A couple of hours in the sun at Kirstenbosch this afternoon, before the upcoming Matthew Mole concert made things loud and busy.
A few lizards and mice around. Plenty of birds, including a rather hungry Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer) and some very pretty, very dainty Black Saw-wings (Psalidoprocne pristoptera)
A few kilometres and some very nice fresh air was just what I needed after an unexpectedly boozy evening out last night and a very necessary lie-in this morning.
Now it’s back to real life with some household chores and a bit of FA Cup football.
A disappointingly unproductive morning at Kirstenbosch, with many of the local birds rather uninterested in being in front of any lenses. But on the plus side, there are certainly worse places to be while getting frustrated about the lack of feathered photographic subjects.
This Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer) was one of the few residents that was willing to have a quick shot taken today, whilst feeding – as expected – on one of the local Proteacae. But they are omnivorous and will also eat spiders and insects. And if they get hungry… I’m sorry… they’ll what?!?
Dear God.
Let’s just hope that there is enough food around for the local Sugarbird population this year. Otherwise photography at Kirstenbosch is going to be even more difficult in the future.
I’ve uploaded some photos on Flickr. I’ve spared you the portraits, the people and the drunken antics and given you some different Table Mountain beauty instead.
I’m not sure if everyone there was having one on one conversations about living in Cape Town while we were up on the mountain, but I had several. And the general consensus was that while living in South Arica certainly has its challenges, we’re very lucky to live in our little bubble in the south west corner and so privileged to live here and to be able to enjoy experiences like our overnight trip. Having a national park on my doorstep isn’t a new thing for me: I’ve had it when living in Sheffield and Newcastle, and while I don’t use it as much as I might, living in Cape Town has reminded me how much I missed the opportunity to get out and about while living in Oxford (ironic since that is arguably the least urban – and certainly the smallest – place I’ve ever lived).
Anyway, as you might have gathered by the posts on our brief overnighter, we had a pretty amazing time, and it’s reaffirmed my project to get fit again so I can do more trips up the mountain.
