Cape Fur Seal

Cape Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus)

A good spot to see these furry marine mammals up close is at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront Marina in Cape Town. I spent some time with them on the first afternoon of my own five day explorational educational of the greater Cape Town area. They were just loafing around on the jetties and grooming themselves while basking in the last rays of afternoon sunshine.

The Cape Fur Seal is a sub-species of the Afro-Australian Fur Seal, and is endemic to southern Africa, occurring along our coastline from the southern point of Angola on our west coast to East London on our east coast. They say roughly 2 million of them inhabit this range.

They breed on offshore islands as well as in large mainland colonies on the arid west coast. Mature bulls arrive at the breeding colonies in mid-October where they establish territories defending them from rivals. The cows arrive about a week later to give birth to their single pup conceived the previous year. 



The bulls then acquire a harem of several cows and mating begins about a week after they have given birth.

Being generalist feeders they prey on a wide variety of marine animals, mainly targeting the locally abundant species of shoaling pelagic fish such as pilchard,anchovies, hake, Cape mackeral and snoek, and have also been known to catch squid, crustaceans and even seagulls and penguins! They can dive to about 200m where their well developed eyes seem to almost pop out of their sockets, helping them to see in even the murkiest conditions.  Usually not venturing more than 160km out to sea they forage within 220km of their colony.

As I admired the beautiful shiny coats of these loafers at the V&A Waterfront, I was also intrigued by the structure of their back flippers with claws protruding for grooming.

Fur seals have two thick layers of fur consisting of a soft inner layer and a more bristly outer layer. They differ from true seals in that they have little external ears and have larger front flippers used to propel themselves through the water. True seals have no external ears and make use of their back flippers. 

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront - Cape Town

March 2013

References:

http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/mammals/carnivora/arctocephalus_pusillus.htm

http://www.animalocean.co.za/2016/09/10-fascinating-facts-about-cape-fur-seals/

http://oceanadventures.co.za/facts-cape-fur-seal-arctocephalus-pusillus-pusillus/

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Simbavati River Lodge

Mopane-veld is one of my favorite places to be found in at the end of the dry season when the leaves of the Mopane trees start changing colour and the grass has turned almost white, especially when set against the coarse rocky substrate of light coloured granite/gneiss outcrops and darker gabbro intrusions of the Greater Kruger National Park. 

This time I was on tour with the van der Lee family from Holland who had two nights on their itinerary booked at Simbavati River Lodge. This lodge located in the northern Timbavati Private Nature Reserve is found within the southern extreme of the very extensive Mopane-veld which stretches northwards all the way to the Limpopo river.

We had a fantastic safari experience exploring this wonderland in open safari vehicles as well as on foot, with good quality sightings of all of the Big Five and much more. Early mornings are always the best times to be out and when the soft sunrise lighting brings this colourful vegetation to life it makes for magical photo opportunities. 

Viewing a crash of white rhino on a bushwalk as they peered at us warily through the Mopane woodland, having a ringside seat right next to a leopard who had dragged an impala under some Mopane branches, and seeing giraffe coat patterns camouflaged amongst the Mopane leaves were real highlights. 


My favourite photo though was of a Plains Zebra which I could place in the V of a multi-stemmed Mopane tree with its characterful bark patterns, and the background seemed to be on fire as the sunrise lit up the pastel shades of the magnificent Mopane-veld. 

On tour for African Insight - August 2011
Overland tour with the van der Lee family from the Netherlands.

"Situated in the heart of the world-renowned Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, which forms part of the Greater Kruger National Park, this intimate, family-friendly camp is built on the banks of the Nhlaralumi River – a beautiful watercourse in the summer months when rain is plentiful, and a dry riverbed in the drier winter months. 

Shaded by age old Jackalberry and Leadwood trees, Simbavati River Lodge is warm and welcoming, with a generous contemporary design and accommodation for guests in luxury tented rooms or thatched chalets.

Simbavati takes its name from the local Shangaan language, translated as “the place where the lions come down from the stars”. The focus of the lodge is on the excellent big-5 game viewing, breathtaking views, friendly and knowledgeable staff in an environment where guests are made to feel comfortable and relaxed from the moment they arrive. 

Simbavati River Lodge is situated in the northern sector of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, and surrounded by 12 000 hectares of wildlife and rich wilderness in which you can experience an authentic and affordable African safari. 

