Come for a drive, go for a walk

Susan asked in the comments the other day if I lived in paradise. Some would say I do, though it's a funny sort of paradise. As I've said so often before, it's a strange juxtaposition - magnificent natural beauty sat alongside rampant crime, violence, inequality, poverty, xenophobia and corruption.

Anyway, you've seen plenty of shots of the natural beauty, you've heard plenty about the crime and violence and poverty, (if you haven't, take a stroll through the archives...), so today I thought I'd show you around the roads I travel daily, the routes I amble along on weekends. Most of these shots are snapped whilst driving, with the small Pentax - so I make no excuses for poor quality.

So, to start, the avenue where I live...

From one direction and from the other...


And then we'll go off to the supermarket, just two minutes by car, up the road... to the traffic circle, hang a left at the posh golf estate...


The small "village" shopping centre - on a Sunday afternoon. It has two small versions of two of the primary supermarkets in it and a whole lot of chi-chi boutiques, most of which seem to close as fast as they open. But there are some really nice restaurants and what can you say about the view...


Now we'll travel the road towards the city, which is on the other side of the mountains. The flat topped mountain is Table Mountain (seen from the "side"), the peak to the right is Devil's Peak. This motorway lies alongside the greenbelt (left of pic) which is at the end of the road where I live. To the right of the picture is a small dairy farm, where the cows graze right to edge of the motorway.


Constantiaberg Mountain, for now covered with pine plantations and vineyards - my backyard, so to speak...


Coming down Bishopscourt hill. The white wall to the left hides the Indonesian embassy. This area, which is a five minute drive down the motorway, assuming the traffic is flowing freely, (half an hour if it's jammed) is an old moneyed suburb and home to many embassies. And yes, the motorway cuts right through it...


This is one of my favourite views if I'm driving into town, or anywhere in that general direction.


The same road, at the next intersection. Getting stuck in traffic here really isn't a problem with a view like this. No matter what the season or the weather.


Here we come over the mountain from the other side, having been to watch the whales on the east coast of the Cape peninsula. The road in the pic below is known as Ou Kaapse Weg (literally translated as, Old Cape Road). It cuts right through the Table Mountain National Park which runs from north to south from the city centre to the tip of the peninsula. The Park, which is the most unique of wild and urban parks in the world covers a distance of approximately 60 kilometres and many of Cape Town's suburbs, including the one where I live, border it. It's one of the reasons why, if pickings are lean in the winter months, we get baboons in the neighbourhood...


Coming down the other side, False Bay lies ahead, filled at this time of year with whales. All year round though, great white sharks, ragged tooth sharks, sand sharks, seals and a variety of fish and sea creatures are plentiful.


Following the next bend in the road, as it zigzags down the mountain, the southern suburbs of Cape Town lie sprawled along the edge of the mountains which make up most of the Table Mountain National Park.


But enough driving, let's get out and walk awhile, following the streets in the neighbourhood and into the Park...

Shots taken of the stream around the corner...

And then into Table Mountain National Park - a mere five minute amble from my front door...

The area has been densely forested with pines for the past 100 years. Now, however, conservationists are striving to remove all the pines and eucalypts in the hope that the indigenous vegetation, known as fynbos, will resuscitate. So far, it's only geraniums that have sprouted with a vengeance... Mostly, for now, it's invasive aliens and lots of weeds that are making the most progress. The felling of the plantations has been hugely controversial, but let's not get me started on that topic again...


So, there you go, a day out with Vanilla, just going "round and about". And now I suppose you'd like me to invite you in for tea? Well, since you are there and I am here, my suggestion is a virtual tea party. I'll make a lemon meringue pie, and serve up some vanilla flavoured Rooibos tea, what are you bringing?