Up the Corner ...

... and into the mist. We only had two hours today because we had to be back for the rugby, so Paul, Pauline and Sue met us at Kloof Corner and we all set off up the path. Come on you lot, you are getting left behind!
Strong winds were blowing but we were not going up to the top, so we didn't have to worry about the cable car closing.
This is a very pretty flower with an ugly name - Scabious - which means scabby or mangy - another word that we get called by our humans especially when we have been rolling in unmentionable things. (Apparently some species were said to cure the disease of Scabies that is why they got that name.) It looks like a daisy but it is not a daisy - belonging to the Dipsaceae family. Like daisies, it has a composite flower with florets.You can see the black sepal bristles sticking up between the buds. The Food Lady has no idea which species this is. There are three that occur here, but they all look much the same.
Another genus that all look similar is Aspalathus, but this prickly leaved one seems to be Aspalathus cordata.
You can see the Alph disappearing up into the mist.
But luckily he was waiting for us at the top of the steps. This is the end of the path, and it goes over a sheer cliff if you turn right at the top, so we carried on to the left.
Of course, there is the option to go straight up, but no-one took it today.
Lady's hand Cyanella hyacinthoides all wet and blowy in the mist.
The Alph striding ahead,
and Pauline and Sue following. Paul was photographing somewhere further back.
The in-your-face pink Pelargonium cucculatum was flowering, and the Chincherinchees (Ornithogalum thyrsoides) were out - can you spot one growing in a rocky pocket half way up the cliff? And note the lichen fractallating all over the cliff.
We turned round at the start of the India Venster path, and went back to the steps. Do we need to go all the way down again?
The mist was lifting a bit and we got to see a bit of Camp's Bay and Cape Town, but Lion's Head was still hidden in the clouds.
Another prickly plant is Climber's Friend (Cliffortia ruscifolia). It has a good strong root system, so despite being prickly, its a good plant to grab if you have opposable thumbs and are falling. Note the red feathery flowers - they are wind pollinated and belong to the Rose family.
Very soon we were down again, and the FL just had time to snap this beetle in a Roella ciliata flower before we were bundled back into the car and home to watch the All Blacks nearly being mashed up by the French. And then SA won the cricket which was good.

Touch wood the FL seems to have worked out what the problem with the Internet was.