Flora 🌼🌸🌺 and Fauna 🐶🦋🐢🐍🦟

Most of our walks have either been on Grotto beach or along the cliff path so photos were likely to be extremely repetitive so the next couple of walks I focussed on snapping the local flowers and wildlife that was around. Within the wilds of Berg N See retirement complex we very soon saw this hungry but bashful tortoise that did a runner as I tried to photograph it.

This is one of the view's that has inspired Lize, a local artist who has her work on display in a gallery in Hermanus.

Woody is loving the sun! and his scar is fading...

There have been many jellyfish washed up on the beach this year and the plough snails feast on them... much like our land snails 

Whilst not as windy as Cape Town or Pringle Bay this coast is known for its strong winds.

Harry is getting braver and now gets his paws wet - he's still nervous of waves and especially those that have foam on them and runs off but does return.

Long walks mean tired dogs! We have been watching the coverage of Dakar which is much better in this country than in the UK.

Another day and another walk... again spotted this before we had left the compound. We had stopped to speak to someone and noticed this on the ceiling above our heads hence the funny angle of the shots...

So next is an array of flowers that we saw on our walk between home and Kammabai...

These daisy-a-likes were on the road down to the cliff path...

I see no ships... nor whales... nor rain....

We did see this butterfly which very bravely stated as  tried to photograph it...

Spot the Dassie...

And a close up to help matters!

Sunning itself and enjoying the views. Dassies are not so common as they used to be about 10 years ago but they are still in evidence if you take the time to look.

I'd seen these red ones before but they seem to develop quickly as most are seed heads now...

This is the third snake of about this size we have seen, thankfully Harry shows no interest in them as no idea what they are...

More fleurs.... this one spotted on the return journey...

And only slightly late! A lovely seafood lunch with Irene at Quayside Cabin.

We helped digest our food by yet another walk in the afternoon and then going to friends for drinks and nibbles (Joan and Eben) and then onto friends Dori and Tokks for more drinks and nibbles - we got to meet their lovely son David and had so much fun and nibbles we never quite got further than the stoep rather than out for dinner! David had come down from Johannesburg where they had been experiencing particularly bad weather - 2 days of rain!

Not so in Hermanus...

Follow the yellow sand beach

On Saturday morning I got up super early for the Walk for Wheels! An 18km walk from Gaansbai to Grotto Beach, Hermanus to raise money for the hospice that supported Woody's mum when she was dying.












And the proof that I got up early - this is earlier than I would do on a work day and not only that we are 2 hours ahead so thats 03:45 UK time.

We met on Grotto Beach for registration and then we got on 2 busses to take us the long way round via road to De Kelders.

We were dropped off at the entrance to the Nature Reserve where there was a run on the only toilet and some obligatory speeches before we were off!

It took awhile before we got down onto the beach and it was a mix of soft sand and interesting rock that had been windswept into looking like solidified water.

This is us dropping down towards the beach and Hermanus is in the distance.

It's a long way! 18km away....

You can see the rock surface here and how it drops away and down to the sea...

We were supposed to stop at 6k for a break but it was more like 4k.

There just happened to be some helpful rocks providing both seating and shade... we all topped up here with drinks and snacks that we had brought with us.

I spent the walk with a couple who are from Yorkshire who swallow here for the Summer/to avoid British winter most years but think this may be their last year as the travel gets too much. Keith and Zena have had some amazing walks and holidays and also appreciated the chance to go on this walk that we would never have done otherwise.

It was then another long steady trog to the next break which was at... 

12k....

There were a lot of black oyster catchers around and often calling and trying to divert us away from their chicks who could not get away from us as they were often still downy and not really flying yet.

This chick was behind me on the rocks as we had our break and it's parents were on the sand between us and the sea torn between trying to lure us away or herding us. Hopefully they safely reunited on our departure.

The view was stunning looking back towards De Kelders and ahead to Hermanus...

Eventually we got back towards Grotto where I could see a landmark we normally use when walking the other way as our about turn point - 3 posts in the sand that we call the Meerkats as they look like three meerkats standing lookout. At this point I called the boys and let them know where I was and they came to the beach to meet me walking the other way....

Deja Vu - 12:49 - at the beginning again!

It ain't over til it's over.... got here now to walk the last bit to the car!

There was time to get home for a swift shower and change before we met David, Sam and Charlie at La Vierge for steak lunch. Here is a photo from the window of some passing baboons also hoping for a steak....

Afternoon was reading and resting my feet! Some blisters but feeling fine today.

