Multi-National Christmas Lunch

Christmas at the Inglis House.

Henri, from Cameroon I wrote about in my story on getting my visa extension. I stood/sat beside Henri for 4.5 hours waiting to hand in my application at the Dept of Home Affairs. He was also successful in getting the student visa for which he applied in good time.

Tommy I met on my tour of Botswana/Namibia and has been staying here for the last week. He left at 2 pm for his home in Switzerland via Dubai. He did suggest he might need to sleep in the freezer last night to get acclimatised to the harsh winter conditions he is likely to encounter in Europe. How ever he is Swiss and loves skiing so cold is not a negative for him!

And we did have real Christmas pudding, straight from the supermarket.

Worn Out Souls & Air-conditioned Takkies

Second pair of my R80 ($11) shoes to wear out on my mountain. They have now been replaced by these fancy air-conditioned takkies.

There is no problem in finding new homes for the old ones but that is another story for another post later!

Jackass or African Penguins

On Saturday, Tommy and I went to visit the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach, on the other side of the peninsular from where I live, by local train ( my first time on the trains ). Cost R12 ( $1.80 ) for a 1 hour journey. Another case of dimishing numbers and obvious pressure from humans. About 2/3 of the area previously set aside to mingle with the penguins is now occupied by families using the relatively protected beach for swimming and beach picnics. There was only a small colony of the birds actually on the beach with just a few going to and from the sea. There were quite a few in the bushes above the beach. Last year, the park people laid down a number of what look like plastic milk cans all over the site for the birds to nest safely. This now does give the place a "cheap" look! However, apparently the birds moult in December and do not feed during this period so my disappointment may have been simply a case of bad timing.

African Penguin

The African Penguin is listed as a vunerable species. Of the 1.5 million population estimated in 1910, only some 10% remained at the end of the 20th century. The uncontrolled harvesting of eggs ( as a source of food ) and guano scrapping nearly drove the species to extinction. Because of their donkey-like braying call they were previously named the Jackass Penguin.

At Boulders Beach, from just 2 breeding pairs in 1982, the penguin colony has grown to about 3,000 in recent years.

Their diet consists mainly of squid and shoal fish such as pilchards and anchovy. They can swim at an average speed of 7kph and can stay submerged for up to 2 minutes. Their enemies include sharks, cape fur seals, and on occassion, killer whales (Orca). Land-based enemies include mongoose, genet, domestic cats and dogs - and the kelp gulls which steal their eggs and new born chicks.

Their distinctive black and white colouring is a vital form of camoflage - white for underwater predators looking upwards and black for predators looking down onto the water.

Although the african penguin breeds throughout the year, the main breeding season starts in February. They are a monogamous species and the lifelong partners take turns to incubate their eggs and to feed their young.

Peak moulting time is during December, after which they head out to sea to feed ( since they do not feed during moulting). They return in January to mate and begin nesting from about February to August.

Penguins have very sharp beaks and can cause serious injury if they bite or lunge.

Couldn't resist this innovative form of security. This is how the Magistrates Court in Simonstown was secured!

.....and creatures too.....

And then there are the dassies. The numbers seem to be much less than when I was here last century. I have only seen them once this year, when they appeared to be having a territorial dispute and were making a racket on the rock ledges below the top cable car station.

You may need to zoom in a bit to see them!

Rock Hydrax

Shoulder height 35-30 cm. Weight 4kg.

Rodent-like in appearance, hydraxes (also known as dassies) are claimed to be the closest living relative of elephants. The rock hydrax are often seen sunning themselves in rocky habitats, and become tame when used to people. They are social animals, living in large groups, and largely herbivorous, eating leaves, grasses and fruits. Where you see lots of dassies, watch out for black eagles and other raptors which prey extensively on them.

...there's always somethin' bloomin' on my mountain....

