Yesterday I was visiting a friend and we decided to take a walk along the Table Mountain road or by its actual name Tafelberg road (which literally means Table Mountain).
It was a cold and cloudy day yesterday, we couldn't even see the mountain we were about to walk on, but never the less we had a hankering to get out.
So we set off. We drove to Tafelberg Road as far as we could until it is blocked off. Cars are only allowed to drive so far. This makes it nice to walk along as there isn't any traffic other than the odd ranger vehicle doings its patrol. The other reason I liked this walk is that the road is tarmac, so I can use the pushchair for my boy rather than carry him - he's heavy!
I'm not sure how far we walked as I don't have an app on my phone yet to track my walks (suggestions welcome). I'm still a beginner. But we did walk for about an hour.
It was very chilly and we couldn't see the city below to begin with. As we walked there were often breaks in the cloud though and the sun poked through making for some lovely shots.
There was a fire where we walked last month (you may have seen it on the news). There was so much fire damage but what was most surprising was seeing the regrowth and plan recovery already in just a month.
There was a whole load of wild orchids sprouting up which don't usually grown so vastly here. They were every where. The fire had caused them to germinate and so they are flourishing. Nature really is an amazing thing.
The fire also revealed some caves in the mountain which were covered by trees and plants before.
There are some beautiful little streams and waterfalls too.
We saw a falcon flying around (see if you can spot it in the picture below) as well as lots of other little birds.
The cork trees had survived the fire but other trees weren't so lucky and all that was left was their burnt stumps.
It was a quiet walk, only a few other walkers and runners about. One gentleman we bumped into chatted to us for while. He does private hikes of the mountains. He was very knowledgeable of the different plants and rocks. He was out investigating the fire damage. There is concern of land slides with the expected rains, he was noting the danger spots and he reporting his findings to the rangers.
He told us that the Devils Peak side of the mountain was still closed because the pine trees roots could still be burning meaning that the trees could fall at any time or a fire could restart. Although this was less likely with the cooler and damper weather we've been having.
I enjoyed our walk and will definitely do this one again. Also looking out for other walks I can do which are child friendly. I will start logging them too once I'm walking on a regular basis!
All images are my own and canva
