Month: February 2009

Woke to quite heavy clouds and Cameron saying it could rain later. But in true S. African fashion, by 11am the sun had come out and we were about to board the catamaran again – this time to go to the Featherbed Nature Reserve on the eastern head of the ‘lagoon’.

Our guide John, an ambitious 27 year old who works for 6 months and then studies for 6 months – working towards an economics degree. His wife is in Germany as a travel agent and he is leaving in a couple of days to go to Kiel to continue his studies. An interesting young man who has travelled well – in fact, one of the other tourists who works for DHL said he was just the kind of person they look to recruit for international management.

From the jetty at the Nature Reserve we boarded a 4×4 to make a slow ascent to the hillcrest, with useful commentary on the fynbos and history of the Reserve which is in a huge sand dune, only stabilised by the dense vegetation. A Mr J. B. Smith discovered a living fossil – the coelacanth that had thought to be extinct for 80m years – in the lagoon and wrote a book called ‘Old Four Legs’ and then used the proceeds from the book to start buying up parcels of land on the reserve in order to preserve it. (I might have got two pieces of information muddled up there so I need to do some research!) There are about 80 native bird species and a plethora of local flora. Many years ago a non-indigenous azalea was brought in as part of the vegetation, but they are slowly (they have to be aware of keeping the dune stabilised) replacing it with the indigenous plants. 

At the top, our driver chucked us out and we made the slow descent through the forest, admiring some stunning views of the heads from a variety of different viewpoints. We finally arrived at the sea’s edge and some caves which were refreshingly cool after the searing heat. A flat walk along the cliff edge back to a delicious buffet of local produce – calamari, white fish in curry sauce, tuna carpaccio, lamb curry, roast beef, greek salad, green salad, lentils, roast potatoes, ratatouille – a feast. Then mavla, chocolate brownie, fruit salad, water melon, milk tart, ice cream… Surely we won’t need to eat tonight! Just spotted the Knysna Lourie bird as we were eating, so another bit of wildlife ticked off our list.

Interesting to talk with an Irish couple who’ve been coming to South Africa for over 30 years. They’d been to the Phantom Lodge, when it still existed, and were sad to here it was no more. They recommended us to visit the Simola Golf course for the views and Sunday lunch (but that’ll have to be for another time now). So once off the boat – which John, our guide ably piloted back (under the tuition of the ‘real’ captain) – we headed up to the complex which is still being expanded. Very much  based on the Portugese complexes it certainly has stunning views of the ‘lagoon’, excellent facilities (including a spa – perhaps there’s future employment for me?) and apparently is quite a challenging Jack Nicklaus signature course. John’s hoping to ‘sneak’ back here with his mates for their golf holiday – over my dead body I say. Not sure what the locals think about the amount of water that must be consumed in keeping the course up to scratch – must be a hard job for the greenkeepers.

 

I took a walk down to beach before sunset and the beach was scattered with people and camera capturing the waves crashing over Castle Rock and the imminent dramatic sunset. Typically it was the one time I’d left my camera behind charging up, so I did the best I could on my camera’s phone.

 

An informal meal at the Nauticus beach restaurant – pizzas and shared Greek salad. As we were leaving the couple next to us started talking to us and we ended up having a delightfully friendly end to the evening, enjoying another beer and sharing S. African experiences. Interestingly Sean is here – semi on holiday – while writing a book on business strategy for government while Sandy can fully indulge in relaxing away from her job in immigration at Gatwick. They’re self-catering, which Sally feels has the downside of having to shop – which she feels she does enough in England – rushing to Sainsbury’s after work etc., whereas Sean enjoys the novelty of the different food in the shops – I’m with Sean on that one.

Am feeling rather embarrassed now to think that we’ve exchanged emails/blog address with them and my 10,000 (to date) chatty words are in direct contrast to the 40,000 words he’s working on so seriously and earnestly!

At this point perhaps I ought to make some kind of disclaimer that the ‘facts’ in this blog are mostly from memory and the anecdotal commentary of our guides not to be taken seriously in any research project!!

Woke up to a misty but warm morning, so we strolled down to the beach before breakfast, where there were quite a few others doing the same. A lovely start to the day.

Met Cameron with J D – an 8 week old Staffordshire bull terrier – a bundle of muscle and very excited to see us. We later met Jayne, his wife, with Emma, the matriarch Staffs bull terrier who was less enthusiastic about the lively bundle that had interrupted her quiet life.

