Tag Archives: wildlife

Wilderness (Garden Route National Park)

South Africa’s Garden Route is a 300km stretch of diverse and exceptionally scenic coastline between Mossel Bay in the west and the Storms River in the east, sandwiched between the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountains and the Indian Ocean. The process of protecting the Garden Route from exploitation and human encroachment has been a long one, and is still ongoing. From the 1960’s various small pieces of the area east of the small holiday town of Wilderness received formal protection, culminating in these being amalgamated into the newly proclaimed Wilderness National Park in 1987 and the years thereafter. In March 2009, the erstwhile Wilderness National Park became an integral part of the expanded Garden Route National Park (covering a total of over 1,500km²), when it was joined with the Knysna National Lake Area and Tsitsikamma National Park through the proclamation of enormous tracts of state-owned land joining them.

The Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park is centered on South Africa’s very own “Lakes District”. The original area encompassed by the Park straddles six lakes (Groenvlei, Bo-Langvlei, Langvlei, Rondevlei, Swartvlei and Island Lake), the Wilderness Lagoon, Serpentine and Touw Rivers, indigenous forests, and both rocky and sandy beaches along the coastline.

Before the Wilderness National Park was proclaimed, the area where the Garden Route National Park’s Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp is situated today was the Ebb-and-Flow Nature Reserve (administered by the George municipality and today Ebb-and-Flow North) and the private Siesta Caravan Park (today Ebb-and-Flow South).

Swartvlei Beach

Serpentine River

Touw River

Birdwatchers and photographers are in for a treat when visiting any of the three hides next to the lakes in the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Parks. We had time to visit two of them in December – Malachite (on Langvlei) and Rondevlei, and could easily have spent all day at either.

Malachite Hide signpost

Langvlei seen from the Malachite Hide

Rondevlei Bird Hide access

Rondevlei in the Garden Route National Park, seen from the hide

Rondevlei in Garden Route National Park, seen from the hide

Given the amazing diversity of habitats in the park, it is no surprise that the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park abounds with a wide variety of birdspecies, and while the area doesn’t support much in the way of large mammals apart from shy bushbuck, bushpigs and very seldomly seen leopards, it does give visitors the opportunity to walk around unhindered looking for the smaller fry.

Knysna Turaco

African Dusky Flycatcher

Black-headed Oriole

Brimstone Canary

Bushbuck ewe

Cape Bulbul

Cape Canary

Cape Wagtail

Cape Weaver

Cape White-eye

Common Night Adder

Egyptian Geese

Fiscal Shrike

Forest Canary

Four-striped Grass Mouse

Karoo Prinia

Kelp Gull

Great Crested Grebe

Southern Pochard

African Spoonbill

Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko

Olive Thrush

Red Bishop female

Red-eyed Dove

Red-knobbed Coot

Reed Cormorant

Jackal Buzzard

Sombre Greenbul

Southern Masked Weaver

Speckled Mousebird

Raucous Toad

White-breasted Cormorant

Yellow-billed Duck

Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp is the Wilderness section’s main visitor node. Here there are accommodation and two expansive camping areas for overnight guests, a newly opened picnic area for day visitors, and canoes for hire to explore the Touw and Serpentine Rivers. A network of walking trails of varying length traverse the area, many of them starting at or near Ebb-and-Flow. The Park also has several beaches for sun-seekers and bathers. Privately-run accommodation establishments and camping sites, shops, restaurants, fuel stations and more are available in the nearby towns of Wilderness and Sedgefield.

Camping at Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp in the Garden Route National Park, December 2017

Ebb-and-Flow North Camp seen from the Half-collared Kingfisher Trail

Rowing on the Touw River at Ebb-and-Flow

The Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park is easily accessible along the N2 highway running from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, and is just a few minutes’ drive from the airport at George. We recently spent three nights camping in the lovely Ebb-and-Flow North camp, the fifth stop on our 2017 summer holidays in eight of South Africa’s national parks.

