South Africa Johannesburg to Capetown
South Africa, I found out, is a spectacularly beautiful country and, of course, rich in wildlife. I came to Johannesburg first and immediately got myself situated in one of the Luxury Hotels Johannesburg offers before I set out to explore the most southwesterly part where there are two unique habitats to explore; the stark heath-like fynbos and Karoo a vast semi-desert.
I was told to expect to see over 400 species, so I brought plenty of journal notebooks and drawing material. On my 2nd day in South Africa, I hired a car and wen to Blouberg, just outside of Cape Town. The views that Blouberg offers of Table Mountain is staggering, really, I had to hold on to a tree! My 3rd day to went to the waters off Cape Town because I heard it was the best pelagic spot in the world. I took a sailboat tour from Simonstown and was awed by the spectacle of the thousands of seabirds. There was well over 20 species all squabbling over the scraps being thrown behind the tour boat. I only recognized the Black-browed, the White-chinned Petrel, the Shy and Yellow-nosed albatrosses and the Sooty Shearwater. I’ll have to reference my birding book to figure out the other 15 species I didn’t recognize.
On day 4, I checked out Cape Peninsula. Exceptionally beautiful. I spent the day searching for fynbos endemics like the Orange-breasted Sunbird or the Cape Siskin. Then I made a visit to Kommetjie, the home of the Benguela-endemic African Black Oystercatcher, as well as Bank, Cape Cormorants and the Crowned. I continued on to Cape of Good Hope and stopped at Boulder’s Bay to play with the African Penguins. My final stop was at Strandfontein. It’s a series of settling ponds which support a remarkable variety of waterfowl.
On day 5, it was time to head back to Johannesburg and spend some time with people. Maybe I’ll be lucky and someone will be wearing feathers and flowers.
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