While talking to Cameron it turned out he had played varsity cricket for ‘Wits’ University (Witwatersrand near Jo’burg) during 3 years against Clive Gie (a local gynaecologist who lives in Upton)  and who was at Cape Town Uni! Cameron had also stepped in as 12^th man for England during the Rebel tour to S. Africa. His nickname was ‘Bokki’ – a) because people couldn’t remember his surname in full and b) cause he was ‘fast on his feet in those days’. Jayne is English – from Scotland, then Oxford – her parents live in Devon. They’ve got the B & B up for sale as they want to downsize and free up some time to travel.

We didn’t put in an offer…

Had an interesting chat with Christine who asked about us and our family. Turns out she has 4 children – a girl of 21 who’s completing her studies at Cape Town and is hoping to be a teacher – she’s obviously very proud that her daughter is working hard to make a good life for herself. She has a son who lives with his father’s family in Oudtshoorn and is planning to follow his father and go into the army. She’s supportive of his decision and is again proud that he’s got ambition. Her two ‘babies’ of 11 and 13 are in Outshoorn with her mother and doing well. But it is sad that she obviously doesn’t see them very often – a hard decision to ensure your children’s future.

The houses in Brenton are mainly built on stilts – because it’s on a hillside and each house wants an elevated view of the sea – it makes for quite a quaint sight and some quaint (or naff!)  names – the house next door but one is called ‘Daddy Long Legs’!

 

Down to Kynsna quay just in time to catch the 11am boat trip to the ‘heads’  – the two headlands which form the channel to the ‘lagoon/estuary’. This stretch of water, through which  between 1000 and 2000 litres of water passes every second, is one of the most dangerous in the world and no ship can be insured to pass through it! The only ship which does so is the S.African Navy once a year when they come for Knysna’s Oyster Festival in July, when about 2m locally grown oysters (of Chile origin) are consumed!

 

Knysna has a unique seahorse in its waters – which is fondly called the Chameleon seahorse because (depending on which guide I should believe, or perhaps both?) a) it can roll it eyes independently like a chameleon or b) it can change colour like a chameleon. The seahorses mate for life and perform a 3 day courtship during which they entwine tails. Then when the male indicates he’s ready (he probably wouldn’t if he knew what was in store for him!) the female lays eggs in his pouch. After 21 days they hatch and the process starts again so the male is pretty well pregnant for the rest of his life! The locals call it ‘Nature’s revenge’!

 

We saw a man in a fishing boat catch an electric blue eel, – we heaved to a while to see what would happen – he would have to throw it back, but I couldn’t see how he was going to get the hook out without getting electrocuted!? There are about 100 species of fish in the ‘lagoon’ and even dolphins, sharks and whales have been spotted.

 

There is the Featherbed Nature Reserve on one of the headlands encircling the lagoon, but just before that there is the most enormous private house which a couple have built. Its land runs down to the beach, but because the shoreline can’t be owned privately, anyone can land at the beach (by boat because there are no public roads accessing the beach) for swimming, picnic etc. so despite the huge house, they don’t have a deal of privacy.

 

Anyone wishing to build must buy a plot no smaller than 10 hectares and can only build one property on that plot. If only, in England…..

 

We reached the ‘heads’ and heaved to again to admire the phenomenal waves and swell which was enormous – and this was a calm, windless day. Only twin engined boats are allowed to navigate the channel and the National Sea Rescue station is very close by – there have been numerous shipwrecks here.

 

Wandered round Knysna – very quiet being a Sunday and rather ‘tacky’, so headed back to the waterfront where it was all happening. A delicious sushi meal at 34^o South restaurant and some welcome beers.

 

Took a detour on the way to the Phantom Forest Lodge which was billed in Rough Guide as having the most splendid views in South Africa – particularly of Knysna’s lagoon and also serving unusual local food. Up and up the dirt track, barely a view in sight! Then we hit the N2 again. Where was this lodge!! It was indeed a ‘phantom’. When we asked at the restaurant later, the lodge has been bought and is now privately owned, so will pen a note to Rough Guide.

 

Ate at Pemburys – an interesting fusion of county and haute cuisine. The menus were handwritten on chalk boards about 2ft by 4ft and brought to the table complete with the easel! Crab tortilli/butternut squash ravioli, slow roasted lamb shank/lambs tongues and again crème brulee ‘test’ – good crispy topping, but slightly runny crème. I had bread and butter pudding and real vanilla ice cream – blow the diet!

Had noticed outside on the road indicating its entrance yet another chalk board on which they wrote a ‘saying’ of the day. Today it was ‘Love is a sport in which the hunter contrives to become the quarry’. Quite succinct – how true?