Angulate Tortoise

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Chersina angulata

The most commonly encountered tortoise in the thickets, fynbos and karoo scrub of South Africa’s south-western corner, Angulate Tortoises show a marked preference for sandy areas, and feed on grasses, annuals and succulents. They drink water through their nostrils! Adult male Angulate Tortoises are noticeably larger than the females, grow to as much as 30cm in length and can weigh up to 1.5kg, which is unusual as females are bigger than males in most other tortoise species.

Adults are usually solitary, except when mating, and have small home ranges of up to only 2 hectares. Angulate Tortoises are diurnal, often hiding under vegetation, among rocks or in holes in the ground during the hottest parts of the day or in bad weather. To escape danger they will retract their head, neck and limbs into the shell and will squirt the contents of its bowels if picked up.

Both sexes reach breeding age at between 10 and 12 years old. During the mating season, which spans spring and summer, males will engage in intense fights for dominance and try to flip each other over (with some effort they are normally able to get back on their feet). After mating, females can delay fertilisation until favourable environmental conditions prevail, which is normally just after rain has softened the soil. She then digs a small hole, lies a single egg weighing between 20 and 25g, fills the hole back up and taps the soil down with her shell. Under favourable conditions females can lay up to 6 eggs in a season. Incubation takes 90 to 200 days, depending on ambient temperatures, and when the tiny hatchlings emerge they weigh only 8-12g.

The Angulate Tortoise is commonly seen in parts of the Eastern, Western and Northern Cape Provinces, as well as in southern Namibia. The IUCN considers it as being of least concern as it is very numerous with few significant threats (such as habitat destruction and the illegal pet trade) to its continued survival. They are unfortunately very prone to dying in wildfires. The Angulate Tortoise has a life expectancy in the wild of around 30 years.

Angulate Tortoise

Angulate Tortoise hatchling

Angulate Tortoise

Angulate Tortoises

Angulate Tortoise

Bontebok

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Damaliscus pygargus pygargus

The Bontebok is a medium-sized antelope endemic to a small piece of South Africa’s southern coast and adjacent interior, stretching from Caledon in the west to Mossel Bay in the east, and from the Langeberg Mountains southwards to the ocean both east and west of Cape Agulhas. Considered abundant in early colonial times, hunting, competition for grazing with domestic stock and loss of habitat almost drove it to extinction. The IUCN considers the Bontebok’s conservation status as “Vulnerable” due to its restricted distribution, fragmented and transformed habitat, low numbers and the threat of hybridisation with the closely related (at subspecies level) Blesbok. The effort to save the Bontebok from extinction became a national priority in the 1930’s with the proclamation of the Bontebok National Park (read here for more). While there may now be as many as 3,500 Bontebok in the country, many of these are on private properties both within and outside their historical range and may possibly be hibridised, with only approximately 700 or so individuals tested for genetic purity and occurring at four formally protected areas (of which Bontebok National Park is one) within the historic distribution of the species. The Cape of Good Hope section of the Table Mountain National Park is another good place to see Bontebok, but that population is considered to be outside their natural distribution range.

Bontebok

Bontebok grazing in the Postberg section of the West Coast National Park

Bontebok

Bontebok on the beach at Buffelsbaai in the Table Mountain National Park

Bontebok

Bontebok lying in a sea of Cape Snow

Bontebok on the run

Bontebok

Bontebok are almost exclusively grazers, showing a preference for areas of short grass and recently burnt veld, usually in open, undulating areas with good visibility in the heathland (fynbos and renosterveld) that cover their limited distribution range. They are dependent on easily accessible water sources and stay within 1.5km from a reliable supply, especially in the dry season. Thickets are important as refuges from cold weather. Bontebok stand around a meter high at the shoulder and weigh around 60kg.

From about the age of 5 years, adult Bontebok rams establish small territories (4 to 30 hectares) which they mark with dung heaps and defend throughout the year, and in which they attempt to keep breeding herds consisting of ewes and lambs for as long as possible so as to mate with any receptive females. The females in the breeding herds, which number between 6 and 30 animals, maintain a strict hierarchy. Young rams, and older males displaced from their territories, roam together in bachelor herds which are often even bigger than the breeding herds. The rutting season peaks from January to March, with most lambs being born in September and October. Ewes give birth to single lambs weighing around 6kg that can run with the herd within an hour of birth!

