And we’re back

Posted on February 2, 2012 by admin

Many apologies for our long absence from the cyber-realm. We had some problems with our website and as a result I have not been able to post any blogs for about a month. Thank you very much to everyone who notified us about the problems with acces

s to our website and to those who told us that they missed the newsletters.

I left everyone hanging in the midst of Helen & Malcom Scott’s epic Western Cape walking holiday, so here are a few highlights just to get me back in the swing of blogging.

We saw this beautiful Aulax umbellata on one of our walks. This is one of the lesser known Proteas commonly referred to as a featherbush.

Right at the end of the walk we saw this very relaxed and splendid Cape Cobra(Naja nivea). These are the most venomous cobras in Africa with a very potent neurotoxin and responsible for most snake-bite related deaths in the Western Cape but this one was unperturbed about us.

On this particular day we finished walking in time for lunch. Malcolm & Helen toasted the walk, the Aulax, the Cobra and of course our hosts – Wildekrans Country House.

Over the Krakadouw Pass

Posted on July 31, 2011 by admin

We departed from Heuningvlei passing beautiful sculptured rocks en route to the Krakadouw Pass.

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You may recall a previous post (“Once was famous” – May 2nd 2011) in which I spoke about the tremendous variety of colour forms seen in Protea repens flowers. On this walk we saw a colour variety that I have never seen before. The bracts are white but the stamens & anthers are red. The contrast is extremely beautiful.

While descending the western side of the pass we saw this beautiful Lachenalia. The genus Lachenalia consists of bulbs that are endemic to Namibia and South Africa.

The highlight though, was finding this extremely fresh leopard track. In fact we followed the tracks for 2 km along the trail toward Krakadouw Cottages where Pierre Louw had lost a calf to this leopard just 3 days earlier. The Leopards of the Cederberg are much smaller than their counterparts further north and are extremely rare. Quinton Maartens has been doing some excellent research and conservation work with the leopards of the Western Cape and you can find out more about his work at www.capeleopard.org.za

Once was famous

Posted on May 2, 2011 by admin

Protea repens or as it is better known by its afrikaans name – Suikerbos, was once the national flower of South Africa.

However something happened in 1976 and it was deposed by Protea cynaroides which is currently our national flower. I have no idea what heinous crime our Suikerbos committed and I certainly think that our current national flower is magnificent, but Protea repens certainly has enough features to warrant its prior status.

The plant has a very wide geographical distribution through the Cape Floral Kingdom as well as being found in a variety of habitats and at a variety of elevations. In the past it was used for firewood. Its afrikaans name “suikerbos” means sugarbush and refers to the copious amount of nectar produced by the flowers. In times past, this nectar was an important source of sugar. In addition the early white settlers used to boil this nectar to produce a medicine which was used for chest complaints.

What I find particularly intriguing about this plant is the variability in the colour of the flowers, ranging from almost white to deep red. All of the above pictures are of Protea repens and all of them where taken in the same locality within a space of about 80 metres.

Hanging out with the Spiderheads

Posted on January 25, 2011 by admin

We were walking in a favourite part of Table Mountain National Park, when Shoshi took a leap of faith and decided to literally “hang-out”. I can’t say I blamed her. The view was superb and its always great to have some space under one.

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The day was made all the more special by these hairy Spiderheads (Serruria hirsuta).

Belive it or not these beautiful flowers are members of the Protea family. They are extremely rare and this is the only known population of the species in the world. There are approximately 1500 specimens in existence . . . and we were graced with seeing them in flower. Weren’t we lucky

To Chapman’s Peak and beyond . . .

Posted on October 31, 2010 by admin

Chapman’s Peak must be the best known mountain peak in South Africa. There are several versions of how the mountain received its name but they all agree on one thing – the mountain was named after John Chapman – a lowly ship’s sailor.

On our way we saw this magnificent Protea cynaroides flower:

We saw magnificent scenery

And finally, in a howling gale-force southeaster, we made it to the top of Chapman’s Peak.

Reminders of Sir Francis Drake’s visit to The Cape of Good Hope

Posted on October 30, 2010 by admin

In 1580 on his famous circumnavigation of the globe, Sir Francis Drake saw Cape of Good Hope and described it as the fairest Cape that he had seen in his entire journey. He MUST have been here on a day just like we experienced today! The Cape was bea

utiful beyond description. The temperature was a comfortable 20⁰C and there was barely any wind. The sea was absolutely flat and the water was as clear as that in an aquarium.

Along the way we also saw beautiful flowers like this Pincushion Protea and Gladiolus:

Protea mites

Posted on October 11, 2010 by admin

In general the bearded sugarbush Proteas are delightful to the touch. They are silky and cushioned. Most of the time it’s fine to stroke these flowers for some sensual indulgence – but beware the protea itch mites (Protolaelaps vanderbergii).

Thes

e small insects hitch rides on birds and beetles from one protea flowerhead to the next. They feed on pollen and nectar obtained from the Proteas. They may well be involved in pollination too. The flowers may have as many as 6,000 of these creatures on them. When a bird lands on a flower, the mites stream onto them and get comfortable for a ride to the next flowerhead.

So beware what you touch for your thrills!

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