Along the route you will find a couple of picnic spots with the beautiful names like Valley of Ferns, Ysterhoutrug and Diepwalle.  In the shade of some indigenous trees at Ysterhoutrug picnic spot you can light a fire for a braai as there are designated areas.  This is also a good stop for the children to stretch their legs as there are basic toilet facilities and water tanks to wash their hands.

When you arrive at the top you can, on a clear day, enjoy a 360-degree view of the surrounding area.  If you know the area you can identify the Knysna Heads as well as some other features like Robberg towards the Plettenberg Bay area. Take note that on a rainy day Spitskop will be covered in clouds and mist and you will not be able to enjoy the view.

But you will ask why  is this spot important?  In the woodcutters’ era Spitskop used to be a fire station manned by an Italian, Guiseppe Sciocatti, who kept a beady eye on fires in the area.  Guiseppe was one of the descendants of Italian immigrants that was lured to the forest to farm with mulberries in a silk trade venture, but things did not work out well for the Italian families.  Yet another interesting story for another post.

If you put the following (S 33° 54.723 E 023° 08.229) coordinates into your GPS you will experience this amazing view.  Remember the golden rule is to see all and only leave your footprints for the next visitor to enjoy.

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Close to the beach in 1967 (Photo credit: Pieter van Rooyen)

I am not giving away my age, but some of you who are old enough will remember the stranding of the Athina at Robberg Beach, Plettenberg Bay.  Some members in my family were still little boys and girls when this happened back on the 1^st of August 1967.  During the summer holiday of December 1967 my father in law swam out to the wreck, as I think a lot of holiday makers did too.

(Photo credit: wrecksite.eu)

At the date of the incident the ship was already 19 years old.  During her life span she had a couple of names starting off with ”Penstermon”, “Galaxidi”, the “Rosa Vlassis” and lastly in 1960 she was renamed to the ”Athina”.   The “Athina” came to her end when she collided with a large rock, named “Whale Rock”, which lies at the tip of Robberg Nature Reserve, when she was on her way back to Greece.  The fatal trip around the Southern tip of Africa was due to the Suez Canal being closed, because of a war raging in the region at the time.   The cargo of tuna was lost, but the whole crew made their way to safety at Robberg Beach.

View towards Robberg Beach from Robberg

On a clear day when the sea is calm you can still see the skeleton of the Athina close to the beach.  Today the wreck is a popular diving site lying between 3 and 6 metres under the surface.  The rusty steel hull turned into an artificial reef providing home and shelter for young marine life.

A ship at harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are made for

—- Unknown

PS:  I do apologize for the picture quality

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