December 2017

Having become quite accustomed to the barren, hot and dry environment of the Karoo, it was quite a shock when we emerged from the mountains into the lush greenery of the Langberge valleys. We had been driving all day from Graaff Reinet to our first location back in the Western Cape, a delightful village called McGregor. McGregor is a small village of thatched cottage, and looks more like the Cotswolds (England) than South Africa. Its in the Breede River valley and surrounded by mountains and vineyards. Home for the next four days would be our own thatched cottage, beautifully equipped and with views of the mountains from our back patio.

The main aim of our stay was to sample some local wines, which we achieved with visits to the McGregor, Lords and Bemind (pronounced Bement) wineries.
Wine tasting is such good fun, finding out about the process, sampling the goods and finally purchasing some of the products (in our case – 5 reds, 4 whites and a sparkling). However, our stay in McGregor was not all about wine. The village is home to some very talented artists and excellent restaurants, so we also amused ourselves shopping and eating. But it wasn’t all eating and drinking; we did get a bit of exercise with a hike in the local Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve.

Keeping with the drinking theme, a very enjoyable evening was spent at the old post office. Now, we weren’t there to buy stamps as that function ceased many years ago, it is now a pub. The Old Post Office pub is only open between 6pm and 8pm, Monday to Saturday and when there is a suitable sport event airing on DSTV. We were there for the Italy v South Africa and England v Samoa autumn rugby union internationals. For the first match, Italy v South Africa, the pub was packed, but for the second, England v Samoa, Rob and I had it to ourselves. The landlord (formerly from Manchester) announced to us that he had around one hundred whiskies and only good ones. But it was the craft beers that he served that impressed us, together with a good win for England.

Our next stop was the attractive and historic navel town of Simons Town. Positioned half way along the Cape Peninsula it provided easy access to Cape Town and the peninsula attraction. Being Rob’s last location with us, we had pushed the boat out and rented a nice big apartment with great views over False Bay.

We had six full days to explore the area and made the most of it.
Day one was a visit to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. We had all been to botanical gardens before, including places like Kew & Montreal, but agreed that this was one of the best. Beautifully laid out, stacked with flora and with Table Mountain as a backdrop, truly stunning. We even found time to include a hike up Skeleton Gorge in an attempt to reach the Plateau of Table Mountain, the hard way (most people take the cable car). I say attempt, because the older members of our party expired just before the top, which caused us to turn back. Very enjoyable all the same, and some great views. However, our legs for the next few days reminded us of our stupidity.

Botanical Garden on the way up to Table Mountain via the Skeleton Gorge

Day two was a breath-taking drive around the Cape Peninsula, including the famous Chapman’s Peak Drive. Lunch at Hout Bay, short walks at a couple of pretty bays and photo stops was the order of the day, as our legs would not allow much more. We did stop at the Table Mountain cable car in an attempt to finish what started the day before, but the wind was to strong so it wasn’t operating.

False Bay Beach

Hout Bay

Chapmans Peak Drive

Twelve Apostles

Table Mountain from the cable car station

On day three we remained more local. Our legs had now recovered enough to allow us to explore some the towns on the False Bay side of the Peninsula. Our first and last stop, unsurprisingly, was Simons Town and in particular the African Jackass Penguin Colony (see below for more details) just outside at Boulder Beach. The penguin colony is protected by fences and walkways, and is managed by Cape Nature. The set up is quite simple but affective, and allows tourist viewing without disturbing the penguins. We visited both in the morning and afternoon, to make the most of our location. As well as looking around Simons Town was also spent time in Kalk Bay, where we had lunch.

African Jackass Pinguins

Boulder Bay - African Jackass Penguins

Day four was a day in Cape Town, with the main focus being on a visit to the Zeitz MOCAA gallery. The gallery is Cape Town’s newest attraction and is housed in an old silo next to the V&A Waterfront (more than a passing resemblance to London’s Tate Modern). With displays from mostly African artists, we spent a very enjoyable three hours there. Lunch in the V&A Waterfront then followed, and as the Table Mountain Cable Car was still not running (strong winds), we went to the aquarium instead.

