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KLEINPLAAS
DAM - RED HILL
Time:
2
hours 15 minutes
Distance:
7,
8 km
Route:
Return
(Dogs allowed on leash)
Brief
Description
This
is a walk through one of the Cape Peninsula’s fynbos hot spots.
For anyone with a botanical bent this is a floral paradise, particularly
in the springtime. Since the fires of 1994 and 2000 the veld has
recovered well, and come back with a vengeance. There are numerous
populations of rare plants, so the “no picking” rule
applies even more especially here. the route is along a fairly level
jeep track the entire way to Simon’s
Town’s water supply. You need a permit from the Simon’s
Town Municipality, which you can arrange by phoning (021) 786-1551.
Start
On
the main road between Glencairn and Simon’s Town, 700 m before
reaching Simon’s Town railway station, turn right where the
sign indicates the road (M66) to Scarborough via Red Hill. From
this point measure 3,5 km to reach a large parking area on the left
of Red Hill Road. This is a lookout spot well worth a stop to enjoy
the spectacular view of Simon’s Town and the naval dockyard.
From the lookout spot, continue a further 1,3 km until you come
to a sign on the left indicating the grave of Just Nuisance (see
Points of Interest). Turn left here over a cattle-grid and immediately
left again, to park your car in the shade of the trees.
Walk back to the road (M66) you have just turned off, and continue
walking a further 100 m up the road until you come to a signpost
indicating the start of the walk. Two large boulders are placed
at the beginning to prevent vehicles from entering.
Directions
Three
or four minutes after starting past the two boulders, you will be
confronted by a fork in the jeep track. Take the clearer and more
obvious one to the right. Ten to fifteen minutes later, again look
out for a fork in the jeep track. Once again take the more obvious
fork to the right. Soon the track begins to climb gently before
dipping down into a valley, with Grootkop looming above you to the
left. A single path joins the track obliquely from the left. Continue
along the valley until you meet another fork, again taking the right
option. After yet another right turn, you will get onto the gravel
road leading a few metres further to the dam wall.
At the time of writing, there was no route around the dam. I tried
finding one (some survey maps show a myriad of paths that don’t
exist). In the process, I had an uncomfortably close encounter with
a one-metre-long puff adder as thick as my forearm. Rather stick
to the jeep track! Enjoy a drinks break on the shores of the dam
and return along the same route.
Points
of Interest
-
Kleinplaas Dam was built in 1964 and the wall raised in 1970 to
its present capacity of 1 300 Ml. It is built on the eastern portion
of a farm that was known as Klein Plaats.
-
Fish eagle occur at the dam, and the “call of Africa”
can be clearly heard. The plaintive cry of the fish eagle never
fails to leave me with gooseflesh.
-
Just Nuisance has his grave close to where you park your car.
Just Nuisance, like Jock of the Bushveld, was immortalised in
a book written about him. This Great Dane was more than just a
dog. He was a Royal Navy mascot and did much to boost the morale
of the sailors who came in contact with him. Born in 1937, he
met his end in a car accident on his seventh birthday in 1944.
But in his short seven years he became a legend, with stories
still being told about him today. He was officially registered
as an able-bodied seaman and posted to HMS Afrikander. His charge
sheet showed numerous misdemeanours, including going AWOL whilst
regularly taking the train ride to Cape Town. This was ostensibly
to fetch drunken sailors back from the fleshpots of Cape Town,
where he even had a bed at his disposal in the Union Jack Club.
Like any good sailor, he regularly got into fights with mascots
from visiting ships. He appeared in numerous publications including
Reader’s Digest and Time Magazine.
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