Which reminds me of the petrol receipt from the BP garage at Uitenhage – the message at the bottom was ‘Thank you for your custom – Jesus loves you’! Can you imagine the BP garage in Southwell adding that?

 

I woke up early to a clear blue sky, so went for a walk down to the river again. After about 10 paces, I spotted a snake – my worst fear – but it was only pencil thin and quickly slid away into the bush. Made me pick my steps very carefully.

Packed up to leave Hitgeheim – with sadness because it really is a superb place, beautifully situated in the middle of nowhere with charming staff and delicious food. We promise to be back. Then just as we’re talking to Archie and Ronel, the fish eagles start circling overhead – I’d been hoping for a sighting, so they made it just in time – very graceful soaring on the thermals and hardly moving their wings.

Of to Daniell Cheetah Breeding Sanctuary near Kirkwood. John’s not so keen to cuddle cheetahs, but I’ll use his turn!

It’s a blistering hot day with no breeze but that was no deterrent to this unique opportunity.

Cheetahs are eminently tameable and there has never been any reports of them attacking humans. However, once they have mated, their natural instincts kick in, so they are less able to be stroked and can then be naturalised and sold onto Game Parks.

So Ola, a 2 year old female was lying dozing in the shade and was very happy for us to stroke her. Although she is related to the cat family, cheetahs are unusual in that they have non-retractable claws and like a dog, they aren’t sharp – only the dewlap claw is sharp in order to tear apart their prey.

They are the fastest of creatures, accelerating 0 – 70 Kph in 3 seconds. They run up to 120kph, but only for 4 seconds. They then need 5 hours for their breathing and heart rate to slow back to normal. Unfortunately, during this time, they can’t eat, and because they don’t have sharp claws, they can’t climb trees (like leopards) to hide their booty, so any prey they catch might well be nicked from under their very nose by another scavenger while they lay asleep.

Then into the lion’s den – well into the cubs’ den – where 2 two-month old and 1 four-month cubs are waiting to greet us. I held one of the 2 month olds, but he fidgeted – he’d had enough as I was second in line to hold him, so reluctantly let him down. We couldn’t hold the older one, as already he’s getting strong and his huge paws could unwittingly inflict a nasty blow, but he was more than happy to let us stroke him and tickle his tummy – just like any housecat. At 5 months old, this close human contact is stopped so the training program can begin to ensure they cope in the wild – mostly they are sold onto Game Reserves. Apparently there’s never been a problem with these lions surviving successfully in that environment after this early tame start. The warder has close contact with the cubs from the beginning, with them even sleeping on his bed!!

A mature lion will fetch about £20K whereas younger lions and females fetch about £1K. Cheetahs are more expensive to raise because their environment needs to be carefully monitored and quite sterile because they’re prone to renal failure.

 

We’re now at the furthest point of our travels – over 500 miles from Cape Town as the crow flies – we’ve clocked up about 1,000 miles with detours and windy roads.

We stocked up with a picnic in Spar in Uitgehade – always fun shopping in exotic places (S. Africa I mean, not Spar!).

Now we turn around the head back via different towns. Firstly Knysna where there is a huge lagoon – although strictly speaking it’s a huge estuary as there is no sandbank at its meeting with the sea where river and sea water mingle.

We arrive at our B & B in nearby Brenton on Sea – J & C Beach House – in the middle of a (upmarket) housing estate, set high on the hillside with amazing views of the crashing waves. Christine the housekeeper shows around as Jayne and Cameron Boccaleone (our hosts) are out. We try not to giggle as she shows us round our room which is decorated profusely with shells – as ornaments or printed on curtains, towels etc. – really a bit twee! It’s listed as the honeymoon suite! It has verandahs on 3 sides, but all viewable from the road or the garden, and it doesn’t seem very soundproofed, so I’m not so sure about the honeymooners’ privacy!

We’re about 30 minutes from Knysna centre so we’d already taken the precaution of booking a table at a lodge restaurant at Belvedere nearby rather than trek backwards and forwards after a long day’s drive.

Uniquely and refreshingly so, this is the first establishment where the entire staff appear to be black – front of house included. They were exceptionally cheerful and welcoming and we enjoyed a tasty meal of scallops/baked brie, kudu/beef steak and again we tested the crème brulee. A trifle warm and not much crispy caramel topping, but tasty.

Hot and light clouds which are gradually clearing, so I braved the outdoor shower today. Certainly an experience to admire the scenery while showering.

Breakfast special was Eggs Benedict – properly poached (not in the shaped cups I normally use) on English muffin with bacon and a light hollandaise sauce.