Cape Town

Zeitz MOCAA gallery

Zeitz MOCAA gallery

Zeitz MOCAA gallery in Cape Town

Day five took us just down the road to the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park. A park that never fails to impress; with its stunning coastal scenery, deserted beaches and unique moorland. We spent the morning walking to cape point (with the help from the now operating funicular railway, for part of the way), visiting the Cape of Good Hope (the most south-westerly point in Africa) and soaking up the scenery.

Cape of Good Hope in the background

Carpet of Flowers - Cape of Good Hope

View of Cape Point

The afternoon was less enjoyable, as we had to say goodbye to Rob. He was flying back to the UK that evening, as he had work on the following Monday, unlike us retirees. After dropping him off at the airport it just didn’t seem right when we got back to the apartment without him. We obviously weren’t functioning properly, as we first managed to set the house alarm off and were soon greeted by an armed security guard to check everything was OK, and then the TV stopped working.
For our last day in Simons Town, we did very little. A morning coffee and cake in “The Sweetest Thing”, our favourite place in Simons Town, was followed by an afternoon watching rugby on the TV (which was now working again). The weather wasn’t very good anyway, so we didn’t feel guilty.

Our time on the Cape Peninsula was now up and it was time to move on. Our next location was 170km north up the west coast and the town of Langebaan. We had three nights and two days in Langebaan, with the sole aim to explore the West Coast National Park. We spent both days in this very pleasant park, doing a bit of hiking and some wildlife watching (especially the abundant Ostrich and Angulate Tortoise population). However, what makes this park special, is the turquoise waters of its sheltered lagoon, it population of visiting Greater & Lesser flamingos and the number of Black Harriers that are constantly flying over head.

West Coast National Park - Bird Hide

West Coast National Park - Wagtail

West Coast National Park - Greater Flamingo

West Coast National Park - Greater Flamingos

West Coast National Park - Lesser Flamingo

West Coast National Park - Greater and Lesser Flamingo

West Coast National Park - Greater Flamingo

West Coast National Park - Sand Dune

West Coast National Park - Beach

West Coast National Park Lagoon

From Langebaan we ventured further up the west coast to the seaside town of Lamberts Bay. Although not so smart as Langebaan, Lamberts Bay seemed to have more life and character. We rented an apartment right on the waters edge, with a living area that provided great views out into the Atlantic Ocean. The main reason for us to visit Lamberts Bay is Bird Island and its colony of Cape Gannets (see below for more details). Gannets are beautiful birds and possibly Anne’s favourite, so it was a must while we were in the area. Bird Island is technically no longer an island, as a walkway now connects it to the mainland. The Gannets, as well as Cape Fur Seals, can be seen quite close up from a viewing hide, and it was here that we spent a couple of hours one morning and again before we left.

