Blue Cape, White Waters & Red Dunes

[michael-ibk]

The tree was aching under the weight of this Hammerkop nest.

 

 

The Architect:

 

 

 

 

Wild Bees - you don´t want them too close!

 

 

 

African Spoonbills

 

 

White-Breasted Cormorant

 

We enjoyed a magical, classic African golden (half-) hour when returning to the pier.

 

 

 

 

This Grey Heron was catching dinner.

 

 

 

Definitely one of the trip highlights for me.

 

[michael-ibk]

 

As much as I liked the area around the Vlei, there can be little doubt about what the most beautiful section of De Hoop is - the coast of course.

 

 

The white sand, the blue sky and sea, the green fynbos - a magical composition of colours, and best of all - we were there alone.

 

 

 

 

De Hoop has a reputation for being a perfect spot for land-based whale watching. We were there too early for this, they only start coming to the coast here about the end of May, start of June. Oh, how spectacular it must be standing here and watching the Marine Giants float by.

 

 

This is the start - or rather the end - of the Whale Trail. This five-day hike must be very cool, if I did not have so many must-to destinations on my bucket list already I would be very tempted to try this.

 

African Oystercatcher, a near threatened wader, is very easy to see at the Coast.

 

 

Juvenile (in the front, greyish legs) with parents

 

 

 

Now that´s what I call a proper private beach!

 

 

 

And that´s already it for De Hoop - next up: Bontebok NP.

 

Edited June 13, 2016 by michael-ibk

[Zim Girl]

De Hoop looks amazing, the white sand almost looks like snow. Like the picture of the Pelicans on the water at last light very much.

[xyz99]

This is getting better and better...you got some amazing pictures. Bontebok and Eland close-by, beautiful sunbirds and a Hammerkop nest Why do they need such a big home?

[Alexander33]

@@michael-ibk

 

Wonderful sightings of the Cape mountain zebra, bontebok, eland and ostrich. But what makes them especially memorable for me is the unique fynbos landscape in which you saw them. Really lovely. I think I could never tire of the unique flowers and plant life that dot the Cape. You make a very strong argument in favor of De Hoop.

 

So glad you saw the Cape sugarbird. And the malachite sunbird is a favorite -- so much larger than the Southern double-collareds.

[Safaridude]

@@michael-ibk

 

DeHoop is such a gem! I know what you say about the eland there. On my first visit to DeHoop, we saw a bull from about 300 yards. We began stalking (as you are allowed to do) very carefully and quietly. Inching toward the thing. After about 10 minutes of this, we realized the bull didn't care about us at all. We ultimately sat next to the eland (30 feet?). We felt pretty silly.

 

Agree the restaurant is fab too.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Safaridude

[Kitsafari]

@@michael-ibk you are really making me regret not doing de hoop but i think i would have not done it justice in the short time i had in capetown. I couldnt believe the bontebok was just walking past the lodge there, when i was working so hard to look for it at cape of good hope. Your photos make it look so enchanting. Its just got to go on my list if and when i return ti capetown.

[TonyQ]

DeHoop looks wonderful!

A real mix of activities, the antelope, the birds and then the landscape and the Ocean. It looks like a few days could happily be spent there.

[michael-ibk]

Thanks, @@Zim Girl , @@xyz99 ,  @@Alexander33 , @@Safaridude , @@Kitsafari and @@TonyQ - and all "Likers" so far as well of course!

 

 

 

Quote

a Hammerkop nest Why do they need such a big home?

 

It´s an interesting question I asked myself a couple of times, but have never gotten a clear answer, neither have I found a good explanation on the web. People just seem to point out that it´s weird, like "Not only are the nests huge, the outside is decorated with brightly coloured objects. Do these decorations serve a purpose? If so, what might that be? The birds are obsessive about building lots of nest, too. Even when the adults are not breeding, each pair constructs three to five nests every year – what is the evolutionary "reason" for such a large energy expenditure on building structures that the birds may never use?" Anybody know?

 

 

 

Quote

We ultimately sat next to the eland (30 feet?). We felt pretty silly.

 

Same here. When we drove in some Elands and Bontebok were reasonably, but not very close. I asked Dantes to stop which he did but he reassured me that I would get much better views. When we walked to the restaurant one hour later and passed by some Elands just next to the road which did not care at all about us I made a mental note to delete all the photos taken before. :-)

 

Funny, though, how some animals become so extremely relaxed around people, and others (like the Rhebok and Zebras at De Hoop) remain so shy.

 

 

 

Quote

Its just got to go on my list if and when i return ti capetown. ... A real mix of activities, the antelope, the birds and then the landscape and the Ocean. It looks like a few days could happily be spent there.

