Category: South Africa

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Flowers, Stars & More: Maps and info

Following a few requests for more detailed information about our trip, I have decided to put together some details with links for routes on Google Maps, so no photos or videos in this post, but suggestions for an itinerary which will show you some of the most beautiful parts of our country, especially if you do it in flower season, which is usually sometime between mid August and early October.

Please click on underlined text to follow the relevant links.

The resources we used in planning the trip were Google searches, Google maps, SANParks website, Booking.com and Mountain Passes South Africa website

Day 1: Summerstrand to Lentelus Farmstay, Barrydale, via Steytlerville :

Blog post and photos for Day 1 here

In Steytlerville, visit The Verandah Coffee Shop and Pegasus Early Motoring Museum

Barrydale is an interesting town, which we will definitely explore in more depth in future. For now, Lentelus Farmstay, approximately 10 km outside Barrydale, was a comfortable overnight stop.

Day 2: Lentelus Farmstay to Orca House, Yzerfontein, via Bainskloof Pass and Postberg section of the West Coast National Park.

Blog post and photos for Day 2 here

Bainskloof Pass is a lovely drive for those who enjoy mountain passes and history and has been declared a National Monument.

Postberg section of the West Coast National Park is only open during flower season, but the rest of the Park is open all year round. Plan to spend around 3 hours in Postberg.

Orca House offers magnificent accommodation right on the beach, is well appointed and very comfortable. Enjoy the sunset on a dune with a glass of wine in hand.

Day 3: Orca House Yzerfontein to Dogstone Cottage, Hondeklipbaai with a detour to Maskam Guest Farm

Blog post and photos for Day 3 here

Quite a few areas of gravel road, some better than others, in this stretch. We were also warned not to take the Hondeklipbaai turn off from the N7 just after Garies, but continue to the Klipfontein turn which is tarred to about halfway to Hondeklipbaai.

Along the way, a detour to Maskam Guest Farm for flower viewing and a light lunch, is quite worthwhile.

Dogstone Cottage offers lovely accommodation in Hondeklipbaai, but one must be aware that this is a very far off the beaten track little town or perhaps rather settlement, at first glance looking somewhat run down, with no fuel available (so fill up in Garies), the shops only stocking basics, the tap water a bit brackish (so take own drinking water), but probably two of the best and most affordable seafood restaurants in South Africa. Rooi Spinnekop was our favourite, but absolutely nothing wrong either with Dop en Kreef and I would suggest everyone should try both and determine their own favourite.

Day 4: Dogstone cottage Hondeklipbaai to Skilpad section of Namaqua National Park and back

Blog post and photos for Day 4 here

Google maps or your GPS will show you a shorter route, but the locals in Hondeklipbaai warned us that some of the routes in the region carried virtually no traffic and that getting stuck on those could result in a day or two’s wait for help. If traveling alone, it is therefor recommended to stick to the more frequented roads. For that reason, we took the road back via Klipfontein to the N7 and on to Kamieskroon and then to Skilpad. At Skilpad there are short hiking routes, which we did not explore due to the rain, as well as two short circle routes which can be driven. One of these is labeled 4×4 only, but in fact can easily be driven with a high ground clearance vehicle without 4×4 capability.

Day 5: Hondeklipbaai to Clanwilliam, with a detour to Graafwater

Blog post and photos for Day 5 here

A visit to Ramskop Nature Garden in Clanwilliam is quite a treat. This apparently used to be magnificent, became quite run down under municipal management, but enthusiastic locals are busy restoring it to its previous magnificence.

Day 6: Clanwilliam – Biedouw Valley – Wupperthal – Eselbank – Mount Ceder

Blog post and photos for Days 6 and 7 here

Biedouw Valley is famous for its flowers. Unfortunately we visited on a cold, rainy day and did not see it in its full glory, but from what we saw, certainly on our list of places to return to.

Do not be fooled by Google Maps telling you this is only 2h47min drive. Eselbank pass, which is supposedly a 4×4 route, although the locals apparently drive there with their Nissan NP200’s, will slow you down and at one point your GPS will start adding on two minutes to your ETA for every one minute you drive. But it is completely worth it for the amazing scenery.