Sunset over the Atlantic in Lambert's Bay

Bird Island, Lambert's Bay - Cape Gannet

Bird Island, Lambert's Bay - Recycle man

Bird Island, Lambert's Bay - Cape Gannet Colony

Bird Island, Lambert's Bay - Cape Gannet

Lambert's Bay Port

Bird Island, Lambert's Bay - Cape Gannet

Bird Island, Lambert's Bay - Cape Gannet Colony

Our other activity of note during our stay in Lamberts Bay was a lunch at Muisbosskerm. Muisbosskerm is a beach side restaurant just outside Lamberts Bay, and has been voted by National Geographic and one of the top ten beach dining experiences in the world. I am not sure it lived up to this grand title, but was certainly an interesting and very enjoyable dining experience. Muisbosskerm has evolved from a beach BBQ (or Braai in South Africa) for mates to a beach BBQ for the paying public. Set in a rustic beach building with basic seating, your meal is cooked in front of you on an enormous braai. The meal is buffet style and the food was mainly from the sea, very fresh (usually caught that day) and the choice was incredible. I tried to have a small piece of everything, but even that was too much for me. We were served: Dried Mullet & Pickled Herring for starters; that was followed by fish from the braai – Yellowtail, White Stumpnose, Snoek, Hottentots Fish, Tuna, Cob, Angelfish, Kingklip and Hake; which was accompanied by Seafood Paella, Crayfish and Sweet Potatoes. In addition to this, there was a leg of Lamb and a Bean Stew. And that is what I can remember. The food was served on paper and eaten using an empty mussel shell or your fingers. They also had a licenced bar, so a few Savannah’s were purchased to wash it all down. All this came with a stunning view of the Atlantic Ocean with a deserted white beach in the foreground. A highly recommended experience if you are in the area.

Muissborkem Experience

Muissbosskerm Restaurant

View from Muisbosskerm Restaurant

Our last destination before heading back in to the wine region was Clanwilliam in the Cederberg Mountains. The reason for visiting the Cederberg was to do some hiking, and our guidebook said that between July and December was a good time. Unfortunately, the guidebook seems to have been a bit out of date, as global warming has made December too hot to hike comfortably. With shade temperatures in the mid to high 30’s each day, it meant our hikes needed to be short and early in the day.

Clanwilliam Reservoir

Early morning walk in the Cederberg Mountains

Early morning walk in the Cederberg Mountains

However, we did manage to get out each day and had a couple of very interesting and enjoyable walks. In particular the Sevilla Rock Art Trail, which takes you across private land (you need a permit) and leads you to some amazing rock art. The rock paintings, some dating back thousands of years, are mostly on protected rock faces and were put there by the San people who lived in the area for thousands of years, before eventually being pushed out by foreign settlers. The San are an incredible race of people, that have suffered a great deal of persecution in more recent times, their story is very interesting and if you have the time an inclination, worth investigating. Or, a least watch the film “The Gods Must Be Crazy”.

Rock Art Walk in the Cederberg Mountains

Life in the Cederberg Mountains

Rock Art in the Cederberg Mountains

Rock Art Walk in the Cederberg Mountains

Rock Art San Hunter

Dancing Ladies Rock People (San People)

Rock Art Walk in the Cederberg Mountains

Personal Observations & Interesting Facts

Anne’s Camera
To Anne’s extreme annoyance, and for no apparent reason, her camera stopped working during our stay in McGregor. After trying everything she could think of the camera remained dead. Trawling the Internet revealed that this was a known problem and the only solution was to send it back to the manufacturer. She then corresponded with Olympus customer services, and a plan was hatched, that she would deliver the camera to a Cape Town agent who would send it away for a fast track repair. Once repaired it would be forwarded to a UK address. This would mean she would have it back before we leave for Asia at the end of January. In the meantime, Rob generously left his camera for Anne to use when he returned to England, plus she still had the camera on the iPhone. But she was still far from happy.

African Jackass Penguins
The African Jackass Penguin is Africa’s only resident Penguin, and only two colonies’ bred on the mainland (Boulders Beach & Betty’s Bay in South Africa’s Western Cape). At one time both colonies were endangered due to over fishing in the area. But now fishing restrictions have been imposed, both colonies have made a strong recovery. The Penguins dig holes in the sand bank just behind the beach to lay and incubate their eggs. The young then stay around the nests or on the beach, where they are fed. Once old enough they join the adults fishing in the local waters.

Which are smarter Humans or Baboons?
The answer you would think is humans. But maybe not, if you watch the events that unfolded in the coach park at Cape Point. There are signs everywhere saying “Baboons are Dangerous”, “A fed Baboon is a dead Baboon”, “Be Baboon aware”, “Do not feed the Baboons”, etc. But as soon as the tourists get off the coach their brains shut down. Within minutes, a baguette is stolen, then a bag of sweets and almost a camera as well, all through a lack of care or stupidity. So disappointing, and very annoying to see. Human wildlife interaction is inevitable, handled correctly it is a pleasure for the human and not a threat to the wildlife. But too often it doesn’t go well, hence this whinge.

