Category: flickr

Day 191 – A new lighthouse

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You know me. I like lighthouses.
So imagine my delight at being able to add another one to my list today.

This one:

Long story short, I was out helping with a risk assessment near Cape Town this morning, and was seriously privileged to be able to visit this particular lighthouse – one that not many people get to go to. Anyone able to place it?

18 metres worth of stocky masonry, flashing for 5 seconds, every 7 seconds.
Although… not when we were there… because… well… daytime. Obviously.

On my return trip later this month, I might even get to go up it.

I am almost twitching with anticipation.

Day 186 – Up the mountain

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The Boy Wonder is leading a hike up Table Mountain this weekend, and so we decided to do a quick recce in case there had been any changes since the last time he/we were up there.

Not much had changed since I was last up there except that the dams were a whole lot fuller.

Here’s proof:

The image on the left – showing 11 rungs going to the water level on the Woodhead Dam – was taken on the 24th of March last year. I took the one on the right this morning and the water level is above the third rung down. 18 months and 4 days change.

The overflows were hard at work:

It wasn’t raining while we were up there – it was all gorgeous and sunny – but we did get caught in an unforecasted and therefore unexpected downpour on the way down. A stark reminder that conditions can change very quickly on the mountain.

13km (and 650m of ascent) later, we dragged our soaking wet bodies into the car and headed home for hot drinks and showers.

It was a great way to spend a morning.

Day 183 – SLPP

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I’ve never been a huge fan of Sir Lowry’s Pass, which carries the N2 out of Cape Town and towards the Overberg. Too many hours spent in traffic jams heading home after wonderful weekends away. It’s a means to an end and we generally like to get past it as quickly as possible.

When we drove over it yesterday though, we went through the clouds and suddenly… well… wow.
For the first time in literally hundreds and hundreds of trips, we had to stop and admire the view.
And, given the fact that my tripod was buried under a few days’ worth of luggage, I’m fairly happy with how this hand-held pano came out.

44.6 Megapixels of view above the blanket of clouds covering the Cape Flats. And – about a third of the way in from the left – Table Mountain and Devils Peak, floating like an island* in a sea of clouds about 46 km away.

Go and look at the whole thing here.

Today couldn’t be more different: horizontal rain being flung from the South Atlantic at the front of the cottage. We’re staying inside, drinking red wine, playing games and… well… writing blog posts.

I may drag the beagle along the beach later.

 

(I may not.)

 

 

* do islands float?

Day 179 – View

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The weekend away was a massive success. Fun, friendship, general foolishness and a frightening amount of drinking. And while we kept ourselves to ourselves for the most part, when we did go out and about we were sensible, respectful and cognisant of the current situation. We also went some way to supporting the local economy of this small farming community in the Western Cape by buying all of the wood that they could provide.

All of it.

The place we stayed at was close enough to civilisation to be convenient, but remote enough that we didn’t have to restrain ourselves too much.

And there was this view when we arrived as well:

Rubbish composition because there was only a tiny balcony to get the shot from. Sorry.

If this sort of geological feature was in the UK, it would have a name and everyone would know it. But the best description I can find of this is the edge of the Koue Bokkeveld (the “cold buck shrubland”). I think it deserves more.

The scenery around the place was all pretty amazing though, and I’m hopeful that I can get the family out there to have a visit at some point in the near future.

Day 157 – Distant vistas

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I filled the car with diesel for the second time since March, chucked in the family and a camera and headed North East. I wanted to see snow on mountains. Not snow on the ground: I’m happy to leave that for the locals – who didn’t have the privilege of having it on their doorstep every winter – to queue for.

A quick trip over the Du Toitskloof Pass gave us some ok spots, but I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed. I wanted a bit more snow, a bit more drama. And that seems a little greedy given some of the views:

We could have gone much further inland towards Ceres, but that wasn’t really the plan, so we headed back through the tunnel, towards Franschhoek and then over Helshoogte to Stellenbosch.

Yeah. OK. Not bad.

From there, down to Somerset West via the (absolutely terrible) Mooiberg Farm Stall and a hope of some easy pickings on the Helderberg. But no. Horrible grey clouds hanging just around the snow line. Very disappointing. Coffee and home then.

It was a nice trip around our little corner of the Western Cape. But – photographically, at least – the whole thing could have been a bit more lucrative.

Some pics here.