And we’re back
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 accescheap viagra overnights 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...
Fancy a bit of paradise then?
We’ve been walking the new super-easy-super-beautiful five-bay slackpacking trail. It is on the West Coast of South Africa, not far from Cape Town. This is an area that has never really received credit for its incredible beauty. The walk was hypnotic and days merged into one continuous experience of blue ocean, white beaches, rocky shores, and exquisite vistas punctuated with flowers and birds. In spite of it being holiday season we saw almost no other people and had the privilege of the sound of the sea to accompany our own thoughts for...
Table Mountain throws it all at us
Gerd Spegel is an old guest and friend. I guided him twice on foot safaris in Zimbabwe and we had incredible adventures in the bush in those heady days past (and future!) Since he was passing through Cape Town we decided to catch-up while we walked up Table Mountain on one of the more obscure routes. As we started-out the weather was perfect; cool with high cloud and gorgeous Watsonias (Watsonia borbonica) brightening our way with Table Mountain in the background. However as we ascended the mountain the cloud descended and engulfed...
Brunia Beetle on Table Mountain with the Kams
I went walking up Table Mountain with the Kam's from California. The weather was perfect - cool and misty for added ambience. Watching the cloud rise up against the cliffs was dramatic. Along the way we saw this exquisite Trichostetha capensis (Brunia beetle) on an everlasting or paper flower. ...
Snakes Alive!
Brian, Robin, Mark & Ricky came walking with me recently. We were blessed with exquisite weather and many beautiful flowers. This inconspicuous orchid (Satyrium humile) almost escaped our attention. We also saw this beautiful hibiscus (Hibiscus aethiopicus) We stopped for a rest at a spot with magnificent views and the 'A' team looked like they were really happy and enjoying themsleves. For me the highlight of the walk was seeing this exquisite Boomslang. These snakes are back-fanged and have an haemotoxic venom (which means that is attacks the red blood cells). The bites...
We finally came down off the mountains and I had made a lunch reservation at The Restaurant at the End of The Continent The views were exceptional, in fact they were even better than usual for this venue After lunch we continued along the coast. The weather was so good that even the Ostriches were out for a walk at the sea As we continued we saw many handsome Hartlaub's Gulls. Although the distribution for this Gull extends all the way up into NAmibia, half of the total population is...
Driver, Guide, Botanist, Mechanic, Marriage Counselor, Doctor, Cobbler
Everyone has been waiting with bated breath for the post about my last day walking with Olympia's last group. The truth is that (a) it was such an incredibly beautiful walk that I will require at least two postingcialis buys to do it justice and (b) I have been very busy adventuring since then, so as usual there are many exciting blogs about baby whales, flowers, snakes, dogs, wine and other adventures waiting to be posted! Well our last day on the 'Mountains In The Sea Trail' was glorious. Right...
Cape Town weather
We started off once again in blustery weather on the beach, with heavy clouds and a westerly wind. As a result of the high winds and storm the previous day, the beach was strewn with Portuguese Man O'War (Physalia physalis). These creatures have no form of independent locomotion and are simply blown by the wind and carried by the currents. The posses stinging cells which can deliver a very painful sting and unfortunately Kili was stung on the foot. The pain subsided after about 30 minutes and...
Finns in the mist
The weather today was not as fine as yesterday, but forunately it was not as hot as I have experienced it here before. We were very fortunate to still have most of the magnificent views of this walk because the mist lifted when we approached Hout Bay. Kili loved the walk but was misbehaved and so he & I had an argument. As usual I set-up a safety rope at the ladder and everyone used it and appreciated having it there. Toward the end of the walk the mist settled-in...
Over the Krakadouw Pass
We departed from Heuningvlei passing beautiful sculptured rocks en route to the Krakadouw Pass. 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...