Gannets around the World
Our visit to the Gannet colony on Bird Island meant that we had now seen all of the world’s three species. We visited an Atlantic Gannet colony in eastern Canada (amongst other places), an Australian Gannet colony in New Zealand and now a Cape Gannet colony in South Africa. The Gannet is not a big as an Albatross but bigger than a Gull, has a 2m wingspan and is very graceful in flight, but not so when landing.

Robots
South African refer to traffic lights as Robots. Something that confused us a bit when we first visited South Africa, many moons ago.

It was now time for a change of scenery and we left the Garden Route and headed northeast to the Addo Elephant National Park. This is South Africa’s third largest national park (more details below) and was our home for the next five nights. We stayed at two locations in the park, one in the south and one in the north of the area available to the public. The park is well stocked with wildlife and our aim was to see as much of it as possible. We are seasoned safari goers and feel we are pretty knowledgeable about Africa’s animal and bird species. It is for this reason that, where possible, we self drive our game drives. For Addo our aim was to get out for a game drive, at least twice a day. However, heavy rain on three of the days restricted us a bit, but we got out when ever the sun shone and saw some amazing sights.

2 young elephant bulls greeting each other

Warthog and oxpecker

Elephants gathering

Elephant Family at water hole

Plains Zebra at Addo Elephant NP

Elephants at water hole

Elephants

Black Back Jackal at Addo Elephant NP

Cape Buffalo at Addo Elephant NP

Cape Buffalo

Male Lion in case you didn't know it

King of the beasts

Hartebeast

Glossy Starling

Weaver

Cuckoo with lunch

Forked Tailed Drone

Mousebirds

Male Kudu

Plains Zebra at Addo Elephant NP

Hartebeast with young

Mud is good

Mum and calf

Elephant causes traffic jam

Elephant in the bush

Bat eared fox

Addo Elephant NP

Dung beetle

Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk

Plains Zebra and young at Addo Elephant NP

From Addo in was north and into the Karoo. The Karoo is a semi desert and provides completely different scenery to what we had experienced so far. Our first stop was the Mountain Zebra National Park (more details below) for a bit more wildlife watching before moving onto the attractive town of Graaff Reinet. We had a short but great time in Mountain Zebra, stunning scenery, wonderful wildlife and very pleasant accommodation. No rain this time, just hot and sunny, 41 degrees on one day which was quite a change from what had been experiencing.

Good Advice

Mountain Zebra NP

Male Ostrich

Black wildebeast

Blesbok

Springbok

Baboon

Mountain Zebra in Mountain Zebra NP (Different from Plains Zebra. Look closely at the stripes and nose)

Pride of Lions Mountain Zebra NP

Pride of Lions Mountain Zebra NP

Mountain Zebra NP

Mountain Zebra

Mountain Zebra

Swallow

Ground Squirrel

Yellow Mongoose with Snake

Oryx or Gemsbok

Secretary bird (named because of the head quills feather)

We then had two nights in a brightly coloured cottage in the centre of Graaff Reinet. Our aim was to explore the town and the Camdeboo National Park, which was close by. Therefore our one full day was pretty busy. An early start was required for the park visit, and to avoid the heat, so we found ourselves in the Valley of Desolation soon after 06:00am. It was worth it, the Karoo landscape was at its most magnificent that time of the morning. The early start also gave us plenty of time to explore Graff Reinet as well. The town was particularly attractive with period buildings lining many of the streets each fronted by the colourful bloom of flowering tree. Town activities included visits to two small be very interesting museums, lunch at a quaint restaurant and a bit of shopping to finish the day. Anne in particular appreciated being out of the car, after a week of game driving.

