Finishing with the Finns
My friend Patrick Verbraecken recently contacted me to chastise me for not uploading posts! He is entirely justified. I was extremely busy and then had technical problems. So I apologise to all of our regular readers for the hiatus, but it has been vcialis buyery encouraging to receive e-mails and phone calls asking about our e-magazine. I must also apologise to the Finnish hikers who have been awaiting the last instalment documenting their walk. It was certainly a memorable walk and I was very pleased to have every one of the group...
Them Dam Dogs
I've been asked to feature Kili & Meru on today's blog - fortunately I have some lovely pictures of them to share. We started the day with a very relaxing stroll along the beach. After yesterday's epic ordeal and heat, the cool breeze was mostcheap cialis online welcome. However I suspect that Meru enjoyed the beach more than anyone else! As is to be expected in the Table Mountain National Park, the weather is totally unpredictable and by the time we had ascended into the hills a cold wind and mist was drifting...
Hot hot hot
We new it was going to be hot, but we didn't realise just HOW hot. The forecasts that I saw suggested that the temperature would be between 26 and 30 deg C. However it turns-out that the temperature reached 40 deg C! It started off pleasantly enobuy cheap viagraugh and we even had a bit of shade. But then the heat started to rise. Coming from -5 deg C in Finland didn't help my group. Ulla is a fit a lady. She has hiked all over the world including some pretty...
The Finns on Table Mountain with Orchids
It was near perfect weather today on Table Mountain. Not too hot, with a light breeze. Clean air and wonderful views. A fantastic introduction to the mountain for my new Finish friends. The weather wasn't all that was special today. We found swathes of Red Disas (Disa uniflora) in flower. This orchid is the provincial flower of the Western Cape and is also one of my favourite flowers. It is incredibly beautiful and photos cannot do justice to it but here it is . . . And even Meru wanted a...
Everlastings
In fynbos the daisy family is well represented. And within this family are several species which have dry flowers - even when they are fresh. These are commonly known as the everlastings or sometimes as paper-flowers. My favourite are Phaenocomabuy cialis prolifera (the Cape Strawflower), which are a vivid pink in colour when they first open and then gradually fading to white. Their flowering season lasts through the heat of summer and presumably the dry papery flowers minimise water loss. The genus name "Phaenocoma" is derived from the Greek...
Special places with special people
There is something extra special about walking with close friends and family. In perfect weather I walked in the Table Mountain National Park with such people, who have managed to to tick both boxes by being in my life for so long - these are closbuy cheap cialise friends who have become family. [caption id="attachment_788" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="Nadine & Shlomit Cohen above Simonstown in Table Mountain National Park"][/caption] ...
Table Mountain with Attitude
In my work I meet many people from different backgrounds - fortunately the vast majority of them are wonderful people. One lesson I have learnt after years of guiding in various african countries is this: The people who don a pair of boots and want tcialis onlineo learn more about our fragile and beautiful planet are special people! Its as simple as that. Today I had some guests with serious attitude! Lisa & Kim expected to hike-up Table Mountain, enjoy the great views and descend via the cable car in time...
Table Mountain on the Summer Solstice
Passage to Africa asked me to take their guests up Table Mountain last week, just before the solstice. The Adams family are super-fit and in spite of the heat we zoomed to the top. Here you can see the Elenas Models - Beautiful Russian Girls.younger generation chilling at the top of the mountain. We were fortunate to see what are probably the last of the Morea tripetala for this season. These exquisite flowers are members of the iris family. They have underground storage organs called corms, which assist them in surviving the harsh...
The Cape’s contribution to the theory of Evolution
Last year (2009) marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. For those who don’t know, it was his theories and research that provided a scientific base for understanding how life on earth has become so diverse. The exciting but ratheviagra pillsr unknown bit of information related to this is that on his Voyage around the world, Darwin spent a bit of time at the Cape Colony. He arrived to stay in Simons Town and corresponded with naturalists at the Cape whilst adding to his research. Among the...
Of lizards and birds
On the 2nd day of the Whale Trail we met this magnificent rock agama and he illustrated the concept of selective conspicuosness. His brightest colours are below his neck. So he positions himself on a high rock and bobs his head. In this way the lizards get an excellent view of his brilliantly coloured neck, but the birds of prey above do not! Pretty smart. Later we saw a male Cape Sugarbird who deals with a similar challenge differently. He is drably coloured but has a long streaming tail. When he...