Saturdays used to be a about sleeping in or going to the market but recently it became about climbing a mountain. It’s now about wanting to explore and make the most of the new-found freedom and the excitement of Spring.

This past Saturday a group of girls headed for Kleinmond to hike the Three Sister route. With all hikers being one of three sisters it felt that a special thing to do and it sounded very manageable and mild. We should have known better. Never under estimate the challenge of three sisters!

The route was all of 10 kilometers of climbing higher and higher, scaling rocks and stretching legs to move forward. We later learnt that the route is graded as a level 3 hiking trail which puts it at a level more difficult than Lion’s Head – or so we were told by another wandering hiker, Pieter, who helped us with direction.

A tough climb does reward with beautiful views and this was absolutely magnificent to see the the stretch from the Bot River Lagoon to Palmiet River and Hangklip from above. As we climb down the southern slope of the mountain we saw the green hills stained with a sunset orange. On closer inspection this proved to be Mimetes Cucullatus. These fynbos shrubs are allegedly easy to grow and provides colour throughout the year with the peak flowering season being early Spring to late Summer. The vibrant plants provided the inspiration to step-up and complete the route on a positive note.

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