Downtown Stellenbosch

With perfect weather and a quiet Sunday to myself, I took a walk (and this time remembered my camera!) through downtown Stellenbosch, the more historical and touristy side. It was really nice to have some time to look at the old buildings and window shop. Also, during the trip, I walked through the univeristy's botanical garden which was really nice.

 Along Dorp street, this is the Theology department for the university. Definitely one of my favorite buildings so far, it's so grand and pretty. The gardens around it are also quite nice.

I'm not sure if this is the oldest building in Stellenbosch, but it has to be one of them. The date on the roof, although you can't see in this photo is 1779. I believe it's the rector's house and is attached to the main church in town. It's a good example of the Cape Dutch architecture with the white and green with the peaked front.

Walking down Kerk (Church) Street, this is also a good example of traditional homes in the Cape. The historical green and white colour and the wide front porch, plus the tin roof make it perfect. Driving through small towns in the Western Cape, you see lots of houses that look like this. Oh and the bricks in front are because they are repairing the sidewalks all over town!

And finally, a shot down Kerk street to show just how "Africa" Stellenbosch is. As you can see, not very much. Up ahead, the next cafe on the right at the corner of Kerk and Andriga streets is Java, my favourite cafe of the moment. Andriga street runs right up into the heart of the university and it also has several amazing restaurants and shops. But after my walk in the Botanical Gardens plus the heart of the sun, a stop at Java was exactly what I needed!

Yzerfontein

I'm starting to see a trend in some of the places I go to and photograph the most - white, sandy beaches! Continuing this theme, a few weekends ago (Sept. 3rd) I went with a good friend who has family in Yzerfontein. Yzerfontein (pronounced eh-zer-fon-taine) is a small town on the west coast of South Africa (so Atlantic Ocean) a few hours from Cape Town. It's pretty close to West Coast National Park and Langebaan which I visited back in February.

It was a really nice weekend and Yzerfontein is now probably one of my favorite places I have been!

As mentioned above, you can see the beautiful beach of Yzerfontein that goes on and on all the way south to the northern suburbs of Cape Town. Although it was Saturday, the beach was pretty much dead quiet. Out to sea to the right in this photo is Dassen Island which is a small island nature reserve. The island is off limits as it's key sea bird breeding ground. There were lots of birds in Yzerfontein including some beautiful cormorant-looking ones. I definitely need to learn more about South African birds!

Along with the feathered folk are those of a scaled variety. Walking down the beach, we saw several tortoises which were scurrying along. They move somewhat faster than I would have expected. This one was quite happy to wander in front of my feet for a bit.

But this was the biggest surprise! We found this seal lying quite above the tide line and were worried he was dead (it does happen on occasion that a seal will die and then drift up on shore). But actually, he was just napping! I managed to get a cool photo of me standing literally a few feet away from the sleeping pup, but our voices woke him. He was quite annoyed and glared at us before flopping to the sea.

Here he is glaring at us before he decides to waddle into the waves. I've never been so close to a seal in my life...and he dove into the waves with such grace. It was really incredible.

But I think the thing that amazed me the most was how quiet and still Yzerfontein was. We walked through the town and along the beach for hours and saw maybe 5 people. Many of the homes here are vacation homes owned by families out of Cape Town who come for a few weekends here or there. There are very few full time residents. It was almost eerie sometimes walking past all these empty houses. My friend assured me though that it gets quite busy during the summer months when the water warms up a bit. Nevertheless, it was a stunning place and an extremely restful weekend!

Tsitsikamma/Storms River Mouth

Big post today because Tsitsikamma/Storms River Mouth was incredible. I was feeling great after my 24 hours in Jeffrey's Bay and leaving JBay was a bit disppointing. Little did I know though was that Storms River Mouth would be even better!

Tsitsikamma (and Knysna) is essentially all of the natural occurring forests in South Africa. Less than 1% of SA is natural forest so Tsitsikamma is very special. As the tour was showcasing SA's forests, Tsitsikamma was an absolutely necessary stop. Because of the conservation efforts in this area and because we would be examining the conservation, we stayed in the staff accommodation at SANParks Garden Route National Park (Storms River Section).

We arrived late in the evening so it was dark and we were all quite tired. But after a good braai and sleep I was ready for Sunday morning. Sunday was a free day so we were in no rush to get up. But while eating breakfast, I got to see the visitor's to our cabin.

There was a troop of baboons in the forested hillside but this one was the only one who was curious enough to come investigate. He found an orange peel that had been left on the ground the night before and after attempting to distract us from it by throwing rocks, ran and grabbed it. He was very entertaining and I think really wanted the apple I was eating!

