The mountainside above the picturesque little sea-side hamlet of Kalk Bay offers hours of trails, most of which have stunning views over the Kalk Bay Harbour and False Bay beyond. The area can be accessed from Boyes Drive above Kalk Bay, or from Silvermine East.
Getting there: park your car in the designated parking bays on the side of Boyes Drive (the bays are actually half-on, half-off the road/pavement)
We took an easy Sunday morning stroll in the mountains behind Kalk Bay on the first weekend of Spring. We started at the starting point of the Old Mule Trail, headed up the mountainside and to the right. At Bailey’s Kloof we headed up and then swung back south (to the left) on the Hilltop Path.
We headed up Spes Bona Valley, passed through the Amphitheatre, and then headed back down Echo Valley to join the Old Mule Trail which took us back to our starting point. Both Spes Bona and Echo Valley feature substantial indigenous Afro-Montane forests. There are well-constructed, sturdy board-walks leading through both, serving to protect the indigenous trees and keeping erosion at bay.
The Old Mule Trail is a gentle, easy route back down the mountain, and affords unbeatable views over Kalk Bay. My day was slightly stained by a bunch of surf-skiers who were bothering a pod of whales of Kalk Bay harbour.
We got to see plenty of pincushions, and for the first time, I saw and photographed some juvenile female Orange-breasted Sunbirds.
