I spent a little over three weeks in Africa in November and early December, leading a three-part photo and natural history safari. The highlights were many, and it’s hard to even put my finger on the best moments. So, I suppose the easiest thing to do is simply tell the story in chronological order. Starting with 6 days in South Africa’s southern cape.
This part of the trip was an optional extension, during which four clients joined me for five days of birding, photography, exploring (and wine drinking) around Cape Town. While I’ve been to Cape Town before, I’m no expert in the diverse fynbos ecosystem, so following my own philosophy to rely on local talent when my own knowledge falls short, I hired a Cape Town local, Dominic Chadbon, the Fynbos Guy, to show us around his favorite haunts, hikes, and birding locations.
It was the best decision of our time in Cape Town. We spent three days with Dominic and his extensive knowledge of the region was invaluable. From the top of Table Mountain to the Fogelberg Mountains east of Cape Town, to the rugged coast of Cape Point he showed us some remarkable places, plants, birds, and even some very rare large mammals.
Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens
When it comes to bird and plant photography, few places can top Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens. The gardens lie on the lower slopes of Table Mountain just above the Constantia neighborhood of Cape Town. Packed with a selection of plants from the many different habitats of southern Africa (and elsewhere), the gardens are a wild mix of flashy Protea blooms, mountain scenery, native forest, and manicured lawns and flower beds. That diversity hosts a couple of hundred species of birds, many endemic to the southern cape. My clients and I spent several happy hours hiking, birding, and making images there. A few photographic highlights:
Table Mountain
We made a quick trip up the tram to the top of Table Mountain. Somehow, we managed to avoid the bulk of the crowds by walking a mile or two away from the tram station. The low, fynbos vegetation atop Table Mountain reminded me of shrub tundra. The elevation is about 3800 feet, but it is severely windswept leading to a very alpine feel. There weren’t too many critters and mid-day was lousy for landscape photography, but I did manage a few images of the abundant lizards:
Fogelberg Mountains and Betty’s Bay
An hour’s drive east of Cape Town (or more if the notorious traffic gets out of control) lies a small range of mountains called the Fogelberg. Covered in fynbos habitat, the mountains descend to the waters of the Indian Ocean in a tangle of rounded boulders and rocky outcrops. On their southern end, the mountains crumble into the sea, and bring some rare alpine birds down close to the shore. While our hours there fell within the blasting light of mid-day, my photography is lacking, but the birding was remarkable and led to two highlight species of the trip for me: Ground Woodpecker, and Cape Rockjumper.
Later in the day we ventured over to the African Penguin colony at Betty’s Bay. Less crowded with tourists than the colony at Boulder’s beach just south of Cape Town, we were able to spend some time with these birds (and their associated ecosystems) without being mobbed.
Cape Point National Park and the Strandfontein
Our final full day in Cape Town, Dominic took us down toward Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. On each of my visits to this area, I’ve been shocked by how empty it can feel. Just a short drive from the metropolis of Cape Town, this National Park, with miles of beaches on both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, can seem almost like wilderness. Well, parts of it anyway. Cape Point itself is a zoo. Sprawling parking lots and tour buses provide a base for the paved walk out to the end of Cape Point. While I’m sure the view is cool and all, my group and I weren’t brave enough to face that mess of iphone toting humanity. We steered clear, venturing instead to a lonely stretch of white-sand beach and rocky shoreline. We hiked a couple of miles out the coast, watching birds dash through the breaking waves and dug our toes into the warm, soft sand. Too, we watched small herds of Bontebok, and even caught sight of distant mountain zebras, eland, baboons, and Ostriches.
On the way back to the guest house, Dominic led us on a surprising diversion, to the Strandfontein Sewage Works. Sounds great right?! A sewage plant! Turns out it was an amazing place. The settling ponds mostly consist of relatively clean water and a rich wetland ecosystem associated. Since my group was mainly birders, we had a great time watching everything from flamingoes to waterfowl and notched up dozens of new species for the trip. It’s a place I’d like to come back to when I’d have real time to dedicate to photography… next year, perhaps?
If you are interested in joining me in Africa next Nov/Dec, I still have space on the trip! Check out all the details here.
More information: If you are planning a trip to Cape Town and want an amazing natural history guide, Dominic Chadbon is your guy. His range of knowledge of the fynbos and other ecosystems of southern Africa is encyclopedic and on top of that he’s funny, and is a great travel companion. Oh, and if you see Dominic, take a moment to ask him what he thinks about trees…
You must be logged in to post a comment.