The weekend that was

I’ve finally recovered enough to share a few images and a few words about a great weekend away near Montagu. Yeah yeah, the place says Robertson, and it’s probably closer to Robertson as the crow flies, but cars and people can’t fly (yet), and so Montagu is the town of choice for a Google Maps location.

And we were right up in the mountains, miles from anywhere. The track up to the place was challenging in parts, but acted as a great barrier betweeen us and the outside world for 3 days.

Last time I was here, there was snow everywhere, and the time before that, it felt like there should be snow everywhere. But aside from a couple of summer showers, this weekend was blissfully hot and lazy.
Hours on end dozing by the pool.

It’s worth noting that when I’m away, I let the other people take photos of the other people. My thing is getting the landscapes and the wildlife, and I much prefer that to making anyone uncomfortable by shooting them – posed or otherwise.

And the place itself is just beautiful. Views for days. Fynbos as far as the eye can see.

And who needs humans in the shot when you’ve got a tortoise?

Sadly not much in the way of unusual birds: Familiar Chat, Fork-Tailed Drongo, the occasional Jackal Buzzard passing by (some good Booted Eagle and Pale Chanting Goshawk action on the way home though), but some stunning Dragon- and Damsel-flies.

And a reed-bed pond for purifying the farm dam style swimming pool had some very pretty waterlilies:

All in all, a perfect few days away with friends. Fun, laughter, games, sleep, braais, drinks, a couple of hikes, a run, some ‘togging, and some delicious relaxation.

10/10 would recommend.

Not a rainbow quota photo

It is important for readers of this site to understand that not every photo posted on here is necessarily a quota photo.

To clarify, a quota photo is a device used to fill space in order to maintain my “post a day” promise. Quota photos are used on days when news is slow, time is short or inspiration has run dry. These conditions do not apply today, thus what is published below is a photo that I took this morning and that I want you to see, not one that was posted because there was nothing else to say and no time to say it.

Glancing out of my passenger window for my favourite view of Table Mountain from the car as I was passing Rondebosch Common this morning, I saw that someone had daubed a rainbow across the big rock. Everybody loves rainbows.
The disappointment that immediately followed at not having my camera to hand rapidly vanished as I realised that it was in the boot. I swung violently across two lanes of no traffic, jumped out of the car and began painting with light.

You can see it bigger or visit my Cape Town set for a few more that I took this morning, plus loads of other varied and eclectic photos, each with some vague link the the Mother City.

This was not a quota photo post.