Finally, after 6 attempts, got a secure connection, so I’m communicado again.

Relaxing this am round pool before the trip to Scotia Game Reserve. It’s doubtful we’ll see The Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, rhino) but we should be able to ‘tick off’ some of them. I hadn’t appreciated that the important difference between a National Park such as Kruger or Addo and a Game Reserve, is that National Parks only consist of the natural wildlife and there is minimum human intervention, whereas a Game Reserve can buy in whatever animals they can afford and for which they can offer a suitable environment.

John, a retired citrus farmer, drove us along dirt tracks to take a short cut to the Reserve. John is a quietly spoken real gentleman and told us the story of how his father fought in WW1 and as jobs were short in UK, he, as with many other soldiers came out to the colonies to start a new life. He met John’s mother in Cape Town one evening, looked her up and down and decided ‘she was rather gorgeous’, but then he had to leave to go to Port Elizabeth. Six months later, he returned to Cape Town and sought her out and asked her to marry him – whereupon she was so shocked she said ‘yes’! – What a romantic story. John took over his father’s citrus farm which was set up to promote local economy and establish trade with UK and Europe.

Archie had told us that John was as old as Addo Elephant Park – which would make him about 78 and apparently he is a mine of information. He certainly kept us interested during the drive. One the most interesting things was that if an elephant is carrying a male foetus and the environmental conditions are adverse, her body will absorb that fetus (not a miscarriage) because a male elephant needs the best possible start in life as he has to develop to be strong enough to challenge other males in order to ‘win’ a female. Apparently the conditions 2 years ago were so excellent – they’d had a lot of rain, they saw a steep increase in the birth rate this year (remember 22 months gestation), but are anticipating that because it is so dry this year, there will be very few births in 2 year’s time.

We boarded a similar converted Land Rover to yesterday’s, driven by Niekie, a handsome (by consensus of the 3 women in our party!) young Afrikaner with a witty sense of humour. He certainly knew his way around the reserve, taking some hair-raising side turns to try and track down the animals.

Useful tip – should you come across a burrow that could possibly house a warthog (who takes over burrows that the aardvark with their sharp claws have obligingly dug) – stand above and throw something in (that is if you want to disturb a warthog!). Because they back into their burrows after they’ve shepherded their babies in, they come out at 30Km/hr with their tusks flashing from side to side and can slash right down to the bone of the predator.

Termite mounds made with spit and mud are very efficient compost heaps. The termites collect wood and debris and keep adding to the mound to keep it at the right temperature. If it gets too hot, they open ventilation holes on the windward side to cool it down.

The Blue Wildebeest or gnu is a very useful creature in that when ticks feed on their blood, it sterilises the ticks, so that stops the lifecycle of that particular nuisance. However, any domestic cattle need to kept at least 200k away from gnu, because the latter carry a disease which affects the lungs of a cattle for which there is no antidote so the only answer is a tracheotomy.

Rhinos are almost armour-plated with a skin of about 3cm thick and are very well house-trained – they create midden (toilet) areas, unlike elephants who just dump wherever they happen to feel the urge.

We hope to see the white rhino but there are none of the rarer black (more aggressive) rhino here as they are just too expensive to buy at !m SA Rand – about £80,000.

Their eyesight is poor – about 10m – but they have very good hearing and sense of smell. Their gestation is 16months and they live about 40 years.

They, despite their lumbering appearance, can run about 40K/hour, so you wouldn’t be able to outrun them to avoid contact with their horn of compressed hair. But they are not terribly aggressive – humans’ highest rate of death from animals is from the mosquito and then hippos.

There is a wealth of the deer species here – Kudu, Eland, Springbok, Impala. Nieke pointed to one particularly elegant impala (who can jump 13 metres from standing!) and said her name was Abi…………’another bloody impala’!

Giraffes give birth standing up, which is a bit of a shock for the baby when it hits the ground, but it needs that to get its heart going. Giraffes normally sleep standing up, but they do lie down here as they have less fear from predators.

Their heart weighs about 50kg – it obviously needs to be strong to pump blood up that long neck to its brain. When they put their head down to drink, a non-return valve stops the blood rushing to their head and spongy tissue in their brain absorbs any excess blood, but they can only drink for a maximum of 12/13 seconds before they need to lift their head and allow everything to settle down again.

Mostly they have 2 horns, but occasionally they have 3 which gives them a heavier head to fight with.

We saw a lovely herd quietly munching the incredibly thorny scrub and the dearest baby.

