Wednesday, Sept. 19th. Vic & Carol’s last day with us for a while.

(Posted on Sept. 27th at Sedgefield) Having set the alarm, Vic & I were up early and were at the “Helderburg” gates just after 7am. We got to the parking lot and then started up one of the trails that led up from the parking lot, not paying too much attention to which trail we were on – bad idea! There was very thick mist and low cloud this particular morning so it was difficult to know exactly where we were, but we knew we had to go up. We finally found what we assume now was the right path and 75 minutes later we were at the highest point we could attain given our time restraint. The whole of the Somerset West and Strand area was completely covered, with only the mountains showing majestically through the clouds. I have included a second photograph, taken at a later time, showing approximately the same view and the same mountains without the clouds.

The ladies were waiting for us when we returned and after a quick shower and packing Vic & Carol’s luggage into the SUV, we headed out for Hout Bay where we had decided to have lunch. For Nostalgia’s sake, we drove the route of the “Two Oceans marathon”, which Vic and I had run many times (only 35 miles!). Our plan was thwarted when we got to one of the most difficult parts of the course, but also one of the most beautiful, Chapman’s Peak was closed because of rock falls – gives you some idea of the terrain in that area. We diverted and found another route to Hout Bay where we had a lovely lunch at the Mariners Wharf. By the time we finished lunch it was time for us to make haste once more to Cape Town International where Vic & Carol would leave us to fly back to Port Elizabeth. We will see them in eight or nine days when we return to PE by road (making some stops along the way).

When we were at the Helderberg Nature Reserve, Vic & I saw what must be one of the most beautiful Proteas in bloom that we have seen and I wanted Alison to see it, so after dropping off V&C we went straight to the reserve and Alison took a photo of the Protea. She and Angela liked the reserve very much and would have liked to have spent more time there but it closed at 5.30 and the next morning we would be on our way.