January UNfitness and February for disas

 by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Hiking among wildflowers

in the mountains

around Cape Town

 

On New Year's Day I hiked with the Ungardener. Strong wind, I hung onto my hat, grabbed hanks of lockdown hair away from my face, wrestled with new glasses and first hike with new Canon G5X camera - all while desperately trying to keep up with him - as he spent most of his walk ... sitting on a rock ... waiting for me. Lost my balance, fell over, hurt my ankle, before we made it back to the car.

 

Olifantsbos
Olifantsbos

We went to Cape Point, from Olifantsbos circling up to Sirkelsvlei then back along the ridge. Baby Agama with cryptic colouring. Roella times two. Aristea.

 

The dragon, is watching you! Eroded sandstone, is endlessly fascinating. The surface weathered and crafted.

 

Follow the curved path laid out ahead. To Sirkelsvlei, where there is dark blue water. Looping back to look down to the Atlantic Ocean. Dilatris.

 

Pelargonium. Rock surface painted in lichen colours. Echoed in flowers white Syncarpha vestita and red Erica cerinthoides. Erica gone to seed in glory!

 

New Year's Day flowers at Cape Point
New Year's Day flowers at Cape Point
 

Second attempt was Silvermine Amphitheatre. Panorama walk. Higher than my Fynbos Rambles usually go. Went better, but as I looked at the path ahead along the ridge, I wimped out and we turned down half way. But I did see a fresh view! Tritoniopsis unguicularis found along the Cape Peninsula mountains, then leaping False Bay, to follow the mountains from Kleinmond to Napier.

 

Gladiolus carneus. Salmon Watsonia tabularis.

 

Silvermine Amphitheatre January flowers
Silvermine Amphitheatre January flowers
 

Rejoining my Fynbos Ramblers, I did, with a few extra rests - sitting in carefully chosen patches of shade, a gentle breeze, birds singing - manage to catch up with them for destination disas above Kirstenbosch. Our disas are sadly targeted by poachers (and their willing buyers?!) To find the Pride of Table Mountain, first, in February, hike up, to a cliff, look on the shady side, where a waterfall trickles even in high summer. Your eye will find that COLOUR!

 

Shady cliff with water
Shady cliff with water
 

Flash of vivid red. Disa uniflora. Gold sparkles in the sun, and the camera has lost the intensity of that RED.

 

Disa uniflora
Disa uniflora

Pride of Table Mountain
Pride of Table Mountain

Our second Disa hike was up Steenberg in Silvermine. Split neatly like a geode, exposing a weathered surface and wings to lift us up the steep path, and then to sweep us down as tired feet skidded.

 

Stone wings
Stone wings
 

Blaze of blue. Disa graminifolia.

 

Disa graminifolia
Disa graminifolia
 

Red again, but now we look for a red pyramid. Cluster Disa ferruginea.

 

Disa ferruginea
Disa ferruginea
 

Got my second wind at last, and forged ahead to see That View over False Bay. Nothing human to mar a wide and distant view to Africa. We could be explorers discovering a new continent. Aristea glauca

 

Red spike for Table Mountain Beauty butterfly, but this time Tritoniopsis triticea. Pink marshmallows Stoebe rosea, yet a Nother daisy (confined to the Cape Peninsula)! Tucked in the rock crevice Crassula rupestris, sosatie (= kebab) plant, for the leaf arrangement.

 

Erica. Golden Serruria villosa. Hermas villosa has the very softest yellow flowers dancing on tall spikes.

 

Steenberg for disas in February
Steenberg for disas in February
 

We settle back into our routine. Today he is up on the mountain with his Curious and Adventurous.

 

PS to the Photographers. Why does the new camera no longer show shooting information when I download my photos? I would like to see the time (but not printed on the picture!)

 

Our hikes are listed on my page.

 

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Pictures by Diana and Jürg Studer

of Elephant's Eye on False Bay

 

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Comments

  1. I'm glad to hear that you've been able to get back to your hiking routine, Diana - I'm sure it's good for your soul and your spirits. Your panoramic views are magnificent and very unlike anything available here (although I do have my industrial harbor view). As always, I enjoy seeing so many flowers I've seen nowhere else.

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  2. Beautiful views and wildflowers! As Kris says, your native flowers are so unique and it's special to be able to learn about them through you. Enjoy your hikes!

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  3. So you look at "Properties" of the photo and there are no properties? (are you apple or windows or linux?) Or in photo viewer, there is no "file info"?

    The Disa are exquisite. Poaching, so sad. Here last year or two it was Dudleyas vanishing to willing buyers in Asia for exorbitant prices. So very sad.

    Glad your ankle was not too injured. What beauty you would have missed!

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    Replies
    1. I mostly use the Canon software. But wherever I come from, the GIF, the shooting info, is blank. Will have to ask for help at the camera shop.

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  4. The blue of Disa graminifolia is stunning! I watched another documentry about the flora in your beautiful country. I particularly loved the fields of crocosmia. How I wish I could visit. P.x

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  5. Strange that your new camera doesn't show shooting information. Did you solve the problem yet?

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    Replies
    1. I tried swopping the memory card - that didn't help, so it is the settings on the camera itself.

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