Silvermine

In 1675, when the Dutch East India Company was developing the area around here and it was thought that silver was to be found in the hills, three mine shafts were dug, high up in the mountains above False Bay. No silver was found and the mines were soon abandoned. However, the name Silvermine was kept.

In 1899 a dam was built and a reservoir created in the same area. This supplied water to Muizenberg and Kalk Bay, until the end of the 20th century, by which time it had largely fallen out of use. Gradually the area was developed, with trails and walkways and car parks, and in 1998 it was proclaimed part of Table Mountain National Park. From the year 2000 swimming has been allowed in the reservoir.

We went to find Silvermine today and were stunned by how high we had to climb up (driving!) and how spectacular the views were when we arrived. The reservoir is a beautiful expanse of water surrounded by mountains. (It was strange viewing a full to capacity reservoir no longer used as a water source at a time of severe drought.) And yes, there were a few people swimming – well three.

There is a lovely boardwalk/path all the way round and this made a short, but very pleasant, walk. There are many more trails and hikes and cycle tracks etc. It’s a huge area; we were only in a tiny bit of it. The vegetation is made up of fynbos - the area is located within the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest, but most diverse of the six floral kingdoms in the world. It is astonishing to see such a variety of plants, even at this time of year when most of the flowers are gone.

Quite a bit of cloud about today, but it has still been very warm. The light breeze this morning blew the clouds about in an interesting way – as you can see in the picture of the Table Mountain range, taken from Silvermine.

Then we went on to Hout Bay (not by way of the famous Chapman’s Peak, which is scary) and one of our favourite places to eat – Wharfside Grill, Mariner’s Wharf – where you can sit overlooking the beach and eat the most wonderful fish, freshly caught and perfectly cooked.