Category Archives: Land of Beauty

Land of Beauty, Monday Favourite, The World around Us

A Day Trip to Tulbagh and a Coffee ‘Shop’ with a difference

August 16, 2021 Don Reid 4 Comments

During our visit to Franschhoek a week ago, we spent a very pleasant afternoon on a trip to Tulbagh, about 100 kms drive from Franschhoek, via the towns of Wellington and Paarl. It was a beautiful sunny day and the country scenery in this part of the Western Cape is particularly pleasing, with winter crops of canola and lucerne stretching to the horizon.

It was close to lunchtime and being peckish we stopped at the Grande Provence wine farm and had a light meal in their informal deli restaurant which set us up nicely for the day out.

The vineyards at Grande Provence with the Drakenstein Mountains in the background

On the road again, we soon passed through the outskirts of Paarl and Wellington, after which the landscape changed from vineyards to fields brimming with winter crops.

The canola fields are a real drawcard for photographers of all kinds and, like many, I find it hard to resist trying to get that ‘special’ shot but usually end up with the ‘standard’ landscape view of bright yellow canola fields with some contrasting mountains and sky/clouds in the background – still worth sharing I think …

Canola fields outside Wellington, Western Cape

At the spot where this photo was taken, there were also signs of the first Spring flowers at the roadside. It won’t be long before the countryside in parts of the Western and Northern Cape erupt with flowers

We had not visited Tulbagh for perhaps 25 years, so weren’t sure what to expect, but after driving down the main road, which looks like most other small town main roads, we were absolutely taken with the beauty of the architecture along Church street just a block away. I don’t know of any town in SA which has so many outstanding examples of Cape Dutch architecture in one street. We spent a pleasant half hour or more admiring the houses, some of which are now museums and art galleries, as we drove slowly down the road.

And the coffee ‘shop’ with a difference? Well on the way back, passing Hermon, we spotted a large sign announcing COFFEE and pulled off into a small parking area cut into a lucerne field where, lo and behold, an enterprising farmer had created the most unique coffee spot you could imagine

Tables set up in the field – now that’s social distancing!

Land of Beauty, Monday Favourite, The World around Us

Mossel Bay – The Point (Again)

July 19, 2021 Don Reid 4 Comments

On one of our recent outings to The Point, just 10 minutes away from our Mossel Bay home, we spotted a rainbow forming over the sea in the distance.

I snapped a shot while driving (very slowly) and hastened to find a spot to capture the rainbow before it disappeared. It did not have the full bow of a ‘proper’ rainbow but formed an almost vertical column disappearing into the low clouds hanging over the sea – quite unusual.

Once satisfied with the images I noticed a number of surfers in the sea – not unusual as this is a favourite surf spot, but the light was so perfect for photography that I could not resist trying my hand at some “surf’s up” images.

Further on we found a parking spot to enjoy our tea and watch the passing birds – the Cape Cormorants are regulars at the Point and once again the light was still good enough to capture a couple in flight, on their way to their roost somewhere further up the coast.

Land of Beauty, The World around Us

Mossel Bay – The Point

March 19, 2021 Don Reid 2 Comments

Mossel Bay, like most coastal towns, has many weather moods, from sunny and bright to overcast and stormy

These photos were taken during one of our regular visits to The Point at the western end of the bay, our favourite place for a take-away coffee which we enjoy while sitting in the car and soaking up the calm that the scene brings to us. It also happens to be a great spot for seabird watching, which is dependent on the prevailing winds, ocean currents and tides as to what may pass by, but that is a subject for another day…

These photos are straight from my iphone without any cropping or editing

Bird Photography, Birding South Africa, Land of Beauty

My Photo Picks for 2020

January 9, 2021 Don Reid 4 Comments

With the new year in its infancy, it’s time to select a few photos which best represent our 2020. In some cases, selection is based on the memory created, in others I just like how the photo turned out, technically and creatively. Despite the restrictions brought upon all of us by Covid 19, we still managed to travel, although it was limited to the borders of South Africa.

The Places

Birding and bird atlasing takes me to many places that would not otherwise feature on our travel map – here’s a selection ….

Balmoral area – The new Kusile Power Station early morning

Irrigation Dams near Pienaarsrivier, Birding Big Day 2020 – thousands of Queleas rising into the air

Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens, Johannesburg – I fitted in a visit while Gerda was attending a class nearby

Voelklip beach, Hermanus on an overcast, rainy day

The Point, Mossel Bay on a moody winter’s day

Early morning walk to a secluded cliffside spot for coffee on the rocks, Mossel Bay

Kruger National Park – Mopani (Shongololo Loop)

The Birds

Cory’s Shearwater / Calonectris diomedea / Geelbekpylstormvoël, Mossel Bay Point

Rock Kestrel / Falco rupicolus / Kransvalk, Gouritsmond

Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata / Geelbekeend) (Adult with Juvenile), Bronkhorstspruit Dam

Greater Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris afer / Groot-rooibandsuikerbekkie), Great Brak River

Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis / Mikstertbyvanger), Albertinia

Reed Cormorant (Microcarbo africanus / Rietkormorant), Rondevlei Wilderness

African Oystercatcher / Haematopus moquini / Swarttobie, Franskraal

Cape Spurfowl ( Pternistis capensis / Kaapse fisant), Mossel Bay

Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis / Kaapse flap) (Female), Mossel Bay

Cape White-eye (Zosterops capensis / Kaapse glasogie) (Race virens capensis), Mossel Bay

Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris / Europese spreeu), Mossel Bay

Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis Lemoenduif, Mossel Bay

Southern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris chalybeus Klein-rooibandsuikerbekkie (Male), Mossel Bay

Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer / Kaapse suikervoël), Mossel Bay

