Table Mountain: Return to "Puff Adder Alley"

Date: 17 September 2011

Location: Table Mountain

Walkers: Helen, Dominic and dogs

*** Route plotted here ***

Archive off all my walks on this route here.

"Puff Adder Alley" is a nickname for a route on Table Mountain I used to walk often: up Platteklip as far as the intersection with the contour; left along the contour path, taking the right fork at the split (that is, the upper contour), til you reach the Saddle Path; then down and back along the road. The upper contour section is home to at least one puff adder, seen several times sunning himself right on the path - hence this name a friend came up with. Of course every time I walk there I now think about snakes ;-)



As I hadn't done this walk for a good long while, I was excited about heading out on a bright spring morning, with my friend Dom and his gang of dogs. The route up Platteklip Gorge was very busy.



All the rain we've had recently meant that the steams and waterfalls were all flowing strongly, and the vegetation was looking very green and lush.



And of course there were lots and lots of flowers!



Albuca... Moraea... Spiloxene... Lobostemon...






... and darling little Gladiolus carneus, the painted lady.



The views from the contour path over the city and harbour were wonderful.



It made me so happy to see all these bright colourful flowers, many of them old friends from previous spring-times.





First of the season (for me) for Protea nitida...



... and Watsonia tabularis.



There was so much to see along the path that walking was slow, and there was lots of bending down for close-ups.




These two were particularly tiny: Drosera and Heliophilia.



A highlight of the every walk here is passing under the oak tree. It provides welcome shade on hot summer days, but this time of year its bright green canopy was the attraction. A leafy cave.



Hereabouts we spotted Cyphia and another Moraea...




... and a plenty of Pelargoniums.



The waterfall along "Puff" was mossy and ferny. I love this part of the mountain. It was quiet - we didn't encounter any other walkers. Or snakes either. I was half-hoping to see a puff adder even though they terrify me.



These drier slope is home to Trachyandra, Hermannia and Serruria.




.

"Puff" for Dorothy's Birthday

Date: 25 May 2010

Location: Table Mountain

Walkers: Helen & Dorothy

Note: This is the not the first time I've written about this walk we've nicknamed "Puff Adder Alley". Route plotted here, and archive of all the walks here.

It was Dorothy's birthday and we went for a walk! It had been far too long since either of us had done this favourite route of ours. From Tafelberg Road we set off up the familiar path, towards Platteklip Gorge.



Up the path we went, stopping only to smell the roses - I mean, the Indigofera cytisoides. It doesn't have much of a scent actually, but it is a very pretty pink!




Everything was looking green and lovely.




As always, we turned left once we reached the contour path.



I think these attractive shrubs on the wayside are Phylica buxifolia.



At the cave we saw that more rock fragments had fallen down from above.



Slowly but surely the upper level is collapsing. Debris everywhere!





We walked on, taking the right fork onto the upper contour path ("puff adder alley"). A few late-autumn leaves are hanging on to the oak tree.




Despite recent rains, there wasn't much water flowing down the waterfall.



As we climbed the last section and walked on towards the saddle we admired all the orange flowers, Erica abietina, on the sides of the path.





The flower tubes are slightly shiny. Some flowers were covered with teeny-tiny little insects - perhaps the tubes are sticky too?




Once we joined the saddle path we zig-zagged down the hill.



The old signboard at the intersection of the lower contour path and the saddle path has been replaced with a new one. I've just noticed now that it isn't terribly clear, possibly misleading. In the shot below the saddle path should have an up arrow. The Saddle is up.




One down the hill we walked swiftly back to the start on Tafelberg Road to join friends for lunch. Happy birthday Dorothy - hope the year ahead brings lots of good walking.


(Photos by Helen)
.