Cape Town Day Hikes: Finding The Hole-In-The-Wall

Via Belle Ombre

19 December 2022

Not THAT Hole In The Wall

When someone mentions ‘Hole-In-The-Wall’, people invariably assume you are referring to the hike in Coffee Bay.

We didn’t do that Hole-In-The-Wall, but we saw the hole in 2017 when we finished the Wildcoast hike, from Port St John to Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape.

Brilliant 6 day hike I would love to do again!

However, in Cape Town we have our own version of Hole In The Wall, nowhere near the ocean, although we have two of them…

Bwhahahaha rest of the world, especially you inland places with NO oceans, while we have two…

God loves us, what can we say?

From certain points along this hike, you can see the Indian Ocean and the Republic of Hout Bay. Not a lot of people have heard of this hike. It may have a different name. It may be more popularly known as Caveman’s Overhang.

I was first shown the route with MA (Mountain Ascent) hiking club, led by Moegammad Hendricks around 2012.

We Almost Always Get Lost

Part of the fun of this hike is that we KNOW we are going to get lost and/or take a wrong turn.

We are kind of disappointed when we don’t. The trail is less travelled, so overgrown and obscure and because its off the beaten track (in this case, the Bridle Path), few people use it.

Every time we do it, we go off course, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. It’s hard to describe the route, but I’ll try.

Caveat Emptor: With my no-sense of direction, I could get this completely wrong, so B Cassiem may have to step in to edit this entire blog post.

Constantia Nek

We always start the hike at Constantia Nek parking and follow the jeep track. (This part I know I didn’t get wrong. So far, so good!)

We don’t stay on the jeep track, but take the first trail to the left, after the boom. If you stay right, you will go left for the Bridle path or right towards Cecilia forest. The trail will take you to the first contour. Keep left then take a short right. If you continue left you will join the trail to Constantia Corner or as we call it, ‘Belle Ombre’. I have no idea what it’s really called.

Ordinarily, we would take the trail to the second contour and meet up with the Bridle Path at the Overseers Hut opposite De Villiers Dam.

Past the dam, on the left is a second trail. That is the one we take to Hole-In-The-Wall and/or Caveman’s Overhang.

So far, I have not gotten us lost yet. Yay!

A Different Corner

On Monday 19 December, at 5am, Chucky and I found ourselves alone at Constantia Nek parking. How do we come to be there on a Monday morning you may well ask.

We had been asked to show someone the trail. However, the someone, who shall remain nameless to protect his dignity, did not pitch.

I had asked B Cassiem, Mubeen (Baby Fakier) and Pacha Mama to join us. They arrived a while later and since we were there, we might as well hike, right? I was surprisingly sore from scrambling up India Venster the day before. My New Year’s resolution is to work on my upper body strength. For realz.

And this is how we happen to be hiking on a Monday morning.

Mubeen suggested we go via Belle Ombre, since he hated the Bridle Path. Most of us dislike walking on a jeep track and the concrete/stone hybrid that is the Bridle Path can be jarring.

We went for it.

At the second contour, instead of going right towards the Overseers’ Hut, we turned left towards Constantia Corner.

It was cool and overcast. Perfect weather for a hybrid hike.

Belle Ombre

The trail that goes around Constantia corner has a bit of climbing, nothing strenuous but it will get your heart rate up, followed by a sweet little scramble.

In July 2022, the Sunday Hikers, all 41 of us did it on a beautiful winters’ day. It remains one of my favourite routes; short and sweet but a nice work out. It was MA’s signature hike 😊

When we got to ‘Breakfast Rock’, where we would ordinarily stop for a drink and snacks before heading home, we took a 2 second break and instead of heading for the Bridle Path in front of us, kept left, heading towards the Orangekloof side of De Villiers Dam.

NB: Orangekloof is a restricted area within the Table Mountain National Park. You need a permit (free) and a guide with only 12 hikers allowed on the trail per day. You can request a permit by calling this number (+27 (0)21 422-1601) or contacting Table Mountain National Park directly.

Please note we did not enter the restricted area at all. We followed a badly overgrown (story of my life, hey!) trail around De Villiers Dam and bundu bashed our way to the dam wall. (I’m exaggerating. There was a path, it just chose to play hide-and-seek with us!)

At some point there had been some rock falls which also obscured where the path had been. People don’t go there often. I like that.

We were exploring, multiple lacerations from ardent ‘hikers’ friend’, notwithstanding.

‘Hikers friend’ is a particularly savage little thorn bush found everywhere on our hiking trails with a mean, often spiteful streak.

I am not sure if the name is meant to be ironic. However, it is said that this prickly little bush has saved many a hiker from potential disaster by either breaking their fall or providing a (relatively) soft landing after a slip, trip or fall.

De Villiers Dam

I had never been on this side of the dam, but we had an amazing view of Orangekloof on our left from the vantage of the dam wall.

