Painting the hills red

A cool and windy morning - good black Scot weather. We drove up to Red Hill where we met Tess and Thea, Honey and Sue, Pauline and her neighbour Wytske and my bestie-Bouv Maddie - and Alice. This is one of our best walks - lots of soft sand,

and low vegetation which is excellent for rodent and tortoise hunting. And lots of flowers for the Food Lady - like these Lady's Hands (Cyanella hyacinthoides) in the summer grass.

Lad and Tessa hopped up onto a handy rock to see where we were heading.

Oohs and aahs - booooring for dogs - over some little blue orchid past its prime - Disa purpurascens.

More fun for us was meeting another pack - the Wolf's pack. Lots to say and sniff.

Another orchid for the Food Lady - one of the Cinderella Orchids - possibly Acrolopia lamellata. Do they look like glass slippers?

Thea brought some of her signature sandwiches for the humans to enjoy - while we had to make do with dog biscuits.

Tea with a view back to Chapmans Peak: Alice, Maddie, Pauline, Thea, me, the Alph, Pauline and Honey. Lad and Tessa where deep in the fynbos somewhere.

More flowers growing in the sand - causing many delays and a cross Alph. This is Pelargonium longifolium,

and Bloucabong (Lapeirousia corymbosa) that wasn't open properly as it was too windy and chilly for them.

Me looking perky - and considering my options as to which way to go.

An early flowering Erica viscaria (formerly E. decora),

and what looks like a five-legged spider inside this Roella ciliata  but which is actually part of the flower.

All of a sudden we were amongst thousands of purple-red Erica multumbellifera bushes. There was something lurking in there ...

While the Food Lady photographed this grey Petalacte coronata,

I carried on with my exciting tortoise-hunt.

By this stage Thea had discarded her shoes.

The squeaky call of the Cape Sugarbird always trick us Scots into thinking there are small mammals of some sort hiding in the bushes.

Homeward bound.

And a swim for Maddie 'n me in the Lewis Gay Dam at the end of a lovely walk.

Tessa and Lad not too sure about the little waves lapping on the rocks. Such drips!

Most of us piled into the Land Rover to get back to the cars,

and the Food Lady went with Maddie in Alice's car.

We all helped Thea jump-start her car, and we were soon on our way home.

Shades of red

Waiting for action this warm and breezy morning and me determined not to be left behind.

Soon Paul arrived and we drove to Brooklands Ghost Village carpark on Red Hill where we met Pauline, Thea and Tessa. There were also lots of other dogs there waiting for their walkies and Laddie immediately dived in.

A short distance, and we were at Kleinplaas Dam which is looking respectably full compared to past levels. (Click here for past Kleinplaas Dam posts.)

We love the red tanniny silky smooth fynbos water up here. It makes us all dreamy. 

Soon we were off again up the sandy track,

the beady eye of the dinosaur rock monster on us.

There were a few flowers for the Food Lady including these aristea (possibly A. dichotoma) flowers.

I had to stop in every patch of shade I found,

until Thea kindly took out her umbrella so I had some portable shade.

We were overtaken by some friendly bikers, but we discovered that they had upended a tortoise further on, and just left it in the path on its back in the hot hot sun. Luckily for it we were able to put it right and moved it into the shade to recover.

Tea: Paul, Pauline, Thea, the Alph and Tessa - with pink bubbles, chocs, dates, mince pies,

and delicious lebkuchen.

After drinking water and eating my dog biltong, I retired to the shade in the middle of a big old Leucadendron conocarpodenron shrub to sit out the heat.

Laddie and Tessa checked for baboons.

They seem very smitten with each other!

Some red and yellow flowers on Red Hill - maybe Aspalathus carnosa?

We all had a great tortoise hunt in the fynbos,

watched over by a tortoise rock monster who seemed pleased that we had rescued the tortoise knocked over by the bikers.

The sandy path went on and on,

past flowers of the Wild Agapanthus (Agapanthus africanus),

and lots of dainty Wild Pinks (Dianthus albens),

till at last we reached the cool waters of the Lewis Gay Dam.

Tessa was a bit worried when everyone - including her human - leapt in and disappeared,

then loomed up out of the black water - with arms glowing red.

Us cooling off in shallows.

Nearly back at the cars again - and me as perky and fit as a pup.