Walking in the mist; we are having a lot of misty mornings as summer reluctantly gives way to winter.

Yet another ship has run around in Cape Town, this time off Clifton’s First Beach. The Japanese fishing boat, which contains 80 tons of fuel and 50 tons of fish ran around on Saturday morning in heavy fog.

According to News 24, there are questions about whether it should be question whether it could have been a “purposeful grounding”, related to an insurance payout.

I just hope that they manage to get the ship off the ground without spilling all that oil.

Yesterday it felt like somebody had dropped a giant ball of cotton-wool onto Cape Town. It was cloudy in every direction that you looked, certainly making the world feel like a smaller place.

Today on the other hand is a beautiful day, perhaps we will have a braai later this evening.

The group that I have joined start running every Saturday morning around 7am. It means getting up really early on the weekends, but the views on the mountain make it so worth the early start.

On my weekend run, I even tried to fly, but alas did not manage to miss the ground, so a couple of bruised knees and sore left ankle later I completed the 15km route. Note that this was 15km up and down a mountain, not 15km on the level.

I took my happy snappy camera on the last run, so here is just a taste of the experience.

Lion’s Head (left) and Signal Hill (right). Notice how it looks like a lion lying on the ground, hence the name.

Running along Table Mountain, yes those little dots are us

Running towards the Cable Car. The building on the bottom is the lower cable station, and you can see the cable car in the middle. Lion’s head is in the distance.

Cable Cars. Although it was a lovely day, it was still quite misty, here you can see the cables going up into the mist on the top of the mountain. If you come to Cape Town, you must take a trip to the top of the mountain, it is truly magnificent.

So am I hooked on Trail Running? Absolutely, see you on the mountain.

At this time of year the morning weather can go one of two ways. Either it pours with rain, or it is a beautiful and wind-free autumn morning. In either case, the day starts out cold!  On one of the latter mornings, I caught this spiders web covered in morning dew, glittering in the sunlight.

Well, not me, but one day I will. I think you need to be brave, and perhaps a little crazy to go surfing at 8am in the middle of winter.

Tuesday (which was a public holiday) dawned cold, still and misty.  The water was like glass, with the winter mist blurring the line between the water and the sky, perhaps blurring the real word with the world of the faeries a little as well.

I love walking around in the mist, it makes me feel like I am the only person in the world. Quiet, a little eerie, and peaceful.

We had a lovely sunrise this morning over the Stellenbosch mountains and vineyards, perfect to start the long weekend with. Considering that it is going to rain this weekend, I shall enjoy the sunshine while I can.

In another life I was a tractor driver. I don’t know why, but there is something ultimately (yet strangely) cool about tractors. Anybody got one for me to have a spin on?

If you want to buy me one, these were taken at Agrico in Cape Town

Let me get this out the way first. I have very little knowledge, and even less interest in Rugby. But what I do know about rugby is that:

1. Along with cricket, it is the national past time of South Africa
2. It involves a lot of stopping and crashing into each other
3. If you have the ball in your hand, there is a distinct possibility that you won’t have it in your hand in a few seconds
4. Everybody (except for me) is an expert
5. A game or rugby (thankfully) takes a lot shorter than even the shortest game of cricket, and is only marginally more interesting
6. It is very important in a social environment to have an opinion on rugby
7. It does make for a good photoshoot

I took these shots at one of the club fields just down the road from us. I can’t tell you much except that everybody was supporting the players in blue, but the players in black seemed to be winning the game. So I guess the home team were not doing too well.

Here are the rest of the shots.