Number 8 day 1 1/2

Ignore the dates on these, I obviously have much better things to do than go online every day so I do several at a time- though I'm not sure I can keep up with the 500 words a day precedent I have set, I'll do my best.
That said there is no 'I forgot to mention' today as it will only come to me when I walk out of here.
Walking- I've done tonnes of it (that's based on an old fashioned tonne and not a new fangled metric tonnie which is a good deal less) so another sun filled day in the mountains was just perfect, I can spend a much needed day relaxing on the beach anytime-probably. The posse included Angela from the hostel (I have to say nice things about her because she may read this), Jan a French guy and his bevvy of fans- 3 German chics of above average attractiveness and Gregory who knows the girls but more usefully had a car to get us to the start point at the base of the mountain, a good knowledge of local flora and fauna and a book on the subject to fill the gaps in his knowledge. We set off at a gentle pace on a steady slope which soon had Angela (who was appointed map bearer and therefore decision maker- a task well within her capability) worried because we weren't climbing much. Needless to say we were soon climbing plenty and just over an hour later broke onto the plateau on Table Mountain from the opposite side we saw on Friday. A reservoir overlooked by a choice of shady boughs for the fair skinned or sun bleached rocks for the darker ones proved a good spot for lunch and we were treated to Jan's exhibitionist antics and his Dairy Milk for a very pleasant hour. The walk, nay scramble back took us down a gorge which was straight out of a plane crash movie. Lizards scurried around our feet and exotic birds broke cover as we thrashed through tortured trees and around house sized boulders. The experience was truly topped off when our view down to the bay was perfect to watch whales cavorting in the shallows. We were just getting to the point when we thought we may have to stay in the gorge forever and start a new community there when we hit the footpath which led us ultimately back to the car park.

All in all it was an excellent day out.