We drove inland to the Groenlandberg. This area is intensively farmed with fruit and so to begin our walk we were transported like apples by tractor.

Our walks at the sea had been so spectacular that we doubted they would be rivaled, but although the peak of the flowering season had passed we were treated to the most magnificent views and incredible flower diplays (perfect weather also helped).

I photographed many individual flowers but those can wait for another time EXCEPT FOR this exquisite Gladiolus. The top of the mountain was covered in thousands of these delicate beauties.

However flowers were not the only source of wonder for us. We also saw this very beautiful and rather vain southern rock agama.

But for me the highlight was a wonderful Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion sp.) that Helen spotted. My experience is that these special creatures are much rarer now than they were in the past and anecdotal reports supports this. Their decline has variously been ascribed to habitat destruction, climate change, pesticide use.

If you have never seen a Dwarf Chameleon, these beautiful reptiles are aptly named because they are surprisingly small and cute.

Wishing you a belated happy christmas.

We spent our christmas at Paternoster. After a beautiful walk along the coast we had a stroll at the beach and watched the fishermen returning in the soft, late evening light.

And then we had a very mellow christmas dinner.

I’m currently doing some wonderful walks with Malcolm & Helen Scott, who did the Mountains In The Sea trail with me several years ago. We are currently walking in the Cape West Coast Biosphere.

The CWCB project involves the local communities and provides skills and employment. Over the years I’ve seen many optimistic community projects that have failed or delivered sub-standard services, but this is certainly not the case here. The trails that we are doing are still in their infancy but already provide a very high standard from all of the many community service providers involved. Walk In Africa will certainly be offering these trails in the future. Please contact me if you are interested in these very relaxing and beautiful trails that immerse one in the culture of The West Coast.

We started our walks by exploring the tall shifting dunes,

where we found a fossil embedded in some rock.

The birdlife in this National Park is fantastic and we obtained excellent views of this African Spoonbill

Later in the day we tried to see the sight where “Eve’s footprint” was discovered, but we got into deep water!

Eve’s footprints are a set of three fossilised footprints that have been dated to be 117,000 years old. They are believed to be the footprints of an early Homo sapiens woman who because of the age at which the prints were left, is considered to represent the oldest female lineage of modern humans.

When guiding walks in the bush, the most common question I am asked is whether the activity is safe. People are generally out of their own familiar environment and they find the wild animals and insects intimidating. I generally reassure them and explain that personally I find the bush to be safer than living in a city.

I recently tested this theory by spending some time in a large African city, called Cairo.

And the results of this academic research strongly supported my theory! One night I was disturbed by explosions and gunfire outside my hotel window on the main street of Cairo at 9pm. Bear in mind that Cairo is at its busiest from about 8pm onwards so this was not the middle-of-the night. This “street war” continued for about 45 minutes, undisturbed by the irritating distraction of any law enforcement representatives.

Gang War in Cairo

 I also regularly used elevators in Cairo. If you haven’t been there, this is quite an experience too and way more dangerous than taking a stroll in the bush. The elevator shafts are simply installed on their scaffolding and runners without any protective walls or even internal doors! The result is that as you travel up or down in a building you have a vivid view of the guts of the building as it flashes past your eyes, including very exposed drops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHLTLsbYfLc

Once I survived the street war and the elevators I had to survive the city air and the traffic. Cairo has a population of about 20 million people and is rated as one of the most air-polluted cities in the world. Cairenes smoke incessantly and I became convinced that they do this in order to get something cleaner than Cairo air into their lungs!

In order to get anywhere one must at some time cross a Cairo street, and that must be one of the most terrifying experiences in the world – until you master it. It does have some similarities with confronting a charging elephant because both require calm, courage and commitment and involve a degree of psychological engagement. However I found the motion of motor vehicles in Cairo to be much less predictable than the charge of a wild animal. For example vehicles go around traffic circles in whatever direction they wish! And traffic lanes are a form of linear decoration on road surfaces, unrelated to traffic flow. Long distance reversing on freeways is accepted driving style and the critical item required for an Egyptian motor vehicle to be considered in good working order is the horn, which must be used incessantly. In contrast headlights are avoided at all cost. I think it is the Egyptian way of saving energy. They drive at night with their headlights turned off (most often on the wrong side of the road)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-06YBHTZDg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

The final results of my academic research into this matter?

Cairo is an awesome city to visit, but it is way safer to walk in the bush than in a large city!

I’m currently in Cairo. The egyptians have just had a revolution and are experiencing their first democratic election in decades. When I arrived here there was still teargas in the air.

I spent much time at Tahrir Square, which was the focal point of the revolution and the violence. By the time I arrived the violence had mostly passed and the atmosphere at the square alternated between carnival and thuggish, with some inspiring moments. For example I was there when about 10,000 devout moslems assembled to conduct the Jumaa prayer. The Imam called for a change in government and a new dispensation for all people in Egypt regardless of religion.

Ten percent of the Egyptian population are Coptic Christians and they form the largest minority in the country. The Coptic Church is one of the oldest Christian sects in the world and some local christians fear an islamist government although the most popular political party (an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood) claims to accept the Copts in a future government and is fielding Christian candidates.

The first round of extremely complicated election process went remarkably calmly. I visited a polling station in a busy neighbourhood supervised by a single policeman and everyone was patient and the process was orderly – with separate lines for men and for women voters. There is no doubt that the final results will show an overwhelming majority for the islamists, but that is no surprise in an islamic country. Hopefully the elections will proceed peacefully and the Egyptians will manage to hold onto their hard-won democracy. Inshallah!