully scenic views of Hout Bay and across the water to the overhanging mass of the Sentinel, while higher up one looks down over the lush green of the Noordhoek Valley. It offers a well worn and well maintained path with enough uphill to make you feel you’ve had some good exercise, without it being overly taxing. For the relative neophyte it is a wonderful introduction to short day-hiking in the peninsula. And the path done in reverse forms part of the Hoerikwaggo Trail for those setting their sights on something more strenuous.

At present you can still access the starting point off Chapman’s Peak Drive with a day pass that allows for hikers and picnickers to do a “U” turn trip without having to pay toll fees. The parking area for the start lies only some 750 metres or so from the apex of the drive and from there a short steep clamber up a good flagstone path takes you away from the road and up onto the saddle of the mountain.

As I set out there was a lot of low cloud providing a welcome break from the heat of the past few weeks. Ideal hiking weather if not great for photography, and I got only the odd glimpse of the bay and the tourist and NSRI boats leaving their tell-tale white wakes in the protected waters. The path is really quite obvious, however, so there is never any danger in losing one’s way, just one of the elements that make this such a good walk for beginners.

Despite the fact that the views were all but hidden, the walk wasn’t without its pleasures. There were dew-drenched watsonias and vygies along the path, appearing all the more colourful for the low light and misty background, and I was serenaded with the constant chirpings of birds, hidden in the cloud but welcoming the new day. There is something surreal about hiking in the mist – it blocks out not only the sunshine but also the noise, so that I walked in a state of near sensory deprivation: no traffic sounds or anything else to invade my thoughts. It is a lovely way to get some exercise and at the same time contemplate things in peace and quiet.

And there was more than enough to contemplate too. One of the reasons for selecting this particular route is that it may be lost to us shortly, or at least the easy access of the day pass. Also, there was a planned protest march later in the morning over the plans to build a four-lane toll booth, office facilities and the possibility of withdrawing the day pass for hikers and picnickers.

I pondered the constant threat to our access to our natural heritage. Skoorsteen’s Kop is now effectively cut off with private fencing, and only last year on this mountain we had to revise our route due to loss of access on the Noordhoek side due to private development there.

In the city bowl, access to Tafelberg Road and Signal Hill to enjoy one of the great sights of the city at night has been curtailed due to what the authorities call “security concerns”, and around Hout Bay the development is spreading higher and higher up the contours of the mountain, which may well threaten access further in due course.

The presence of a beautiful national park on our doorsteps is one of the great benefits of living in Cape Town but it won’t do us a jot of good if all the paths are blocked off.

Pushing hard and driven in part by a sense of frustration over the constant threat of development, I reached the peak in less than an hour, although the estimated time for the route is a bit more than that. On the top I was surrounded by cloud – not a sound penetrated the grey blanket, and I enjoyed the solitude for a while before heading back down the path. It was a wonderfully peaceful place to have a spot of breakfast, the colourful flowers bobbing in the slight breeze and the rocks painted with the abstract colours of ancient lichens.

It was the calm before the storm actually, as I was to find out.

Having returned to Hout Bay I joined the well-attended protest march. It seems that the reasons for people’s disquiet varied. Some disliked what seemed to be the overly ostentatious plans for an office block, some were concerned with the possible loss of day pass access, and many were simply unhappy that the entire toll road structure seemed to be steeped in self-interest and financial waste.

The need to finance the maintenance of a costly piece of roadway was not really at issue, but people were concerned about the wastage of funds on buildings, guaranteed payments even when the pass is closed and loss of access to the mountain. It made the quiet time on top of the mountain all the more special, but of course to be able to enjoy that you still need to get access to it. - Weekend Argus