The trip to Arniston-Part 1

Well off we head on Friday morning to travel the coast and see some of the eastern part of the Western Cape. We drove south from Newlands to Muizenberg to start our trip east along False Bay. Went past some townships and upscale communities and a few beach parks run by Cape Town. Sure those are packed during the summer months.

Followed the shore along the eastern side of False Bay along a spectacular road. There was fynbos with all sorts of things in bloom to my left and and crashing surf and miles of ocean to my right. No whales but what a beautiful drive. It compares very well with Chapman's Peak Drive, but free and less traveled.

Eventually we made it to Betty's Bay. Here there is another colony of African Penguins and more importantly Harold Porter Botanical Garden. So around the garden we went. In addition to many plants that were new, there were a good number of plants I did recognize. That is encouraging! This garden is set at the base of the Kogelberg Mountains and is part of the Kogelberg Reserve that stretches from the top of the mountains to the ocean in an attempt to preserve some of the important habitats found here. And now for a few pictures of what we saw.


This is a king protea in glorious bloom! The bloom is at least 8" across.


This view is looking from the garden into the mountains. As is typical in public places such as this there are numerous hiking trails to take you into other parts of the garden and its surroundings.


This is Disa Falls, home of the Disa orchid. It blooms later in the year.


And now for one of the pincushion proteas! Makes you want to plant a number of them in your garden!!


And wouldn't it be nice to have birds like this orange-breasted sunbird as regular visitors to your garden of proteas. This is one of the proteas in the genus Mimetes, usually with a common name of some type of pagoda. This is probably the red-crested pagoda.

Found our way to the Tea Room and souvenir shop. Once again I was struck by how inexpensive prepared food is in South Africa. This has been the case in eating establishments of all types. After lunch we made a few purchases from one of the smallest souvenir shops I have seen. But it was packed with many neat items, and many interesting books. And two called out our names and so have been added to our library. Turns out they were good additions as they were useful during the remainder of our weekend.

Got back on the road and continued our coastal trek southeastward. Went through Hermanus, a former whaling town and now a tourist place for whale watching. Looks like a touristy place. As it was getting late in the afternoon we headed inland so as to get to Arniston before it was too late. Nice ride through the country and a few small towns and then we were back on the coast, now the Indian Ocean coast, in the small seaside village called Arniston. This has been a fishing community for many decades and continues in the present. The Southwinds B&B was found and Allister was met. The ramps worked fine and the accommodation was very nice. We decided to stay close by and so headed to The Arniston Hotel for dinner. Dinner was great, but probably most important was Marcia being introduced to Malva pudding. As it turned out, this was the start of our eating our way through the weekend!

Saturday begins with Allister and Jane providing us with their cooked breakfast. That would be eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushroom, avocado, and toast (if desired). That would be in addition to the cereal, cheese, yogurt, fruit, and muffins available. This is Jenna's type of place! Couldn't quite do justice to the muffins and so packed two for later. And off we went in search of the southernmost point in Africa. To Cape Agulhas we headed.

But first we stopped at the beach area of Arniston just down from the Arniston cave, the cave supposedly large enough for a wagon with its horses. Here is the view of the village from the beach.

And here is one of the flowers called everlastings. This one is in the dune sands just back from the beach. We have seen another in the fynbos in Table Mountain National Park on the way to Cape Point.

But most surprising was the orchid found in the dune sands, and the number of individuals present. Once we realized what we were seeing we found them on our drive throughout the day as long as we were not too far from the coast.

I believe this is Satyrium carneum. Unfortunately its numbers are declining in large part due to habitat loss.


From Arniston we headed west to the village of L'Agulhas and Cape Agulhas. Along the way we stopped to identify plants and birds and to allow me to enjoy the intertidal rocky shore. I collected seashells for Marcia and found some interesting things that still have me puzzled. But no paper nautilus shells were found, much to Marcia's disappointment. Our drive took us past numerous agricultural fields, and a common sight in many of these fields was the blue crane. Not just one or two but often dozens.

And we got to see them displaying for a time. That was neat!

We did eventually make it to Cape Agulhas. This is a view from the shore just east of the point looking to the lighthouse. Walked down to the southermost point and climbed the rocks some more. Quite enjoyable! And the kelp seen in the Atlantic Ocean is not found in the Indian Ocean.


And once again it was getting late and we had many kilometers of gravel road to travel, with a stop in Elim along the way. But that will have to wait for another entry. I have to get to bed as I have an early field trip tomorrow. Heading back to the Worcester area but to a wetter habitat. Ishmael won't be going this time, Caitlin will lead the trip. I have been working with her the last few days and have really enjoyed getting the chance to chat with her. Tomorrow should be fun.

Good night!
Edward