Clovelly Ridge circuit (8/7)

Our walk started from Sunbird Centre off Ou Kaapse Weg.

 We crossed the stream wetland over a plank bridge and followed the trail up the Silvermine river valley, past some old ruins that Slingsby calls the Powder House.

The most striking vegetation features were the large pincushion trees (Leucospermum conocarpadendrum) dense with yellow flowers and talk pink Watsonias.

On one of the buchu (agathosma) bushes were these beautiful brown beetles with shiny papery brown and black wing cases. Later idenfied ast Lycis (net-winged beetle).

It is always a treat to come across the exquisitely painted Galdiolus carneus.

Love the vanilla smell that Struthiola gives off in the evenings, but this was midday, so looked more closely at its delicate tiny flowers.

We various straw flowers (everlastings)

Pelargonium triste/ kaneelblom (cinnamon scented).  Below, one with its grapefruit sized tuber exposed on the sandy path.

Another little pelargonium (P. longifolum we think)

Roella ciliata

And some beautiful mountain dahlias (Liparia spendens)

Our lunch stop was just opposite the Amphitheatre, where the Cave Peak path branches off.

Penaea mucronata making a colourful picture in front of us.

After lunch we took a wrong path and got lost on Cave Peak, first going one way then another way, and finally relocating back to where we had lunch, and realizing that we had taken a minor path from our lunch stop, instead of the main Cave Peak path.

Once we were on the main path, we crossed the ridge and descended past Devil's Pit and then to Boomslang cave.  Heard flapping/whistling sound above us in the mist and found that some people had strung up a cable or slack line apparatus spanning about 50 metres above the lntrances to the caves. With the strong wind blowing and south easter mist it was obviously not a good day to perform a Go Pro stunt , though. I wonder if they ever did what they intended to?

Then we descended down to Trappieskop saddle, finding the scramble down the rock ledges quite tricky (is there a better way that I am unaware of?).  After that it was down the stony path to the Clovelly streets, along the golf course, and then back up the Silvermine valley to our car. That last bit not very enjoyable, a soft sandy track into the afternoon sun, with uninteresting vegetation with aliens,

But there was at the end a rewarding crossing of the Silvermine stream, with lovely yellow Wachendorfia thyrsiflora (Butterfly lilies) and Psoralea along the banks.

Distance 11.3km, elevation gain 500m, duration 4h 38 minutes.