Our favourite part of the national park in Cape Town?Silvermine Nature Reserve....Visiting Silvermine is like a heady blast of fresh air for me. 
Ahh - Cape Town nature at its best! As with every other part of the national park in Cape Town it is easy to reach by car. I get out, stretch and take a look at the perfect fynbos (best seen in late winter and early spring) and drink in the view across to the Hottentots' Holland mountains. You can see for miles from up there.
Silvermine is a great place to go for easy walks that hardly work up a sweat. You can head for the boardwalk round the dam, Elephant's Eye or the Hout Bay lookout point. Those are all on the northern section. Or you can go for the more rugged Steenberg section which is above False Bay. Our children have recently developed a passion for rock scrambling (I couldn't call it rock-climbing, that sounds way too scientific!) In light of this, we have a new favourite route at Silvermine. You don't need to be super-fit, just able to keep up with a four year old! Oh yes, and pack a picnic and water bottles - we never leave home without one :-) (If rock-climbing is really your thing, there are wonderful climbs in other parts of the national park.) This walk and scramble is from Silvermine South to Steenberg peak. We've yet to reach the peak itself in our wanderings but we've had a lot of fun on the way to it. One day we'll climb to the very top, but we're in no hurry to conquer it! That's the beauty of living so close to the Table Mountain National Park We set out from the car park, dog leading the way. (This is one of the dog-friendly sections of the national park.) Just over 6 years ago this area was completely destroyed by fire, and if you look carefully you can still see charred branches. Fynbos is rejuvenated by fire rather than being annihilated and it's amazing how the vegetation has recovered completely. We follow the path along to the sandy track, cross the track and head roughly east in the direction of False Bay (just visible round the edge of the mountain. There are lots of lovely rocks to scramble on as we go so progress is generally slow but the entertainment value is huge!
We follow its pointing finger and cross a small clear stream chuckling its way down the slope. Waterbottles refilled (although we have only covered about 1km) we are ready to begin our assault on the heights! We toil upwards for all of half an hour! Progress is slow (youngest member of the party is only 3, and needs carrying at times). We reach a likely outcrop on the brow of the slope and decide to stop and picnic here. Rest and recuperation There are great rewards to being perched up here. The kids can pit themselves against the mountain and feel like they're winning. Rock overhangs serve as caves for amazing adventures and imaginary tales can be enacted. There is simple food in the backpack, but it tastes like a feast! Coffee in the flask for grownups... Over our heads we watch a pair of pied crows back and forth over the rugged heights. In a period of quietness we become aware of a sweet persistent bird call not far off. Straining our eyes we see a male sunbird in a large protea bush. Finally his mate joins him. The agitated calling ceases immediately and the pair fly off in tandem. On a normal day we sit around up here almost as long as we have so far walked! The children range around us and investigate everything they can see. We soak up the peace and chat quietly. Eventually we pack our goods and begin the descent. On the way down we are treated to the sight of a Cape sugarbird hovering over a bush, its long tail feathers streaming in the wind. When we get back to the car we're content with our efforts - another peak as yet unreached, a new adventure to be enjoyed on some other day. Useful infoEntrance to the south part of the reserve is subject to a small parking fee. No Wild Card exemption. Entrance to the northern section is free with a Wild Card, otherwise R10 per person. No dogs allowed on the boardwalk or at the dam. Please clean up after your dog and keep the mountain odour-free for the wildlife and other visitors' enjoyment!
< < Back from Silvermine, part of Table Mountain National Park
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To our left we can see the sweep of the Constantia Valley with Devil's Peak and the Back Table in the background.