Author Archives: DeWetsWild

About DeWetsWild

Nature and wildlife enthusiast and tour guide, based in Pretoria, South Africa.

Summer Trek – Aloe Canyons, 22 December 2024

Today was our final full day camping on the game farm Aloe Canyons near Swellendam. Tomorrow we’re moving our camp eastwards, to the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park.

Aloe Canyons

Cape Bunting

Eland showjumper (photo by Joubert)

Black-winged Kite

Blue Crane

Black and normal-coloured Impala

Grey-backed Cisticola

Springbok

Eland bull

Southern Tchagra

Grey Climbing Mouse

Nyala

Blue Cranes with chicks

Karoo Prinia

Tiger Moth caterpillar

Nyala bull and kudu cow

Large-billed Lark

Eland bull

Southern Double-banded Sunbird (female)

Eland bull

Eland herd

Summer Trek – Stony Point & Agulhas, 21 December 2024

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A terribly wet and windy morning saw us heading westwards, to the ever popular African Penguin colony at Stony Point Nature Reserve in Betty’s Bay.

Stony Point Nature Reserve, Betty’s Bay

Kelp Gull (photo by Joubert)

African Penguins (photo by Joubert)

African Penguin (photo by Joubert)

Hartlaub’s Gull

African Penguin chick

White-breasted Cormorant

African Penguin

Kelp Gull

African Penguins

Cape Cormorant chicks begging for food (photo by Joubert)

African Penguins

African Penguin chick moulting

Cape Cormorant

African Black Oystercatcher

African Penguins on the boardwalk at Betty’s Bay

Cape Cormorant chicks

Crowned Cormorant

Cape Cormorant feeding chick

Cape Fur Seal tearing a drowned cormorant chick apart

Kelp Gull flying away with a piece of cormorant chick

Crowned Cormorant

Dassie or Rock Hyrax

Kelp Gull feasting on a dead cormorant chick

Egyptian Goose

Later, after a hearty lunch in the hamlet of Baardskeerdersbos, we headed to the Agulhas National Park and Africa’s southernmost point (enjoying it in much better weather than we had at the start of the day!).

Agulhas National Park

Agulhas Lighthouse

Cape Girdled Lizard

White-fronted Plover

Wreck of the Meishu Maru looking ever worse for wear

Summer Trek – De Hoop Nature Reserve, 20 December 2024

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We spent today at one of the most beautiful and diverse conservation areas in our country, the wonderful De Hoop Nature Reserve! More about De Hoop here.

Southern Tchagra

Yellow Bishop

Cape Mountain Zebras

Cape Mountain Zebra

Bokmakierie

Bontebok

Three-banded Plover

Cape Spurfowl

Glossy Ibis

Bontebok

Yellow Mongoose

Grey Rhebuck

De Hoop Vlei

Waterbirds pack the De Hoop Vlei

White-breasted Cormorant

Black-necked Grebes

Cattle Egret (photo by Joubert)

Reed Cormorant

Sacred Ibis

Great Crested Grebe

Greater Flamingoes

Cape Wagtail

Eland

Cape Skink

Cape Girdled Lizard

Common Dotted Border butterfly

Black Oystercatchers

Kelp Gull

Red-winged Starling (female)

Caspian Tern

Kelp Gull

Shell at Koppie Alleen beach

Cape Bulbul

Namaqua Dove (photo by Joubert)

Ostrich (photo by Joubert)

Baboons

Rock Agama

Baboon troop

Summer Trek – Bontebok National Park, 19 December 2024

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We spent most of the morning exploring the Bontebok National Park, which is located just about half-an-hour away from where we’re staying at Aloe Canyons. Bontebok is a very special little reserve of which we are very fond and as always she delivered very nicely indeed!

Entrance to Bontebok National Park

Speckled Pigeon

Red Hartebeest

Pin-tailed Whydah

Fiscal Flycatcher

Bontebok National Park scenery

Fynbos blooms

Bontebok

Common Waxbill

Raggedy Common Meadow White butterfly (photo by Joubert)

Spotted Thick-knee

Neddicky

Fynbos bloom

African Stonechat

Black Harrier

Red Hartebeest

Fynbos blooms

Breede River in the Bontebok National Park

Bontebok

Southern Rock Agama

Summer Trek – Aloe Canyon, 18 December 2024

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Today we moved to Aloe Canyon, a private game farm near Swellendam in the Western Cape, which we’ll be using as a base for our explorations over the next few days.

Aloe Canyons

Aloe Canyon

Eland Bull

Cattle Egret

Summer Trek – Karoo National Park, 17 December 2024

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Today was our final day exploring the Karoo National Park; tomorrow we’re moving to another destination (stay tuned to find out which!)

Red Hartebeest Calf

Springbok youngsters

Fairy Flycatcher

Four-striped Grass Mouse

Karoo Prinia

Summer Trek – Karoo National Park, 16 December 2024

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The Karoo National Park is such a harsh environment, and yet there is so much beauty on every scale!

Klipspringer Pass

Klipspringer pair on Klipspringer Pass

Karoo Scenery

Pririt Batis

Summer Trek – Karoo National Park, 15 December 2024

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A hot summers day in the Karoo National Park today delivered some more wonderful wildlife encounters.

Steenbok

Springbok

Amegilla Bee and Swartstorm bloom

Red Hartebeest

Sunset glow over the Rest Camp at Karoo National Park

Summer Trek – Karoo National Park, 14 December 2024

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The summer holidays are upon us here in South Africa and we Wild De Wets are starting off our trek through the Western and Eastern Cape with a few nights in the amazing Karoo National Park.

Karoo Scenery

Gemsbok

Chocolate Bells

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Trichodesma physaloides

A conspicuous and beautiful plant when in bloom during the spring season on our Highveld grasslands, Chocolate Bells are found in parts of Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Kwazulu-Natal. They’re well adapted to survive the worst elements of life on the Highveld – cold, frosty winters and frequent veld fires – in fact the plants often don’t flower at all if they weren’t subjected to a fire first!