Pretty in pink

Here we are again, climbing up the steepest path the Food Lady could find - Thea and Tessa, Pauline, me, Lad, the Food Lady and the Alph. Now that the Food Lady's foot is better ... watch out - we are all going to get fit again.

But luckily for me, she has to keep stopping to take photos. Here is the start of Orchid Season for the Food Lady - a dainty pink Moederkappie or Granny's Bonnet (Disperis capensis).

Tessa bounding up and down and up and down,

while I found every little water hole to cool off as it is definitely getting warmer.

Thea and Tessa knew EVERYONE we bumped into on the mountain!

We tried to spot Pauline's house in the distance when we reached the top but concluded it was just out of view.

Suffering from exhaustion, the Food Lady called for an early tea - which suited me as I could smell the dog biltong bits,

and Thea's delicious sandwiches.

The Alph tried to send messages,

while I kept watch for baboons and porcupines, caracals and other dogs that might want to muscle in our feast, 

and Tessa and the Lad went exploring.

There were quite a lot of flowers for the Food Lady - a pink flushed Yellow Rice Heath (Erica lutea),

some pink, honey-scented Erica glabella plants in full flower,

and these interesting, pinky white Common Starheath (Staavia radiata) flowers that are from the Bruniaceae family. They are composite flowers, like daisies. 

With battleships far below,

we reached Muizenberg Peak which had already been conquered by lots of other peeps.

So we turned down, past these endemic and rare Sticky Green Heath (Erica urna-viridis) flowers

and these big bright pink Cape Fellwort (Saltera sarcocolla) flowers which also belong to an interesting fynbos family - the Penaeaceae.

Some more of Thea and Tessa's friends passed us.

The Food Lady was super excited to find some teeny tiny, sweet-scented pink orchids called Disa obliqua subsp. obliqua.

And there were more pink flowers too - the pinky-blue, early flowering bulb, Babiana villosula,

and some pretty pink and white Needle-leaf Sunflax (Heliophila scoparia var. scoparia) - but eventually she had to stop and run to catch us all up.

Tessa and Lad and me were having a welcome dip in the river at the bottom of the path.

Then it was a short walk back to the Land Rover and home. Incidentally, the yellow flowers here have the fabulous common name of Fivetooth Baboon Cabbage (Othonna quinquedentata).