 

Absolutely, I was sorry we didn´t have more time. I especially enjoyed the fact that you can walk wherever and whenever you please. It´s a uniqe reserve, and luckily still far enough from Cape Town that the masses don´t bother to go there.

[michael-ibk]

We left De Hoop at around 09:30 and moved on to Bontebok NP (where we arrived a little more than an hour later). Dantes did not use the main road but a gravel road, apparently quite a short-cut. All agricultural land here, and it was interesting seeing this side of South Africa, a side where nature has long given way to the needs of farming and crops.

 

 

 

As I mentioned before, strangely enough Blue Cranes, declining in their populations all over the country, are thriving here - we saw lots of them.

 

 

 

This one was very miserable, one leg broken and he (or she) could not keep up with the others. Dantes was sure, however, that it was already healing and would soon be well again. I hope he was right.

 

 

We also saw quite a lot of Egyptian Geese, some Teals, Common Kestrels and Jackal Bussards on the way, also ...

 

 

Denham´s Bustard, one of the three large Bustards found in South Africa.

 

 

A family of Yellow Mongoose - quite shy.

 

 

Spur-Winged Goose

[michael-ibk]

Bontebok National Park

 

 

This is the smallest of South Africa´s National Parks, covering an area of less than 30 km². It was established in the 30ies to ensure the survival of the Bontebok, with very few animals left back then. It did its job, the Bontebok is safe again, and the park regularly supplies other parks with animals. Given its small size its carrying capacity is not very high of course.

 

Of course one should not judge a park based on just a few hours´ visit, but Bontebok did feel a bit redundant after De Hoop. The same animals are there, and De Hoop is IMO much more interesting and beautiful. Of course, had we kept to our original itinerary (Bontebok first) it would naturally have been much more intriguing, because we would have been excited about the possibility of seeing our first ever Bontebok - and maybe Rhebok or Cape Mountain Zebra.

 

The conditions also were not very favourable, it was pretty gloomy and extremely windy, quite unpleasant. Probably as a result the park appeared to be almost deserted, we drove and drove and drove and did not find any mammals and very few birds. For some reason, though, Stonechats were everywhere.

 

 

 

Cape Longclaw

 

When I said before that De Hoop is more beautiful that does of course not mean that Bontebok does not have its pretty spots - it does, like here along the Breede River.

 

 

 

One interesting animal Dantes spotted was ...

 

 

... this beautiful snake, a Spotted Skaapsteker (="Sheep Stinger")

 

 

As in De Hoop, getting out of the car and walking is ok in Bontebok NP (you are also allowed to go through on bike), so I decided to "level with it".

 

 

As Wiki tells me, "It has a gentle disposition, being reluctant to bite even when provoked." Its venom is not really dangerous to humans.

 

We passed through the Sanparks cottages which I thought were very, very nice indeed. This would be a lovely place to stay one night.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

But where were all the mammals? I was thinking "This is the friggin´ BONTEBOK park, so would it really be too much to ask to just see ONE Bontebok?"

 

A few Red Hartebeest in the distance, a male Rhebok far away, that seemed to be it.

 

 

But towards the end of our visit, as we were approaching the gate again, we suddenly understood why we had not encountered Bontebok so far:

 

 

All of them were here, all in one place! In De Hoop we had only seen them in small groups, and Dantes said he had never seen such a congregation of them. The Kingdon Field Guide also states that they rarely gather in groups of more than ten (unlike Blesbok, who were apparently known to form huge herds when migrating between seasonal pastures.)

 

 

While I do remember seeing some Rhebok on the opposite side of the road, I think I only "spotted" the six in the background here (see them?) when going through the photos - their camouflage is quite effective.

 

 

It was very cool seeing a huge herd like this - and some Cape Mountain Zebras and Rhebok as well, so in the end we were happy that we had come here after all. The only thing not totally satisfactory was the distance. But as mentioned before - getting out of the car is ok, and so we approached them on foot, very carefully, not to spook them, stopping, going, sitting, taking a few shots, proceeding further - this was really enjoyable! And they just stared at us quite curiously for a while, apparently not sure what to make of us. And allowed us to get reasonably close.

 

 

 

 

A nice end to a very slow-starting visit here!

[michael-ibk]

We had lunch at Swellendam, which is only 6 km from the park. A very nice, spotlessly clean small town.

 

 

 

 

We were back in Cape Town around 17:00, the drive is just a bit more than two hours. We would have loved to stay at the Blackheath Lodge again. But our flight next morning up to Upington was departing already at 07:00 am, and since traffic in Cape Town can be a problem during working days we decided to stay at the Road Lodge right at the airport. Nothing special, but perfectly alright and good value. They also offer a free shuttle service to a nearby hotel where we enjoyed quite a good dinner. And were looking forward to the second part of this trip - tomorrow we would go up to the North, and we were excited to get to the Kalahari side of South Africa!

