Potters Bar & Barnet Local RSPB Group
Our Trip to South Africa
by Lesley Causton and Jacky Walker
It was in January this year that we both realised that we would be celebrating “milestone” birthdays, so it seemed appropriate that we should celebrate them by enjoying a holiday which we could share.
Thus it was, armed with information from websites and a brochure from Naturetrek, that we decided on “Wild Flowers of the Cape & Namaqualand”, which covered Lesley’s particular interest in botany and both our interest in birds. This would cover the Cape and the west coast up to the Orange River.
We duly consulted our bank balances and dug deep into our pockets and booked two weeks from 1 to 14 September, this being spring in South Africa and so at its best for flowers and bulbs. Eight months of planning later and with great excitement, we set off to Heathrow by underground on the Saturday. On arrival at the airport we met our tour leader and botanist Maureen Ponting and her husband, and most of the party who would be with us for the fortnight. Our overnight flight would ensure that we arrived at Cape Town the following morning, ready for our adventure.
At Cape Town (Day 2) we were met by our tour manager, Jeremy, who proved to be a wonderful naturalist and organiser with a comprehensive knowledge of his native country, and who was always willing to identify and answer all our queries about the native flora, birds and animals. Our driver for the two weeks was Michael, who by the end of the trip was a converted birder and botanist!
We were driven to the Groot Constantia Vineyard, one of the first in South Africa (1650) and which had an interesting museum. After lunch, we were taken to the first of our accommodation guest houses in Houtkapperspoort (Loggers’ Pass) near Cape Town. In the grounds were helmeted guinea fowl (which tapped on windows for food), sacred ibis, Cape robin, red winged starlings, Cape and yellow canaries, Hadeda ibis, forest buzzard and Cape white eye.
After unpacking, a walk up the hillside revealed the first of the splendid flowers which we would be seeing. Dinner was prepared by Jeremy and one of our party, Brian, in our bungalow, and then early to bed! With mountains all around us, this reminded us both very much of Canada.
Day 3 was the day we had both been especially looking forward to, the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens – the premier botanic garden in South Africa and the home of all the major South African plants: King Proteas, Restios, fynbos species and ericas.
With beautifully laid out gardens, a huge new glasshouse containing the succulent section, the ramparts of Table Mountain overlooking us and views over Cape Town (and an excellent shop), it was a day to remember. Birds were plentiful and included
malachite sunbird, orange breasted sunbird, Cape batis, karoo prinia, white backed mousebird, and Cape bulbul. In the evening we were taken to the waterfront for dinner, where Jacky was extremely brave and had springbok (tasted like liver).
Day 4 and the Cape Peninsular. First to the Silvermine Nature Reserve, with magnificent views of Table Mountain and the bay below. A Cape sugarbird was a wonderful sight feeding on proteas, also white necked ravens, pied crows, terns, Southern blackbacked gulls, cormorants. We then moved on to Simons Town, where a Southern right whale surfaced in front of us and then dived – a magnificent sight! On to the penguin colony at Boulders Bay to see the African (Jackass) penguins, also rock hyrax. Lunch was taken overlooking the sea. From there to Cape Point, with its funicular railway up to a lighthouse. A large cormorant colony was on the cliffs here. Lesley then opted for the “easy” walk down to the Cape of Good Hope, whilst Jacky had a very civilised tea and cake with Heather in our party in the restaurant! Michael obligingly took us down in the coach, and we then posed for a group photo. Baboons were numerous here, one with a baby slung underneath. Back to Cape Town and dinner at Hout Bay in a fish restaurant chosen by Jeremy. (Three banded plover, African black oyster catcher, ostrich, rock kestrel).
Day 5. We had had particularly fine and sunny weather up to this point but it poured with rain all day! Round Gordon’s Bay and a stop looking for flowers in the rain at Betty’s Bog (they are keen, these botanists!) and then on to the Harold Porter Gardens. A climb up the hillside to see a huge waterfall. (rock martin, sombre bulbul, southern bulbul, African black duck, fiscal shrike).
On to Stellenbosch, a lovely Dutch Colonial style town, and to our hotel. On inspection, we found that our bathroom had a telephone situated above the loo (for emergencies, no doubt) and ever after we had to “make a telephone call” when we needed to use the bathroom! Dinner at the hotel was a lovely end to the day.
Warm and sunny weather greeted Day 6 and on to Langebaan. En-route we stopped at the town of Darling and visited the stunning wild flower reserve near an orchid nursery (which unfortunately was closed).
Beautiful selection of wild flowers. (blue cranes, bokmakerie, yellow billed kite, southern red bishop, Cape weaver, great white pelican, yellow billed duck).
After a picnic lunch under the trees, we drove along the West Coast entering the National Park with its lagoon, a wetland of international importance. The area was ablaze with wild flowers. On to our accommodation for the next 2 nights – luxury apartments overlooking the beach, a stunning location. That evening we had dinner in a local restaurant. (Red knobbed coot, pied starling, Cape shoveler, Cape teal, black-headed heron).
