Storm over Table Mountain

Yesterday morning the Cape Of Storms lived up to it's name. We were treated to an awesome display of Nature's Light Show. The veined lightning struck the ground with tremendous ferocity and the thunder caused the glass in the windows to vibrate. Here are shots taken before dawn of Table Mountain and Cape Town City Centre.

Cape Peninsula Tour 5

Then back to the Indian Ocean for tea, the shadows growing longer. Muizenberg mountain is left in the first picture from the bottom, Cape Point, the south-western most tip of Africa in the distance in the next pic. Then towards home and the little cove of St James with it's beautiful bathing boxes from the turn of the last century. Up Muizenberg mountain as the sun sinks, taking the scenic route - the whole of False Bay in the view. The paralell waves stream into the shore and round the corner we can see home across the small lake and lastly - the tour over welcome to our home! There is always room for friends :-)

peninsula tour 4

The Sentinel as the mist lifts and a lone trawler takes to the open sea, Chapman's Peak road's highest point just visible and we head up and over the mountain range again back to the Indian Ocean.

The back of Table Mountain, the Twelve Apostles emerges from the mist as we drive on to the other small fishing community in the Peninsula. This is also a very affluent area, as you can see. On one side, enshrouded in mist, the commercial trawlers, on the other the big game fishing boats.
Then up Chapman's Peak Drive as far as legally permissible. A few years ago a fire ravaged the entire mountain, the winter rains came and the road slid down into the sea. The entire mountain has been caught in huge wires mesh to try and prevent rockfalls. It has been closed again for a year now - only walkers, the Argus Cycle tour and the Two Oceans Marathon get to use it now. We stopped to look out over the Sentinel Peak which stands guard over Hout Bay.

The Cape Peninsula Tour 3

From the mountain pass we look down on the tiny fishing village of Kalk Bay. (While I call these villages, they remain a part of the Cape Town metropolis) Then we cut through across the city shrouded in mist and look back at Table Mountain with the city below hidden in the mist. As the mist lessens we get to the Atlantic seaboard and a family of giraffes! The rocky Atlantic coves hover half in the mist as we climb the saddle to the next village.

The Cape Peninsula Tour 2

Then on to lunch in an old Victorian Restaurant with the stairs to the jetty and a few of the yacht basin. our Navy is here - but it is minuscule and has almost no ships! The mountain on the far right of the yacht basin is Muizenberg mountain.
Looking back down the road towards or lunch venue, Simonstown village and the Naval base. The coastline as we leave for the pass over the mountain....

the Cape Penisula Coastal tour!

On a grey rainy morning off to the starting point through Muizenberg shopping area, and on to Boulders Beach. This is quite a long way away but I'm taking a guest from Scotland to lunch near there and then we will do the circle.
The beach is a protected area but one can (in summer!) swim with the penguins. It is magical looking at them waddling around and the scenery is stunning. The rain has cleared.

The Marico again

This is lion country and on all sides of the Tara Retreat Centre are game parks with their prides of lions lurking lazily in the long grass. This area is rich in copper and legend has it that Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambava landed in Southern Africa alll those centuries ago.Who knows? It might have been in this still and dreaming land of magic and long distances. The gravel roads take us for nearly fifty kms in a straight line up and down the hills before we reach the road to the city of Johannesburg again - wehave two provinces to cross before we get there.

the Groot marico

The old farmhouse, the new shrine room and a retreat in the Beautiful Groot Marico, a part of South Africa near Botswana where one of the countries most treasured writers lived and based his poignant stories - his name Herman Charles Bosman and his stories are the stuff of magic.

The countryside glows with his spirit and you expect to see his characters from a century ago, coming towards you at any minute. He caught the triumph and the tragedy of the people of this land in his words.
The old house is built of bricks - all the new houses have been built out of clay and are really stunning.