Wild and windy on Vlakkenberg

Five of us ventured out this morning: Dougal, me, the Food Lady, Alice and the birthday girl - Pauline. We started at the top of Price Drive where there are now some parking spots despite Fort Vlaggenberg's objections. This is Fort Vlaggenberg - the name that the FL calls this hideous fortress at the start of the walk with the two equally hideous Alsations. Today it was, appropriately, flying the English flag along with all its high tech equipment. (Vlakkenberg, aka the Swear Word Mountain, also used to be called Vlaggenberg - flag mountain.)

The weather was rather windy and stormy-looking as you can see, but we walked (some of us ran and had to keep stopping to wait when we were shouted at) up the hill to the top. It was very windy up there and Alice was getting ear-ache, so we turned straight round and came back down where it was perfectly calm and sheltered.

We found a view site for tea - rusks, dates, dried fruit and nougat for the humans, and rusks and beanos for us. Dougal and me (with leads on because of our nervous FL!) looking down on Groot Constantia estate - hoping to spot the baboons we could smell. After tea took another little side path called "ii" that went enticingly down into the baboon-scented forest, and came out again near the cars. Alf Morris's silver trees (Leucadendron argenteum) looked spectacular against the black sky. Read Alice's description of them here.
Then all too soon it was home again.