Disas and botomists

Last Sunday, the Alph and the Food Lady upped and left us all alone in the night to fend for ourselves (luckily they did feed us first) while they proceeded to have the time of their lives on a wonderful hike, but being dogs, we forgive and forget, and I will allow the FL some space on my blog to share her photos. 

This is the Orange Kloof Tented Camp where they spent Friday night having a braai and getting to know the other hikers. (Apparently the Alph and FL forgot to take the bag of charcoal that the FL put at the front door - probably because they were feeling guilty at leaving us and forgot to pack it.) They joined Micky, who had organised it all, Bettina, Meg, Cathy, Carolina, Louise, Sandy and Cyril.

The Alph looking like a pukka tour guide leader the next morning when they let out up Orange Kloof - with Meg and Carolina. 

The weather was rather mizzly - autumn in the air? This is Gladiolus monticola - Autumn Pipes all drippy and shiny.

Hiking up Orange Kloof.  Watsonia tabularis in the foreground.

The Alph was intrigued with the tunnels and dams up here. They thought this must be the start of the Apostles Tunnel built in the 1960s to take water down from the dams to Cape Town.

Where no dogs are allowed to tread.

At the top of the mountain they had to take shelter from the rain in the Waterworks Museum - and the Food Lady thought we would be interested in this dog that lived up here for a bit with its owner, the Site Engineer Robert Esdon, who helped build the Woodhead Tunnel. The chap on the log is TW Cairncross, the main Tunnel Engineer.

Luckily for the Food Lady some of the hikers were interested in flowers - the botomists (or lobotomists) - so named because they also like to get down into the undergrowth with lo bottoms in the air. This is the polliniferous  Wind Heath (Erica hispidula).

Mist rolling in over De Villiers Dam.

Arriving at the Overseer's Cottage where they spent Saturday night and where no dogs are allowed.

The Food Lady waxing lyrical.

A fire was made to dry out boots, socks and all ...

City lights from Table Mountain. Luckily for us Simon was back on Saturday to at least let us sleep inside and not out in the rain and wind.

Setting out on Sunday morning.

Looking back to the Overseer's Cottage and beyond to Cape Point.

Trying to raise Xolise and tell him what time to bring the bags to the Cable Station. (But, as they discovered later, SOMEONE had copied his telephone number down incorrectly!)

Most of Cape Town (and their dogs!) had turned out to see

the Red Disa (Disa uniflora)!

Tea time at the start of the Aqueduct.

Red Disas under every bridge. Cathy and Sandy Familiar Chat-watching with iPad at hand to identify birds.

The Alph leading the way out of the jungle. Carolina looking relieved to see the proper path.

Micky doing some last minute misty botomising and photographing the Golden Orchid,  

its petals flecked with gold dust. 

They caught the cable car down and waited at the car park for their bags to arrive - the slight delay mainly thanks to the Food Lady not entering Xolise's telephone number correctly on her phone! I hope this Jack Russel's humans remember that their dog is behind the land rover!

All in all it looked like a good hike - and in just the weather that we Scots enjoy!

A Hoerikwaggo Hike without dogs

They all went hiking on the Hoerikwaggo Trail last week without us - along Long Beach,

and up Chapmans Peak (note the Great Danes!), 

right to the top where they saw - a scottie! Matilda.

Then on they went over Noordhoek Ridge (this is Emma who I have never met photographing some Moraea ochroleuca flowers)

 to the Silvermine Tented Camp where they spent the night. For more dogless photos, here is a link the FoodLady's Facebook page.

 The next morning they woke up to Wachendorfia thyrsiflora spikes and bird noises - without us!

And breakfast and relaxing in wonderful surroundings (although the Food Lady says the one operational loo was a bit stinky and skanky!)

Paul pretending to be Monet.

Watching caterpillar/bug interactions at the dam. 

 

 But this scary snary octopus (a Virgilia oroboides) sent them scuttling home to us (while the more energetic and less osteoporotic of the party hiked up to Elephants Eye Cave).

Feeling rather guilty, they took us for a walk in the greenbelt to the dappled sunlight of my favourite swimming place. (The Food Lady breaks into embarrassing poetry* mode -

"Glory be to God for dappled things -

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced -

fold, fallow, and plough;

And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

Praise him" )

Are you quite finished? Good! I tried to gatecrash a party that was in full swing,  

and had to be forcibly removed by the Alph. Oh well, all good things come to an end. We look forward to next Sunday ...

