Flying pink whales
At the risk of being boring, I must mention once again that I live in an incredibly beautiful part of the world. This picture of a flock of Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) was taken just a few minutes away from my house. These elegant birds feed on tiny insects, crustaceans and diatoms, which they obtain by filtering the water through fine bristles in their bill. This is precisely the same technique used by Baleen Whales to extract their tiny food species from the water. In fact many fish species as well...
We finally came down off the mountains and I had made a lunch reservation at The Restaurant at the End of The Continent The views were exceptional, in fact they were even better than usual for this venue After lunch we continued along the coast. The weather was so good that even the Ostriches were out for a walk at the sea As we continued we saw many handsome Hartlaub's Gulls. Although the distribution for this Gull extends all the way up into NAmibia, half of the total population is...
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...
Is perfection possible?
My parents always told me that nothing is perfect. Perhaps they were hoping to assist me to deal with my flaws, but I believed them - until today that is. Today was a perfect day. The perfect walk in perfect weather. Unless you count the fact that weorder cialis online no prescription didn't see any whales as imperfect!! We started-off in glorious sunshine and perfect and soon could see back to Table Mountain where yesterday we had been in the mist. Once again the flowers were wonderful and this ice plant (family...
Picnic with whales
There are often beautiful days in Cape Town . . . and then there are days of heaven. Today was such a day, with mild temperatures of 20 deg C, cloudless skies and barely a breath of air. Both False Bay and The Atlantic seaboard were as still as wishing-wells.I was fortunate to host Mike & Pip Tait from Newcastle on a tour of the Cape Peninsula. Mike was particularly keen that we would see whales and other wildlife. He has traveled elsewhere three times in the vain hope of...