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







Monday, July 25, 2011

From sunrise to sunset...


This was the glorious site that greeted us as we started our hike above Simons Town a while back. Little did we know that that same sun would be on it's way down by the time we got back to the car! A long but wonderful hike. We parked vehicles at the start and finish, as we ended our walk almost at the entrance of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, quite a way from the start of our walk.

We enjoyed glorious views of False Bay and the surrounding mountains the entire day. The only surprise was the steep descent at the end of the route and to say that the sight of the vehicle was a welcome sight for sore eyes (and knees!), is an understatement!

Southern Right whales frolicking in the cold water in the bay, elusive little buck disappearing in the bushes around us and a canon shot announcing midday down in the naval base - just a few of the highlights of the day!











And as always - the customary hearts on our route...


Friday, July 22, 2011

A day in the du Toit's Kloof mountains...


True to form, the weatherman got it wrong again yesterday. Thank goodness! If the predicted rain materialised, we would have had a pretty miserable day on the mountain. Eight of us headed out to the du Toit's Kloof mountains at the crack of dawn. We hiked to the overnight hut at Kromriver where we stopped to boil water for coffee. After this customary 'breakfast' stop we continued on - the photographs below show the beauty that surrounded us the rest of the day.

We had a new hiker join the group on this walk and I have to hang my head in shame today as she was the only one who didn't moan and groan when the going got tough! Welcome Catherine!

I still have to post pics of the two previous hikes - will do that soon...

Finally, today it is exactly one year since we tackled Kilimanjaro. How I wish we could do it all over again!









We suspect that this is a 'Duiker' spoor. To read more about this little antelope, click here.








Even from the back, this little flower is just perfect...



As always - nature didn't disappoint! The customary heart shapes were scattered all along the path!