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!

Daily antics

Baboons continue their daily raids in the neighbourhood. There seems to be an established pattern, as they move from place to place starting with the local restaurants and reaching us later in the day. You would think they would be completely full by 3pm, but the lure of the always open doors of the neighbours and plentiful supply of available food (currently enjoying a pocket of potatoes) is obviously going to teach them where to go for easy pickings and a full tummy before bedtime. 

Since our slightly traumatic experience with a large male a few weeks back, the troop appears to be satisfied that there will be no food to be found on my balcony, in my garden or compost heap, and the last of the granadillas have been harvested by them even though they were green.

I have sent out a vibrational message (as I do with other things in life) requesting that they stay away from my garden, and it has been interesting to watch them walk along the perimeter, darting into the neighbouring properties for snacks. It seems to have worked - this vibe - and they have passed through quietly a few times without incident. This doesn't mean we don't have to live like prisoners - all doors and windows are firmly shut at peak visiting hour, and the excessive heat of the last few weeks has made this pretty unbearable - but things are much calmer now. 

If the neighbour would apply some common sense, their visits would be much more infrequent, as these highly intelligent animals can also learn where food is not easily found. One lives in hope.

Humid hiking again!

Convenient cloud cover kept us cool as we took the Tokai trail from the stone church near Uitsig wine farm this morning. Fearsome forecasts of temperatures in the upper 30s had again brought sense to the fore and our somewhat more strenuous plan for Oudeschip was swopped for a flat walk through the pine forest. What a stroke of luck, as it turned out that the forecasts were all correct (apart from those Norwegians again) and by the time we returned to the cars at 11.30 the temperature had soared to 33 and climbing.
You may think that this is getting a bit late in summer for such extremes, and you would be right, but today's heat was caused by adiabatic warming of the air descending from inland, bringing thunderclouds and a few unexpected showers over a few gardens in Constantia and Tokai, I believe, but only 3 drops in Kommetjie. This increased the humidity level and so, despite plenty of shade and cloud, it felt a little like Durban and caused us to trundle along the bridle paths with slightly less enthusiasm than normal. I think it safe to say that there are those among us who are looking forward to winter!
Even so, a good time was had with convivial company and the usual repartee that reveals age groups so well, and at nearly 7km in total, including the usual climb through the barbed wire fence, it was felt that a beer had been well earned!

Upwards and onwards - Alphen and Diep River Trails

We are still suffering from late summer heat here in Cape Town, and so today we decided against a steep and shadeless trek up to Oppelskop in favour of the verdant Alphen and Diep River trails where there is always the shade of a towering tree or three. The new parking layout (not that new, but relatively) means we can even park in the shade outside the Alphen Hotel and not cook in our cars at the end of a walk.

The trail is ever so gentle to start with and the gradual ascent along well-worn and much treasured paths where dogs and horses alike are exercised makes it an almost effortless walk despite being around 10km and a little over 200m elevation. The stream on the Alphen trail has dried up, but the Diep River continues to flow clear and strong, and a big clean-up is underway, with the channels being cleared of clogging overgrowth and fresh reeds being planted along the watercourse. We can look forward to a revived trail free from invasive plants seeded by birds and suchlike and hopefully a more abundant water supply further downstream.

We reached Rhodes Drive (so called because it was the road Rhodes took every day from Groote Schuur to Constantia Nek, to enjoy the expansive views across the valleys on either side) at the top of Hohenort Avenue and proceed through the gum plantation with its magnificent, arrow straight trees reaching to the heavens, and on through the avenue of cork trees with their soft, convoluted and immensely attractive bark (thank goodness for plastic corks) to Southern Cross Drive. A refreshing break under the pine trees revived us enough to make our way down the Diep River trail - all downhill from there - and get back to the cars just before our legs caved in! It was, despite the shade, a windless and humid morning, but as always a delight to be out in such beautiful surroundings. 

A tight squeeze

Speaking as someone who has seen the inside of every toilet in Europe - in fact, practically everywhere I have ever been - I have noticed over the years that the cubicles seem to be getting smaller and smaller. The sheer logistics involved in actually closing the door once inside could be the subject of a scientific study involving how many combinations there are for different sizes and shapes of body, toilet pan and floor space to be accommodated when the arc required to close the door exceeds the available space.

These cubicles, which could comfortably fit inside a Portaloo, must surely have been designed by a man who has only ever rushed to use a urinal and left the building without requiring the privacy of a door when attending to the call of nature.

In severe cases, the gap between the closing door and the toilet pan can be reduced to as little as 3 inches, which is fine if you are tall and thin enough to straddle the pan while doing so, but I fear the majority of the female population don't meet these criteria. In fact, there must be times when size matters so much that the door cannot be closed. It's a great incentive for dieting - but then again, maybe that's where the underutilised wheelchair-accessible toilets come into their own. I personally find these excellent for using when you are accompanied by a full shopping trolley and don't want to risk losing it while otherwise occupied.