Red-necked Spurfowl (Pternistis afer / Rooikeelfisant) (race castaneiventer), Verlorenkloof

Olive Bushshrike (Chlorophoneus olivaceus / Olyfboslaksman), Verlorenkloof

White-throated Swallow (Hirundo albigularis / Witkeelswael), Verlorenkloof

Familiar Chat (Cercomela familiaris / Gewone spekvreter) (race hellmayri), Verlorenkloof

Thick-billed Weaver (Amblyospiza albifrons / Dikbekwewer) (Male) (race woltersi), Pretoria

Tawny-flanked Prinia (Prinia subflava / Bruinsylangstertjie) (Adult feeding Juveniles), Pretoria

Black-crowned Night-Heron, Kruger – Mopani area

Yellow-billed Stork, Kruger – Mopani area

Red-billed Oxpecker, Kruger – Mopani area

Martial Eagle, Kruger – Shingwedzi River

Dwarf Bittern, Kruger – Pan outside Letaba

Woodland KIngfisher, Kruger – Muzandzeni

The Wildlife

Banded Mongoose, Roodeplaat dam Nature Reserve

Spotted-necked Otter (*Hydrictis maculicollis)* , Marievale Bird Sanctuary

Cape Fur Seal, Cliffside walk, Mossel Bay

Bottlenose Dolphin, Cliffside walk, Mossel Bay

Giant Plated Lizard, Kruger – Mopani (the photo does not give an idea of scale – this lizard is a veritable giant at over 1m long!)

Crocodile, Kruger – Mopani (Shongololo Loop)

Wildebeest adult with youngsters, Kruger – Nwanetsi Road

The Other Stuff

Butterfly : Garden Inspector (Junonia archesia / rotsblaarvlerk), ,Langvlei Wilderness

Moon over Verlorenkloof (image taken with Iphone magnified through Swarovski scope)

Confusing, provocative road sign – until you realise the village’s name is Nobody and the sign is directing to the Total filling station!

And to end off …… me and my pal Saartjie (who belongs to the Leonards but I get to borrow her now and again)

Here’s a close-up of the better looking one….

Land of Beauty, The World around Us

Hermanus – Flowers on a Hill

October 11, 2020 Don Reid 4 Comments

Hermanus

And now for something different …. well, we all need a change sometimes.

In January this year, before the restrictions of lockdown descended on us in March, we travelled to Hermanus from Mossel Bay for a short break after the busy Christmas and New Year period, when Mossel Bay bulges at the seams. Hermanus lies about an hour and a half’s drive south east of Cape town – for us it was a bit further coming from Mossel Bay but still a comfortable half-day’s drive.

The town is famous for its whale-watching opportunities, particularly Southern Right whales, but also other whale species. The whales can be seen from the cliffs all along the coast from as early as June and usually depart in early December. It’s hard to believe that these magnificent creatures were once hunted in the nearby town of Betty’s Bay.

On our first day in Hermanus we explored the town, including a quick visit to a small complex of boutique type shops – on a whim we popped into a wine shop and ended up being persuaded by one Roetter Smit (a born salesman) to do a gin-tasting session under his personal guidance. Well, it was fascinating and Roetter had us tasting all kinds of interesting combinations, fortunately with just the tiniest sips so that we weren’t incapacitated for the rest of the day.

The Rotary Way

After a lunch at Lizettes restaurant – delicious Asian flavoured fish and chips – and a quick stop at Voelklip beach to refresh our memories of this lovely spot, we headed back through town until we found the turn-off signposted Rotary Way.

We remembered driving up the Rotary Way scenic drive during a previous visit to Hermanus, perhaps 20 years ago, and recalled, rather vaguely, the views of Hermanus from the top, so we decided to take a drive up this scenic route, which winds its way up the mountain overlooking the town.

Hermanus is in the Cape Floristic Region and thus has one of the highest plant diversity levels in the world. The principal vegetation type of this region is Fynbos, a mixture of evergreen shrub-like plants with small firm leaves (Info courtesy of Wikipedia)

We soon realised that the drive was a perfect opportunity to get acquainted with the beautiful, delicate, flowering fynbos shrubs that lined the road higher up and we stopped frequently, under Gerda’s guidance, for closer views and photos of some of the more distinctive species. Here is a selection of the photos that I took – for the time being the flowers will have to remain nameless as our reference books on Fynbos remained behind in Mossel Bay when we returned to Pretoria (well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it}

And the view of Hermanus? We almost had to tear ourselves away from the flowers to see if the views down to the town were as good as we remembered – the verdict – definitely

Land of Beauty

Cosmos time

April 4, 2018 Don Reid 4 Comments

No, this is nothing to do with a philosophical discussion of the universe, just a reflection on how pleasing it is to do birding / atlasing at this time of year, particularly in the eastern parts of our country where the cosmos flowers come into full bloom during late summer, heading into autumn.

These attractive flowers form massed displays along the roadside, spreading into unattended fields in places, creating a beautiful pink and white carpet with an occasional purple flower popping out at random.

Unlike the amazing indigenous flowers of Namaqualand, renowned for their magnificent displays in spring, the cosmos is an introduced plant species native to South America, which came to South Africa during the Anglo-Boer war at the end of the 19th century as a “stowaway” in the bales of feed imported from Argentina to feed the thousands of horses used by the British.

Since then they have become a feature of the landscape, particularly in the open grasslands of south-western Mpumulanga province, so much so that the provincial tourist body describes the area as Cosmos Country. It also happens to be the energy belt of South Africa with numerous coal mines feeding the ravenous power stations that are never very far from view.

So expect to see stunning displays of cosmos flowers contrasting with the heavily disturbed, ugly landscape typical of the coal mining areas.