South African Holiday

Thanks to Esther for pointing me at the Socks request for ideas about a holiday in South Africa Holiday advice needed

And Nige replied africanaflorafaunaviticetaecianism 

  

 In response today, we have a guest post from the Ungardener.

Postberg peninsula in August 2007 with the sea in the distance

First of all: Visiting South Africa in August/September means you are visiting in the middle of Winter, and the two provinces Western Cape and Eastern Cape are in the Winter rainfall region. You will have to be prepared for possibly cold and wet weather with snow in the mountains, but you will almost certainly also enjoy some balmy and sunny days. Having said that, you will be rewarded with some spectacular wild flower displays, IF there was enough rainfall during the preceding few weeks prior to your visit. Since this is not the case every year you will be better off not to make plans to go as far north as Namaqualand, but to stick to areas closer to Cape Town like West Coast National Park, which opens it’s Postberg Nature Reserve during the flower season and the Clanwilliam Wild Flower Show with it’s spectacular Ramskop Reserve, which in 2010 will take place 28 August – 02 September. Keep in mind that accommodation in these parts is scarce during the flower season, so booking well in advance is advisable. Consider Bushmans Kloof near Clanwilliam, a wilderness experience.

Another advantage to visiting this region during winter is that the Southern Right Whales can only be seen between June and December during their mating and calving season. You do not necessarily have to go to Hermanus to see them, even in Cape Town along the False Bay Coast on your way to or from the Cape of Good Hope one can quite often see them, from Muizenberg (Booyes Drive) all the way down to Cape Point.

Ramskop wild flower reserve in Clanwilliam. August 2007

So, all the above are the advantages of visiting in winter, for the following you would be better off to visit during the warm summer months (November – April).

Your planned route Cape Town – Port Elizabeth is a good choice to see South Africa. A must in Cape Town is of course the Cape Peninsula with the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, visiting the fishing harbour of Hout Bay with a boat trip to Duiker Island to see the seals. The penguins at Boulder’s Beach are not to be missed either.

In Cape Town itself a cable car ride up Table Mountain is unforgettable on a clear day. Only attempt to walk up or down the mountain if you are properly equipped with weather gear, good shoes, water and a good map. Too many people have to be rescued on an almost daily basis because they got lost. Should the “Cape Doctor” (south east wind) prevent you from going up Table Mountain, a trip up Signal Hill will give you a wonderful view as well. A trip to Robben Island (former prison) is of value if you are historically interested.

Diana at Ramskop September 2008

And then there is of course Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Not to be missed! At Kirstenbosch you will find on 528 hectares about a quarter of South Africa’s indigenous plant species.

There are various routes to get from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. As a Blotanist you would probably enjoy the trip via Worcester where you should visit the Karoo Desert Botanical Garden. From Montagu I would recommend the R62 to Outdshoorn with an optional visit to the Cango Caves and an Ostrich Farm, then across Outeniqua pass to George, where you will join the Garden Route. (How about a steam train ride on the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe form George to Mossel Bay and back again?) In Knysna a boat trip to Featherbed Nature Reserve is very worthwhile and in Plettenberg Bay an overnight stay at the unique Beacon Island Hotel Southern Sun Hotels is to be recommended. At the crossing from the Western Cape into the Eastern Cape you have the opportunity to do the highest bungee jump in the world from the Bloukrans Bridge.

Karoo Botanical Garden at Worcester. July 2008. Snow on the mountain, but we had lunch outside in the sun!

Near Port Elizabeth you will come to the end of your journey with a visit to Addo Elephant National Park Sanparks. A park originally established to preserve the last few remaining elephants of the region, it has recently been enlarged considerably. Now it not only contains the Big 5 (Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion, and Leopard) but even the Big 7 (Shark and Whale)! Allow yourself at least three days to explore the park and try to get accommodation at the main camp. Especially the rondavels with a view of the waterhole are in great demand, so book as far ahead as possible (4 – 6 months or more!).

Finally, before flying out of Port Elizabeth, enjoy the view from the lighthouse at Donkin reserve just above the centre of P.E.

Kruger Park: Yes, definitely the best park in South Africa and worth a visit. However, it is a long way from your planned route and whereas the Western and the Eastern Cape are free of malaria, it would be advisable to do some sort of malaria prophylaxis to visit Kruger. Also, since Addo has been enlarged you are not going to miss much of what you would have seen at Kruger, just give yourself enough time in the park.

You should be able to do this tour within about 3 weeks, depending on the length of stay at each place. Enjoy!!!

PS You can also click on my tags South-Africa or Porterville for our journeys in our own country. And watch this space, in March we will be going to Addo. I invite other South African Blotanists to make their suggestions. Would you like to share your South African holiday with us? Please comment and leave a link.

 

     

We'll struggle to survive climate change

Ray Mears: We'll struggle to survive climate change - opinion - 14 November 2009 - New Scientist

'Ray Mears has inspired millions around the world with his television programmes about bushcraft. The self-taught, self-deprecating Mears is an optimist who would like people to feel confident that they could survive in the wild. Even so, he doesn't think most people would make it through a global climate crisis'

Rest and Be Thankful 2

We had rain for 7 days. A whole week. Seven days in a row. 103 mm! Like England or Ireland. And we are going into summer. Winter is our rainy season. And even then, if it rains for a few days. Then the sky clears. And we wander round in shorts and T shirt in the garden again.

The Ungardener sees the big picture. The long term. After a week, the sun broke thru again. I raised my eyes from this laptop, and saw thru the window, wonderful clouds. Followed my eyes to gaze on our mountain. And reflection, now we have cleared the pond of invasive Kariba weed. That is the royal we, the Ungardener got his feet wet. It is his pond.

I see the details. The flowers. This combination of blue, reddish and yellow. The three primary colours, which clash when combined in manmade tones. But I love this lively combination. The blue is Plectranthus neochilus (= muishondblaar). The Ungardener is determined to call it lavender. From a distance? But up close it smells ferociously herbal. It is supposed to deter flies if you bang a stalk on the windowsills. 

The reddish is a deep orange Gazania. Chosen because I love its flamboyant flowers. And in our last garden, every time I planted it. It died.

And the yellow is a gift from nature. A basal rosette of leaves. And generous heads of sunny yellow flowers. A weed, in other words. One of the Ungardener’s free spirited plants. All welcome here. Except Paterson's Curse Pretty flower?

Chocolat turning his back on Paradise (our rose garden). He is In a Persian garden . Beyond the wall, our neighbour’s trees. Borrowed scenery. And she has catnip. Chocolat has been seen diving over the wall. And she has seen him. Gathering up fistfuls of catnip. And devouring it. Then staggering home, to scale the wall. Red Bull gives you wings. No doping tests in the cat world.

PS Why Rest and be thankful ?