A Vincent Mounier Photography Blog
So I could not Afford Everest. I Climbed Table Mountain Instead. Part 2
January 31, 2011
[Note: This is Part 2 of, yes, Part 1.]
Reaching my first escape route, Nursery Ravine - a long, vertical set of stairs into the top of Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden - I did a quick mental recap; lots of liquid remained, maybe too much. The legs were in good shape, knees defiantly steady. Spirit was strong. Time was good. I pushed on.
The rugged trail climbed over another ridge and then descended into a deep chasm. Second escape route, Skeleton Gorge. This one was e...
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Coming soon...
January 31, 2011
Here's a taste of blog posts currently in the writing oven:• "So I Could Not Afford Everest. I Climbed Table Mountain Instead. Part 2"• "Table Mountain's India Venster: Don't Try this at Home"• "Interview with the Astronaut"• "Abalimi Bezekhaya - Township Urban Micro-Agriculture"• "Snapshots of a Drive Around Cape Point"• "Cape Malay colors"Stay tuned!
So I Could Not Afford Everest. I Climbed Table Mountain Instead. Part 1
January 30, 2011
Every morning while having breakfast in the Constantia garden, smoking cups of Illy espresso hovering around buttery croissants, Marie and I respectfully look up just beyond the tree canopy of a luxuriant green belt at the crowning presence of Table Mountain's eastern flank.
Whether floating into the crisp air of deep blue skies or shrouded by curious fraying low clouds that locals call their table cloth, the mountain can put on as many faces as a Shakespearean actor on...
Airborne at last!
January 25, 2011
Well it took weeks for the weather to settle and for me to get my act together, but today I finally found myself airborne, paragliding over Hermanus.
I'm afraid I have nothing to brag about, though. Up at 6:00 AM, I did three hours of driving round trip for a total of 275 kilometers and managed to squeeze an 18 minute flight out of my day. It was my fault. I was impatient.
A view of Hermanus from the top of the ridge
I arrived in town around 9:00 AM and drove direct...
Blouberg Kitesurfers
January 20, 2011
We took a drive to the other side of Table Bay in search of a good kiting place for paraglider ground-handling practise. It was too windy for me but the kitesurfers were having a blast. At least some people are managing to get good wind-driven fun.
Kitesurfers in Blouberg, Table Mountain in the background
South African Orange-breasted Sunbirds and a Butterfly
January 14, 2011
Endemic to South African fynbos, these orange-breasted sunbirds paid us a few visits at the top of Table Mountain. Oh, and the butterfly? No idea.Update: It's a Citrus Swallowtail, thanks to Lyn for the ID!
Orange-breasted sunbird
Fog on the Cape Peninsula
January 13, 2011
While the famous table cloth - a fast-flowing layer of low orographic clouds generated by Table Mountain - is a familiar sight above Cape Town, last week's fog bank over most of False Bay and the Cape Peninsula wasn't.We jumped in the Kombi and drove south, chasing the rare fog across the Cape and attempting to climb into clear air for a better aerial view.Here's the result.
Panoramic view of False Bay, overlooking Fish Hoek
A(nother) Walk on Table Mountain
January 12, 2011
Marie has blogged about it much more extensively and beautifully here. I'll simply add a few pictures. Suffice to say we hike up from Constantia, through Kirstenbosh and up Skeleton Gorge, all the way to the Aqueduct, across to the reservoirs and back down Nursery Ravine, in search of disas and other orchids. It seems we were a touch early, or maybe late. Still, a stunning walk and a very unique mountain...Top stairs of Nursery Ravine above Constantia
Views of the Cape Peninsula
January 8, 2011
Miscellaneous views of the Table Mountain area taken on walks and drives around the Peninsula...
Panorama of Hout Bay seen from Chapman's Peak Drive
A little cheat on the southern end of Chapman's Peak Drive
Looking south towards the Peninsula from Silvermine
Western view from Silvermine
Flowers (!) on Silvermine, Table Mountain in the background
Birds 'n Things
January 7, 2011
Finally, a Cape dwarf chameleon caught in act of having dinner! Or at the very least, chewing it up.As for this exclusively African bird, he's a Pin-tailed Whydah, vocal and territorial. He reminds me of my youth's Wattoo-Wattoo, a super-bird cartoon that played in France in the late 70's.
Cape Dwarf Chameleons, Annual Visit
January 5, 2011
Every year around this time, I pay multiple visits to the Constantia Cape dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion pumilum, I believe, thanks Jay and Guy for the great book!) - counting them, scouting for new habitat and informally studying their behavior and color patterns. They are fascinating and while not necessarily noted as territorial by the literature, I have been finding them over and over again in the same line of little trees.
Last year, I counted 12 individuals all...