South Africa 2017 Part 1 - Western Cape

Since 2003, our good friend Rob has managed to travel with us at least once a year, and this was one of those occasions. In fact this was going to be a special occasion for him, because, instead of the usual three weeks he had been able to extend it to six.
After a bit of hassle picking up the hire car, we were soon on our way to our first destination of Hermanus. Hermanus is situated on the coast about 100 kilometres from Cape Town. It’s an attractive town, famous for the Southern Right Whales that congregate in the adjacent bay. In fact, it was the Whales that had drawn us here.
Broadly speaking, the South Right Whales congregate here between July and November. Mostly mothers that give birth to carves and then care for them in the safety of the bay, until they are strong enough to venture further afield. The cliffs around the bay provide an excellent vantage point to view the Whales, plus a big pod of Bottlenosed Dolphin, which kept us entertained for two of the three days we were there. But, Hermanus has more to offer than just the whales, the coastline is stunning and the flora is quite unique.

Smily Whale

Southern Right Whale with Calf

Blow Hole

Atlantic Surf

Southern Right whale

Hermanus

Hermanus

Hermanus

The other day in Hermanus found us in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve, a beautiful area just outside of town. Here we trekked up to a summit with amazing views all over Walker Bay (the bay that Hermanus sits in) and circled around a mountain ridge before arriving back at the car park. The reserve is famous for its flora and this time of year a lot of it was in bloom, a real picture. We did see some fauna as well, one of the local wild Tortoise’s, a Brown House Snake and a few birds.

Lizard

Fernkloof Nature Reserve

Very Pretty Flower

Pink Flower

White Flower

Yellow Flower

Pretty Flowers

Beautiful white flowers

Protea

Lizard

Fernkloof Nature Reserve

Fernkloof Nature Reserve

From Hermanus our route was east, via a very windy but spectacular Danger Point, and on to our next destination, De Hoop Nature Reserve. Danger Point is just south of Ganbaai and one of the most southerly points in Africa. It is also infamous for the worst shipwreck in South Africa’s history, when the Birkenhead went down on hidden rocks in 1852, with the loss of several hundred lives. A few years later a lighthouse was erected at this point which still stands today.

Danger Point

Danger Point Light House

Nursery

Danger Point sea

Wild Sea

The De Hoop Nature Reserve is in the Overberg area of the Western Cape. The 36,000 hectares of De Hoop conservation area is a World Heritage Site comprising rich biodiversity and over 70 kilometres of pristine coastline. After checking into out cottage on arrival, we still had enough light for a short walking safari. The next day dawned wet and windy so our planned guided marine walk was postponed until the next day. The rain persisted all day, finally relenting in the late afternoon for short lakeside walk. Unfortunately the next day dawned no better, so the marine walk was cancelled yet again, and we headed of to pastures new. We left feeling rather disappointed as the De Hoop Nature Reserve was a beautiful place and we would have liked to explore it more. However, on the bright side, the rain did hold off enough for a pleasant drive away from De Hoop and provided some nice sightings of Blue Crane.

Cooking by Flashlight

Bontebok

Bontebok

Blue Crane

Blue Crane

Our next destination was the Bontebok National Park, about 60klm north of De Hoop. The sun was shining by the time we arrived and our chalet balcony had views over the Breede River and on to the mountains in the distance. This put a smile back on our faces, after the disappointments in De Hoop. A short afternoon walk was followed by G&T’s and Whisky & Coke on the balcony, watching numerous birds and the sun going down. The next day was sunny and warm, so we spent most it exploring the trails along the rivers edge. The scenery was beautiful once again, and there seemed to be a different bird to identify almost every few meters. What was also unusual about this park was the number of wild Tortoises, the Angulate species.

Tortoise

Bontebok National Park

Red Bishop

Masked Weaver

Malachite Sunbird

Mousebird

After two days in the Bontebok park we continued our journey east along the N2, to our next stop, Mossel Bay. We had an apartment high above the town but with good views over the bay. Our prime goal whilst in Mossel Bay was to walk some of the St Blaize Cliff Walk, this we achieved in two sections, one starting in town and the other from our apartment. The walk(s) were amazing. The walk takes you along a path high on the cliff edge and gives you a stunning view of the waves crashing on the rocks below. It also provides a good vantage point to watch the marine life, these included Cape Fur Seals, Southern Right Whales and Bottlenose Dolphins.

St Blaize Cliff Walk

View of St Blaize Trail

Pregnant Lizard

Egyptian Geese

Bottlenose Dolphin

Mussel Bay St Blaize Cliff Walk

Our last day in Mossel Bay was a bit more sedate, but no less enjoyable. We first visited the Bartholomew Dias Museum complex, which not only housed a replica of Bart’s ship and facts surrounding his discovery of Mossel Bay, but also Africa’s largest shell museum. Both the history of Mossel Bay and the shell museum turned out to be more interesting than I think any of us was expecting. And in addition to all this excitement, the complex also had a 500-year-old Milkwood tree in its grounds, which has been doubling up as a post box right up until the present today. Elated by our museum visit we retired to the Blue Shed for a coffee (tea for Anne) and cake lunch.

Bartholomew Dias Museum

The Blue Shed

Personal Observations & Interesting Facts

Southern Right Whales weigh the equivalent of 10 adult male elephants, and got their name from Whalers who considered them the right whales to hunt because they floated once dead and all the parts of the whales were useable.

The Milkwood Tree is protected in South Africa. If you have one in your garden, you need a permit even to trim it. The Milkwood is very hardy and versatile, and has been the first choice wood for construction for many years in South Africa. Unfortunately, because of this it is now rare, hence its protection.