Mount Ceder offers a range of accommodation options. We stayed in a lovely self catering Villa overlooking the valley, a great spot for astro photography, if only the clouds would have allowed.

Day 7: Mount Ceder to Cape Town

Some more lovely mountain passes along this route, but we drove it in pouring rain and howling wind, would like to go back there in better conditions, for photography.

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Flowers, Stars & More: Day 6 & 7: Mountain Passes, Rugged terrain and Severe Weather

After a large breakfast at A State of Grace guesthouse in Clanwilliam, we started our trip by filling up with diesel and then proceeded via Pakhuis pass and Hoek se Berg pass to the Biedouw valley

On a very cold and overcast day, the flowers were not open, but still provided a spectacular sight. I can just imagine how much more spectacular it must be on a sunny day with the flowers open.

We were too early to get coffee at the Biedouw Valley Farmstall, which only opens at 11:00 and decided instead, to proceed over the Kouberg Pass to Wupperthal for coffee at Lekkerbekkie Coffee Shop.

Since some social media posts had suggested that the Eselbank Pass might be closed due to recent flooding, we enquired in Wupperthal and were assured that the pass was open to 4×4 traffic. We decided to tackle this pass on our way to Mount Ceder. Although very narrow and certainly a major challenge if encountering traffic going in the other direction, this pass is actually not difficult to drive and does not require serious 4×4 skills, mainly just some common sense. Luckily we only encountered one other vehicle and even more luckily, this happened in a place where there was space for passing. The reward was spectacular scenery, better captured on video than photos (video to follow in a separate post).

A visit to the waterfall at Eselbank was a bit of a failure, since we could not find an actual viewpoint of the main waterfall and were unwilling to clamber over the rocks and risk a serious fall, especially in the windy conditions. After passing through Eselbank, we proceeded towards Mount Ceder passing through more ruggedly beautiful terrain in the Cederberg, including Grootrivier hoogte, stopping along the way to photograph some more flowers.

Google maps will tell you that the drive is 123km and should take approximately 2 hour 15 minutes, but that doesn’t take into account the terrain and roads. A more realistic estimate is probably about 4 hours for that distance.

We had a lovely cottage at Mount Ceder, overlooking a valley. Unfortunately it was overcast and my planned astrophotography didn’t materialise. The positive aspect was that we got a very good night’s sleep.

At breakfast the next morning, the staff at Mount Ceder, informed us that they expected severe weather over the next 24 hours, our planned hike in the mountains was cancelled and we were warned that anticipated flooding could see us stuck and unable to travel the next morning. We made a quick decision to change our plans, leave while we could and use the spare day for an impromptu visit to our children in Cape Town.

Returning to our cottage to pack up, we saw a beautiful rainbow over the valley, ending at our cottage.

After a very informative and interesting olive oil tasting, we had a cheese and olive platter for early lunch and then hit the road. Light rain already started falling while we were on the Blinkberg Pass.

As we reached the tar road, we started encountering the first of the severe weather. On the beautiful Gydo Pass, near Ceres, the rain was bucketing down.

Michells Pass was equally rain drenched

Arriving in Cape Town, we were again reminded of the Cape Town traffic, one of the major reasons we could not imagine living there again.

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Flowers, Stars & More: Day 5: Southward

We made an early start from Hondeklipbaai, driving on a dirt road still muddy and slippery from the previous day’s rain, stopping in Garies at the Garies Toeriste Stal, for coffee and toasted sandwiches, before heading on to Clanwilliam.

Arriving in Clanwilliam, we went for a stroll in the Ramskop Wildflower Garden. This had apparently become quite run down under Municipal management, but is being revived by local enthusiasts. We spent an enjoyable hour walking around here, taking some photos and video.

Then it was on to Graafwater, where we had a thoroughly enjoyable visit and lunch with friends.

Carrying on with my theme of photographing church buildings, I walked around the church, looking for a good angle for a photo, eventually finding one with a sunburst.

Late afternoon, we returned to Clanwilliam to check in at our accommodation, where we were just in time to see the beautiful sunset over Clanwilliam dam, from the guesthouse pool deck.