Bontebok

Bontebok lamb

Bontebok running across our way (photograph by Joubert)

Bontebok

Bontebok outside our chalet at Bontebok National Park (photo by Joubert)

Bontebok lamb

Bontebok

Bontebok herd (photo by Joubert)

Bontebok

Bontebok (photo by Joubert)

Bontebok ewe and lamb

Bontebok at the Cape of Good Hope

Bontebok

Bontebok National Park

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The Bontebok, a colourful antelope endemic to the Western Cape of South Africa, roamed the area between the present towns of Caledon and Mossel Bay in their thousands at the time the Dutch first established their trading post at Table Bay in 1652. Uncontrolled hunting however quickly led to the population crashing, and despite conservation minded farmers’ best efforts only 121 Bontebok remained by 1927. In 1931, the precarious situation of the Bontebok moved the National Parks Board to establish the Bontebok National Park on an area of 722 hectares outside Bredasdorp, with a founding population of just 17 animals. This area however was poorly chosen, and the animals suffered from disease and poor grazing. It was decided to find an alternative location for the Park, and in 1960 the present site on the outskirts of Swellendam was proclaimed as the Bontebok National Park with a population of 61 of its most precious charges that survived the translocation. Covering 3,900 hectares with little prospect of further expansion due to it being surrounded by the town and croplands, the Bontebok National Park is South Africa’s smallest National Park. Here the Bontebok thrived, and when the Park reached its carrying capacity of about 250 Bontebok, animals could be donated and sold for reintroduction to other parts of their historic range. More about the Bontebok in our next post.

Bontebok

The recorded history of the area that today encompasses the Bontebok National Park dates back much further than that though. By the time the Dutch settled in the Cape, this area was already inhabited by the Hessequa, a Khoekhoen tribe, that moved into the area about 2000 years earlier and was very successful farmers with healthy herds of especially cattle and sheep. The Hessequa clans lived in settlements known as “kraals”, under the leadership of “captains” controlled by a powerful chief. Lang Elsie, who lived between 1734 and 1800, was notable for being a female captain and her kraal was located on the banks of the Breede River, near the site now occupied by the Park’s tourist accommodation. Today, the remains of Lang Elsie’s small stone house can be seen a short walk away from the rest camp that carries her name, while efforts are being made to restore the open site where her followers lived in traditional huts made of sedge thatch. The Dutch started trading with the Hessequa in the 1660’s, and as the years progressed more and more European settlers moved into the area, leading to the establishment of Swellendam in 1746. By the end of the 18th century, Western “civilisation” had brought an end to the traditional lifestyle of the Hessequa Khoekhoen. Those that survived waves of disease epidemics were forced into life on farms or on mission stations.

Lang Elsies Kraal

The Bontebok National Park is largely flat, ranging in altitude between 60 and 200m above sea level. In the south, the broad and slow Breede River is a permanent feature. To the north, the Langeberg mountain range lies outside the Park. Most of the Park’s vegetation is classified as fynbos, mostly low growing, with thickets of various tree species lining the river. About 470 indigenous plant species have been recorded in the Park; with most of the surrounding areas being intensively farmed this pocket of natural vegetation is extremely valuable. Unfortunately the alien invasive water hyacinth is proving difficult to eradicate from the river.

Langeberg range outside the Park

The old Swellendam racecourse is today located inside the Park

Breede River

Breede River in Bontebok National Park

Breede River

Aloe Hill Trail

While the Bontebok remains the Park’s star attraction among the 36 kinds of mammals that find refuge here, there’s several other kinds of non-threatening large game animals that may be encountered, and over 200 bird species have been recorded. There’s also 28 kinds of reptiles, but apart from the ubiquitous Angulate Tortoises most are rarely seen. Ten species of amphibians and twelve species of fish (6 of which is exotic) also occur at Bontebok National Park.

Sombre Greenbul

Grey Rhebok

Red Hartebeest

Black Harrier

Female Southern Black Korhaan

Rock Kestrel

Cape Grassbird

White-throated Swallow

Karoo Prinia

Greater Striped Swallow

Speckled Mousebird

Southern Tchagra

Watch for those tortoises!

Angulate Tortoise

Overnight visitors to Bontebok National Park’s Lang Elsie’s Kraal Rest Camp have the option of camping or staying in one of the 14 comfortable chalets with either 1 or 2 bedrooms. Day visitors are well taken care of at the picnic area at Die Stroom next to the Breede River. Visitors are welcome to walk and cycle through the Park, with several well-marked trails at their disposal, or swim, canoe and fish in the river. There is also a limited network of gravel game-viewing roads, for the most part easily negotiable in a sedan. Shops, restaurants, fuel and other services are available in Swelledam, just a few minutes from the Park’s entrance gate on the N2 highway.

Campsite 8, Lang Elsie’s Kraal Rest Camp, Bontebok National Park, December 2017

Chalet at Bontebok National Park’s Lang Elsie’s Kraal Rest Camp

Bontebok National Park is located just outside the town of Swellendam, with the entrance gate less than a kilometre from the N2 highway leading to Cape Town, about 240km away. Bontebok was the fourth destination on our December holiday tour of eight of South Africa’s national parks. Unseasonably wet weather severely curtailed our explorations of this Park during the two days we had available there, so we will just have to return for more!

White-fronted Plover

Charadrius marginatus

Usually seen in pairs or small flocks, the White-fronted Plover is a small (50g, wingspan 40cm) wading bird inhabiting mudflats, sandy beaches, and the shorelines of estuaries, large lakes and rivers, where it feeds on worms, snails, insects and crustaceans.

White-fronted Plovers nest in shallow scrapes in the sand, often quite exposed and usually far above the high-water mark. Pairs are monogamous and often stay together, in the same area, for many years. Nesting has been recorded throughout the year, but there is a definite peak in the spring and summer. Clutches consist of 1-3 eggs and are incubated by both parents for around a month. When threatened at the nest, the parents will cover the eggs with sand before fleeing. The precocious chicks feed themselves from birth and fledge when they are about 6 weeks old.

In South Africa, White-fronted Plovers occur all along the coast and along the rivers of the Lowveld. North of our borders, and south of the Sahara, the White-fronted Plover occurs along the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coastlines as well as most of the larger inland wetlands and rivers. While loss of habitat is causing the population of this species, currently estimated at around 100,000 birds, to decline, the IUCN considers it to be of Least Concern.

White-fronted Plover

Cape Cormorant

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Phalacrocorax capensis

The Cape Cormorant is strictly a marine species, usually foraging in large flocks within 10km from the coastline and very seldomly venturing inland to feed in freshwater environments. Two kinds of pelagic schooling fish, the anchovy and pilchard (sardine), form the staple of the Cape Cormorant’s diet and are pursued under water to depths of over 30m. Adults weigh as much as 1,6kg, with a wingspan of around a metre.

Cape Cormorants nest in large, densely packed colonies, often mixed with other kinds of seabirds and mainly on rocky islands and outcrops in the sea, inaccessible cliffs along the coast, or shipwrecks. They breed throughout the year, with a peak in spring and summer. Pairs are monogamous, with the males fighting for the best nest spots. Nests are built of seaweed and sticks. Clutches consist of 1-5 (rarely up to 7) eggs and are incubated by both parents for 3 to 4 weeks. Chicks fledge when they are about 9 weeks old and are then cared for by the parents for several more weeks.

The Cape Cormorant occurs along the entire coastline of Namibia and South Africa and only marginally into Angola and Mozambique, with some venturing as far north as the mouth of the River Congo. They are most common along the Atlantic (west) coast, with less than 1% of the breeding population occurring east of Cape Agulhas. The IUCN classifies the Cape Cormorant as Endangered, due to a massive decline in their population over the past 30 years brought on by overfishing, oil pollution and disease outbreaks. The total population is currently estimated at about 230,000 mature individuals, and still in decline.

