Escape from the Little Lion's Head

I went to the Hout Bay Beach this morning with India and the dogs. The wind was picking up and sand started flying around, so we did not stay for long. We went back home and after a while I actually fell asleep.

After my short morning nap, the children and I drove to the World of Birds. The monkey cage had just opened and India was keen to have a monkey on her head. She did have that, but also a bite on her thumb.

India fell asleep on the way back home. Matias and I packed some drinks and a map in a backpack and drove to Hout Bay Nek. We walked up to Little Lion's Head, a rocky mountain peak between Hout Bay and Llandudno. It is only a kilometer to walk but also 283 meters up. The last bit has several vertical rocks to climb before you are on the top. It took us less than an hour to reach the top, including the drive from home. We had the mountain for ourselves, there was no-one else there.

As we were taking photos, we spotted a fire right beneath us near the Atlantic shore. In those few minutes we'd been looking the other way, it had spread to over 20 meters wide. I called the emergency number, but someone had been quicker than me. The nearest houses of Llandudno were only 100 meters or so from the flames, so someone there must have spotted the smoke blowing their way.

The wind was getting stronger again, so after a couple of minutes we headed straight down. I did not fancy getting caught on the mountain top and getting roasted.

Heading back down turned out to be a smart move. In 40 minutes the top was covered in smoke and we were safely down. A few minutes later fire had reached the top. You could see the mountain and the fire from our guest bedroom window, so I called Minna to explain her the situation and tell her that we were perfectly safe.

Several fire engines drove to Llandudno and a helicopter started bombarding the slope with water. The wind was getting colder as the sun was setting, and we were shaded from the sun behind the smoke. Starting to feel the chill, we left the scene and went home.

The adrenaline rush had caused us to forget our drinks we were about have just before we saw the fire. Only back in the car we took them out of the bag and drank thirstily. The road sides above Llandudno were full of cars stopped by the curious.