We picked up two more people who had been staying in a lodge in the grounds which was near a waterhole where there were 2 Nile crocodiles. They’re not too big, so they need to let their prey, in this case, a Blasebok ‘marinate’ to soften it up and make it easier to eat. They performed their snapping eating action very obligingly.

We saw a huge herd of zebra including babies. The stripes are all different, so a baby needs to learn quickly the pattern of its mum because if it gets lost, it makes a cry which is recognised by predators as meaning there will be an anxious mum who might be more vulnerable to being caught. So, if this is a threat, the male of the tribe will ‘sacrifice’ the baby rather than lose a valuable adult whose knowledge is essential for the herd.

Rather delightfully the baby eats its mother’s dung in order to build up the necessary enzymes to digest grass. They don’t have a very efficient digestive system so they waste of the grass they eat. The reserve had to get rid of 100 zebra because they were eating so much grass.

The stripes are in fact a cooling system – the black absorbs heat and the white reflects, so that process creates its own air cooling circulation round its body.

This use of white to reflect sunshine is also evident in the Blasebok which has a white forehead, which helps to keep its brain cool.

The Blasebok which is familiarly known as the Ja-bok (yes-bok) because it nods as it walks, does so to keep flies out of it nose. Otherwise a fly might get up its nose, lay eggs and then the grubs eat the animal’s brain away from the inside. It’s the ‘law of the jungle’ at its most poignant.

Then………we saw the lions.

They sleep for 18 hours a day, so they’re rather boring to watch, but they are just so majestic and looked quite cuddly really. A female and male, well camouflaged behind a thorn bush. Niekie advised us not to get out of the truck (did we really need telling!) or even stick a leg out, because the lion is familiar with the truck and see it and its ‘contents’ as a unit, but once a shape is detached from that unit, they become interested.   They can accelerate 0-60kph in 5 seconds (Jeremy Clarkson eat your heart out), so, as Niekie said, faced with that, you don’t have to be fast, just faster than the person next to you! But anyway his advice was not to run, but keep facing them and back away slowly to safety.

The warders do have a gun on the front of the truck, but it’s more for show. They don’t want to get it out of its casing, load and cock it and point it at the lions in a precautionary manner – this ‘aggressive’ body language would be picked up by the animals.

The females hunt and the males eat – up to 40Kg of food in one setting and then can happily last 4 or more days, but as I said earlier, 14 days without food and they’re desperate.

The male’s mane is protection against injury from claws of another male during fights.

Their night vision is very good – they see in black and white.

Most of the driving was along rutted narrow tracks, but suddenly we were on a flatter stretch with a wide straight band, which Niekie said was the take-off/landing strip for the ostriches! Of course we didn’t believe him (but sometimes we had to check whether he was saying ‘tongue in cheek) because we all know ostriches don’t fly. They do in fact have this mini landing strip for 4 or 5 planes that land a year – mostly bringing in new stock. I certainly don’t think I’d like to be on board – it would be a very rough landing.

We didn’t see any snakes, but Niekie told us the three most dangerous I S. Africa were Tree Snake Cape Cobra and Puff Adder. They take a day to make their venom, so don’t ‘give it up’ lightly as it then leaves them vulnerable to predators. They often just give a ‘dry’ bite to warn you off, so if you’re bitten it’s best to wait for any reaction to kick in before administering antidote, but of course, in the bush, that antidote is probably too far away to be of any good before you die!. Bit of a dilemma really, particularly because you could get bitten by a young snake which hasn’t learned to control himself and spurts all his venom as he injects you with a complete dose! They are certainly one animal I really fear because they are so well hidden.

 

We saw a herd of Red Haartebeest – according to Niekie (joke coming up) they can run at 70k/hour, they don’t like Addo Elephant Park because there’s a speed restriction of 20/hr!!

 

Our evening ended in a boma – a round thatched traditional building with an open centre where a delicious meal (gem squash filled with mixed veg, kudu strips, chicken leg, rice and mash) had been cooked ‘potjie’ style (in 3 legged cast iron pots over embers). Blazing open fires and some music made it an atmospheric end before the night drive back – with Nieke sweeping a very powerful spotlight from side to side so we could spot giraffes, impalas, zebra resting in their nighttime haunts.

 

A gentle drive back with John who drove carefully in the middle of the track watching for kudu who jump out unexpectedly attracted by the headlights and we did in fact stop for a couple. Then as we entered Hitgeheim, John slowed down so we could see the eland in the headlights.  A truly remarkable tour and a real privilege to see the wild beasts in their natural environment.