Every Thursday morning I get up with the birds. I put my backpack on my back, lace my boots and make sure my camera battery is fully charged. Thursday is hiking day. It has been for the past year of my life and probably will be till the day that I have to accept that old age has caught up with me. I can't believe all the beauty that I've discovered in this past year has always been right here, under my nose. I'd like to share some of my experiences, as seen through my camera lens, with you. Who knows, you might be inspired to go out and buy yourself a pair of hiking boots as well...

January 2011 - Cape Town, South Africa







Sunday, June 5, 2011

The Cape Winelands - it's not all about the wine!


Last Thursday we set off from home at 06:15. It was still dark and there was no denying the fact that winter has truly arrived in the Cape. For the first time I packed three sets of gloves, two hats, two jackets and a scarf. I was pretty much geared for Kilimanjaro all over again, but all of those items, except the extra jacket and third pair of gloves, were used!

So for those of you complaining about the heat in your part of the world, spare a moment for us hauling out our winter warmers here at the tip of Africa!

Our route last week took us into the heart of the Cape Winelands. We drove through the sleepy little town of Franschoek, bought our permits to enter the nature reserve and continued up the pass behind the town. We started our hike at about 700m above sealevel and by lunchtime we had reached the Perdekop Peak at 1575m. It was pretty cold up there but as we were all well prepared with the right gear and lots of hot coffee, we could not have asked for a more scenic spot to catch our breath.

We spent about 8 hours on the mountain in total and it certainly was one of the most beautiful local hikes I've been on. It's not that difficult but it is long (about 16km in total) with lots of ups and downs. At the end you have to negotiate quite a steep downhill with quite a steep stretch up towards a jeep track - not easy if your legs are a bit wobbly after a day's climbing!

Nevertheless - this is a hike that I can highly recommend and I for one will certainly be back!




















Note the snow on the peak in the background!








We crossed paths with this interesting but deadly fellow - a young Bergadder, basking in the sun. Luckily he was spotted and we could admire each other from afar! Read more about the species here.


Another interesting find - a camera set up to monitor the movements of the cape leopard. Yes, believe it or not, we still have a number of wild leopards in the mountains around our towns and cities here in the Western Cape. Read more about this elusive but beautiful creature and the work that is being done by the local conservation organizations here.

Until next week - happy hiking!

7 comments:

  1. Lovely photos as always! Another very interesting hike. I wouldn't like to have met up with the snake - I'm very glad you spotted him!! I had no idea there were still wild leopards so close to civilization! It's so nice to get your posts via email. Happy hiking!

    Regards, Mari

    http://www.mariscamera.blogspot.com/

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  2. Amazing photos! What a beautiful place to hike and spend the day! Very cool that you still have wild leopards. I bet they would be incredible to see.

    K and Suka

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  3. Sure is cold today. Wonder if we'll be getting more snow on our Groot Winterhoek mountains in the next 3 days.

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  4. Hi there, Emilene...
    Such beautiful footage and interesting account. It's turned very cold here, so that means that you guys are possibly over your worst.
    Thanks for your interesting and informative blogposts.
    MAXMOM IN JO'BURG

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  5. Hi, Emilene.
    It is so good to see you preparing adequately for your Spanish trip! You seem to have some interesting snakes there.
    Margaret

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  6. Nice meeting you,Emilene! What a wonderful life!

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  7. Thanks for your lovely comments everyone! I LOVE sharing our hikes and hope it inspires you to explore your own part of the world as well! :)

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment, I appreciate the feedback!