Silvermine River trail on a sunny day
Today dawned a typical spring day – fresh southeaster, clouds racing along the mountain tops over Silvermine Nature Reserve and sunny skies everywhere else. The walk was set for the river trail in Silvermine and despite the gloomy outlook, the clouds did indeed hug the edges of the mountain and we trudged up the rocky path in bright sunshine tempered by the cool breeze. Birds twittered around us and ericas and proteas, polygala and keurboom, dotted the slopes with scarlet and orange, yellow, pink and white, with the sword-shaped leaves of watsonias and aristeas promising a good show of these striking bulbs later in the season.
Evidence of the heavy deluges of winter was all around, no more so than on the actual path, where sand has been gouged away to be deposited further downstream. This has left a much trickier trail, with uneven rocks exposed with few suitable footholds, and it seemed that the once easy and favourite hike has become a little more challenging for some, with a great deal of maintenance work to be done. This may be wishful thinking and it is really something that needs to be addressed with the authorities – there is little hope of increasing park revenues if the paths are allowed to deteriorate much further. On either side of the wooden walkway, one could see that the stream had become a raging torrent recently, with vegetation flattened and uprooted and clear signs of a widening of the river by many metres on either side before it subsided. This must be as a result of the mountains absorbing as much water as possible before the continued rains simply ran straight downhill?
Our usual coffee spot is on the walls of the picnic site under the trees a little way short of the dam wall, and this sheltered spot provides ample seating for a thirsty group of 25 or so, with shade and sunshine as the fancy takes you. Nearby the stream babbles, hikers and their dogs pass by a short distance away, and through the tree tops the blue sky arches overhead. A very pleasant place to spend half an hour before heading back down to the cars at the entrance to the reserve.
Some chose the less rocky option by wandering down the tar road between the dam and the entrance, and it was a wonderful opportunity to take in the views, observe a bird or two and admire the proteas, mimetes and leucadendrons which line the road. We seldom get to enjoy this section as we are always in the car, in a hurry to start a hike or rushing off to lunch after a great morning on the mountains! No need to watch out for roots and rocks either, so a good choice after all.
