Hiking Cups & Saucers and Wynberg Ridge

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CUPS & SAUCERS and WYNBERG RIDGE

TCSA members: Phillip Williams, Diane de Villiers, Vasco de Gouveia, Margarethe Schaefer

TCSA & Meridian: Mare Ascott, Tony Burton, Larry Jenkins

Meridian Visitors: Veena Sukha, Veronika Frey, Tim Jenkin, Tammy Lee, Simon Brooks

Visitors: Tammy Glanger, Dan Slater, Michaela Gabriel plus Litchi the rock-climbing-dog, Jean Snydom, John Spotten, Alex and Alex Romanov, Greta Higgo, Ilonja, and small dog Angel.

For a change, I arrived a little early and there was already a crowd. And they kept coming. Even after the indemnity had been signed, they came. No one could really count how many there were. I expected a crowd and was relieved that hike deprived Tim came along. With the exception of two, everyone from the Youth Day hike joined this one and even brought along friends. Another unusual thing about the group was that approximately ten of them are under 40 years of age.

We set off up Kasteelspoort under the foreboding grey Twelve Apostles, taking the turn-off to the B-route on the buttress.

Apart from Vasco side climbing, the scrambling went well but slowly, which was to be expected. I have no idea how Litchi and Angel (the dogs) ‘climbed’ the Cups & Saucers pitch without endangering the lives of their ‘parents’, but somehow they made it and we all enjoyed tea/breakfast with the sun creeping over Valken Buttress, accompanied by a stiff easterly wind.

From Here Tim took over, leading the group up the B route while I enjoyed mid-group leading. The next two pitches went well and we soon found ourselves on the windswept top and negotiated the many vague paths before joining the main Apostle Path.

Passing through the MCSA property, where the group was given a brief talk about the many buildings and five reservoirs, we passed across the Woodhead dam wall, where Veena braved the walk along the top of the wall. Passing a group called US from here on it was virgin territory for everyone (except the leader) as we made our way through reeds and along vague paths to the next two dams – Victoria and Alexandria. Many years ago, this whole area was covered in pine trees – a sterile landscape with almost nothing growing underneath but now covered in a variety of indigenous vegetation.

Following the ridge, the plan was to (illegally) cross the dam wall but there was a vehicle, so we had to walk below the wall, under the eagle eyes of goodness-knows-who-in -another-vehilce-on-top -of-the-nountain!!!!!

Crossing to Wynberg Ridge, on another vague path, we were treated to lunch with unusual view of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains, Hout Bay, Grootkop and Orange Kloof below. Veronika informed us that since we reached the top of Kasteels Buttress we had walked 4.02km, taking 1.19hours and reaching an elevation of 807m.

Dan and one of the other guys cut down a stand of pine trees before we set off along the ridge, some braving step-overs while others took the lower route, bypassing a shelter. Tammy is a real daredevil and took the harder route, almost leaving us with the guardianship of her kids! And the dogs, well, it was either kind hands or magic that they made it only for Angel to get lost in the high bushes and reeds. And all too soon we were near Wynberg caves, where Tim took half of the group ‘running’ down Kasteelspoort, while the rest of us arrived half an hour later at the guestimated end time of 15h30.

This was a very successful meet thanks to a competent, friendly, supportive group and should be repeated with the possibility of a different route, but same people and same leader, in the near future.