A boys' day out

Last Saturday, as I was about to ascend the diagonal route to the top of Table mountain I met this group coming down. They were a bit despondent as they said they had reached a dead-end on their first attempt . They were on a "boys' day out away from the girl friends for the day" and had started on the road, or more accurately the train, from Elsies River at 6 am into Cape Town and then up to the mountain. The joined me on another attempt and my first tick of acceptance came when we discovered the minor error in navigation they had made first time. The second tick, of admiration, came when they discovered most had trouble keeping with someone as old as their grandfathers but it did give them another challenge! They did have difficulty comprehending I was planning on going 6 times higher ( 6000m ) next month. I normally enjoy the solitude on the mountain but this was not to be this time. A really happy bunch of guys, gabbling away in Afrikaans, laughing, whistling to each other when separated and then switching to English to speak with me i.e. lots of noise! All were +-20 years old and either in a trade or a trade apprenticeship. Not an e-mail address amongst them. I can remember 4 of their names : Alphonse, Fernando, Dane & Gerd but may have the spelling wrong. I did discover another handicap of being old...you are expected to be wise. Lots of questions like "Peter, why is the mountain shaped like it is" or "Peter, what happens if we meet baboons?". The last one I could tackle with " as far as I know there are none on this part of the mountain" but was surprised by there apprehension. I now think I prefer the Chinese definition of a wise person as one who listens well or as Rob Muldoon would put it "breathes through his nose".



All in all, an enjoyable climb up the mountain. The photo was taken at the top of Platteklip gorge they intended to descent later.
 
As for solitude, I can walk for 1-2 hours on the mountain without meeting another soul. I am still amazed though when you get to the edge, there 1000 metres down below is a city of over 3 million people going about their daily business.

Increased Traffic !!

Huge increase in traffic to this site from Langley....what's up??

Russian Spy !

Pale young white male in the full regalia of an orthodox priest descending from the top of Table mountain, spotted taking photographs of sign posts at the junction of trails. On being spotted, switched to photos of plants. My interrogation ended at " I do not speak English". Real giveaway was the purple crocs.

On steps made for giants

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I have settled on an exercise regime in preparation for tackling the big African next month. This consists of 2 days trekking up and over Table Mountain and 2 days cycling out to Llandudno beach each week.




My favourite route up the mountain is known as the India Venster and for those who know Cape Town, it's the goat track up immediately under the cable car. The route has a warning at both ends :

Extremely dangerous route with steep rock

climbing and difficult navigation.

 DO NOT attempt this route if inexperienced.

 Use at own risk.

( see photos above ) However, this leaves me with a dilemma in which route to descend as I prefer to ascend and descend by different routes. The main tourist route, Platteklip gorge, is somewhat boring, busy and brings you out onto the mountain road 30 minutes walk away from the lower cable car station. It is also hotter in this valley. Amazingly it seems that whenever nature has laid down steps, they are made for giants. So I have now discovered another equally difficult and arduous track up called Diagonal which goes up above Camps Bay beach. The track can be exhausting as there are several downhill stages during the ascent so you actually climb up more than the 1050 metres of the mountain. This does however allow me to descend down the India Venster route. So in total, about a 6 - 6.5 hour round trip from Bantry Bay.

My bike ride starts out relatively flat to Camps Bay and then a steady climb for about ½ hour to 300 m ( a bit like the Port Hills run in Christchurch ) and then a steep descent at the speed of sound down to Llandudno beach ( see photo above ), skimming over the speed bumps. A rest, read and sleep and then a snails pace climb back up to the main road and a top gear run home. A satisfying spin down the centre of the road at Camps Bay, past the 100 or so cars caught in the traffic snarl here most Saturday and Sunday afternoons.



The really good part is that both routes are amongst stunningly beautiful scenery. The bike route is on the edge of the coast with views back to Table Mountain and Lion's Head and the views from the mountain go just about everywhere.



I would like to fit in some swimming as well but the view of the bottom of the pool is rather drab in comparison!!



I will write about some of the interesting characters I have met on these travails later.