Orange Kloof and Postberg cause the same problem – too many keen hikers, too few spots on the permits! And so it was that we needed 2 dates to accommodate the numbers, and even then there were waiting lists! Because the 2 meets were only one week apart, the route and flower variety stayed much the same. Just the hiking faces changed.
Postberg is a privately owned property, where the owners open that section to the public for only two months of each year – August and September – when we are treated to splendid floral carpets and individual, colourful bulb flowers. SanParks manages the bookings for both the one-day and two-day trails. We booked for the one-day 13.9km Steenbok Trail.
We were fortunate on 14 August to have only a very high and thin cloud layer, and the light breeze only strengthened much later, by which time we had had our fill of flowers and could enjoy the huge waves crashing onto the rocky coast. About the meet on 21st it needs to be said it was a brave and adventurous group of 14, given the possible weather. After several emails and forecast updates in preceding days and hours we decided to give it a go, and although it rained in Cape Town most of the day, we had not one drop in Postberg!! In fact the weather was much the same as for the group the previous week.
Apart from the flower carpets and individual flower treats we saw both tiny pollinators and predators at work! An informal challenge was made on 21st for the best pollinator/predator photo (prompted by Trevor’s photo the previous week), and Jackie, with her dedication, won hands down (photos).
We agreed that we had never before seen so many and widespread lachenalias, and it was special to see more of pretty, endemic Saldanha pypies than usual. On the larger scale we were lucky on both days to see eland, springbok and bontebok in a large open field, and later a group of mountain zebra close by in another field. These obliged us to be viewed in much the same places both days!
On a smaller scale, on 21st, we were entertained by termites dragging their haul of grass strips to their hole. Clearly one fellow wanted to be the hero, dragging a flower stem about 7cm long towards the hole!
Tea stops at Constable Hill and Vingerklippe allowed us to take in views further afield. Lunch at Plankies Bay gave us opportunity to enjoy the powerful surge of the surf onto the beach below us, and for some, a quick nap.
The last lap of the route normally takes one along a rather boring section of coastline, so we chose to take the shorter route inland through the veld. At the fence the requirement was a rugby-roll to get through, but somehow everyone managed a frog crawl (photo)!
After the hike the majority drove each time to Pulpit Rock where it was very pleasant to sit on the beach with the lagoon quietly lapping nearby, enjoying the total peace of the surroundings and letting the day sink in before setting off for the long drive home. On the 21st it was a rather high tide, almost to the steps, which necessitated finding a drier spot slightly further along!
