Grapevine Sport & Leisure
Hiking 101
Your start up guide to hiking the Winelands
Overlooking Fish Hoek and Covelly.
Silvermine Trail
Silvermine Trail
Exploring the surrounding natural areas by
Silvermine Hike:
adventurous and decided to go further south
enduring a hike is an excellent way to be out
Between Kalkbay and
just to find an extreme steep climb down of
and about and a very fulfilling experience,
Muizenberg (Pet friendly)
around 50m vertical drop in a 15m distance. If
enriching us with panoramic views of the
Distance: 8.03 km
you are on the less adventurous side, go back
winelands, filled with fynbos vegetation and
Time: 4 - 6 hours
down via Echo Valley to join the Old Mule Trail
spectacular mountain ranges.
which will take you back to the starting point
Getting there: You can park your car in the
without the steep climb down. Both Spes Bona
Hiking encompasses everything from taking
designated parking bays on the side of Boyes
and Echo Valley feature substantial indigenous
a quick walk in the woods, to climbing major
Drive (the parking bays are half-on, half-off the
Afro-Montane Forest.
mountains with a 20 kg backpack. This article
road / pavement). We took an easy Sunday
focuses on the less-intense side of the scale,
morning stroll in the mountains behind Kalk Bay
There are well-constructed, sturdy board-walks
such as day hikes with friends, with a small
on the first weekend of spring. We started at
leading through both, serving to protect the
backpack and maybe even taking along man’s
the base of the Old Mule Trail, headed up the
indigenous trees and keeping erosion at bay.
best friend.
mountainside and to the left. At Bailey’s Kloof,
we headed up and then swung back south
(to the left) on the Hilltop Path. We continued
up Spes Bona Valley and passed through the
Amphitheatre. On our way back we were very