 

Some shots taken from the car along the N2 highway, thereby ending the Cape part of this report.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2016 by michael-ibk

[elefromoz]

@@michael-ibk, "it's venom is not really dangerous to humans".....just a little bit dangerous?? I may have stayed in the car, nice photos though. Lovely shot of the Bontebok and Zebra together, they seem to compliment each other, very pretty.

[Treepol]

@@michael-ibk this is a great report, thanks for sharing.

 

Your photos of de Hoop, Swellendam and rural South Africa illustrate the diversity and colours of the rainbow nation which is often omitted from TRs. I like seeing scenery shots and photos of the countryside as it adds a further dimension to the wildlife photos.

[Towlersonsafari]

a bit late but very much enjoying your report @@michael-ibk we must admit Cape town is one of our favourite places, and kirstenboch gardens a must visit every time we have been there! We also enjoy the quieter side of the Table mountain park-walking along from oliphants for example. and the san parks accommodation is just such good value

[Hads]

Great stuff Mike , i had my Honeymoon in the Cape Region of SA and this brought back nice Memories.

I am definately looking forward to the kalahari section.

[michael-ibk]

Thanks, @@elefromoz , @@Treepol , @@Towlersonsafari and @@Hads !

 

 

@@michael-ibk, "it's venom is not really dangerous to humans".....just a little bit dangerous??

 

"So little venom is introduced that it's effects usually result in no more than mild local symptoms." (From the Ultimate Field Guide online). I probably would not have done this with a Puff Adder.

 

However, actually I was not that close - that´s the compressing effect of the tele lens.

Edited June 19, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

Augrabies Falls

 

We landed in Upington at 09:00 am. Dantes had had a definitely more uncomfortable night - he had gone up by car all the way from Cape Town (a 9 hours drive!). So his wife Elise was picking us up at the airport. But we were soon meeting up a bit outside of Upington, where he bought us some delicious Biltong. I really love this stuff.

 

Somehow I had always associated Upington with the Kalahari, and therefore had expected a very dry, dusty and arid town. But it´s just the opposite - green, friendly and welcoming. Very clean and orderly, too - it seems like a good place to live in. A lot of vineyards and fruit plantations around.

 

 

Of course that´s all owed to this region´s lifeline - the Orange River which we passed a couple of times.

 

 

So you will also see some birds here I had not expected - like one of my favourites, a Pied Kingfisher. (Dantes also told us he often sees a Giant Kingfisher right by his house.)

 

 

The view from Spitskop. Where we also saw our first Quiver Tree - and to our delight all of them would be in bloom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will have to work a bit on the identification of many LBJs we would see up here North - I think (but am probably totally wrong) this is a Fawn-Coloured Lark.

 

 

It´s not very far from Upington to Augrabies Falls, a bit more than an hour on the highway. But we took a detour, a gravel road cross-country. An interesting area with lots of Quiver Tree - they even call it a "forest".

 

 

The terrain does not look too suitable for it, but all of the land here is actually used for agriculture, mainly sheep and also cattle as i understand.

 

 

Almost every Quiver Tree seemed to have its own Dusky Sunbird.

 

 

In this area we also saw the one and only Vervet Monkey of this trip.

 

 

Often considered a major nuisance around camps they can become very bold around humans. But not out here where they rarely see one and haven´t learned to associate us with food - this one was very shy and started running when we stopped.

 

 

 

When we returned to the main road we would see one fruit plantation (lemons, oranges, mango) after the other. Some big-scale operators doing their work here, Dantes told us not without pride of "his" region. These nets serve to give protection from hail - and hungry birds.

 

 

Many shops along the road are offering dried fruits - really delicious stuff, of course we bought some.

[michael-ibk]

We arrived at the park at about 12:30.

These are the chalets we had here. They´re called "with Views", but you won´t see the gorge or the river from here - nor from any of the others.

 

They were ok. Spacious, clean, good beds, equipped with fridge. Bit of a weird smell but not too bad. It´s not a place anybody will fall in love with but they are perfectly servicable and very good value - about 1,000 ZAR (EUR 60,--, USD 70,-- per unit per night.)

 

 

The restaurant. This was a very pleasant surprise - I often had read that it´s very mediocre (at best). But it´s under new management apparently, and everything was really excellent. Kudu Pie, Springbock Stew and Kalahari Schnitzel were our highlights. Breakfast was very enjoyable, it´s served on the terrace.

 

 

Birds take every opportunity.

 

[michael-ibk]

The falls - the "Place of Great Noise" - nominally are the main attraction of the park - and it was my impression that most people only come here for a night and see the falls and only the falls. Which is a mistake - the park has so much more to offer. But I´ll get to that.

 

And of course the falls themselves ARE very cool.

