In April we had a Cub expedition to Signal Hill.
We started our walk at the Iziko Natural History Museum, and walked through the Gardens, past the “Arch for the Arch”, and through the city centre past Greenmarket Square. Our first stop was in Bo-Kaap where we visited the Bo-Kaap museum and bought koeksisters (the spicy Cape Malay version) from a street vendor.
After that the walk got a bit steeper and we made our way through Bo-Kaap up to the Lion Battery, where we watched the firing of the Noon Gun and ate our lunch with great views over Cape Town and Green Point, and also explored the old artillery on the site.
After lunch we continued up Signal Hill and the Cubs did a mapping activity overlooking the city, and then continued to Appleton Campsite on the top of the hill, where we watched paragliders riding the wind along the ridge.
At Appleton campsite, the Cubs explored the site, did woodcraft trails and made trifle for pudding. In the evening, after we watched the sunset, Braam Malherbe inspired the Cubs by talk about conservation, based on his experience as an adventurer rowing across the Atlantic, and introducing the idea of “Do One Thing”. The Cubs were tired after the day and had a surprisingly early night!
On Sunday we packed up set off again along the ridge of Signal Hill. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit the Kramat but we did pass a number of other graves on the hillside, and learnt about the geology of Table Mountain.
The hike continued along the Clifton side of Signal Hill and joined the Glen path. We were running behind schedule so we arranged for the parents to shuttle the Cubs from there to our end point on Glen Beach.
The route was well frequented by hikers and trail runners, and was suitable for the Cubs, including a few younger Cubs who joined for the walk but did not stay overnight. We were a large group of over 20 walkers, and we had quite a few adult leaders and parents walking with the Cubs, and a couple of vehicles for transporting sleeping bags and camp equipment to and from the campsite so the Cubs only had to carry a small day pack. It was a very successful hike in beautiful weather with stunning scenery and a lot of educational opportunities. The Scout campsite at Appleton made it all possible.
Related Images:
Every year we are invited to send our ten year old Cubs to a Senior Cub Adventure Camp run by the Western Cape region at our Hawequas campsite. This year we sent 5 Cubs and the camp was based on the Survivor TV series.
1st Claremont is 109 years old today – the oldest Scout Group in South Africa! This is the first flag, flown in March 1908. The handwritten notes are by the first Scoutmaster, George French:
