Category Archives: Western Cape Province

Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area

The Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area is a collaboration among 25 different landowners and the community of Elim to protect their irreplaceable 460km² slice of the Agulhas Plain in the Overberg region of the Western Cape Province. By successfully marrying conservation and sustainable farming practices since 2002 this driven group of people is simultaneously protecting the complex ecosystem that sustains their livelihoods and doing their part to keep food on South African tables. The indigenous vegetation of the SMA is characterised as Lowland Fynbos, with around 1,850 species occurring here. Remaining pockets of this threatened plant community have been connected through corridors between the agricultural fields and invasive alien plants are continuously eradicated. Animals that were hunted to local extinction 150-200 years ago, among them buffalo, hippo, bontebok and eland, have been re-introduced, and the reserve already has a list of over 230 bird species that’ve been recorded.

An excellent way to experience the Nuwejaars Wetland is by joining one of the guided wildlife tours the organisation offers in the summer months. We did just that in December and were taken on a drive along the banks of the Waskraalvlei and onto the hill that looks out over it by Eugene Hahndiek, the SMA’s Conservation Manager for Game & Veld Management. So rich was the experience of sights, smells and sounds, not forgetting the fascinating information about the reserve, farms and ecology that Eugene shared with us, that we’ll definitely never travel through this area again without booking another tour. And as soon as DeWetsWild starts guided itineraries we’ll definitely include it in the package too. Anyone with a love for nature will come away from the 3-hour experience with a deep appreciation for the scale and importance of what the Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area is trying to achieve.

One of the most inspiring projects that the NWSMA is involved in involves the breeding of zebras that resemble the extinct quagga (Equus quagga quagga), the southernmost subspecies of the plains zebra that was hunted to extinction in the late 1870’s, with the last specimen of this uniquely South African species of horse, a mare, dying in distant Amsterdam Zoo in 1883. Over a century later however it was realised, through DNA analysis, that the quagga was a localised race of the still extant plains zebra, and theĀ Quagga Project came into being to try and bring them back through selective breeding. With each subsequent generation showing more and more quagga-like characteristics, one day we may again see true-to-form quaggas roaming their native country in vast numbers. At this point, the Nuwejaars Wetland boasts three viable breeding herds of remarkably quagga-like zebras, and seeing them was a highlight of our visit.

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De Hoop Nature Reserve

De Hoop Nature Reserve, 26 December 2022

At 360km² in extent, De Hoop Nature Reserve is one of the largest conservation areas in our Western Cape Province. The reserve came into existence in 1957 following the purchase of the first two farms for the breeding of rare wildlife species. With the value of the reserve in protecting the ever more threatened biodiversity of the region realised, more land was continually added to its territory until 1991. In addition, a marine reserve extending 5km into the Indian Ocean along De Hoop’s 57km long protected coastline was declared in 1986. De Hoop is included in the Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2004.

The reserve protects extensive tracts of Fynbos heathland vegetation growing on plains and low lying limestone ridges, much transformed by agricultural activities outside the reserve, an immense 14km long wetland known as De Hoop Vlei, substantial dune fields and long white beaches interspersed by rocky shores. Of the roughly 1,500 plant species that occur in the area at least 40 species, and probably more, occur only in De Hoop. Including marine species, De Hoop and the adjacent marine reserve is home to 86 mammal species (including the largest single population of Bontebok anywhere in the world), 49 kinds of reptiles, 14 kinds of frogs and toads, at least 250 kinds of saltwater fish and more than 260 bird species – including the southernmost breeding colony of vultures (Cape Vultures) on the continent.

The De Hoop Vlei is an immense wetland fed by the Sout (Salt) River, cut off from the sea by a 2km wide field of white sand dunes. The vlei hosts an enormous number and variety of water birds.

Koppie Alleen is the most easily accessible beach in De Hoop Nature Reserve, and one of the most reliable spots in the country to watch Southern Right Whales which come here to calf and mate between June and November every year. Intertidal life thrives in the rock pools with their clear water – perfect for snorkeling – and the walk down to the beach from the parking area allows visitors to revel in the sight and smell of the fynbos vegetation.

The De Hoop Nature Reserve is managed by CapeNature and DeWetsWild can assist you with bookings in the accommodation and camping at Die Opstal (main camp) and Die Melkkamer across the vlei. It is wonderful to see wild animals and birds so tamely moving among the human visitors as here at De Hoop. There’s a restaurant and gift shop at the main accommodation complex, and fuel and supplies can be obtained in one of the nearby towns. Visitors to the western portion of the reserve have access to a limited gravel road network linking the entrance gate to the main visitor complex, the picnic area at Tierhoek, a couple of viewpoints over the wetland at De Mond, and Koppie Alleen. For the more energetic there’s numerous hiking and mountain bike trails leading from the main complex. Guided drives, walks and boat trips are also on offer.

The Potberg section of the reserve, about 20km away from the main complex, was incorporated into the reserve in 1978 and is a popular day hiking destination. Potberg is also the starting point for the very popular Whale Trail, taking hikers through beautiful mountain, fynbos and seaside scenery for 55km over five nights (spent in well equipped and recently upgraded accommodation) before ending at Koppie Alleen. An environmental education centre at Potberg caters to the needs of visiting school groups and youth clubs. The breeding colony of Cape Vultures on the Potberg Mountain is the last of its kind in the Western Cape and the enormous birds can usually be seen flying overhead.

Seeing that it was simply too hot to go hiking while we were at Postberg but it was still too early to head back to our farm cottage at Aloe Canyons, we decided to go and check out one of the other nearby attractions in the Overberg – one of the very few pontoon ferries still operating in South Africa, the one across the Breede River at Malgas.

Location of De Hoop Nature Reserve, roughly 260km (3 hours) east of Cape Town

 

 

Eastern Grey Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

The Eastern Grey Squirrel is not indigenous to South Africa. It was imported from North America to the city of Cape Town, by way of Great Britain, in the late 1890’s. Thankfully it has not spread much further than Cape Town’s suburbs and surrounding towns in the years since, as it relies on the nuts of plants like oaks and pines that also are not found naturally in this country. In addition they’ve been recorded feeding on cultivated fruits from orchards and gardens, fungi, insects and eggs.

Eastern Grey Squirrels are usually encountered alone or as small family groups. They nest in holes in trees or construct their own nests – called dreys – in the forks of branches. While they’re very agile in trees they often forage on the ground. They’re also well known for hoarding food stores by burying it for later consumption. Litters of 1-4 kits are born at anytime of year and leave the nest when they’re about 2 months old. In the wild they may live to about 8 years old, though most die within two years of birth. Adults weigh around 550g and measure between 40 and 50cm in length, of which the tail accounts for roughly half.

One of the very best places to see these critters locally are in the Tokai Plantation, a spacious picnic area managed as part of the Table Mountain National Park.

Cecil John Rhodes, the man responsible for establishing the Eastern Grey Squirrel (and Chaffinch and Common Starling) in South Africa, is a controversial figure. A staunch proponent of British imperialism, he amassed an enormous fortune here at the southern end of Africa. As this isn’t a political blog we won’t delve into his legacy any further, but whether you despise or admire the man you cannot help but be impressed by the magnificent memorial erected for him on the slopes of Devil’s Peak (inside the Table Mountain National Park) in Cape Town after his death at the rather young age of 48 in 1902.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, 23 December 2022

Located at the back (eastern side) of Table Mountain is one of the world’s greatest botanical gardens; Kirstenbosch. Kirstenbosch covers 528 hectares, of which only 36ha is cultivated garden and the rest is natural fynbos and forest inhabited by a wonderful diversity of fauna and flora on the mountain slopes.

Influenced by Harold Pearson, chair of Botany at the South African College, the government of the Union of South Africa established Kirstenbosch as the country’s first National Botanical Garden in May 1913. It was the first of its kind in the world to focus its efforts on protecting and showcasing a country’s native flora, the richness of South Africa’s unique fynbos vegetation coming to the world’s attention then already. Pearson died just three years later and was buried in the beautiful garden he worked so tirelessly for. The inscription on his gravestone speaks volumes.

Kirstenbosch exhibits an untold variety of indigenous South African plants both in the laid-out gardens and the extensive tract of natural vegetation on the slopes of the mountain. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kirstenbosch won the gold medal at the annual Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show 37 times out of the 44 times it took part in the exhibition!

Kirstenbosch is incredibly rich in wildlife. More than 125 species of bird have been recorded here. Of the 34 species of mammal that’s been encountered in the garden you are most likely to see is the four-striped grass mouse, but even caracals roam here! The list of fauna in the garden is completed with the addition of 2 types of indigenous freshwater fish, 8 kinds of amphibians and 24 reptile species.

Kirstenbosch is open every day of the year. Visitors come here to picnic in the beautiful gardens and to hike, jog and cycle on the extensive network of trails that traverse the areas of “wild” vegetation. A highlight is the raised walkway through the tree tops in the arboretum, dubbed the “Boomslang” for its resemblance to the well known tree-living snake. For the price of your entry ticket, which can be purchased online in advance, you can join guided walking tours of the garden on weekdays. These last about 90 minutes. The conservatory is not to be missed – in this facility plants from more hot and arid parts of Southern Africa is displayed, including the remarkable Welwitschia mirabilis. There’s a restaurant, tea room and coffee shop on the premises and also a curio shop, a book shop and a nursery. On summer evenings musical performances by local and international acts draw many visitors to the garden, while the gardens are dotted by wonderful sculptures. Accommodation is available in the garden at the Kirstenbosch Manor House, where there’s also a small meeting venue available. A much larger conference centre is also available and is a popular venue for wedding receptions.

While exploring the Table Mountain National Park and Cape Town during December 2022, we based ourselves at the Eland Cottage inside the Cape of Good Hope section of the Park. Eland Cottage has two lounges, a fully equipped kitchen, dining room, bathroom, three bedrooms, outside shower and lapa! In addition to Eland visitors to this part of the Park can also book the Duiker Cottage, similar to Eland, and Olifantsbos House – a luxury unit with an exclusive setting right on the beach. DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with bookings in these units, other accommodation options in the Table Mountain National Park, at one of five hotels in metropolitan Cape Town or at the Goudini Spa in the Cape Winelands if you are planning a visit to Cape Town and surrounds.

Cape Fur Seal

ArctocephalusĀ pusillusĀ pusillus

The Cape Fur Seal is the only seal that is native to the continent of Africa, being found from Namibia’s Atlantic coast to Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) on South Africa’s Indian Ocean coast (rarely further east to East Londen). They live in coastal waters, roaming up to 160km from the coastline, and prey mainly on schooling fishes like sardines and mackarel, octopuses, chokka (a type of squid), crabs, lobsters and other invertebrates. While hunting the seals can dive up to 200m deep and stay submerged for up to 8 minutes!

Cape Fur Seal breeding colonies are usually located on rocky islands and shores, though there are a few on sandy beaches. Bulls establish their territories from mid-October in preparation of the cows arriving about a month later, first to give birth to a single pup and then to mate with the “beach master” – the bull in control of that territory and the harem of cows in it – about a week later. The harems break up by end of December when all the females of reproductive age have been mated. The pups can’t swim until they’re about 3 months old and are prone to drowning after being struck of the rocks by freak waves or being caught by land-based predators like jackals and hyenas. Adult bull seals, at 2.4m in length and up to 360kg in weight, are much bigger than the cows who weigh up to 115kg. They may live to about 18-21 years of age in the wild, though even adults may fall prey to sharks and killer whales.

Several operators use the Hout Bay harbour near Cape Town to conduct sight-seeing tours of about an hour to the large seal colony at Duiker Island. During our December 2022 tour of the Western Cape we booked ourselves on the Calypso operated by Circe Launches for one such trip, and found the company a thoroughly professional outfit that we’d gladly recommend and certainly use again ourselves.

December days at the Cape of Good Hope

Cape Town is a city more richly endowed with scenic splendour than most others in the world,Ā  and almost all of the most beautiful spots in and around the city are protected in the Table Mountain National Park. And while Table Mountain itself is undoubtedly worthy of its spot among the wonders of the natural world, it is in the Cape of Good Hope section of the national park that visitors can get the most authentic taste of the Cape Peninsula’s other natural wonders, of which there are many!

The Cape Peninsula is world renowned for its rich variety of unique plants – about 2,300 species are found here and many of them occur nowhere else on earth.

More than 300 bird species have been recorded in the Table Mountain National Park and the Cape of Good Hope section of the Park is an excellent place in which to search for most of them.

There may not be any of the famed “Big 5” African animals roaming freely over the Cape Peninsula these days, but there’s still a very rich and diverse population of insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals that inhabit the area along with all those birds.

While exploring the Table Mountain National Park and Cape Town during December 2022, we based ourselves at the Eland Cottage inside the Cape of Good Hope section of the Park. Eland Cottage has two lounges, a fully equipped kitchen, dining room, bathroom, three bedrooms, outside shower and lapa! In addition to Eland visitors to this part of the Park can also book the Duiker Cottage, similar to Eland, and Olifantsbos House – a luxury unit with an exclusive setting right on the beach. DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with bookings in these units, other accommodation options in the Table Mountain National Park, at one of five hotels in metropolitan Cape Town or at the Goudini Spa in the Cape Winelands if you are planning a visit to Cape Town and surrounds.

