When I house sat for a couple of weeks towards the end of last year there had recently been some horrendous fires just up the road from here and the whole of Silvermine Reserve was closed. When I went past the other day it was open again so I popped in to see what it looked like and though it is recovering all the proteas and keurbooms have perished. But fire is supposed to be good for fynbos and this was bourne out by these Rooibergpypies (red mountain pipes) or if you insist Tritoniopsis triticea poking out of the otherwise fairly barren landscape. As there was a rather chilly wind blowing I didn't stay there long and moved down into the sheltered valley section where I came across a furious bird party, initially consisting of Cape robin-chat, Southern double-collared sunbird, Fiscal flycatcher and Karoo prinia
It soon became apparent what all the fuss was about especially when a boubou appeared and started dive bombing the top of a nearby bush, screaming maniacally. There seemingly unconcerned sat a juvenile boomslang sunning itself - I suppose the birds are unaware of the fact that snakes are deaf. I fully expected to see it take out one of the cheeky sods but it merely ducked when they got too close to it's head.
I decided to come back some other time and tackle one of the walks when I was better prepared and drove down Ou Kaapseweg behind a bakkie sporting a sign that read "We repair what your husband fixed". As I was going to be in one place for some time I thought I'd better investigate a gym so went along to Virgin Constantia - sure we'll sign you up for 3 months at only.............R1 200 a month! Don't worry I've got a bicycle. Later I popped into a pub right on the railway line in Kalk Bay and ordered a double vodka, lime and soda .........R52 please, guess I'll drink at home. I also wanted to compare the city centre with Durban so went into town and found a parking near the Old Fort (closed for repairs) and made my way to Adderley Street - first difference, all street names in Durban have been changed. Not much difference in the lack of pavement though, all but a narrow corridor filled with make-shift stalls selling everything imaginable - wonder if the shop owners charge them rent. The biggest difference is that everything is still pretty clean and tidy. Thence to the reasonable calm of the Company Gardens, all very English with oaks and squirrels - both imported.
I made a circuit of the Parliment Buildings and was astounded to see old Louis Botha on his horse at the main gate. In the light of the #rhodesmustfall campaign it struck me as rather amusing.
I decided to treat myself to breakfast one Sunday so repaired to a restaurant on the beach at Fish Hoek and was once again dazzled by the sheer beauty of the Cape - very reasonable brekkie too, both from quality and price point of view.
A drive up into the hills produced another of those "Wow" moments.
As evidenced by huge numbers of coots - I counted a hundred outside the window the other day - the waterways in Marina da Gama produce massive quantities of water weed but the municipality has a cunning plan. Voila le aquatic mower, a fearful contraption that's all gnashing teeth, churing paddle-wheels and a roaring diesel engine. It not only clears floating weed but is capable of reaching about a meter underwater as well, the cut "grass" being transferred to a bin by a conveyer belt, then dumped ashore by the rear one. Note the attendant Little Egret, there's obviously fish and frogs in them thar weeds.
As I haven't visited Seapoint since I was a lad, I loaded the bike and headed down there. There's a promenade that runs all along the shore line and I was amazed to discover a civilised way to access the monstrosity called the V&A Waterfront. There's a back door with free parking and very few people, but a rather busy Helipad which I see from the Times, residents are getting fractious about.
On another beautiful day I returned to Silvermine determined to visit Elephant's Eye Cave which I vaguely recalled from the notice board was about 1.5 k's distant and about 200 m higher up. As you can see virtually every tree and shrub perished in the blaze except some that were close to the dam which originally suppled water to Muizenberg. I was about on my last legs when I made it to the Lookout and saw.....
.......that the cave was still miles off and a heck of a way up. I took a picture.
The view the other way was fairly breathtaking.
If I saw and heard 6 birds during the 3 hours I was there it was a lot, but I did run into the very aptly named Table Mountain Beauty. Back at the car park I checked the board again - the cave was actually a 6 k round trip not 3.
A bird I have been seeking for a very long time has pitched up near the Emily Moon restaurant just outside Plettenberg for several years and sure enough it was back again so I decided a quick 1000 km trip was in order - it has been a very long time after all. I got hold of friends who have recently settled in Plett and they kindly offered overnight accommodation, so off I went. Of course the idiot bird never showed though it was seen the day before and the day after I was there. Ah well. So the best I can do is.........
A rather odd sight outside the lounge window had me gropimg for bins.
A Great Crested Grebe, never seen one snoozing before. It's like having your own private hide, though the birds are common you do get superb views such as Yellow-billed duck and Mallard which I refuse to show as they really ought to be shot. No, I'm not a raving looney, they are cross breeding with our Yellowbills and as has happened in New Zealand we may lose a species all together and just end up with hybrids.
Took this while having breakfast the other morning.
There are parts of the Cape that are even more quaintly English than England, the bathing huts at Muizenberg being an example, not sure if anyone uses them but they are well maintained.
Having read about the lighthouse at Slangkoppunt near Kommetjie I just had to go and see it. Completed in 1919, it is 34 m high and made of ............... cast iron! Quite how they managed to weld the massive pieces together is something that I have not been able to ascertain but it is impressive nonetheless.
Driving back from there I decided to take Boyes Drive which skirts the mountain behind Muizenberg and I stopped at the place where a lookout is posted to keep an eye out for Great Whites. They would certainly be easy to see on a day like this and the couple of hundred guys on boards at Surfers Corner are very appreciative I'm sure. With breakers over a kilometer long and about a meter high I may yet be tempted to try long-boarding.
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