*** Route plotted here ***
Previous walks along this route here and here.
First warm sunny day of the Spring! We made an early start and were in Kogelberg before nine, setting off on the Palmiet River Walk route.
After all the rain we've had the river was extremely full and flowing quickly.
As always it was simply wonderful to be this beautiful valley!
The fynbos on the first section of the walk is still showing signs of the fire that swept through the reserve a year or two back.
But there were also still plenty of new growth and spring flowers.
Every little stream - and the Palmiet River itself - was foamy and gushing.
After a while we walked into the part of the reserve that didn't burn: rich, mature fynbos. And more spectacular river views.
More flowers! A gladiolus, possibly G. alatus.
Swamp daisy.
Brilliant purple vygies.
Star grass, Ficinia radiata.
Teeny-tiny mushrooms.
Yellow struthiola, maybe S. argentea.
Bobbly berzelia.
And pretty little sundews. Delicate flowers, and sticky leaves and stems.
We reached the beach at teatime and spent some time relaxing and
snacking at this peaceful spot. It was very clear here how high the
river was - the spot under the trees where we picnicked last time was
completely underwater. Despite the warm day it was too cold to swim.
We saw a blue-headed lizard sunning himself on a tree.
We continued down the valley. The day had warmed up now. Glorious sunshine and not a cloud in the sky!
More beautiful flowers. An unusual pincushion. Sparaxis. Saltera. Bergpalmiet. Wachendorfia. Ixia. Prickly daisy.
At the bridge we decided to head back along the road.
There were a variety of restios and other grasses growing along the road.
There was a variety of other plants too.
All the streams were full - even these were dark with tannin.
The views of the river - both directions - were captivating.
Flowers on the wayside: fluorescent coneflowers.
My most favourite: serruria. Spiderheads!
Little blue flowers. Aristea?
The route back on the road was something of a trudge.
Once we got back to the office we picnicked and the napped on the grass.
When we had a closer look at the lawn - lots of miniature wildflowers growing here too. Kogelberg is a floral paradise!
Note: Yes, I'm way behind on this blog - I have been very busy. Also, Blogger is giving me all sorts of hassles with regards formatting of text, paragraphs and photographs. I cannot get these posts to look like I want them to. All very frustrating and annoying. Sorry.
2 comments:
Beautiful! I live nearby and this has definitely inspired me to dig out those hiking shoes at the back of the cupboard.
You may be behind, but they're worth waiting for. I wish I were in S.A right now instead of wintery NYC.
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