The trip to Arniston, part 2

So back to Arniston we head after our visit to the Cape. We do so by way of the historic community of Elim, a Moravian mission station started in the 1830s. There are numerous old thatch-roofed buildings in the community -- both residences and community buildings, most of which have been declared national historic sites.

Even in a village as small as this there is concern about the natural environment and the inhabitants there. The community started a nature reserve outside of town to preserve a type of fynbos that is unique to this area, and so bears its name, Elim fynbos. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the area as the roads were in very bad shape. But it was nice to drive through the village and see the buildings and adjacent farmland. And we saw a troop of baboons in a field on our way. There were old ones and and young ones, even babies still being carried by their mother. Imagine driving down a country road and seeing baboons strolling in a field next to the road!

Our route back to Arniston took us through Bredasdorp and that gave us a chance to visit Julian's. Julian's is a restaurant, art gallery, ceramics store, and a B&B. I can't say anything about the B&B, but the rest were terrific! We learned about the place from Allister, our host at Southwinds. He had listed Julian's on his restaurant list and he had place settings from Julian's for use at breakfast, each table with a different design. See the website-- http://www.juliankeyserceramics.co.za/about.html--for more info. We made a few purchases of ceramics, not sure how we will get them home, and we ate a wonderful dinner. The menu had so many interesting items it was a real chore deciding what to order. Unfortunately, there was not room for dessert as these also sounded very interesting.

And then we were back in Arniston! It was a most enjoyable day.

On Sunday we were again treated to a most substantial English breakfast. As it turned out, that was a good thing as we would be some distance from anything most of the day. After breakfast we loaded the car and headed east to De Hoop Nature Reserve. This is a reserve run by Cape Nature. It runs along the Indian Ocean for some distance and extends inland an equally large distance. All in all it covers about 36,000 hectares, encompassing magnificent dunes, some wetlands, and fynbos, mainly limestone fynbos. After driving many kilometers of gravel road, something we did much of this weekend, we arrived at the reserve. From the top of the hill near the entrance we could see the dunes in the distance and the large expanse of the reserve between us and the dunes. Off we went.

After a stop to look at (and photograph!) plants I decided I would avoid clambering through the brush. I was covered with ticks, and most of them were tiny little ticks. I did my best to remove them but continued to find them the rest of the day. But it was worth it as we spent the rest of the day seeing neat animals. Here they are.

This is a hamerkop. There were two of them and they were just carrying on. They almost don't look real, their heads are such a funny shape!


These beautiful antelopes with white faces are rare bontebok (on the ground) and an eland. The bontebok were hunted almost to extinction but they have recovered by being bred and protected here.


This is another one that was almost lost. This is a Cape mountain zebra.


Impressive dunes! When we reached Koppie Alleen I climbed to the top of one of the dunes to look out into the Indian Ocean. Quite a sight! The wind was blowing and the sand quickly erased any evidence that you had walked there. But if you looked into the water you realized that those weren't rocks causing the breaks in the water, those were whales. There were at least 10, maybe more, southern right whales just off the shore. Unfortunately, there was no way to get Marcia to this location due to steps, a wooden bridge, and too much sand. And the howling wind would have made her miserable. I took pictures and tried to describe what I saw; neither did justice to what was actually there.

We headed back and encountered two interesting creatures. For both I stayed in the car! The nonfeathered one is a puff adder. Look at the girth of that one. Seems I only find poisonous snakes!. This one just had an attitude that said "I'm bad!" It was easy to give it a wide berth.


And you know who this guy is. It is so surprising to look out across a field and to see an ostrich or two, or two dozen! This time there was no chance for a close encounter between bird and car.


This picture really belongs at the beginning of this entry as it is the Anglican church in Bredasdorp. Beautiful stone church with a thatch roof. And the service was taking place as we drove by, with the singing easily heard outside. Marcia recognized the music -- it was 'Regent Square' ("Guide me, o thou great Jehovah"). It certainly was appropriate given our location.



After leaving De Hoop we again went through Bredasdorp and then headed west. We drove through some truly beautiful valleys with a quiltwork of fields and farms. There were sheep, goats, cattle, and ostrich farms, and much ripening wheat and other grains. Every once in awhile there would be a vineyard. This was not wine country but staples, and lots of them. And there were mountains all around. The area is known as the Overberg. It is known for its beauty. And it was beautiful country.

Eventually the country landscape was replaced by the N2, one of the major national highways. It was Sunday evening and the traffic was heavy. The route to Cape Town took us over one of the chains of mountains by way of Sir Lowery's Pass. Quite a ride with incredible vistas along the way.

And then we hit Cape Town and its traffic. We tried to stop to get something to eat -- but not on Sunday after 4, or earlier in some cases. Nothing is open! So we headed straight home and eventually made it.

What a great weekend! More neat places visited, more new animals and plants seen, and more interaction with the wonderful people of South Africa. This is kinda fun! Who knows where we will go next.

Edward (with a few words from Marcia!)

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