 

Here the Orange River becomes compressed by a rocky channel and is transformed into a tumolutous force that careens down a 90-metre abyss and continues downstream through the ravine for 18 kilometres.

The falls are just a few 100 metres from the chalets, and several viewpoints are accessible by wooden walkways.

 

The indigenous Khoi people who inhabited the area were familiar with the waterfall and had great respect for it as they believed it to be the dwelling of the "Great Water Snake".

 

When the river floods the place must be truly spectacular. Wiki tells me: "The falls have recorded 7,800 cubic metres (280,000 cu ft) of water every second in floods in 1988 (and 6,800 cubic metres (240,000 cu ft) in the floods of 2006). This is over three times the average high season flow rate of Niagara Falls of 2,400 cubic metres (85,000 cu ft) per second, more than four times Niagara's annual average, and greater than Niagara's all-time record of 6,800 cubic metres (240,000 cu ft) per second."

 

 

The falls are lit from 19:00 to 22:00 am. Or so they say. Because when I went down on the first night at exactly 21:20 they turned the lights off.

 

[michael-ibk]

 

The rocky habitat around the falls is perfect terrain for these little fellows:

 

 

Rock Hyrax - or Dassies, as South Africans prefer to call them.

 

 

I was delighted to see them. Though I do have some safaris under my belt now this was actually my first sighting.

 

 

Not only at the falls (where they are absolutely unfazed by their human visitors) but all around the Eastern part of the park they are easily seen.

 

 

Hyrax are not rodents (though they look very much like smaller Capybaras) but actually herbivores that are more closely related to - Elephants!

 

 

Learn more from Wiki: "Hyraxes share several unusual characteristics with elephants and sirenia (manatees and dugongs), which have resulted in them all being placed in the taxon Paenungulata. Male hyraxes lack a scrotum and their testicles remain tucked up in their abdominal cavity next to the kidneys, the same as elephants, manatees, and dugongs. Female hyraxes have a pair of teats near their arm pits (axilla), as well as four teats in their groin (inguinal area); elephants have a pair of teats near their axillae, and dugongs and manatees have a pair of teats, one located close to each of the front flippers. The tusks of hyraxes develop from the incisor teeth as do the tusks of elephants; most mammalian tusks develop from the canines. Hyraxes, like elephants, have flattened nails on the tips of their digits, rather than curved, elongated claws which are usually seen on mammals."

 

Grass-Eaters indeed:

 

 

"I´m a big bad Hyrax - RROOOOOAR!"

 

 

They are extremely patient and confiding around the falls, and I had a lot of fun watching them - they are quite adorable.

 

 

Their feet have rubbery pads with numerous sweat glands, which help the animal maintain its grip when quickly moving up steep, rocky surfaces.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

Another very cool animal to be seen around the falls is the Augrabies Flat Lizard.

Summer is probably a bit better time to see them, I was told the rocks are positively crowded with them when it´s hot.

 

 

But plenty of them around. They are not always the easiest subject to take photos of since the moment you have focused on one it will inevitably move.

The females are much more inconspicous than the shimmering, vibrant males.

 

In breeding season the males fight a lot for the females attention, and display all kind of interesting behaviours. This ranges from male dominance contests to courtship and "sexual harassment." But now, they all were "not in the mood" and were actually running away and even hiding from the females!

 

"Get out of there, I´m not finished with you yet!"

 

Lots of Swifts in the gorge, but I did not even try to take pictures - way too fast for me. If lucky one can see Lanner Falcons or even Peregrines hunt here - but none for us. Speckled Pigeons are very common.

 

[michael-ibk]

Although the falls, boasting the largest water volume in South Africa, were the primary reason for the proclamation of the National Park (back in 1954), it offers so much more. It´s not exactly small, encompassing an area of 820 km².

 

 

In the East, the area is pretty rocky. Lots of Hyrax around, but we did not see big mammals when we embarked on our first afternoon drive.

 

 

Namaqua Sandgrouse

 

One of the most spectacular places in the park is the Oranjekom Viewpoint, around 10 km from the camp, downriver of the falls.

 

 

 

In a way, I enjoyed this place even more than the falls - a very special sighting (coming up in the next post) probably factors into that. Even the falls themselves are not very crowded, we often had viewing platforms for ourselves. Leave the camp area, however, and you can count on being alone - on one afternoon drive and one all-day-drive we did see a total of two other cars!

 

 

This is the viewing deck at Orangekom. Sanparks offers a chalet (just below the deck). This must be glorious in the morning especially.

 

We enjoyed Oranjekom so much that we would return the following afternoon to get a view with less shade in the gorge.

 

 

 

[xyz99]

This gorge is really beautiful, love the red rock. Yes, the 2nd set with less shade shows it so much better