The wind was blowing when we set off on our Vogelgat walk this morning and, whilst it did not blow me away, what did, was the fact that there were only three of us present, Ross Renee and me!! Where was everyone? It was actually a great walk and for most of the way we were quite sheltered from the wind, and when we did experience it, it kept us cool. The 7 km round trip to Vogel Pool (Quark hut) took exactly three hours and gave us a very good work out!
Yesterday a group of Hermanus Bird Club members went birding at Strandfontein. Despite a chilly wind, we were not disappointed and managed to record 71 species. The highlights were an African Jacana (fairly rare in this part of the world) and an African Marsh Harrier. Of course there were literally thousands of Greater (and some Lesser) Flamingos and these provided for a wonderful spectacle. It was certainly a good trip and well worth the effort of a 250 km drive.
Although 14 members promised to attend, only 10 pitched for this morning’s outing from the Oudebos base in the Kogelberg, to Harold Porter Reserve at Betty’s Bay. Those who did not attend missed an excellent walk in perfect conditions. The mountains with their never ending display of fynbos and the Afromontane forests were an absolute joy.
The walk was 7.3 km and we climbed to 340 m, although it seemed much more!
One forgets from year to year how tough portions of this trail are and we were breathing hard on some of the up slopes and hanging on coming down the steep section at the end, but it was all very worth while and we will sleep better tonight for having exerted ourselves!
roncorylus 