False Bay Scenic Look down on whales as though they were fish in a pond This beautiful walk deserves more publicity than it gets. For most unexpected and spectacular views, as well as the chance to look down on whales as though they were fish in a pond, try the False Bay Scenic Walk, inside the Cape Point section of the Table Mountain National Park. With your map in your hand follow the pebbly path as it climbs steadily up the back of Judas Peak. The view down to Smitswinkel Bay is startling, but there s better to come. The path rises steeply up the side of Die Boer and crosses Rooinek until suddenly a vast view of the Point and the sheer-fronted Paulsberg unfolds before you. This is a good spot to enjoy a sandwich and a drop of juice. Don t worry you re not going to climb the Paulsberg peak! I don t know the origins of all the strange mountain names in the area. Immediately below you on the coast is the rocky inlet that is Christinasgang Christina was the wife of the Booi from Booi se Skerm, nomadic fisherfolk, I m told. If it s a clear day with a flat sea, far below you tiny whales will be clearly visible in the bright blue-green water. The name Rooinek for a nek between the twin bumps of Die Boer is merely a mapmaker s private joke. 62 False Bay Scenic (Cape Peninsula: Cape Point)
The route leaves the seafront and traverses behind Paulsberg through some interesting old sheep kraals. You ll soon turn back towards False Bay and climb up Kanonkop, to the old signal cannon. Although the views from the cannon are good, the best view of the sea below you is a few hundred metres below the hill top, and, not much further on, there is a fine cave shelter with intricate lichen patterns. The path eventually drops down to Booi se Skerm through colourful fynbos, and it s worth walking back up the coast to Venus Pool, about a kilometre away, before you complete your walk. As you drive away have a look at the restored old lime kiln that dates from 1890. Sea shells were baked here in the nineteenth century, and the resulting lime taken by boats to Simon s Town. Before you go home visit the restored old homestead, Smith s Farm, which is now the Buffelsfontein Visitor s Centre. You ll find snacks here, as well as good displays of the many intriguing features of Cape Point. If it s a weekend you might want to skip a visit to the Point itself who needs all that traffic after the wonderful walk you ve enjoyed? 63
ERICA PLUKENETII Kanonkop The Kanonkop path is a useful short circular route if you don t have time to tackle the full splendour of the False Bay Scenic Walk. You could start at the first small parking area on the Black Rocks road, or at the old lime-kiln either way it s about an hour s scramble to the old cannon. It s thought that the cannon was placed there by the Royal Navy some time after 1806, as part of a chain of cannons that would be fired to warn of the approach of ships to Simon s Bay. Pity the fellow who spent lonely days on the wild and windy summit of the kop, waiting for hostile ships that never came! This is an area popular with some of the larger animals at Cape Point, and you ll notice how frequently small game paths intersect with your trail. This might be a useful moment to point out one or two things about Cape Point s animals. In the past I ve frequently heard LEUCADENDRON XANTHOCONUS MOEDERKAPPIE (DISPERIS CAPENSIS) VLIEBOS (SALTERA SARCOCOLLA) 64
comments upon how seldom one sees animals at Cape Point except the baboons, of course. Well, apart from the fact that lots of the big animals shouldn t really be there at all, they re usually easy to find, if you know where to look. Throughout the Cape Point area there are patches of open ground where, at MR SMITH some time in the past, invasive vegetation was removed usually rooikrantz. These open areas were quickly colonised by grasses; the grasses are much more palatable and nutritious than the surrounding fynbos. As a result they attract grazing animals. In fact, they re simply known to biologists as grazing lawns. There s a 100% certainty that you ll find at least one bontebok, zebra or eland on one of the many grazing lawns at Cape Point, on any given day. If you walk the circuit in a clockwise direction, you ll gradually climb the slopes through fairly dense protea veld, with the view of the Point behind you. Don t be distressed you re going to be enjoying that view all the way down. As you crest the hill you ll look out across the Smitswinkelvlakte to the Atlantic Ocean. If you squint you might spot the tiny sparkle of Sirkelsvlei, far away across the plain. The path passes through boulders and takes an abrupt right turn; the cannon is some 500 metres ahead. About 50 metres south of the cannon is a very curious, head-shaped rock known affectionately as Mr Smith, after the original owner of the Buffelsfontein homestead. It s a pity that the path doesn t go right past Mr Smith he s just as interesting as the cannon. At the cannon you re joined from the left by the False Bay Scenic walk, the path that has come all the way along the ridge from the viewsite above Smitswinkel Bay. Follow this path down to Booi se Skerm, then admire the reconstructed lime kiln before climbing the tarred road. The mass of boulders and shattered road-surface on the corner show where the Byenes a honey-combed krans of small limestone caves collapsed some time ago. As you climb the hill to your car the grazing lawn below you is likely to be occupied by a few sleepy bontebok or an ostrich! 65
Routes: False Bay Scenic: You need two cars. Leave one at Booi se Skerm turn left to Bordjiesrif 500m before the Buffelsfontein Visitor Centre. 1,2 km down this road turn left to Black Rocks and Booi se Skerm. Return to the viewsite above Smitswinkel Bay about one kilometre inside the Reserve gate. Start here and walk south if you want the best views; it s now seven kilometres to your car at Booi se Skerm Kanonkop: Start at the Black Rocks car park. Distance from Cape Town: 68 km, 1 hour Other attractions: There are several other littleused but highly-recommended walks at Cape Point study the map, buy a Wild Card and enjoy hours of pure wilderness on the doorstep of the city That s the point of a walk! (Cape Argus, June 9 2005) Find the point of the Cape (Cape Argus, August 17 2006) 300m sweaty bits 7km 3h30 All seasons YOU LL NEED YOUR MAP 66 False Bay Scenic (Cape Peninsula: Cape Point)