Yesterday was a cool and windy day on top of Red Hill, ideal for a stroll among the fynbos with those who know the names. Reports of recent armed muggings in the area did not put anyone off. One sturdy senior citizen told me their group had been mugged two years ago, so I asked her how it had made her feel. She said it made her more determined to continue walking in the mountains, as to give it up would allow the criminals to win, and I can only say I agree with her. I have my own way of keeping things at bay, and so far so good. Our group was only armed with cameras, cellphones and reference books to identify the marvellous wild flowers that are appearing across the Table Mountain National Park, brought to life by last year's fires. Although we regard them as devastating, they are actually essential for the propagation of new life in the fynbos, as most are germinated through heat, and so they are a necessary part of the life cycle. It is the danger to property that is the problem.
Much of the fynbos is so tiny as to go unnoticed by the unpractised eye, and it is here where the magic of the zoom lens is revealed. You can take photos of a far-off specimen without leaving the path and trampling unnecessarily in the veld, and when you get home and download the photos to your computer, the most intricate details are revealed.
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