Graaff-Reinet Dutch Reform Church

Graaff-Reinet Museum

Graaff-Reinet

Graaff-Reinet

Street Sellers, Graaff-Reinet

Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo NP, Karoo

Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo NP, Karoo

View of Graaff-Reinet

Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo NP, Karoo

Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo NP, Karoo

Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo NP, Karoo

Cactus

Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo NP, Karoo

Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo NP, Karoo

Personal Observations & Interesting Facts

Addo Elephant National Park
In the early centuries, when great herds of wild animals roamed the Addo region, the Khoesan of the Iqua, Damasqua and Gonaqua clans lived in the area. They hunted and kept cattle but tragically were largely wiped out in the 1700s by the smallpox epidemic. Nomadic Xhosa tribes also had kraals in the area, including Chief Cungwa of the Gqunukhwebe (near the Sundays River mouth and inland) and Chief Habana of the Dange (near the Wit River). Wildlife was plentiful and the Xhosa lived in harmony with it.
That all changed when the Europeans arrived. The great herds of elephant and other animal species were all but decimated by hunters over the 1700s and 1800s. In the late 1800s, farmers began to colonise the area around what is now the park, also taking their toll on the remaining elephant population, due to competition for water and crops.
This conflict reached a head in 1919 when farmers called on the government to exterminate the elephants. The government even appointed a Major Pretorius to shoot the remaining elephants - who killed 114 elephant between 1919 and 1920. By 1931 only 11 elephants remained in the Addo area, and the Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) was proclaimed to protect them.
The original size of the park was just over 2 000 hectares and conflicts between elephants and farmers continued after proclamation as no adequate fence enclosed the park. Finally in 1954, Graham Armstrong (the park manager at the time) developed an elephant-proof fence constructed using tram rails and lift cables and an area of 2 270 hectares was fenced in. There were 22 elephant in the park at the time. This Armstrong fence, named after its developer, is still used around the park today. Although the park was originally proclaimed to protect a single species, priorities changed to also include the conservation of the rich biological diversity found in the area and to re-introduce the other wildlife that once roamed the region.
Today the park covers almost 300,000 hectares and stretches from the coast to the mountains. Most of the original wildlife has been reintroduced, including Elephant, Black Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo and a large range of antelope.

Elephants Trunk
The elephant’s trunk has 60,000 muscles. This is why the limb is so versatile and has multiple functions. It also means that it takes a long time for young elephants to learn how to use it properly. Hence you often see the trunk of a young elephant swaying around apparently out of control.

Mountain Zebra National Park
The region that the Mountain Zebra National Park now occupies was once full of wildlife, as indicated by San cave painting that are found in the area. A familiar story surrounds the park, farmers move in from the 1830’s and the wildlife disappears. However, in this case it was also local farmers that came to the rescue. In 1937 a group of local farmers gave up some of their land to try and protect the remaining endangered Cape Mountain Zebra, which at the time only numbered 11. Initially 1,712 hectares was set aside and the Zebra population began to recover. But as time went by it was clear that more space was need for the growing Zebra population. In steps an artist by the name of David Shepherd, who donates money from the sale of his prints to purchase more land. Soon local businesses and individual joined in the money raising followed by the SAN Parks trust that pledged to match all moneys raised. Soon the park expanded to 6,536 hectares, and eventually to the 28,412 hectares it is today. Today there are estimated to be around 750 Cape Mountain Zebra in the park plus a healthy population of re-introduced animals. Antelopes, such as Black Wildebeest (considered endangered), Hartebeest, Besbok and Kudo have healthy population in the park. Together with recent additions of Buffalo, Cheetah and Lion, all of which once roamed the area, and in the later cases, there to help regulate the non-predator population growth.
The history of this area does not only revolve around its wildlife. During the Anglo-Boar war British soldiers were stationed in the area. And during times of non-action they amused themselves by playing chess with other soldiers stationed in Fort Cradock (about 10klm away). They achieved this by marking out a chessboard on top of Salpeterskop (1,514m) and transmitting their moves by the way of mirror signals.