Cape Cormorant

Cape Cormorants setting out to forage at sea

Cape Cormorant colony on a rock near Simon’s Town

Cape Cormorant

Cape Cormorants in flight

Cape Cormorants flying over the coast at Cape Columbine

Cape Cormorant

Cape Cormorants at Stony Point

Cape Cormorant

Cape Cormorants at Stony Point

Cape Cormorant

Cape Cormorant juvenile

Cape Cormorant

Cape Cormorant feeding chick

Cape Cormorant chicks

Cape Cormorant

Cape Cormorant chicks begging for food (photo by Joubert)

Cape Spurfowl

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Pternistis capensis

Cape Spurfowl, also known as Cape Francolin, inhabits areas of fynbos, heathland and semi-arid scrub, usually near a reliable water source, and also utilises nearby orchards, vineyards, cultivated fields, pastures and suburban parks and gardens. It has an omnivorous diet, feeding primarily on seeds, fallen fruits and berries and a wide variety of invertebrates. Male Cape Spurfowl are quite a bit bigger than the females and may weigh up to a kilogram.

The breeding season for Cape Spurfowl commences in early spring but stretches right through to the end of summer. The nest is a simple scrape in the ground, hidden among vegetation, in which the female incubates a clutch of 1-4 eggs for around 3 weeks. Larger clutches of up to 14 eggs have been recorded, but are thought to be of multiple females laying in the same nest.

The Cape Spurfowl’s distribution is mainly centred on South Africa’s Western Cape Province, extending into adjacent areas of the Eastern and Northern Cape, and reaching southern Namibia along the course of the Orange River. With a common and stable population, the IUCN considers the Cape Spurfowl to be of least concern.

Cape Spurfowl

Cape Spurfowl (photo by Joubert)

Cape Spurfowl

Cape Spurfowl (photo by Joubert)

Cape Spurfowl

Cape Spurfowl (photo by Joubert)

Cape Spurfowl

Agulhas National Park

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Fifteenth century Portuguese seafarers named Cape Agulhas when they found that magnetic compass needles pointed precisely true north here (“agulhas” being Portuguese for “needles”). It is also the southern-most point of the African mainland, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, and has been inhabited by humans for over a million years with several sites of archaeological interest. The Agulhas Plain also has an incredible biodiversity and it was realised that what remained of it was worthy of protection, leading to the proclamation of the Agulhas National Park in 1999. Today the park covers almost 230km².

This is one of the world’s most treacherous coastlines. Since 1552, at least 125 ships met their fate around Cape Agulhas. For this reason the lighthouse at Cape Agulhas was commissioned in 1849, and is the second oldest of the 56 working lighthouses along our coast. It was designed as a replica of the Pharos of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and at night its beam can be seen up to 60km offshore. One of the most easily seen wrecks is that of the Meishu Maru, a Japanese fishing vessel with a cargo of 240t of tuna, that ran aground in 1982, happily without any loss among the 17 crew members. Today, a fascinating museum and information centre is housed inside the lighthouse.

Southern Tip of Africa

Wreck of the Meishu Maru

Agulhas Lighthouse

Agulhas Lighthouse museum

The vegetation of the Agulhas National Park consists mainly of fynbos, with an estimated 2,000 plant species finding protection within its borders, many of which are rare and occur nowhere else on earth. The vegetation doesn’t grow very tall here due to the extremely windy conditions that prevail throughout the year. The area is rather flat and featureless, with rocky and sandy beaches alternating and stretching for many kilometers. And the sunsets from the main camp, as the sun dips into the Atlantic Ocean (the camp lies west of the southernmost tip of Africa) is a sight to behold!

Agulhas has an amazing diversity of plants

Sunrise over the lagoon at the main camp in Agulhas National Park

Agulhas sunset

The Park is still being developed, and as such does not yet contain large terrestrial mammals in any significant numbers. Most of the mammal species that occur here are either marine or small and rarely seen. The Agulhas National Park is however a prime birding spot, both for land and sea birds.

