Down into The Glen

A typical June day in Cape Town - blue skies, no wind, cool air - saw us taking a trail from the Lion's Head car park down into The Glen, the deep ravine that separates Lion's Head from Table Mountain. Rugged steps, some in concrete, took us down into the depths on a continuous downhill towards the sea far below - reminding us of the continuous uphill we would face on the way back. As soon as we were in the ravine, all traffic noise from the busy road over Kloof Nek was silenced and we were one with nature. Thick-trunked stone pines towered overhead, the occasional crack and crash of a pine cone indicating the presence of grey squirrels chasing each other at high speed from branch to branch, their agility a delight to watch.
The baby's cry of a black sparrowhawk led our eyes up into the branches again, where a large and very tidy nest could be seen in the highest branches. The bird had flown and the call receded, but it is quite possible that there were nestlings. We came upon The Glen picnic area bathed in sunshine filtered through the trees, a pleasant patch of green overlooking the ravine where the river runs down through the residential area, with the Round House a little further down. This was a hunting ground of Lord Charles Somerset in the 1800s. It seems that he had hunting lodges everywhere and possibly spent very little of his time at the office, a scenario that has perpetuated itself into current office bearers!
A descent of just over 180m brought us down to the delightful, secluded Glen Beach, home to some of the most expensive residential property in the country, but thankfully very tasteful and unobtrusive. It was practically deserted apart from two girls bravely bodyboarding in the icy surf, but I would hate to live there on a summer weekend when the public descend en masse. I don't actively seek crowded places.
After sunning ourselves on the conveniently placed granite boulders that embrace this cove, we set off uphill again, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the uphill was only slightly more strenuous than the downhill - helped no doubt by the chilly air.
A real treat was to see a patch of babiana and a lone gladiolus maculata on the path at the foot of Lion's Head - flowering two months early. They are among a large number of species that are displaying unusual behaviour, with sightings completely out of season. Hopefully this means that rain will occur out of season as well!