The design of this 4-star lodge is contemporary, warm and welcoming. Guest common areas offer a generously proportioned lounge, bar, boma and extensive decks with breathtaking views overlooking the Nhlaralumi river where regular wildlife sightings take place and guests can unwind.

Accommodation consists of eight luxury tents and three chalets; all are privately situated, comfortably furnished and with en-suite facilities." - Simbavati lodges website

#wanderlust #travel #tour #touring #safari #southafrica #africa #landscape #nationalpark #krugernationalpark #limpopo #timbavati #simbavati #wildlife

Walk to Cannibal Cavern

With a local mountain guide, descendant of the original cannibals, leading the way and sharing his intimate knowledge of the area with us, we made full use of the glorious sunshine which greeted us on our last morning at The Cavern after the snow fall the day before, to hike up to the infamous Cannibal Cavern. Despite huffing and puffing due to our lack of fitness and the altitude of 1500m above sea level, and the crisp snow-chilled air biting the back of our throats, we revelled in the spectacular scenery of snow covered peaks, dramatic cloudscapes, pockets of evergreen forest, dry grassland and scattered sugarbush covered slopes with patches of melting snow, as well as sweeping views down the valley.

This was a moderate long walk of about 2½ hours, with a long gentle climb and then some fairly steep sections approaching the cavern, and downhill all the way back. We unfortunately did not have time to return via Surprise Ridge which gives one panoramic views of the Amphitheater,  shrouded in cloud on this particular day anyway.

On tour for African Insight - August 2011
Overland tour with the van der Lee family from the Netherlands.

The Legend of Cannibal Cavern
"In the early 1800s, King Shaka started fighting to get more land for his people. Tribes that he chased off their land had to flee into uninhabited places. This happened to the Amazizi tribe and the only place they found safety was in a huge cave in the Drakensberg mountains which we now call Cannibal Cavern. Fierce fighting outside forced them to stay in the cave from about 1815 until 1828 and when starvation set in, they were forced to eat the bodies of those who had died. This lead to their tribal name - amazimo is the Zulu word for cannibal. When the troubles finally ended, they moved down to the flat lands below and resumed normal life. Many people working at The Cavern today are 7th generation descendants of the original cannibals." - The Cavern activities brochure

#wanderlust #travel #tour #touring #safari #southafrica #africa #drakensberg #thecavern #kwazulunatal #hiking #walk #adventure #history

The War Museum of the Boer Republics

The Anglo-Boer South African War ( 1899-1902 )

This monument entitled "Afskeid", meaning Farewell, with heart-wrenching facial expressions, successfully captures the emotions of the beginnings of one of the most significant events in the history of our country. 
An eager young Boer warrior bidding farewell to his young wife and baby on the eve of the war.

" The War Museum of the Boer Republics in Bloemfontein depicts the devastating war between the two Boer Republics and Great Britain from 1899-1902. It is the only museum in the world that has this war as a theme.

Every artifact in the museum bears testimony to the fact that this war caused only suffering and therefore the vision of the museum has evolved to the realisation that the message to all who come into contact with the museum is that wars bring no lasting solutions. Differences can only be solved through communication and discussions around a conference table. This, in fact, leads to the conclusion that the museum should inculcate, through education, an anti-violence and anti-war mentality." - War Museum Brochure

We visited this award winning museum en route to the Eastern Cape on holiday. It was a short break on our long journey, and we were only able to browse through quickly, leaving with the feeling that this comprehensive museum definately justifies more time. 

The museum produces many excellent publications and we were privileged to receive a copy of "Honour and Duty - Russia's special relationship with South Africa" when visiting there.
This publication highlights some very interesting insights into the role of the USSR and then Russia in the history of our country. 


Eastern Cape Holiday - January 2016


#wanderlust #travel #tour #touring #safari #southafrica #africa #monument #history #museum #bloemfontein #freestate #history #war #travelsouthafrica #traveltheworld   

Maternal Great Grandfather

George William Temperley was my maternal great grandfather

George Temperley was not only a nationally (UK) recognized ornithologist and a very good botanist he was a competent and fully rounded naturalist. During his later life he worked on both the botanical and conchological collections of the Natural History Society in the Hancock Museum.

He was also the author of  'A History of the Birds of Durham‘, published in 1951.

Please visit the following links to read more about him:

George Temperley - His Life

George Temperley in the First World War