Springtime on the West Coast

Spring has sprung.....in my last post I bemoaned the fact that it was winter and not much riding had been done, just the occasional mild to warm day for a local cruise, well now the weather is much improved and we're getting out a bit more.

Spring time in the western cape is flower time, for a short period - pretty much just August and September the area around here and further up the west coast is blanketed with wild flowers. It is a tourist time and local restaurants and accommodations do a roaring trade with people travelling from far and wide to drive around looking at the colourful spectacle.

We do it as well even though it is our own backyard and we don't have to travel far to see the best floral displays although I believe further up the coast it can be really spectacular.

 These photographs were all taken within a 100km radius of our home, on the coastal road to Eland's Bay. (Click on the photos to see them full size.)

Perhaps you need to come and check it out for yourself. The West coast National Park is always incredibly beautiful and worth a visit as long as you don't mind a long queue. Even just the road around the bay between Langebaan and Saldanha is worth seeing for a variety of spectacular colours.

Anyway that's enough about the sex organs of vegetables, let's get onto a more relevant subject; the weather was so good last Saturday that I was moved to have a braai! The first of the impending summer;

 An old favourite starter; Karoo lamb ribs spiced with "Six-gun grill", garlic, lemon and herb and braaied crispy.

 Followed a while later with a chicken "flatty" marinated in peri peri oil, whisky, mixed herbs and a chili spice with some braaied potatoes, this went on well into the mid afternoon washed down with a nice Sauvignon Blanc from the wine areas which are also close to home. Actually when I come to think of it we live in a pretty good place!