* Gerard Manley Hopkins - Pied Beauty

Hoerikwaggo trailing and happy dancing in Cape Point

Last weekend they left us at home and spent the weekend trailing around Cape Point. Lucy had booked the Smitswinkel tented camp, which is part of the Hoerikwaggo Trail, as a warm up for the Otter Trail in two weeks time, and a time to "test drive" their backpacks. The tented camp is in those trees in the background of this photo taken from the entrance to Cape Point looking back towards Swartkops Peak.
Here is a short account of the trail from the Foodlady. The start of the Trail: Cape Point - with a sculpture of the famous baboons. Sorry Coco, I know how much you love chasing baboons!
Setting out - 17 km to go!
Pauline, Kate, Sue, Gareth, Jonathan, Lucy and Richard. Also on the trail: Stephen, Paul and me.
From Cape Point we set out along the east coast, heading northwards.
The trail is well-marked - even when it crosses the tarred road.
Autumn Pypie (Gladiolus brevifolius).
The "fishing boat" out there is the Ocearch boat which has caused a furore over the granting of a permit by the Dept of Environmental Affairs to the researchers and film-makers to chum for sharks, much against the wishes of most Capetonians. Opposition to chumming has intensified after a young surfer was killed by a shark in False Bay a couple of days ago.
Hikers heading down the trail. The weather holding out, but looking a bit ominous.
Common Diamondeyes (Staavia radiata).
Buds starting to form on the Golden Spiderhead (Serruria villosa).
In the misty distance are the shark fin-like peaks of Paul se Berg and Judas Peak looking towards Smitswinkel.
An Ostrich egg, just lying in the path. According to the book Between two shores: Fauna and flora of the Cape of Good Hope by Michael Fraser and Liz McMahon (David Philip 1994) these ostriches were introduced to the reserve by one of the original farmers, John McKellar, in the mid nineteenth century.
There were not all that many flowers out at this time of year compared to our last visit in September, but still, lots and lots - too many to include in one blog. This is a small and scruffy plant called Selago levynsiae.
Tea break and an opportunity to try out our Otter Trail gear. This is our cute little kettle and Stephen's trusty old gas stove that still works like a bomb, er well no actually not at all like a bomb. Like a gas stove should. No explosions.
Richard trying out his new stove while Lucy looks on.
Great pouring action too.
In the distance is Paul and Pauline brewing tea too. And Sue talking to Kate and Lucy. Kate, for once, is sitting down and not performing one of her trademark "happy dances".
A little white erica that looks a bit like a pale version of Erica pulchella, growing in the middle of the trail.
And a rather odd, rather dead, legless skink, the Cape Legless Skink (Acontias meleagris).
We arrived at the Information Centre (that used to be the restaurant with the most divine blueberry pies in the world when I was a kid) just as it started to threaten to rain. Here is the avant-garde: Stephen, Richard, Jonathan and Gareth. (The others were donning raincoats.)
Onwards to Kanonkop - with the visitors centre in the background. It is an old farmhouse, belonging to a George Smith, and was once visited by no less than CHARLES DARWIN himself! Sadly Darwin didn't think much of the fynbos here, and dismissed it rather grumpily as being worthless! It must have been a hot and windy day I think.
Weather closing in some more. Cape Point receeeeeeeding into the mist. The Da Gama cross sticking out.
Passing politely by some baboons looking a bit wet and sorry for themselves. Lucky you were not here Coco!
Lunch at Kanonkop when it stopped raining. Trying out trail food.
Some less successful than others!
More baboon encounters on Paul se Berg. All rather polite, even indifferent. As is should be. Cape Point far in the distance now.
Balancing baboon. Obviously baboons do not suffer from vertigo.

Smitswinkel Bay. Looking northwards. Getting there.
Common Pagoda (Mimetes cucullatus) in the restios.
These dried Dilatris flower heads looked like snowflake Christmas decorations.
And after much lifting and fetching of cars, and walking along the smelly tarred road, we finally got into the tented camp. (Happy dance from Kate.) Not a very slick operation - they really need to have a proper walking path all the way to the camp. At present you have to walk down the tarred road smelling all the car's petrol fumes as they queue up to get into the main gate of the park. But what a delightful camp!
Each two-bed tent has its own kitchenette, and is situated looking out onto the mountain and completely private from the one next door.
Inside the tent - each one has a loo and shower and basin as well. Camping in total luxury! Here the Otter Trail preparations ended and we sank into luxury and hot showers. Our tent was called "Grysbok".
The camp has a well designed communal cooking and eating hut complete with indoor braai for cold, wet or windy weather, and fantastic outdoor braai for those perfect days that Cape Town sometimes has. (But not today!) Trying out our Back Country Cuisine packet of dehydrated "Roast lamb and vegetables".
and Sue and Kate's wine, and a braai, and Lucy's grand salad, and Pauline's dips and crackers, and beer, and chips, and butternut, and cheesecake ... Cheers Sue!
If you look carefully you can see Kate's friction penguin torch on the table. The lampshades are made with flowering gum nuts made from the surrounding trees. Stephen and Paul putting their stoves through their paces. (The Back Country Cuisine food was good but Paul didn't really enjoy the "babote" but then maybe these New Zealanders need to learn how to spell it first before they can cook it and freeze-dry it.)
What we definitely won't be seeing on the Otter Trail! Lucy's salad.
The next morning, after a very comfy, but rather windy night, it was still raining. After breakfast some of us headed back into the park, but others departed for home.
The sun did come out for a bit, so we decided to do this 3 hour walk at Gifkommetjie, which turned out to be about 1 and a 1/2 hours, on the west coast of the park.
Looking hopeful. Lucy, I noticed, was the only one keen to carry on "trying out" her full pack. The rest of us opted for daypacks.
The path went steeply down to the beach, through some wonderful old milkwoods.
Medusa's Head (Euphorbia caput-medusae) on the beach.
Then the heavens opened! But luckily not for long. Just long enough to try out our raingear again.
Looking northwards, this time up the west coast of the park. Somewhere out there is the wreck of the Phyllisia that sank in 1968.
Back over the ridge and home. A really wonderful weekend. Thank you Lucy for organizing it! Look forward to the Otter.