The cache, a small black-taped tablet pot, is hidden behind a boulder alongside this ‘secret’ path up Red Hill. It is one of a mini-series of three caches hidden in recognition of the SLAIN’s original GC64AY8 Secret pathway secret society of geocaching which was hidden 30/9/15 and archived 18/1/17 after some 30 finds.
To reach the cache location: either . . .
a) for a full work-out: park S 34 11.328 E 18 25.483 in the parking bays on Palace Hill Rd, start at the bottom/start of the path and climb up – as described below – to the cache location, or
b) for a quick stretch of the legs: park at the limited space on the hairpin bend @ S 34 12.294 E 18 24.371 and (having first properly secured your car and contents) proceed 300m up the road to the place where the path meets & crosses the road @ S 34 11.124 E 18 25.238. Then head down the path to the cache.
The 1km Secret Pathway starts at the end of a short road of Palace Hill @ S 34 11.322 E 18 25.453 at an altitude of 43m asl and ends at the junction of the M66 Red Hill Road and the turn-off for the ghost town of Brooklands @ S 34 11.006 E 18 24.947 at 220m asl - a difference of 177m. It thus rises at an average rate of 18% gradient or approx. 1 in 5.
According to a man I met ascending the path – something he did every day – it took him ‘30 minutes up and 10 minutes
down’. For those not in peak condition or not accustomed to such a daily workout, it would probably take at least 45 mins up and 15 mins down. He was on his way home to Red Hill Settlement – another ~2 km walk from the end of the path! On questioning he said that he always enjoyed the walk whatever the weather and appreciated the wonderful scenery and the fresh air.
The road (M66) was built in 1932 and is a bona fide mountain pass with 6 hairpin bends (see a short video here taken from a motorcycle helmet mounted camera) and the 4.1 km stretch which starts at 10m asl at the junction with the M4 Main Rd along the coast @ S 34 10.806 E 18 25.517 up to the same junction where the path finishes, rises 210m at an average gradient of 5.1% or approx. 1 in 20. It takes around 7 minutes to complete. It was rated at #10 in the top 17 places for long-boarding in the world, by a related web-site.
The complete pass is some 7.8km long and it rises to 263m at its highest point about 2/3 the way along towards the SW end. It ends (at 110m asl and S 34 12.294 E 18 24.371) near Cape Farmhouse at the junction with the M65 Plateau Road - which runs from the Cape Point entry road turn-off, to Scarborough, Kommetjie and then loops around to Fish Hoek.
Thus, comparing the Secret Pathway with the Pass - to the junction where they meet: the path is 4 times shorter and steeper and takes about 6 times as long. It also facilitates taking in the panoramic views, passes through wonderful recovering fynbos, does not pollute the environment and provides some serious stimulation of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems - as well as any gym . . . and without the annual subs!