Saunter to Sunbird

The track from Clovelly Country Club to the now seemingly defunct Sunbird Centre which serves as an identificatiiion point for hiking is neither scenic nor strenuous, and so provides the perfect opportunity for a sociable morning combining exercise, fresh air and convivial company.

Starting at the last car park, we set off with our backs to an icy southeast wind and soon found ourselves mingling with assorted Friday golfers, some teeing off from a position above our heads (time for caution), others searching intently in the long grass along the fairway. A bit of good-natured jeering and banter ensued on recognising a fellow hiker enjoying a day on the course, and it must be acknowledged that his ball was neatly awaiting his second swing in the middle of the lush fairway.

Moving on, we continued along the sandy track, accompanied by the sound of fast-moving water from the Silvermine River as it tumbled seaward. The heavy rains of winter have taken their toll on this track, and although never used as a public road, no vehicle will pass this way until substantial damage caused by floods has been repaired. Large chunks have disappeared, with just a thin strip of the original track remaining, and dongas have exposed old pipes which must have formed part of the water supply to the original farm many decades ago. The hiking landscape on the Peninsula has changed irrevocably over the last few months. It’s difficult to imagine that such severe erosion in so many remote places can be restored.

Escaping the mud, we turned right to toil up the slopes of Kleintuin mountain but soon had to turn back due to thick undergrowth. On reaching the Sunbird site, we crossed the turbulent stream via the wooden footbridge and clambered up the well-worn path to meet our original track on the other side of the thicket. Our destination was the old oak tree beside the river, near the ruined ammunition store from the once working silvermine. All that remains of the operations are dangerous sinkholes where the abandoned tunnels were excavated on the other side of the river.

But time stands still in the shade of the oak, its branches dipping low over the water, and the river runs on in endless procession as it cuts its relentless path down gullies old and new, And we rested there, companionably.