Hikers in the mist, no gorillas

Ah, the fickleness of the Cape weather! From heatstroke hot over the last few weeks, to a sudden drop in temperature with accompanying low cloud over the mountains, brought on by a strong southeaster (our prevailing summer wind). Our destination this morning was Bertie's Balcony, high in the mountains of the Silvermine Nature Reserve - our first hill climb in a while - and a breeze and cloud cover was something to look forward to. After keeping a weather jacket in my boot for weeks, I had removed it on Sunday to wear in a sudden squall and so was unprepared for the misty conditions ahead - everyone else was sensibly dressed, but after years of never feeling the cold, I still have to get used to a nip in the air.
The jeep track to Silvermine waterfall is familiar territory, and in the back of our minds the thought of the long haul back up at the end of the walk was never far away, but as we peeled off onto the track up the mountainside, we had to concentrate on our footsteps and the climb ahead. Gorillas in the Mist was a theme that came to mind as we wound higher and higher into the hills, the mist getting closer and drops of lifegiving water hanging from the tips of the leaves along the way. At this time of year, not too many flowers are out, but we were treated to scarlet splashes of tritoniopsis, one single large cerise Erica bush, and a carpet of tiny pink ericas (each bloom no more than 2mm across), as well as my favourite serrurias and Erica urna viridis - showing a very healthy population up on the Silvermine plateau.
The headwind made vision difficult with my eyes watering to the point where I would have appreciated built-in wipers and it was a relief to reach the shelter of the cave-like overhang after what seemed like a fairly short hike - an illusion caused by our not being able to see the distance to be covered! Although we were unable to see any view whatsoever, this is a favourite hike and we knew what was out there. After a rest, I really began to feel the cold and was lucky to have the use of a spare jacket from a fellow hiker. A lesson well learned.
We returned to the cars, unsurprised to find that our hiking trail was the only place on the Peninsula under cloud cover and that everyone else was enjoying a summer day, albeit windy!