Rock Kestrel

Cape White-eye

Karoo Prinia

Southern African Vlei Rat

Cape Spurfowl

Malachite Sunbird

Plain-backed Pipit

Female Southern Double-collared Sunbird

Four-striped Grass Mouse

Cape Bulbul

Cape Sparrow male

Grey-backed Cisticola

White-fronted Plover

Cape Cormorant

African Oystercatcher

Guests can overnight in the main rest camp, which consists of one or two bedroom cottages and the luxury Lagoon House, built right on the rocks at the ocean’s edge. A few historic farm houses spread throughout the inland portions of the Park has also been renovated to accommodate guests. An extensive network of walking trails have been laid on around the main camp. All modern services and amenities associated with small holiday towns can be found in nearby L’Agulhas and Struisbaai. The nearest big town is Bredasdorp, 35km to the north.

Chalet 11 at Agulhas National Park, December 2017

A look back at the main camp at Agulhas

Lagoon House has a magnificent setting right on the rocks

The Agulhas National Park is located about 250km southeast of Cape Town, with the main rest camp a short drive from the small holiday town of L’Agulhas. It was the third destination on our December holiday tour of eight of our country’s national parks.

Cape Sugarbird

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The Cape Sugarbird is endemic to the fynbos regions of the Western and Eastern Cape, where it feeds mainly on nectar, especially of Protea-species (and as such is a major pollinator of these plants), and insects. It is also seen in gardens, especially in the summer. With its long-tail, the male Cape Sugarbird can grow to up to 44cm in length, weighing up to 50g.

Cape Sugarbirds breed mainly in autumn and winter, to coincide with the Protea flowering season. Pairs are monogamous, with the male aggressively defending the nesting site while the female builds the cup-shaped nest of dead leaves and dry grass, usually among the leaves of a Protea-bush. The female incubates the clutch of 1 or 2 eggs alone, for a period of up to 3 weeks. Chicks leave the nest at about 18 days old, and then stay with their parents for only another 3 weeks before attaining independence.

While the IUCN considers the Cape Sugarbird to be of least concern, they are at long term risk due to habitat loss brought on by development and invasion of their habitat by alien plants.

Cape Sugarbird

Cape Sugarbird (photo by Joubert)

Cape Sugarbird

Cape Sugarbird on a Pincushion bush

Cape Sugarbird

Cape Sugarbird (photo by Joubert)

Cape Sugarbird on a Pincushion flower

Cape Sugarbird

Hartlaub’s Gull

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Chroicocephalus hartlaubii

Hartlaub’s Gull is a gregarious species that forages, roosts and nests in large flocks. They occur in coastal areas – inshore waters less than 50m deep, estuaries, lagoons, beaches and harbours, and rarely venture further than 20km from land. Their natural diet relies in a large part on marine invertebrates associated with beached kelp, supplemented with fruits, eggs and small fish. They also frequent sewerage works, rubbish dumps and abattoirs for easy pickings.

Breeding takes place at anytime of the year, though some localities show distinct peaks in nesting activity at varying times of the year. Breeding colonies are established on flat, rocky islands, coastal pans, in harbours and even on top of buildings, where the nests are small hollows of matted plant material. Pairs are monogamous and aggressively defend a small patch around their nest. Clutches of one to three eggs are incubated by both parents for just short of 4 weeks. Chicks attain adulthood at around two years of age. Hartlaub’s Gull is closely related to the Grey-headed Gull, with which it sometimes interbreeds.

Hartlaub’s Gull occurs only in Namibia and South Africa (Northern, Western and Eastern Cape), where they are considered to be common and increasing their population. With about half of the estimated 30,000 adults in the population occurring in and around the Cape Peninsula, Table Mountain National Park is a good place to look for Hartlaub’s Gull. The IUCN lists the species as being of least concern, despite noting threats to their breeding success rate.