I like to ride my bicycle 🚲🏍

We have kept in touch with Jacques who originally sold Woody Trinity, The Honda Transalp that we have in South Africa. He was very sad to give up the bike but at the time his wife had just become pregnant and they needed the cash freed up.  We generally meet up once a year when we're over if possible as he was working very hard especially with the water shortage and he being in a business that supplies water drinks machines (or something like that). He missed his bike so much that his prayer group got together secretly and saved up and bought him a bike so in more recent visits we have met up for rides together, often with other friends of his.

We were both invited on this ride but I chose not to go (and glad I didn't) as it ended up being 800 kilometres door to door and would've been extremely uncomfortable on the back. The first pic shows the planned route and was supposed to cover 12 mountain passes but Woody thinks that the plan had evolved since the printing of the t-shirt and that they did at least one extra pass and clearly 200 extra kilometres!

Woody is now the proud owner of the Old Timer's 12 Passes T-shirt!

A few of the guys at Burgerspas - not a McDonald's in sight.

A line up of most of the bikes on the trip...

There are other photos but mostly of motorbikes and those who ride them and not scenic views! No time to stop for snaps!

Yep... just bikes and bikes....

and more bikes...

Papa and I went to Church in the morning and then in the afternoon I walked Harry Houdini round to neighbours for drinks on their stoep.

I saw these intriguing flowers on the cliff path. i've not seen them before so it's likely they only show themselves after rain... of which they've had not much by English standards but a lot by South African ones.

 

Monday's supper was a nice sushi started at Lemonlicious (previously LemonButta) and then cooked fish for mains. Photo shows a Rock Shandy (best summer drink ever) and the view round Walker Bay towards Gaansbaai.

The problem in the UK is that to reduce sugar in drinks even the full fat drinks now have reduced sugar and added sweeteners in so I haven't been able to find a clear lemonade that does not have nasty chemical sweeteners in.

Tuesday found us walking the dog along the cliff path - I don't tend to take many photos of this area now as we have shared the views many times before but for the first time we saw a crocodile...

Never smile at a crocodile...

Supper was a braai at home on the stoep. Harry clearly recognised the sight and smell and was waiting for goodies to emerge. 

As the sun set we were treated to lovely colours towards Hermanus and Venus above the horizon. I uses an app to identify it which tells you planets, stars, and the constellations.

The black circle is the moon which was a tiny crescent in real life.

On Wednesday Woody and I went to Bredasdorp to the Kapula shop which is more like a warehouse. It's absolutely huge and full of candles and ceramics which is a business which also helps local women gain an income.

In the evening we went to The Barefoot Cook. We met friends there. Nigel had met a very interesting english gentleman through Church called David who sadly very recently died but we have kept in touch with Sam his daughter and her husband and their daughter Charlie. Whilst there was a bit of a wait for the food to come we enjoyed the company and the wine!  

I settled on confit of duck which was extremely flavoursome and a chocolate sponge dessert ( I dispute any dessert without layers is a Mississippi Mud Pie) and Woody had the line fish and Tarte Tatin for his dessert.

On Thursday we went to Volmoed for their weekly Eucharist. It was led by the Benedictine brothers who have fairly recently moved there and I had not met them before this.

Whilst it was cloudy I appreciated the chance to cool off and whilst you can't clearly see the mountains behind it is still a beautiful spot and where Mama had her ashes scattered.

 

After giving a friend The Book of Bunny Suicides  (funnily enough not heard from them since) we got home in time to whip up a typically English bbq. English in that it was raining. We still managed drinks on the stoep as it wasn't cold but did eat inside. 

In the afternoon Woody and I went into town for a spot of shopping....

It really does rain here too!

We found an Alley that had small bars in it selling all kinds of international street foods - no space after our lunch but interesting to explore on another day...

We enjoyed this lovely mural and came home to find that someone had put themselves to bed...

Yup, another day another walk on the cliff path...

Harry really does enjoy sniffing... walks tend to be on the slow side with him until the return journey when he is happy to walk without revisiting the sniffs that so detained him on the outward journey.

We have been to Pringle Bay to visit Julia and Granny. Granny is Julia's mother-in-law and we call her Granny because she looks very like Woody's maternal grandmother so she has been adopted as an honorary Granny. We still keep in touch and went round for a stunning Ox Tail Stew and sweet potato mash (normal potatoes specially cooked for Nigel) and then lemon meringue pie.

The house is decorated with a wide variety of warthogs and this little fellow is one of my favourites.

Julia, Woody and I am Harry and Jo the doggies had a nice beach walk after lunch whilst the other 2 chatted or napped til our return. No photos sadly as I didn't take my phone. Suffice to say it is beautiful but windy.


And last but not least a candlelit supper as we have been experiencing "load shedding" where they have cut off electricity for about 2 hours a day to take the load off the supply so that everyone can have electricity for some of the day.