Because I joined the tour mid-week, everyone else was pretty much out of clean clothes. We drove down the hill to the main camp and laid on the grass while waiting for laundry. Oh yeah, this was the view. Absolutely gorgeous, the ocean waves and the rocks. Being the southern cape, this is still the Indian ocean.

Not too far away from us, there was a group of rock hydraxes, or Dassies (da-ah-c's) which look like large gophers or prairie dogs. They are really cute and will jump and run around quite happily. Interestingly, their closest relative in the animal kingdom is not the rabbit or gopher or badger but the elephant! Despite their size, they are not actually rodents.

Later in the afternoon we decided to hike to a waterfall we had heard was on the coast and not too far away. It was actually a pretty long hike and difficult because we had to walk on the rocky shoreline for a fair distance. My knee was quite sore but it was well worth it.

This cave was the halfway point along the hike. It was right on the shoreline and went back farther than we could explore without a flashlight or torch. Even that far back though, there was still plenty of head room so I think it would go on for a while.

I walked in a little ways (small spaces are not really my thing so I didn't go too deep) but the view back to the ocean was pretty impressive.

We finally reached the waterfall which was completely worth the distance.

Right on the shoreline, this is the upper pool. The water was freezing cold, but some of the guys decided to swim. There was a fairly cool breeze coming in off the ocean so they were very brave! I think the beer they decided to chill in the pool helped them a bit.

This is the lower pool of the waterfall, and the rocky "wall" of the left has several gaps where the waterfall mixes with the sea. It looks nice and foamy almost like a bubble bath. It was really beautiful. We couldn't stay too long though because the sun was starting to set. It was good we left when we did because the trail was not well marked and we took a few wrong turns on the way back. But next time, I'm definitely planning to spend more time at the waterfall!

The next morning we stopped at the main camp again before we left for the day's activities. The sunrise over the ocean (and river to the left in the photo) was so beautiful and peaceful.

Next post, I'll show the sawmill and some of the natural forests we saw!

Jeffrey's Bay

And I'm back! I returned yesterday from a week of travelling with the 4th Year Forestry students for the second week of their annual South African forest industry tour. Basically the tour is put on so the students can see what the industry in South Africa like and also so their future employers can see them. It was a really great trip and I spent the week with them travelling from Jeffrey's Bay near Port Elizabeth to Storm's River mouth and Tsitikamma forest to George and then back to Cape Town/Stellenbosch.

Last friday I flew at lunch time to Port Elizabeth which is the capital of the Eastern Cape province. I didn't get to see much of PE, as its known here, because I was picked up from the airport and taken to Jeffrey's Bay. But no complaints because Jeffrey's Bay was incredible and I really enjoyed my 24ish hours there.

This is a photo of the eastern edge of Jeffrey's looking onto Kabeljauws (Cobble-yuse) beach. Kabeljauws is the start of the bay and the beach moves into the main part of Jeffrey's beach. In case you are wondering, that's the Indian Ocean.

Moving into the main part of Jeffrey's, we passed the Billabong set up for the annual Billabong Pro Surf competition which runs this year from July 14-24 (so I just missed the start of it!). Apparently Jeffrey's is known worldwide for its surfing and the Pro Surf competition attracts the best surfers from around the world. Kelly Slater (who is a famous surfer) is even there right now. So Billabong has quite a strong presence in Jeffrey's Bay.

Because Billabong and surfing is so popular here, Billabong has a factory store in Jeffrey's! Hence the factory shop in the photo above. Here they have so much awesome Billabong stuff and for really affordable prices. I found a really nice pair of sandals (since my last pair of flip-flops broke) for R80! The shop gets crazy busy during the summer holidays (aka Christmas break) but it was only slightly crazy when I was there.

This is the main beach of Jeffrey's Bay (although the slightly rockier-shelly side). Even though its the middle of winter, the water was still 17 degrees and nice to wade it. The beach stretches on for a while and I've been told even during the busy season there always manages to be ample space for everyone. The other really nice thing about Jeffrey's Bay is there are lots of great restaurants with lots of choices for food. We had dinner at a lovely Greek restaurant on the beach and they served some of the best Greek food I have ever had. If you come to South Africa and want to relax and play on the beach then Jeffrey's Bay is perfect. I definitely want to come back here again! Friday/Saturday was definitely a great start to the week!

