Sureal at the Sea Shore
The last day of the Whale Trail involves a very short walk, but what it lacks in distance it certainly compensates-for in aesthetics. It is photographic wonderland. The sandstone rocks along the sea have been eroded into wonderful shapes. Long shelves of rock project far out to sea creating bizarre meeting places of calm and rough I enjoy this photograph. On forst impression it appears to be a meteorological photograph of our planet, taken from outer space and showing developing weather patterns. But in fact it is a picture of an Oystercatcher! At...
The fourth day of The Whale Trail saw us spending much of the day on the beach. Many of these beautiful beaches have eroded sandstone walls on the landward side. Although it was already failrly late in the season, we were thrilled to see a mother Southern right Whale with her newborn calf by her side. Unfortunately conditions were not conducive to photography, but we watched them for a long time. Southern Right Whales received their name for all the wrong reasons - the were considered by the whalers to be the...
Dolphins
The Whale Trail is a remarkable Cape Hike. The first days take one through beautiful fynbos vegetation and over hills with magnificent vistas, but then it drops to the coast and one walks along the sea for days. Here the focus shifts away from flowers to marine creatures and breathtaking scenery. Although there is less fynbos to see, this collection of gooseneck barnacles were reminiscent of an abstract flower arrangement. Dolphins are reguarly seen on along this section of the Whale Trail. And we also found this nesting colony of Cape Cormorants that...
Of lizards and birds
On the 2nd day of the Whale Trail we met this magnificent rock agama and he illustrated the concept of selective conspicuosness. His brightest colours are below his neck. So he positions himself on a high rock and bobs his head. In this way the lizards get an excellent view of his brilliantly coloured neck, but the birds of prey above do not! Pretty smart. Later we saw a male Cape Sugarbird who deals with a similar challenge differently. He is drably coloured but has a long streaming tail. When he...