I set off early on Wednesday morning for the slopes of the Helderberg. I was looking for a bit of space and beauty and inspiration. Once again, the book and I required some alignment and fine tuning. The theory was that sitting on top of a mountain ought to provide my mind with a veritable feast of inspiration. The sun lifted its single fiery eye over the mountains as I set forth. It was still cold yet within a few hundred metres my fleece was tied to the top of my camera bag. As silly as it was to have a fleece on an expected warm day, I was breaking a golden hiking rule. Never hike on your own. But on my own was precisely where I wanted and needed to be. And a jersey could come in handy on a cold mountainside night should a broken limb impede my progress.
This mountain is covered in Fynbos and on the lower reaches the Proteas are plentiful. Each with their large flowers expectantly waiting to open. Birds abound down here busily flitting from bush to bush, Cape sugar birds and Starlings and plenty of others . But then I am not a very good bird spotter. I did take pictures of flowers and tried out some macro techniques for fun. The track I was on led steadily upward and it was hard going. My packing definitely needed refinement, what with a full camera backpack, my lunch, two litres of water and a full size tripod, I was a walking porter.
After a good two hours of walking I ended up in a beautiful tree filled gorge. Some of the original Yellowwoods still grow here. But the sun had not yet warmed them up and it was cool and gloomy. I decided to press on as my inspiration lay not there. After another hour of climbing, I arrived at a pinnacle just below a saddle in the mountain. Nowhere near the top but close enough to enjoy the vista that lay before me. I found some shade just below a leopard’s lair and settled in for lunch. Sadly the leopard did not seem to be in!
I drank it all in, opened up my notes and wrote like a man possessed. Oh I love the inspiration that the splendour of the nature can provide!! It is a tonic for the soul.
This all happened last Wednesday. This Wednesday I took my mom on a similar walk. We climbed to the very top of the Helderberg and it was truly spectacular. More than six hours of walking later, we arrived back at my car. Tired and dirty but fulfilled in a way that only nature can.
I hope my mom will still be able to walk tomorrow....
This mountain is covered in Fynbos and on the lower reaches the Proteas are plentiful. Each with their large flowers expectantly waiting to open. Birds abound down here busily flitting from bush to bush, Cape sugar birds and Starlings and plenty of others . But then I am not a very good bird spotter. I did take pictures of flowers and tried out some macro techniques for fun. The track I was on led steadily upward and it was hard going. My packing definitely needed refinement, what with a full camera backpack, my lunch, two litres of water and a full size tripod, I was a walking porter.
After a good two hours of walking I ended up in a beautiful tree filled gorge. Some of the original Yellowwoods still grow here. But the sun had not yet warmed them up and it was cool and gloomy. I decided to press on as my inspiration lay not there. After another hour of climbing, I arrived at a pinnacle just below a saddle in the mountain. Nowhere near the top but close enough to enjoy the vista that lay before me. I found some shade just below a leopard’s lair and settled in for lunch. Sadly the leopard did not seem to be in!
I drank it all in, opened up my notes and wrote like a man possessed. Oh I love the inspiration that the splendour of the nature can provide!! It is a tonic for the soul.
This all happened last Wednesday. This Wednesday I took my mom on a similar walk. We climbed to the very top of the Helderberg and it was truly spectacular. More than six hours of walking later, we arrived back at my car. Tired and dirty but fulfilled in a way that only nature can.
I hope my mom will still be able to walk tomorrow....
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