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Cyber-exercise: Come on a Virtual Cape Town Hiking Experience with Me!

thefynbosguy in South Africa

December 15th, 2009 at 11:42am

First, the bad news: we're going to do a 24kmhike around Cape Town's finest and wildest nature reserve - the Kogelberg Biosphere. But here's the good news: I'll do the walking, you do the relaxing -it's our first Cape Town virtual hike.

Well, OK, the Kogelberg is about an hour and a half out of town but it's at the heart of the extraordinary fynbos, that unique tapestry of flora that carpets much of the Western Cape, and boasts over 1650 species of plant (that's more than the whole of Great Britain) and of those some 150 are only found in this rugged mountain wilderness.

If you like nature, you'll love the Kogelberg.

A beautiful paper daisy

Let's set out from the empty car park early - straight away we'll find ourselves surrounded by flowers. The bright sunshine has sunbirds and sugarbirds noisily chasing each other and bees happily hum past us.

A few kilometres later we plunge into a dappled forest where old yellow woods, cape beeches and iron woods crowd a permanent stream. The air is still, heavy and smells like a freshly watered garden.

Back out in the fynbos the strengthening sun is bringing dozens of flowers out - extravagant pagoda proteas, delicate paper daisies, odd ball-shaped berzelias and showy gladioli. It's hard to make progress here - every few hundred metres we have to stop and admire.

A Mimetes protea in full bloom

Suddenly a dazzling orange orchid - the weirdly named ewwa trewwa - is on show, followed quickly by a golden orchid, its flowers perfectly shaped to receive pollinating bees.

The showy ewwa trewwa orchid

The Golden Orchid

It's getting hot; let's take lunch on a sandy beach next to the Palmiet River.

The Palmiet River runs through the Kogelberg

We can swim - and drink it - if you like, the water is crystal clear and there's no-one else for miles. No people that is: a baboon barks in the distance, reminding us that we're in his territory - not that we need much of a reminder: the presence of leopard spoor on the path earlier has made it clear that we are in a very different place to Cape Town.

This erica is only found in the Kogelberg

After lunch we'll have to pick up the pace but the low afternoon sun is kinder now, softening the sharp-edged mountains and bringing a fuzzy haze to the long walk back to the trail head. Not long now, just enough energy left to pick up some porcupine quills and get a glimpse of our first antelope, a fleeing Cape Grysbok, jinking through the bush like a champion slalom skier.

Soft afternoon light on the Kogelberg mountains

Back at the car we can pull our boots off and let them steam quietly; the familiar clink of glass bottles tells us that cold beers are about to be passed around as long shadows fall across the mountains. Broad smiles break out and someone laughs happily.

See you on the next Cape Town virtual hike.

The fynbos guy