The most spacious public toilet I have ever been into was in a town in Spain. Once inside, I noticed that there was a lift door opening into the room, which I can tell you was a little disconcerting! A further survey of the room revealed that this was where all the cleaning materials were stored. Perhaps the addition of the actual toilet was an afterthought.

Zooming in

A good covering of cloud this morning encouraged us to go to Kirstenbosch for the first time in ages, as trudging up and down those lawns in the blazing sun, lugging heavy cameras and backpacks filled with water and snacks, is not my idea of fun. Of course, humidity was the killer and despite my fair degree of fitness, it wasn't an easy climb. If I look back to my pre-hiking days, I remember that the upper reaches of Kirstenbosch were never even on my agenda.
As summer draws to an end, the staff are hard at work tidying up the beds and removing dead foliage, plants and general detritus, and mounds of magnificent rich, dark compost were being spread liberally. (If I had taken a wheelbarrow, I would have filled it and hotfooted out of there with my loot! Imagine how my barren, sandy soil would love a boost of real soil - the plants would die from shock.)
New growth is bursting forth in many places and it seems that the gardens are in peak health.
Although avid bird photographers are posting their photos of many interesting birds on social media, we were again unlucky in that there were few species evident today - perhaps we just didn't scour the slopes enthusiastically enough - and perhaps the emergence of the sun after about an hour didn't help. However, some close interaction with a confiding little dusky flycatcher made up for the lack of paradise flycatchers and woodpeckers, and it was very enjoyable watching the olive thrushes thrashing through the humus for tasty morsels. A forest canary was consuming berries with gusto on a distant branch.
I took the opportunity to get up close and personal with the fynbos - I don't have much opportunity on the hikes, usually being prodded with a hiking pole and told to move on! I do understand the viewpoint as they are hikes, not rambles, but I feel that as I have taken the trouble to climb the dizzy heights I should at least have a photographic record. My interest is in zoom photography, of which I have much to learn, as it enables me to see the minutest details of the minutest flowers (some of the ericas are just 2mm in size) on a nice big screen and really enjoy what the eye cannot see. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do.

Camping in comfort

Having had four days relaxing under the stars on a farm in the Langeberg, it is again difficult for me to adjust to life back in a populated place. The Karoo and Kgalagadi has spoilt me forever as far as people and possessions are concerned, and a brief visit back to the almost wild (still had electricity!) convinced me that I could spend a long while in those surroundings.

I camped in my little dome tent for the first time since the infamous Spring star party when it snowed on the Matroosberg and the temperature at night was 2 degrees. I still can't believe it when I look at the photos of the amount of clothing I was wearing and it still didn't warm me up. Every morning they would come and ask me if I would please move into a chalet - I think they were worried I might not make it. So for the next few events I took a chalet, but the call of camping is never far away and I eagerly packed the gas stove, camping fridge and portable larder. It was hard to believe that I would only be away for three nights, considering that the car was filled to the gunwales and it has a very large boot! I felt better when I saw what other people brought and it seemed as though I had even been a little conservative. 

The drive up to Leeuwenboschfontein is always pleasant, winding through Du Toit's Kloof, the Breede River valley and then Hex River valley and a stop for lunch at Die Veldskoen Padstal is always on the agenda. The women who work there could teach many a waitron about cheerfulness, politeness and how to welcome patrons. They are simply wonderful.

Once up on the plateau above the Hex River Pass, you take the turnoff to Montagu and about 30km on you lose cellphone contact with the outside world and nobody can track you on WhatsApp until you come back along that road a few days later! The farm has abundant underground water and it looked lush and shady as I pulled into my campsite. I picked a site near the large boma (with huge central fire pit and seating all round, and plugs and water) and it turned out that this was to be a very wise decision, as it rained on the last night and we all just moved everything except tents and cars into the boma, lit a huge fire and socialised into the small hours!

The night skies were magnificent, the Milky Way arching overhead so bright and star-studded that shadows were cast and no lights were needed to walk the long road back to the campsite at 1am. An astounding sight marked a bit of history for us all - as we were looking at various dark sky objects, a line of very bright satellites rose from the south west in sets of three (in all there must have been about 20) and these were the latest launch from Starlink (the controversial 5G satellites). No matter what opinion was held, it was agreed that the sight was surreal and like something from a sci-fi movie. It was spectacular! 

Despite rain on the last night, Plan B worked better than anticipated, and the tent didn't leak. Apart from a drop in temperature from 34 degrees to 7 at 3am, I can count this as a very successful and enjoyable camping trip and am already looking forward to the next one!