Heading for the Hills

I have been checking my genealogy files that I lost a year or so ago when my hard drive died - I hadn't completely restored them It's a tedious job going through about 3000 people one at a time. So I decided it was time to take a break and head up the Port Hills for a walk this afternoon - a bit more energetic than my usual stroll round the river.
I had company - not just the usual mountain bikers and joggers but this fellow:



He was on the path far below me, I zoomed in as far as I could and cropped the picture but it's still not quite clear what he was doing. It wasn't hard to hear though. He was playing the bagpipes. I hope the sheep weren't too startled!

Here's the view when I sat down and took a photograph of where I had come from:



Further up the track, two valleys join. This is the view down the other valley, the one I didn't come up. the ponds on the left side of the photo are a wildlife reserve. Or rather, they are part of the sewage treatment works! But wildlife reserve sounds so much better. I think the water is fairly clean before it finishes up in these ponds - there is no smell. The birds certainly don't seem to mind.



I can get from the bottom of the hill to the top in about fortyfive minutes. It is the rim of an extinct volcano crater. Inside the crater is the harbour on the other side. I didn't go quite all the way up today, the last bit is steep and I'm out of condition. In a few weeks, I probably will, then I'll take photos of the view from the top. I could walk to the beginning of the track in about twenty minutes, but usually I drive. I love having the hills so close to my home.