A Sense of Place. Take five seconds and imagine yourself deep in a valley, surrounded by rocky outcrops and fynbos* – neither soul nor structure to be seen to the north, south and any other point of the compass. Sunbirds flitter between feeding, warblers trill and a deep intake of breath suggests an unusual clarity of air. Welcome to the middle of Cape Town. A group of us were hiking what is known as the ‘back-table’, on top of Table mountain. We’d hiked from Kloof Nek – that intersection where you turn off to the Table Mountain Cableway – along a trail known as the Pipe Track, with the Atlantic ocean like a broad canvas to the right and the affluence of Camps Bay immediately below. A scramble up Woody Ravine took us to the top. Far below, the dark arrowing shapes of surfing dolphins beneath the waves led us to the ageing piece of shipwreck off Llandudno beach. Here on top it was quite flat, the well-marked national parks pathway leading to two dams built over a century ago to feed an early developing Cape Town with water. For this resident of the city, it was an undiscovered world. Thirty minutes later we were descending Disa Gorge, the subject of the first paragraph above and the only place where grows the Disa Lily. While endemism is only of mild interest to the average reader, it does remind us that the Cape Floral Kingdom – although being the smallest – is the most bountiful of the six floral kingdoms on earth. The bummer was that the lilies had stopped flowering, and I didn’t get to see one. At the bottom of the gorge we turned left into Oranjekloof (Orange Kloof), spending the night in the SA National Parks self-catering camp at the edge of this part of Table Mountain National Park. The road to Constantia Nek was a short walk ahead of us, and Hout Bay a few kilometres to the right. The route we’d followed – even though we were heading in the ‘wrong’ direction – is actually part of a whole – the five night Hoerikwaggo Trail, which follows the peninsula, from Cape Point to Table Mountain. We’d spent the entire day walking and scrambling within the municipal confines of a city. Another part of natural Cape Town I enjoy is the Noordhoek area. More specifically, a place called Monkey Valley, at the bottom of Chapman’s Peak Drive, one of the most stunning coastal drives on the planet. This is ‘horsey’ country, in the sense of large plots – many with paddocks – and lots of money. There may be a couple of B’nB’S around, but there is a place that’s a little bit special. Spread in and around a rare patch of elevated milkwood forest (which is a bit pungent in the high summer months), Monkey Valley is at the end of a road, above a beach, and calls itself a resort. To me it’s a little like a large, thatched lodge, with standout views from the deck down the kilometres of the relatively renowned Long beach below. There’s a pool for the very hot summer months, and a walkway leading down to a remote little spot called Surfers’ Corner. Of big boulders, vaguely treacherous currents and the occasional stranded whale, this is a beautiful beach, where residents walk dogs and ride horses. Tourists can too, and it’s hard to think of a better place for a gallop. Most people won’t do what you really should here – and that’s lie back and read on your deck. That’s if you’ve got the right room of course, like one of the impressive, stand-alone premier suites. If you don’t plan you may be tucked away amongst the trees, behind the main building. In that event the highlight is the spacious bathroom with its ball ‘n claw bath. If you’re booked into such a room, as I was with my son while looking for a place to live in town, you will be more inclined to explore, and there’s a fair bit worth mentioning. About two km’s around the corner is the Noordhoek Farm Village, offering restaurants, bars, deli’s and a children’s playground. Around the corner from that is the Cape Point Vineyard – which apparently has a really good market. Further out (a ten minute drive) towards the village of Kommetjie is the Imhoff Farm, with deli’s and craft-shops again the offering. It’s less pretentious than the previously-mentioned spots, probably because it’s not as fashionable. Around the corner is the Masiphumelele township / informal settlement; populated by economic refugees from Zimbabwe and the maladministered Eastern Cape province (ironically the heartland of the ruling party) province. Close by is one of the largest exhibition sites of the trademark Zimbabwean soapstone sculptures. Just beyond the village of Kommetjie itself is the Slangkop lighthouse. Which takes us back to the beginning, and the Table Mountain National Park. The third camp on the Hoerikwaggo Trail, this one is a marine experience. With tents in a gully just back from the beach, the Slangkop camp is a place of rock-pools and kelp, where the ocean rumble is constant. And you’re still in Cape Town. * that vegetation peculiar to the smallest yet most diverse of the world’s six floral kingdoms.

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