Travels in April Part V

So this will be the final post about my KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Kruger and Panorama Route trip. I'm not sure what I'll be posting next but I'm sure something will come up.

On day 6 of our tour we did the Panorama Route which refers to a bunch of sightseeing stops in Mpumalanga near Nelspruit and Kruger Park.

Bourke's Luck Potholes was the first stop and refers to a series of rock pools along the Blyde River.

The pools are beautiful and the rocks are red and black. The river looks slow moving here but it is actually quite fast. I wouldn't recommend going for a swim!

 As you can see, the river valley is actually relatively steep and the canyon grows steeper. The potholes mark the beginning of the Blyde River Canyon which I saw at the next stop. The potholes consist of many little whirlpools and reminded me of the time I travelled through the Icefields Parkway back home and there is a spot along the North Saskatchewan River that looks very much the same.

Next stop was along the Blyde River Canyon. Unfortunately it was a bit of an overcast day, but on a clear day you can see all the way into Mozambique. Across the canyon you can see the three round hills which are called the "Three Rondavels" or the Three Sisters. The rock formations are incredible and the view was amazing. I wish my pictures could better capture the sheer scale of the canyon. I stood and stared for a good fifteen minutes until we were ushered back onto the bus.

After the sightseeing, we went to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Some of you may have heard the story, but here is a photo of the baby Black Rhino who headbutted me. She was rescued from Kruger as an infant because she got stuck in a deep, man-made mud rut and her mother couldn't get her out and was forced to abandon her. Fortunately, the park noticed and managed to get her to Moholoholo where the managed to nurse her back to health. She was very close to death and it is quite lucky. Here she is now 7 months old and nearly 300 kg. Not tame, but very gentle, she is being hand-raised by a trainer at the centre until she is old enough to go back into the wild.

Because she is so gentle, we were allowed to pet her. Her skin is quite rough and thick. Unfortunately though, some of the group surrounded her and she spooked and walked into me. She looked up at me with these big eyes and I gently pet her head before she trotted off. Even as a baby though, her little horn is quite strong and tough. Rhino horns are actually made of the same material as our fingernails to give you an idea. It was an amazing experience and I feel so lucky to have been headbutted!

Unfortunately at this point my camera died so I wasn't able to take many more photos but Moholoholo was incredible. I got to hold a bald-headed vulture and feed it meat which was really cool. Vultures are huge and super heavy! My friend who was travelling with me had the fun experience of the vulture crawling down his back! I also got to pet a cheetah which was really neat. I definitely recommend Moholoholo and I would love to go back someday.

Travels in April Part IV

Swaziland

After Hluwhluwe, we drove on to Swaziland. Despite being almost entirely surrounded by South Africa, Swaziland has a different feel to it. This was first noticeable at the border crossing; the SA side was modern and the Swazi side was much more rural and laid back. Although with that being said, there was a group of people with a wagon and an ox stopped on the Swazi side as their wagon was being searched by customs...although it was packed to the nines with everything imaginable. So I suppose the relaxed feel is a superficial thing, as it probably should be at a border post.

We stayed at Mlilwane Game Reserve which was beautiful. On our way through to the reserve we stopped at a typical Swazi market on the outskirts of the city of Manzini (the 2nd largest in Swaziland) because our guide wanted to buy us corn prepared the traditional way.  The fresh corn cob is roasted over an open fire and the corn ends up cooked and warm...sometimes a few kernals will go like pop-corn but it was really delicious. Corn is a staple in both Swaziland and South Africa.

Here is the market and the ladies cooking the corn at each of their stalls. The kids running around were really excited and happy to see us and kept trying to sell us fresh pineapples. I wanted to buy some because they looked so delicious but I didn't really have the place to store and then cut a pineapple (not the easiest fruit in the world to eat). I ended up dancing with some of the girls. I asked one if I could take her picture and she said that I should take a picture of their King.

Swaziland is a monarchy and King Mswati III is the king of the country. The girl I danced with is wearing (as you can see in the picture) a sarong with the King's portrait. These are for sale all over Swaziland and many people, both men and women, wear them in their daily clothing. Also, at the traditional Swazi village we went to, these King's sarongs are the traditional dress and are red, black and white. The girl was so proud that I took a picture of her King, and I had a lot of fun dancing with her after!

Here is the traditional village we went to (everyone was outside the fence at this point but I wanted a photo). You can see the traditional woven grass bee-hive hut to the right and the kraal around the sides is made of sticks (wattle I think it's called). While in rural South Africa (at least the parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape that I have visited) these types of huts are not common, but in Swaziland I saw many as we passed homesteads on the highway.