Day 7. We had the choice of seeing Black Eagles, so a few of us were up and out at 7 am and were rewarded with a nest in the cliffs behind the resort. After a welcome cooked breakfast, we again visited the Lagoon, and whales in the bay caused great excitement. This is where footprints have been found which have been dated at 117,000 years old (called “Eve’s footprints”). We saw Verreaux’s eagle and African black eagle and also saw bat eared foxes, springbok, ostriches, wildebeest, tortoise, eland, oryx. In the evening dinner was had at an unusual “help yourself” restaurant on the beach. This was Bernard’s birthday and he was duly serenaded and given a decorated (paper) plate of huge value and had to down in one gulp some “hooch” provided by the proprietors. A great evening.
Day 8. We were sorry to leave Langebaan and dolphins came to say goodbye. On to Nieuwoudtville, with the highest speciation of bulbs in the world. Spectacular scenery and flowers everywhere. Lunch was taken on a hillside and then on to Ramskop Wild Flower Reserve, a lovely peaceful place with good birding (common sandpiper, Levaillant’s cisticola, African darter, pied kingfisher, Cape shelduck, greater double banded sunbird, white-fronted swallow, red-billed teal, pied avocet,
southern pochard).
On to Clanwilliam for a one night stay – which as it turned out was just as well as we were allocated a bedroom with a “wet room”, i.e. a shower where the water went everywhere but which had no door! Although we consider ourselves to be good friends, we both felt that a bathroom with no door was pushing our friendship just a bit too far and we felt we had to devise a method of sealing the opening. This caused great hilarity at dinner with the various suggestions that were made, but even though our Girl Guide training was mentioned, we felt it was prudent to each take a long walk when one of us needed to use the bathroom!
Day 9. We stayed in the area all morning looking at the flower meadows – spectacular. Mountains all around with plains below (formerly an inland sea about 10,000 years ago). Afternoon visit to see quiver trees – the natives made arrows from them – and visited a waterfall. We stayed that night in Van Jijt guest houses. The evening was cold and we had electric blankets on the beds and a wood-burning stove in the restaurant! Lovely dinner by candlelight. A walk by torchlight to find owls, but no luck. (hoopoe, pale-winged starling, Namaqua dove, capped wheatear, greater striped swallow, masked weaver, Ludwig’s bustard, common waxbill, Steppe buzzard, Karoo lark).
Day 10. Woke up to frost! Early breakfast and off to Springbok. 3 stops for flowers, lunch in Garies. We were now in the Namaqualand National Park with its amazing carpets of flowers. We stopped at the information centre, where Richard found a nesting eagle owl! Our accommodation was a motel, where some of us were able to have a bath for a change, hot water being in short supply! Dinner at the motel. (Black-headed canary, pale chanting goshawk, Namaqua sandgrouse).
Day 11. On to Augrabies for 2 nights. We stopped at a succulents nursery which had lithops (and a very rude specimen which made us all laugh) and on to Pofadder, a “wild west frontier” sort of town, very windy and desolate, for more lithops which pleased John. They had a little museum with an original ox cart (some clever person had written a sign saying “4x4”!) Stopped at
Goegap Nature Reserve for a (very windy) picnic lunch. Long drive to Augrabies Fall National Park, weavers’ nests on the telegraph poles, raisin grapes are grown in this area and there were huge concrete drying slabs at various intervals. Guest houses in the reserve, dinner in the restaurant. Walked home by torchlight. (Jackal, buzzard, mountain wheatear).
Day 12. Breakfast on the terrace overlooking the gorge. Coach drive through the terrain – klipspringer antelope, rock hyrax, eland, springbok, ground squirrel. We stopped at a high point overlooking the river, found a black eagle’s nest. Later we had a walk in the grounds which produced our easiest birding of the whole trip: hoopoe, red eyed bulbul, Cape white eye, glossy and pale winged starlings, pied barbet and then to the Orange River, South Africa’s largest river, which plunged down into a granite gorge. (Dusky sunbird, sociable weaver, African red-eyed bulbul, familiar chat, Goliath heron, little swift, three-banded plover, grey-headed sparrow, red-eyed dove, laughing dove, acacia pied barbet, crested barbet, Orange River white eye, Karoo thrush, pririt batis, reed warbler, reed cormorant, Orange River francolin, African fish eagle, alpine swift).
Dinner that evening was a BBQ prepared by Jeremy and Michael. This was our last dinner and then we had to pack for an early start 6am to Upington for our internal flight to Cape Town (Day 13). As we flew into Cape Town we had wonderful views of Table Mountain. On arrival, we made straight for the car hire service and a bus took us to Table Mountain for a cable car ride up to the top. Spectacular views all around and an orange breasted sunbird said goodbye to end our most wonderful trip.
