Blog from a log

At last, a return to the wild! The first hike in Cape Point Nature Reserve since lockdown began so many months ago it is hard to remember our previous lives. And just in time for Spring, with the veld lush after a good rainy season and bare earth from old fires now covered in new growth. Nothing else has changed - the paths are just as rocky and steep no matter which route you take, and the midges as abundant as a swarm of locusts in patches along the shoreline shrubs. At last a good reason to wear a mask, as it kept them out of our noses and mouths. It must be something to do with the vegetation that brings these annoying little flying insects to life en masse, although nothing obvious springs to mind.
Apart from a large group of male ostriches, no other wildlife was seen. After checking that they didn't have red legs (a sign of breeding readiness and aggression), I lowered my walking stick that I was using to make myself look like a taller ostrich than them, and proceeded through the field of babianas that are currently gracing the world with their presence down at Gifkommetjie. These lovely flowers, from pale pink to deep purple, are among my favourites in the fynbos kingdom, and it is difficult to walk past them without wanting to bend down and look deep into their centres to see every variation. But there are just so many photos you can take along the way, and in no time I was trailing in the rear, with the rest of the hikers marching into the distance. I have to say that I enjoyed the time pretending that I was totally alone, with only the sound of the crashing waves and an occasional birdsong.
We reached Hoek van Bobbejaan after a fairly energetic hike and were glad of the chance to sit on one of two huge logs that washed up years ago, lost overboard from a passing ship. A number of similar logs litter the beaches up and down the Peninsula, surviving their stranding only because of their size and impossibility of removal by would-be salvors. Many a happy hiking group have doubtless recorded an outing with a photo of themselves sitting on the logs, with unobstructed view of the mountains all the way up the Peninsula including Table Mountain in the centre of the view.
Heavy seas continue to batter the coast and are always a spectacular addition to enjoyment of the surroundings. In front of us, the paltry remains of a once proud vessel lay rusting on the rocks, a victim of the Cape of Storms, or maybe just poor captaincy. Many a ship has foundered on this coastline through human error, even up to modern times. But those are stories for another time.

Otter