Saturday 22.05.10 was a glorious day: still, clear and with some morning mist in the valleys.
I took the Teddies and their Dads up Elsies Peak that morning. The Teddies are the very junior Girl Guides: 4 1/2 to 7 year olds. It was clear all the way to the top, but just as we got there, mist drifted into the Glencairn Valley.
The low sun cast our shadows as long, thin triangles onto the mist, then the rays were diffracted around the tip and gave us all a halo of a double rainbow!
This is called the Brocken Effect after a mountain in Germany where is happens frequently, and it used to be associated with the supernatural. Even though there is a perfectly logical explanation now, it was still a magical moment for us!
Eva van Belle
Ed’s Comment: Eva, you have connected some dots for me. The Brocken is the tallest Mnt in the Harz range to the South East of Hanover, Germany. It is reputed to be the home of witches (good and bad) and a centre for magical energy. Now I know why!!!
1 Comment
Viv, June 1, 2010 at 12:16 pm
The rainbows around the pyamidal shape must indeed have made the moment magical and imbued it with an element of the supernatural or the spiritual. Walking on Elsies Peak in itself is a life-enhancing experience and those of us who do it regularly cannot help but feel intensely grateful for the sterling work done by the Fish Hoek Alien Vegetation Control Group. http://scenicsouth.co.za//environment/enviro-ngos/fish-hoek-valley/
on a similar note, I wondered whether any of our readers have a photograph of the “cross” that appeared on Trappies Kop behind Clovelly several years ago after a fierce fire on the mountain – formed by the rocks exposed by the loss of vegetation.