At this moment I missed my Mambi. Surely, she would have had a minor hat attack having to climb that ladder and cross the dam wall.

Once we crossed the dam wall, we followed a small, overgrown path that joined up with the trail we usually took to get to Hole-In-The-Wall.

B Cassiem had done the trail only 2 weeks ago with the Sunday hikers and spotted a familiar eye mark.

I hadn’t done the trail in over a year and although I am useless at remembering the finer details of most trails, I did see a rock, about 45 degrees, which I remember could either be scaled or negotiated.

Depending on the time of year, and the weather, whichever is easiest. Today it was easier to scale the rock. The rains had given the fynbos voomah and they were green and lush, which is beautiful, except that the path was even less discernible than usual.

Not complaining. Losing the trail is part of what makes this hike so great!

I am not quite sure which hole the trail is named after, if it’s named after any particular hole at all.

The path is overgrown can be slippery in parts.

At one point you will need to hold onto a tree branch and step over a gap in the rocks. It’s a small step but looking down into an abyss can be quite daunting. Then there is the stone horsy, which you have to ride.

Giddy-up!

For a while we will be on an unmarked trail with nary a cairn in sight.

You can’t go anywhere but right because left will have you falling down the mountain.

Falling off is not encouraged. Please don’t do it.

The entire time though you will have amazing views of Orangekloof and Hout Bay.

Is This The Hole?

Maybe? I don’t know if this is the hole the route was named for.

It’s well-hidden and we went past it at first before backtracking.

In 2 short weeks a bush had grown over the path. Luckily B Cassiem was able to pick up the trail again.

This hole provides a fabulous photo op.

Then we enter a hidden forest with lost of treebeard, a little bit of Fanghorn right here in the Nek.

So cool. After some ducking and diving, we come out on the other side of the rock.

But not there yet!

Who knew all the little hidden crevices behind that hole. It’s marvellous.

At once we are on top of the mountain again and you must watch your step here. The trail is overgrown so vegetation has covered many gaps between the rocks.

If you don’t watch where you are going, you are liable to step into a hole and can hurt yourself badly. One of our Sunday hikers, Aunty Sharifa broke her arm 2 weeks ago when she stepped into one such hole, lost her balance and hurt herself quite badly.

To her credit she finished the hike. Pacha Mama, who was doing the hike for the first time kept exclaiming how amazed she was A Sharifa finished the hike with one hand. You need both hands and both feet on this hike.

A Sharifa is a legend! We wish her a full and speedy recovery and can’t wait for her to join us again soon!

Hop, Skip, But Don't Jump!

When you get to this part of the trail, you can find 10 ways to get to your destination.

After many attempts, we knew which way we preferred to go.

There is a bit of scrambling around a cliff edge. And trees and rocks will try their utmost to trip you. Be vigilant!

Over this crag you need to keep left around a massive boulder, and you will get to a short but sweet little scramble. Here you are teasingly close to the actual hole.

Once you negotiate this scramble, which can be slippery, you are nearly home. You can go around the top of the overhang here, but that is a hairier option. We did that once by accident. The fun route is to stay left.

You should see a hole in the mountain. If you crawl through that hole, you will reach the cave and the Caveman’s Overhang.

Caveman's Overhang

This is one of my favourite hikes.

It’s challenging but not daunting. There is some scrambling and some bush-whacking and a good chance you will take a wrong turn or miss the hole completely.

You will require a sense of adventure for this one. As you can tell from the video, Pacha Mama had a *bleeping* good time.

We took our time enjoying the cave. It was Monday so we had the mountain mostly to ourselves.

After a leisurely breakfast, we eventually headed back to the Bridle Path.

The dam was now on our right and we had to keep going left.

I know I should say North, South, East, West etc, but I am not sure of the directions, having tried unsuccessfully for millennia to try to read a compass. Left and right will have to do. I have a hard time keeping those two right as it is.

Anyway, go in the general direction of the Bridle Path, which you can see from the cave, and then once you get there, you can follow the path back down to the Constantia Nek parking area.

Baboons

In the last couple of years baboons have been spotted in Constantia Nek.

We saw warning signs at the boom. When we went back down to our cars, we saw an adult female and a younger baboon on the roof of one of the buildings. The younger baboon had a packet of some sort in its hand.

We also saw baboon watchers. You can’t miss them with their luminescent vests. We saw the baboon ‘guards’ (?)… is that politically correct even? try to chase off the troop.

There were about 4 – 6 baboons on the other side, close to the parking lot. It looked like the baboons were winning, tbh.

Please be alert. Don’t carry food in your hands or have food visible when baboons are around.

We saw 3 youngsters (people, not baboons) with fast food pies casually strolling towards the jeep track. We advised them to not eat and walk. A baboon is a powerful animal. You don’t want to wrestle one for a garage pie.

We had another fabulous hike today, making it a back-to-back for the long weekend.

Tomorrow (Saturday), I leave for The Otter Trail. Will spill the tea (not literally) when I get back!