After dark, we returned to Graafwater, to continue where we left off our visit with friends and to photograph the Milky Way over the church.

Returning to Clanwilliam, I just had to take another Milky Way shot over the Clanwilliam dam, even though a few clouds were starting to appear.

Another late night, this time with Liana deciding to postpone her video downloading and editing for a day in order to get some rest.

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Flowers, Stars and More: Day 4: Stars, at last

Day 4 arrived, cold, dreary, overcast, not what we had been hoping for, but true to the weather forecast, which had been accurate for once. We decided, nonetheless, to take the drive to the Skilpad section of Namaqua National Park. The locals in Hondeklipbaai advised us to take the detour, returning to the N7 the way we had come, due to road conditions.

We stopped in Kamieskroon to get fuel for the car and ourselves. Entering Kamieskroon, we saw a beautiful little church.

In Kamieskroon, I also saw a street carrying my name, but quite sure not named after me or any relation.

After fuelling the car, we drove towards the National Park, stopping along the way for breakfast at Die Murasie

Once in the Park, we decided to forego the planned hike, since it had started raining and we did not want to get drenched. Instead, we drove the two circle routes in the Park, one of which is new and labelled a 4×4 route, but really a very easily driveable route.

As expected, in the rain, most of the flowers were hiding their faces. However, this did not really detract too much from the spectacle and we still had a really good time.

Near the end of the 4×4 loop, we saw a few Springbok in a field of flowers, a very special sight.

Making our way back to Hondeklipbaai, we were quite pleased with ourselves about the lovely day we had and the fact that we would be able to get to bed early, but this was not to be. About 20km before our destination, we encountered a quartet of elderly people struggling to change a flat tyre. By the time we had finished assisting them, not only were we rain drenched, which we had avoided in the Park, but also covered in mud.

Eventually arriving at out accommodation at Dogstone Cottage, we took a quick shower and then went to the Rooi Spinnekop Restaurant for an early supper, which turned out to be an excellent choice. The reception was very friendly, the atmosphere relaxed and the food excellent. Liana had a marrow bone starter and I had prawns. For mains she had lobster and I had pan fried snoek and sweet potato.

Exiting the restaurant, we were just in time to catch the sunset, the clouds starting to clear.

With the clouds rapidly clearing, I was able to grab a few Milky Way photos as well.

Tomorrow we turn back south, heading towards Clanwilliam.

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Late afternoon at Cape Recife Lighthouse and Blue Supermoon

On 19 August 2024 we had a blue moon and supermoon occuring simultaneously, normally a rare occurrence, but this the second within a 12 month period.

A supermoon occurs when the full moon is closer than usual to earth, resulting in the moon appearing larger than normal.

A blue moon can be either a second full moon within a calendar month or the third of four full moons in a given season, since there are normally only three full moons in a season.

Since moon rise would be occurring within minutes of sunset, I decided that this would be a good occasion to visit Cape Recife Lighthouse for a few photos.

The sunset was beautiful and I managed to get a sunburst photo over the lighthouse, while a few African Black Oystercatchers were enjoying the last light on the beach.

Soon the moon started rising over the sea.

With the sky still tinted pink and orange, the moon completed the picture beautifully.

As darkness set in, the moon appeared progressively brighter.

Finally, all that was visible, was the supermoon.

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Keeping busy

Since returning from our trip to Chobe, I have been keeping myself busy with a few other photography projects, not wildlife related, but my other major interest, sport.

One of the worst promoted/advertised events in PE, was the World P750 Inflatable Powerboat Championship. I missed the first rounds, which were held on North End Lake, but luckily I heard about the ocean event and managed to get there to take a few photos.

Dog jumping and agility events always give some great opportunities to practice my action photography skills. This one, held at Baakens Valley, was great fun to photograph and I got to support Liana and Yoda and even got to see Boo participate.

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Ten Days in Kruger National Park

Updated with new video by Liana

We spent ten days in October 2023 in Kruger National Park, ably guided by Bernhard and Hennie of B1 Photo Safaris. Their vehicle, perfectly equipped for photographers and their knowledge of the Park, animal behaviour, photography and videography, gave us the best possible opportunity to get good photos and video.