One final note is that the Swazi and Zulu people are very similar and the language is very close. I'm told most words are just pronounced slightly different. At the village I had to practice saying various greetings and clicks, but I'm afraid I haven't yet mastered the many different click sounds to the language. Still it was a lot of fun to try!

I really enjoyed Swaziland and everyone I met was very friendly. Definitely a place I would like to see again!

Travels in April Part III: The Big Five

After we left St Lucia, we went on an early morning game drive at Hluwhluwe-iMfolzi which is the oldest game reserve in Africa. It originally was conserved by the Zulu people during the reign of the Zulu King Shaka who set the grounds aside as his private hunting reserve. The King and his people realized that certain animals were becoming less common and so they decided to conserve an area and the duel parks of Hluwhluwe-iMfolzi were created.

So although this post jumps around a bit as far as the time-line of my trip went, because the photos are from Kruger and Hluwhluwe. I'm putting it in now for two reasons. First, everyone likes and wants to see animals and the Big Five are what most people really want to see when they go on a safari. Second, because the Big Five do not refer to the five biggest animals, the five most beautiful (although some might say so), the five most dangerous, or anything like that.

The Big Five include the Rhino, the Elephant, the Lion, the Leopard and the Cape Buffalo. They are called the Big Five because for a Zulu warrior to advance to the top in rank, he would have to successfully hunt and kill each of the Big Five. I put the Cape Buffalo at the end of the list because the Cape Buffalo is actually considered to be the most difficult to hunt and kill.

This is a small herd of Cape Buffalo that we could see in the distance. Unfortunately of the Big Five, the Cape Buffalo is the only one that I didn't get a really good photo of, so this will have to do. Cape Buffalo are considered the most difficult to kill for several reasons. First, they have very tough hide and piercing it with an arrow/spear is nearly impossible. Second, they do not seem to be terribly affected by pain and will fight until they are dead. This isn't an animal that gives up. Also, they are very, very smart.

For example, inexperienced hunters would come upon a single Cape Buffalo and the buffalo would run away. The hunter would pursue, expecting that the animal was running scared and he would try to wear it down and then kill it. In reality, the animal is leading the hunter into an ambush of the herd. And Cape Buffalo do not bluff charge; when they charge, they mean it. Another interesting fact is that they are very territorial when it comes to their migrating routes and will remove anyone, or animal, that dares to hang out on their trails. So quite dangerous but interesting animals.

Here is one of the first elephants I saw in Kruger. This is a female and the short legs you can just see under her belly are those of her baby! Elephants are also very smart animals and can be quite difficult to enclose. In fact, Hluwhluwe and iMfolzi used to be separate parks; however the elephant's traditional breeding routes were between both parks. Many years the park's board would try and keep the parks fenced and separate only to have the elephants break through. So after a while they gave up and merged the two. Elephants are actually over-populated in Kruger and there are almost 14,000 of them. Still, very beautiful and majestic animals.

This was the only male lion I saw on my tour and he was with a cub hiding in the bushes behind him (you can't see in this photo). He's an older male and the scars on his hip and eye suggest he's fought long and hard for this position. He actually wandered across the road in front of the car and laid on the ground. To give you an idea of the size of him, the top of his head came up to the side mirrors on the Range Rover driving in front of us! And this would be one of the many reasons you are forbidden to get out of your car in Kruger.

And here are three White Rhinos. We actually came up on them while they were sleeping in a Rhino pile next to the road! White Rhinos live in the more open grasslands and are gentler than their Black Rhino cousins. Black Rhinos are highly endangered and the only one I saw was a rescued baby at a rehab centre (more on her later!). White Rhinos have been saved from extinction but they are still under constant threat. 97 rhinos were killed in the fall in Kruger alone last year by poachers who are hunting them for their horn. It's quite sad and hopefully someone will be able to come up with a better way to protect them soon.

And here is the last of the Big Five and one of the rarest animals to see; the leopard. I was incredibly lucky because I saw THREE leopards on my trip. Most people go their whole lives without seeing one. This guy was the only one who I was able to get a photo of. He (or she?) was lying in the tree having a nap. Leopards are solitary (lions are the only big cats who are social) and are known for their tree climbing abilities. They hide their kills in trees to prevent the lions from getting them.

And that's the Big Five! I cannot imagine how one warrior armed with just a bow, arrows and a spear could possibly kill all five of these animals, but apparently it happened. I'm just so glad I had a chance to see them!