Today we walked up Pecks Valley - with Sue and Honey, Julie all the way from Scotland (John stayed at home recovering from his eye surgery), Thea, the FL, the Alph and the Lad. Being March, the March lilies were out.
Quite impressive! Amaryllis belladonna.
A beautiful Ninepin Heath (Erica mammosa) to help us on our way up this really steep path.
The Lad is not quite as pesky as he was - in fact, we are getting along a bit better these days. We are even able to share a joke at times.
My diet seems to be paying off and I am definitely feeling less of a fat lady and more of a perky pup again.
High up on the cliffs we spotted some bergies looking all cosy and comfy in their pink blankets that match the pink flowers around,
like this pink gladiolus - possibly Autumn Pipes (Gladiolus brevifolius).
Waiting with the Alph for all the (certainly not fat) ladies to catch up.
A Christmas decoration - the dried flower head of a Dilatris. Sue and Honey in the background.
A shaggy Dog Face (Trichocephalus stipularis.)
Up and up we trudged - Pauline and Thea discussing the pros and cons of tackling the Addo to Eden walk.
Striking a pose at the top of Pecks Valley.
A welcome water break, with our stylish hiking water bowl - a Christmas present from Maggie-May and Kirby.
At the crossroads at the top of Pecks Valley, with the Alph turning Lad around so he can walk in the right direction. Being a typical Scot, he usually wants to walk in the opposite direction.
Julie and Pauline - walking through the all the different species of ericas - the Green Sticky Heath (Erica urna-viridis) flowers looking like little lanterns all lit up in the mist.
The Golden Spiderhead (Serruria villosa), which, like the Green Sticky Heath, only occurs on the Cape Peninsula and nowhere else in the entire world.
All the flowers were drippy and wet - these are Woolly Saffronbush (Gnidia tomentosa) flowers.
Rock monsters looming out of the mist.
Hurry, hurry, don't look behind you ...
or you might be scared out of your skin!
Taking shelter in the Fat Lady Shelter. Honey, Sue, Pauline, Julie, Thea, Me, the Alph and the Lad. We were joined by another huge group of hikers who sat down next to us and talked really, really loudly for about half an hour. Some people just don't understand about mountains and solitude and silence. (None of us cared about their exploits in various airports around the world anyway!) But then, maybe they were scared of the rock monsters too ...
Restios in the mist - taking a stab at it - they may be Staberoha banksii.
It was nice to have Honey back - but she continues to steadfastly ignore us - even though Laddie tried hard to get her to play.
A soggy, duplicitous Cluster Disa (Disa ferruginea).
Honey in the Honey Heaths (Erica ericoides) -
and indeed they are really honey-scented if you brush past the flowers.
There were even a few duplicitous Blue Disa (Disa graminifolia) flowers still going. (Part of the charm of growing orchids is their loooong flowering period.) The Blue Disa is said to be pollinated by carpenter bees who are tricked by its sweet smell into thinking that it has some nectar to offer.
Over the top and down the other side - Long Beach and Kommetjie in the distance.
An Irish Terrier was waiting to give us a send-off back at the carpark. In view of the fact that is was St Patrick's Day the following Monday, we were extra nice to it.
That evening we went to see Harvey who was in DEEP DISGRACE, having bitten Kerryn on the lip so badly that she needed four stitches. He was very repentant though and has been forgiven. Here he is welcoming the Lad into his home.
Kerryn's gourmet supper - pork belly on caramelized leeks and sweet potato mash. Triple A score!
Seeing no food was coming our way, and we were really tired, Laddie found a comfy spot to take a nap, but was ahemmed by the spoilsport humans,
and I tried out Harvey's tyre-bed. A little tight for a fat Scot.
So did the Lad after being evicted from the couch. Nightie night, sweet dreams.
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