Mountain morning

Blue skies and a gentle breeze greeted us this morning as we gathered under the pine trees at Constantia Nek for one of the easier hikes - along the jeep track with a detour up into Nursery Ravine and Skeleton Gorge, descending through the lush greenery of Kirstenbosch to finish off.
The gentle breeze soon disappeared as we walked with our backs to it and our faces into the sunshine and it wasn't long before we actively sought the shadier parts of the track, reminding ourselves that this was still early summer and the fierce heat of February lay ahead. Panoramic views across the Peninsula allowed us to put these thoughts into the recesses of the memory and frequent water breaks took the heat off.
The slopes of Devil's Peak are covered in pale green - not sure what the vegetation is, but it makes for a wonderful sight in contrast with the rocky cliff faces, and the mountain slopes in general are looking healthy after fairly good winter rains. We walked part of this track last week, and of the three streams we crossed then, only the Skeleton Gorge watercourse is still running. A reminder that drought is never far away. The aristeas and watsonias are still in bloom and dense bracken appears to have a strong hold on the lower slopes where the occasional protea and pincushion still stand out above the undergrowth.
This is a popular hike, and we passed many other happy hikers of all ages enjoying a morning on our beautiful mountain. At one stage there must have been 30 of us congregated at Nursery Ravine - a lucky coincidence as the path is a single trail with a sheer drop and passing might have presented a problem.
As always, there were bits of uphill that none of us remembered (the memory is selective about these, otherwise it would remind us not to go again) but really a tremendously pleasant hike, with just a bit of care needed on the very slippery gravel descent into the upper reaches of Kirstenbosch. We were entertained by the song of the sombre greenbul, that elusive bird hiding from view in the canopy of an ancient and fantastically branched wild almond, a survivor of the original plantings in the 1600s. The gardens were busy, with throngs of visitors indicating that the tourist season has begun in Cape Town, with the weather being perfect for outdoor activity. There are signs everywhere of Capetonians winding down the year, with office parties and outings in full swing. Christmas holidays start early here!