Scotties go up Cave Peak

We said goodbye to Dawnie who was happy with her bone and met up with Sue, Richard, Lucy, Josie, Kate from Canada, Pauline, Helen, Paul and Lydia who joined us this morning. It was a misty morning but quite warm and humid.
The Shark Spotter was up there, spotting sharks and whales and he showed us where some whales were wallowing. The FL spotted some Night-scented Pelargonium (Pelargonium triste), that smell of cloves,
and some Green Satyr Orchids (Satyrium odorum) that also smell strongly of carnations.
A beautiful fiery red Lesser Cobra Lily (Chasmanthe floribunda var. floribunda) that attract lots of sunbirds for Kate to look at.
Here is Kate in front of the Weary Willy's watering hole signpost.
We scrambled up the steep side of Echo Valley, up the Jojolu Path. This is Lydia camouflaged against the rocks. And Helen and Paul sticking out a bit. We had to be helped up this section which Dougal hates. I just shout when I need help and the FL comes to the rescue, but Dougal struggles up and sometimes gets rather stuck.
Luckily we all made it up and over the edge onto Cave Peak.
Here is Kate wishing she had bought a torch to go into Boomslang Cave.
More uphill,
but the views over Fish Hoek were quite impressive, even if it was a bit cloudy and hazy.
Tea on top. Pauline, Lucy, Josie, Kate, me and Doog, the Alpha Male, Helen hiding in a blue hat, Paul ignoring us, Richard, Sue and Lydia.
Another deep, dark and drippy cave - right on the path.
We came down into the Amphitheatre, us still on leads because of caves and the dassies and mice that force us to chase them into the caves.
The Coat-hanger Heath (Erica plukenetti).
Paul's grass - the Pentaschistis curvifolia - was in full flower - looking spectacular. Paul, we wish you had been there to see it.
The other Paul, looking over the edge towards Noordhoek Peak.
Even the leucadendrons are in flower. This is L. strobilinum, one of our Peninsula endemics. (Thanks Alice for the id).
And the FL was excited to see this sundew in flower - it is a white form of the Snotrosie (! sounds like something our human nephew Arti would say. Maybe they, like him, mean SCOTrosie!) - Drosera cistiflora.
We were having so much fun. Just look at the mist, coming in to cool us down and make us feel at home in the highlands.
This was all over the place - a really pretty gnidia - most probably the Pine-leaved Saffronbush (Gnidia pinifolia) - which is also scented at night which means it probably attracts moth pollinators.
We decided not to go down the wet and slippery Spes Bona boardwalk and instead carried on past Kalk Bay Peak and another cave - Tartarus Cave. Then through Mimetes Valley and a long slow downward trek back to the cars.
A misty view of Muizenberg beach.
Eeeek, not the baboon head again!
Watch out Lydia!
Some Melasphaerula ramosa flowers that the Food Lady calls snauzer flowers because they have beards like snauzers. As far as I know she hasn't discovered any scotty flowers apart from the snotrosie.
Where have you been? Dougal and the Food Lady, and Lydia,Helen and Paul were a bit slow coming down and we were waiting for them in the forest. It was quite a hike.