At Simonstown, just a stone’s throw north of the Cape of Good Hope, is the Boulders Beach where African Penguins breed right at the urban edge. Have a read here if you’d like to know more about this special place. While we again spent a few moments with the penguins at Boulders during our December 2022 trip to Cape Town we will soon tell you more about another colony of these charismatic birds that you should seriously consider also including in your visit to the Western Cape.

West Coast Fossil Park

Phosphate mining near Langebaan on South Africa’s West Coast unearthed a rich find of fossils belonging to some 200 different kinds of animals dating back to about 5-million years. At this time the area looked very different from what it does today, with the sub-tropical riverine forests and wooded savanna roamed by relatives of today’s elephants, short-necked giraffes, hippos, three-toed horses, hyenas, sabre-toothed cats and even an African bear! The West Coast Fossil Park is a declared national heritage site and the visitor centre and a preserved portion of the actual dig site gives a fascinating glimpse into this prehistoric world. A small curio shop and restaurant is also available on the premises. There’s an extensive network of hiking and mountain bike trails available at the fossil park for those interested in experiencing the fauna and flora that currently occur in this part of our country.

Remember that DeWetsWild can assist you with bookings if you are planning a visit to the West CoastĀ – either in the West Coast National ParkĀ or at the Port Owen Marina in nearby Velddrif.

West Coast National Park

Saldanha Bay and the Langebaan Lagoon on South Africa’s West Coast was formed as few as 9,000 years ago when the Atlantic Ocean breached the barrier dunes along the coast.Ā  Langebaan Lagoon – 15km long, between 1 and 4km wide and up to 6m deep – is still marine in nature, not receiving any fresh water from inflowing rivers, and subject to the oceanic tides. The lagoon with its crystal clear water is renowned as a refuge for wading birds, many of which migrate here in our summer months – with more than 70,000 counted at times! – and a staggering array of marine life, and was proclaimed a marine nature reserve in 1973. It attained the status of a national park in 1985 and, following the incorporation of more land adjacent to the lagoon from 1987 onwards the name was changed from Langebaan National Park to West Coast National Park in 1988. In the same year the Park was given recognition as a wetland of international importance in terms of the Ramsar convention.

Today, the Park covers 400km² of which the lagoon accounts for 56km². Aside from the 30km of pristine Atlantic coastline (known as Sixteen Mile Beach) and a few offshore islands the rest is undulating sandy terrain broken by a few limestone and granite outcrops and covered by a rich variety of Fynbos vegetation communities and South Africa’s most extensive salt marshes. All this is inhabited by at least 54 land mammal species, over 300 bird species, more than 30 kinds of reptiles and 8 kinds of amphibians, not to mention the several hundred species of marine creatures. The Park is a stronghold for the Black Harrier (an endangered species) and African Oystercatcher and hosts the largest breeding colony of Kelp Gull in South Africa. Most of the Park’s preciously little 280mm average annual rainfall occurs in winter, when daytime temperatures average 19ĀŗC. In summer, temperatures may soar above 40ĀŗC but averages around 28ĀŗC.

The Park’s focal point is the Geelbek Manor, a restored farmhouse in Cape Dutch style complete with its outbuildings that date back to 1860. The farm was settled much longer before then though and around the 1750’s was the northernmost point of Dutch influence under the Dutch East India Company’s occupation of the Cape of Good Hope, marked to this day by the VOC logo on a stone beacon erected by their representatives that can be seen at Geelbek. The homestead now houses a top-notch restaurant, while the stables have been converted into a dormitory and educational facility for visiting school groups. A replica of a set of fossilized footprints found in the area, dated to 117,000 years ago and dubbed “Eve’s footprints”, can be seen in the small information centre next to the restaurant (the original footprints are to be seen in the National Museum in Cape Town).

The two birdwatching hides at Geelbek is rated among the best in the country, and with good reason. At low tide the mud flats in front of the hides attract thousands of wading birds after invertebrate prey, and the walk ways leading to both allow a closer view of the community of plants and invertebrates in the extensive salt marshes.

Driving between the town of Langebaan and Geelbek visitors should not miss the turnoff to the Seeberg (Sea Mountain) viewpoint. From atop the massive granite boulder you can see almost every corner of the lagoon and most of the national park. In the little house built on the boulder – at one point actually inhabited – is a fascinating display on the history of the area.

Below Seeberg, on the shores of the lagoon, is another bird-watching hide from where the multitude of waterbirds can be watched from close quarters.

While there’s no shortage of salt water in the West Coast National Park, fresh water is a rare commodity. One of the few sources is the Abrahamskraal waterhole, where the excellent birdwatching hide allows visitors to see a whole different community of birds and animals.