I need to go and kick a football around in the silly African heat, so here’s a quick QP to keep the streak going.
I was sorting through some old images looking for a suitable print for a friend’s wall when I came across this one taken a few years back, in Agulhas.
Oooh. So ethereal!
More (and I really do mean more) tomorrow.
I was looking through some old images earlier when I found this one of a Suiderstrand sunset.
Obviously a lot has changed since this was taken back in December 2017. Not just in Suiderstrand (none of which you can see anyway), but in the world in general. Not even Cyril was in charge back when this was taken. Of course, there are some who would say he’s never really been in charge.
Anyway, rich, golden tones over the most very easterly bit of the Atlantic Ocean. And the lagoon somewhere down there too.
OK. Let me quickly fill you in a few details.
We abandoned Agulhas on Friday afternoon. There was no power, no internet, and little hope of either being restored anytime soon. We were lucky enough to have somewhere to go (home), the roads were open, and so we took the chance.
There was a lot of fire damage on the road back up to Bredasdorp, and the situation was too risky to pull over and take photos like we had done on the way down. But here’s an image from the car window of the same place that we got the second shot in this post.
So we’ve been home since about 7:30 pm on Friday evening, and the electricity was only restored to Agulhas at 6pm this evening: an outage of about 74 hours. That makes even loadshedding look like a minor inconvenience.
The fire is now contained:
Which is obviously great news for those who have had no power for three days, and for those whose property was threatened by the actual flames, rather than the lack of utilities.
As for us: a disappointing end to a few days away, but we’ll be back – hopefully for a less eventful visit – sometime soon.
We drove down to the cottage yesterday afternoon, for a few days R&R.
Before we set off, I did note that there was a bit of a fire just south of Bredasdorp, but we weren’t quite aware of what was coming.
Even from Caledon, we could see the fire burning about 60km away.
And the scenes in Bredasdorp were even more dramatic – but I can’t show you yet (see below) – before we drive within a few hundred metres of the blaze:
The problem is this. The internet cables through to (6000 miles from) civilisation run along this road, and they’ve been damaged.
So we’re running very low on bandwidth, and that’s why I’m writing this post last night (if you’re reading it today), just in case the damage gets worse.
Incidentally, the fire has now closed the road back to Cape Town as well, so I’m guessing that the power lines to us – which run along the side of that road – are in danger too.
Never a dull moment.
But maybe some dark ones.
We’ve done the Nuwejaars Wetlands before, and it was very special. And whenever we drive out that way from Agulhas, it’s always like a mini-safari even along the public roads.
The great news is that this week, the NWSMA have opened a new walking trail through the area: The African Marsh Harrier Trail. There’s a lot to see…
… and it looks like a really good day out.
The creation of the trail was funded by WWF South Africa, with the support of the Overberg District Municipality.
The relaxed and unchallenging trail is ideal for walkers of any fitness level, including children. It takes around two to three hours to complete. And it’s meant to be enjoyed slowly while taking in the incredible wildlife that lives in the wetlands, especially the bird life.
As mentioned above, just getting there is often educational enough, so I’m looking forward to some decent fun with the long lens next time we are down there.