I detailed our trip in daily blog posts, which are linked below.

Some days produced many more photo opportunities than others. This post contains my favourite photo from each day, not necessarily my ten best photos from the whole trip.

Each photo provides a link to that day’s full post. Please click on these to see many more photos and a more detailed description of our time spent in the Park.

Day 1 – Arrival at Skukuza
Day 2 – Skukuza to Satara

Liana’s video of birdlife in Kruger, open in You Tube to get the full experience.

Day 3 – around Satara to Olifants
Day 4 – from Satara to Lower Sabie
Day 5 – around Lower Sabie
Day 6 – around Lower Sabie and further afield
Day 7 – Lower Sabie to Berg-en-Dal
Day 8 – around Berg-en-Dal
Day 9 – Berg-en-Dal to Skukuza

Liana got great video of an elephant attacking and killing a tree. Watch in You Tube

Day 10 – Drama and Departure

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Kruger National Park Day 10

Link to Day 9

Our last morning in the Park brought relief after the previous day’s heat. This clearly revived the predators, who were out and about.

Our first sighting of the morning was a Hyena family

While we sat watching them, Hennie got word of a pack of Wild Dogs nearby. We immediately abandoned the hyenas and set course for the Wild Dogs. We arrived to find a pack of thirteen of them jogging along the road and fooling around with one another.

Clearly someone had lost a cap and they were using it for a game of tug.

Things soon turned serious and they started hunting.

Their first attempt was unsuccessful, but this did not deter them. It was fascinating to see the teamwork involved, some flushing the impala out, while others did the takedown. Their second attempt was successfull, but due to the gruesome nature of the photos, covered in a separate post, linked here, not for sensitive viewers.

The impala was devoured within three minutes. Even the dog with a sore leg, who had surely not been of great value in the hunt, managed to eat its fill.

In the meantime, vultures started arriving to see whether there would be anything left for them.

While all of this was taking place, a Tawny Eagle also arrived on the scene

A Drongo took exception to the Eagle’s presence

After leaving the Wild Dogs, I had another opportunity to photograph an Oxpecker, this time cleaning a rhino’s nose

A stop at Lake Panic gave us opportunity to watch a Malachite Kingfisher and a Squacco Heron fishing.

Then it was time to pack up and leave for the airport.

On the way there, we still had one last surprise: a leopard trying (unsuccessfully in the time we had there) to crack a tortoise’s shell

Thus ended our week in Kruger National Park with our excellent hosts and guides, Bernhard and Hennie of B1 Photo Safaris

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Kruger National Park Day 9

Follow the link to Day 8 and from there, links to the previous days.

Our last full day in the Park turned out to be a scorching hot day, the temperature reaching 41 degrees Celsius. The animals seemed to have gone into hiding in these conditions.

Fortunately the birds were still out and about. We encountered a Gray Go-away bird, Red-billed Hornbill, Brown-headed Parrot, Hoopoe Cardinal Woodpecker and a Southern Ground Hornbill, bearing gifts for his girlfriend, amongst others.

Stopping on a bridge, we saw multiple birds enjoying the small pools of water in the river bed and sitting around in the trees next to the water. A Fish Eagle came sweeping in a few times.

Eventually the Saddle-billed Stork decided to take flight

Further along, we saw a Tree agama and a Water monitor. Clearly the reptiles didn’t mind the heat.

A fight between two impala rams, to add to the elephant and kudu fight scenes of Day 7

After our morning drive, it was time to pack up and head out from Berg-en-Dal, back to Skukuza, completing our round trip of the southern part of the Park. Along the way we stopped at Afsaal for their famous roosterkoek, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

After checking in at Skukuza and resting a bit to recover from the heat of the day, it was time for an afternoon drive. We encountered a lone hyena, lazing about next to the road, a pair of Purple Rollers who properly frustrated my attempts at taking photos of them in flight, but at least gave me opportunity to photograph them sharing an insect and European Bee-eaters, who were once again too fast and unpredictable for me to photograph in flight.

An elephant came strolling along, first spraying itself with water at a water hole close to the road and then casually strolling up to a tree and pushing it over.

Video by Liana

Once more we had a magnificent sunset.