I followed individuals of the harvesting team around the Muscat vineyard block, adjacent to the historic old Groot Constantia gates, observing just how delicately they handled each bunch...looking for the perfect grapes.
How has the Twelve Apostles range of Table Mountain changed over the past year and a bit since the big fire of October 2017?
As expected the mountain is looking spectacular and a new wave of colour has hit these parts.
Dominant species across the spine include Cape Anemone, Star-eyed Aristea and the striking Witmagriet. In damp areas you'll find Bulbinella nutans and Sterretjies in abundance. A seriously impressive sight.
The silver hairs on the leaves of young Conebushes, standing just about 10 cm high, shimmered in the gentle sunlight. Vibrant yellow Spiloxene littered the damp plateau, with a splash of purple and white from flowering Romulea and Cape Anemone.
At our somewhat sheltered lunch spot a Klipspringer kept its eye on us while we enjoyed multiple cups of tea that got cold faster than you could sip it finished.
The regeneration up on the Apostles Spine is remarkable! Well, although it is rather expected, one can still get excited when thinking back 8 months when the area was a typical post-fire moonscape.
Immediately the blue of Aristea capitata caught the eye in among the intense greens on the south facing slopes where recovery is incredibly fast.
These slopes are rocky and steep, but slowly the vegetation is reestablishing itself.
The striking yellow inflorescence of Bobartia indica is unmissable as these tall Irises flower abundantly across the burnt slopes of the southern Twelve Apostles.
