A Devil of a mist

Yesterday morning we had planned to do the Oppelskop walk on Devil's Peak that would best show off the city of Cape Town to friends of Sue. Unfortunately it was raining - softly, but nevertheless drenchingly, and the mist was rather thick. We arrived hoping that the weather on this side of the mountain would be better than on our side, but it was not. Suddenly these figures loomed out of the mist - were they the dreaded Devil's Peak muggers? Luckily not - they were Sue, Brett, Birgit, Res, Nora and Nils with Dave, Christopher and Nikki. Undaunted by all the moisture, they pressed on up into the gloom. The scary rockface was still there - and Dougal, unlike me, doesn't seem to notice it or the rain - look at his tail sticking up jauntily!

Nils and Nora didn't look too charmed either, although Birgit and Res look cheerful. Maybe being Swiss they are used to rain.

The plants were wet too. This is an Aristea macrocarpa,

and these are Pelargonium pinnatum. (Neither of these seem to have common names.)

Parts of the walk are quite steep, and here is the Alpha Male with us negotiating a steep scary ledge. There were no dassies today as all self-respecting beasts are tucked up in their nice dry beds.

Zigzagging up the slopes of Devil's Peak to the Saddle that connects Devil's Peak to Table Mountain - Nora safely on her dad's shoulders.

The Food Lady is not too hot on Leucadendrons but she thinks this is the Laurel-leaf Sunshine Conebush (Leucadendron laureolum).

A soggy tea stop at Tea Rock on the Saddle. Not one iota of a view to be had! You can see the Alpha, Birgit, Christoper, Dave (shoes momentarily on for tea), Sue, Nils and Res, Brett and Nora behind them, and Nikki. Dougal, Dawn and I are not in the photo.

A wet Table Mountain Watsonia (Watsonia tabularis) on the Saddle. These are endemic to Table Mountain and only occur on the Peninsula.

Dave did the walk mostly without shoes - a man after the FL's own heart. (The FL and all her sisters like to go about without shoes - as her grandmother used to say - they are all "jaapies" and now that epithet applies to us Scotties!)

Christopher and I were pleased when the walk was over and we could go home and dry off.
(For a description of the route, click here.)