Garden route revisited

In a previous blog I failed to identify this amazing beauty that I found near Nieuwoudtville, but someone came to my rescue with Lapeirousia oreogena, a bulb which only occurs in a limited area but is very popular overseas - thanks go to Sally Harris

There was a period of nearly a week when I was without the Beast and the Bakkie, so spent time doing some of the really wriggly roads around Cape Town on the bike.  En route to Chapman's Peak I rode through Bishop's Court and found that there really is one, though you'll probably need a magnifying glass to see the sign. 

Near the end of the drive is a spot that looks out over Long Beach towards Kommetjie.....

.....and the view from the top of Ou Kaapse Weg is also fairly nifty.

The Bishop, the Beast, the bakkie and the bike were finally reunited (thanks Jane) and headed for Klondyke Cherry Farm in the Matroosburg about 30 km from Ceres.

No shortage of flowers here either but not as prolific, pink oxalis with tiny leaves....

.....elegant bulbinella on a stem at least half a metre long....

.......and more babiana.  Unfortunately the flower book was one of several items that I managed to leave in the Beast, which is currently in storage!

The cherry (and cheery) trees weren't a problem to identify! Those clouds heralded a cold front of monstrous proportions and while there wasn't a repeat of the snow that fell here a month previously the wind cut you in half.  Not fun packing up for the move to Robertson.

Here I revisited Silwerstrand Resort next to the Breede River and the wind followed, though not nearly as cold.

The predominant species of lower in the area were Worcester vygies Drosanthemum speciosis and Ice plants Lampranthus sp. which in Greek means "shining flowers".  With over 120 species and only separated from similar flowers by the seed capsule, you'll forgive me if I don't go into detail.

The vygies vary from scarlet.....

......to orange or gold, but so do the ice plants - confusing but stunning.

There were others scattered about such as these which might be an ornithogalum......

As Franschhoek was fairly close and there's a magnificent pass between it an Robertson, the bike was called into action.  This taken near the top.

Had a regular visitor who rested in a tree in front of the Beast and gave little wittering calls now and then - a Cape Bulbul.

This whole valley is packed with vines which are mostly watered by the river that has carved a passage between these two massifs nearby.

With so much colour to please the eye, these sort of things get overlooked so felt sorry for them but don't what they are!

30 odd kilometers up the road is the Karoo National Botannical Garden,  which at this time of year is an absolute must.

Flowers packed so densely the foliage is invisible. Magenta....

.......................scarlet....................

.................and mauve.  Know the above are drosanthemum 'cos they were labelled!

Quite surprised to see a couple of oriental ladies enjoying the spectacle and chatting excitedly, hopefully tourism is picking up.

Next on the agenda was Sedgefield, where Titus the drone was launched to get a view of the now full Groenvlei.......

.....and the bike provided access to the Seven Passes road between George and Knysna which plunges up and down ridges........bisected by numerous rivers

.

Knysna seems to have mostly recovered from the deadly fire which swept through there recently, but there are still a number of skeletons of homes and lots of dead trees.

At the top of the Western Head one looks down to Buffels Bay with it's majestic beach.

Ever onward, to the Willows Resort near Port Elizabeth........ 

......... and a site right next to the sea but with it's nickname of the windy city, I didn't bother with the awning.

Had a couple of visitors in the shape of Cape mongoose, the white tip to the tail being diagnostic.

The son of a friend of brother in-law Pete is a skipper for an outfit called Raggy Charters and was coincidentally taking a group out on a Saturday and I was asked if I was interested, silly question.  We were diverted from the intended route by a fisherman friend of his, who had spotted some whales off Cape Recife.  What they didn't let on was the whales were Orcas or killer whales.

Someone on board had their phone on video so as a first on the blog, you'll hopefully be able to take a peek.

We then headed St Croix to see the African penguins but actually ran into a large flock on the way.

Shortly before reaching the island we were surrounded by a massive pod of bottle-nose dolphins and Jake explained that their research has shown that for every one you see on the surface, there are three below, which gave a estimate of 500 or so.

St Croix was named by Bartholomeu Diaz who sailed into Algoa Bay in 1488 and erected a wooden cross there to give thanks for his safe passage.  A replica was put up in 1988 to mark the 500th anniversary of the event. The island was originally covered with a thick layer of guano, that was stripped down to bare rock which deprived the penguins of their burrows and precipitated a drop in numbers that continues unabated. The abandoned buildings are a stark reminder.