A fynbos ramble

It wasn't too long ago that I would have been hard pressed to walk any distance at all, and now I find that not hiking for a week due to wintry weather gives me cabin fever! And so I took the opportunity yesterday of joining another walking group on a ramble through the fynbos at Cape Point, not for exercise, but to observe and photograph the interesting flowers along the way. We took the track from the circular drive across the plateau to the road connecting Olifantsbos and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to stroll through the reserve with absolutely no effort whatsoever. It is a gentle meander of nearly 5km, to be taken at whatever pace you wish.
The weather soon cleared from a gloomy cloud cover to clear blue skies moving in behind the rains we had overnight (just as all rain should be - overnight) and although there was a headwind, it was gentle enough to be almost unnoticeable.
This is the quiet time of year for fynbos and so our expectations were not high, but still we found more than 50 different flowers - most of them only millimetres across and requiring the services of a good camera, a steady hand and a lull in the wind to capture to any satisfaction! As many flowers are on the end of an extremely thin stalk, it was no easy feat and I had to admit defeat in a few instances!A closer look at the photos on a computer will often reveal undetected wildlife, such as ants and spiders and assorted beetles, and if it weren't for this facility, most of life's interesting moments would pass us by. There is a tremendous amount of industrious activity going on down there in the fynbos!