Where to hike when its pouring with rain in Cape Town? You may think that a hike is out of the question, and on some days that may be so. However, some times, it is worth a little investigation, to see what is hapenning elsewhere on the Peninsula.

A rainbow over the city. Taken from Tafelberg rd

Yesterday morning, in the Southern suburbs and Cape Town city centre, it was raining the proverbial cats and dogs, and a very wet day, seemed to be in order. Initially I planned a day on the Kirstenbosch side, along the contour path and to Cecelia waterfall. At least on this walk, the trees and forest would offer some shelter, and its a beautiful walk in any weather.

But in a moment of inspiration, I decided to look a little further afield, and so drove to Kalk Bay. No rain! Overcast, but no rain! We set off up the Oukraal Path, and through Echo Valley. Despite being overcast, there was a wonderful view, and still no rain! As we came over the top of the ridge and began to drop into Silvermine, we were hit by a blast of the cold North Westerly wind, and could see the dark clouds over Constantiaberg and Table Mountain, indicating lots of rain over there. But we still remained dry.

View from Hilltop path, above Kalk Bay

Joining the jeep track, and beginning to head back towards False Bay again, we were clearly heading towards blue sky. Whilst behind us, Noordhoek looked very miserable indeed. By the time, we reached the Spes Bona forest Path, and headed into the Amphitheatre, we were fishing in our backpacks to find sunscreen and hats, and were back at the car in blazing sunshine. So despite waking to pouring rain, we still a wonderful days hike.