JULY WALK REPORT

– Tim Attwell

Saturday 16 July

It often happens. Cold rain and wind in the lead-up to the monthly walk makes the prospect daunting, then, as we set off, the clouds part, the sun comes out and we feel smug that we braved the weather and won. This time was no exception.

The route took us from the lagoon parking area at Kleinmond beach to the Frank Robb walkway along the coast, to the Kleinmond harbour. Calling it a ‘walkway’ doesn’t really do justice to this delightful trail. It winds its way just above the rocky shore, the waves crashing nearby, through thicket vegetation associated with Overberg Dune Strandveld.

The usual shrubby suspects are there – Searsia (= Rhus) species, Olea exasperata (Dune olive), Euclea racemosa (Sea guarrie) punctuated by the semi-parasitic Osyris compressa (Cape sumach) showing bright red berries. Osteospermum moniliferum (= Chrysanthemoides monilifera) lit up the green shrubbery with their bright yellow flowers.

The trail is crossed at numerous points by happily bubbling streams providing ideal conditions for sweet scented blue keurtjie, aka ertjieblom, Podalyria calyptrata, which were just beginning their late winter, early Spring flowering. Also gearing up for their Spring show were the purple-pink flowers of Septemberbos, Polygala myrtifolia, not quite in full flower, but plenty of buds. Note to self: visit this trail in a month’s time! Speaking of which, the extensive growth of Perlargonium cucullatum in previously burnt areas along the trail promise a spectacular show soon.

An interesting feature of the trail is the presence in considerable quantity of Phylica buxifolia, Bukshardeblaar, usually associated with sandstone and granite lower mountain slopes rather than the more alkaline Dune Strandveld. Confetti bush, Coleonema album, similarly has a preference for sandstone rather than a Dune Strandveld substrate, but there it was, flourishing in quantity and coming into bloom.

We kept a sharp lookout for the whales which reportedly had been sporting close to the rocks a few days before, but with the heavy swell running we decided that no sensible whale would be that close to the shore this time. The pannekoek we bought at a popular local tuisbedryf on the way home provided a fitting finale to this month’s walk.