Cape Point - pretty pointless without us

I don't see the point of putting in stuff about a walk that didn't include us Scotties, but the FL wanted to put these photos on - so here goes. Sue at Kanonkop. Gladiolus debilis - little painted lady. The name Gladiolus means little sword in Latin - an appropriate plant to see at Cape Point then. Another similar white flower (that also comes in pale blue) - this time Aristea spiralis. And just to prove a point, the name Aristea is generally said to mean a point (referring to the pointed leaves) and possibly comes from the word for an ear of corn which is arista. This flower has a star-shaped nectar guide that is a specific signal to long-tongued flies. And spirally shaped seed pods.A tiny wire orchid - Disa obliqua.

Minus dogs - Pauline, Sue and The Alpha Male standing in front of Paulsberg. (Paul, like Dougal, is having foot troubles, and he is also away in the northern hemisphere at the moment.)

On their way out of dog-free Cape Point they saw some rare Marsh Pagodas - Mimetes hirtus - flowering on the side of the main road (which the FL thinks was a race track and not a game-spotting road in a national park).

Sundays walk

From Smitwinkel viewpoint - walk to the old lime kiln where we will have left a car to get us back. We will need a Wildcard to get in - otherwise will have to pay to get in.

Windy walkies in Silvermine

What excitement. Lucy is back AND we had two new canine walkers today. (And a couple of humans too.) At last I got to meet Honey who belongs to Helen and Paul (and Caroline and Katherine but they stayed at home). Here is Honey with Paul. Josie also came - she is from St Francis Vet and has adopted Richard and Lucy as her humans. She was not really very interested in us as like most Maltese Poodles, she thinks she is not really a dog. Here she is with Richard. (I think Dougal fancies her!)
Our special guest was Lydia from New Zealand who has two cats (see a photo of them in the gallery on the right). Luckily she left them behind on Alexander's duvet in New Zealand. This is Lydia.

We set off up the path and it got windier and windier. Here are Sue, Lydia and Helen looking windswept. We found a sheltered spot for tea. Helen, Richard, Lucy, Josie, Sue, Honey (who thinks Dougal has her biscuit), Pauline, Clelia, Paul, Alpha Male and Lydia. (I am next to Sue.)

And here is the Food Lady dispensing biscuits.

It was rather windy and swirling with clouds, so we didn't go to the view point, but headed back down the road to the cars.

Clelia spotted this little slug eater snake which is harmless. We were ahead with the Alpha Male and didn’t see it or I might have tried it out as I enjoy eating lizards.

There were lots of pink sweet pea bushes - Podalyria calyptrata - full of bumbling carpenter bees that I also like to eat when they are foolish enough to bumble down to scotty level. (This is Lydia's photo of the sweet peas bush with the yellow Leucadendron xanthoconus in the centre.) Here is another of Lydia's photos of Erica plukeneti and the sickle-leaf conebush Leucadendron xanthoconus.

And this is Clelia, who studies birds and speaks French - another photo taken by Lydia.
All that was missing on this fun walk was my absolute best - Alice!
Then back home it was coffee and lots of talk about New Zealand which we don't like because we will be left behind for a whole month.

The Amphitheatre Path, Silvermine

Sundays Silvermine Stroll - from the dam, along the Amphitheatre Path and around with an option to go to the viewpoint over Blackburn Ravine.

Karbonkelberg Canyon

Today they took us through a very exciting but rather difficult to negotiate canyon. It was an easy walk up to the Karbonkelberg when we did it 3 months ago with the Wednesday Walking Troop (that includes my friends Haj and Litchi) but the path has been washed down the mountain and into the sea. Here are Sue and Kristin lookin at the famous surfing spot known as The Dungeons. Our intrepid Sunday Walkers Troop - consisting of Alice, Sue, Pauline, Kristin, Antje from Bristol (but really Germany) and us four - persisted in following this track despite my falling into the canyon a few times. Luckily it was soft where I fell. This is me having fallen in the canyon.

The FoodLady got a bit confused - again! - because the path was so eroded she was convinced we were on the wrong one so we took a short detour to make sure and luckily found a few plants of the rare Wynberg Spiderhead, Serruria cyanoides, and some lovely Ewwa-trewwa, Satyrium corifolium, spikes.

After a hard slog up this most scotty-unfriendly path, we had tea at the old Second World War radar station that was built to detect submarines when they surfaced to recharge their batteries during WW2. After an explore and many oohs and aahs at the view and the shipwrecks, and photos! we decided head for home and do Suther Peak another day when the path has been renovated. This is Kristin giving the "path" a wide berth!
Lots of little Babiana ambigua plants. The name Babiana comes from baviaan, the Dutch word for baboon. They must eat them as well as proteas.

Pauline and Sue - great African explorers. Nearly home. The Sentinel standing guard. You can see where some of the missing path ended up!