Trees of Southern Africa

Have just put down a marvellous book, "In Search of Remarkable Trees, On Safari in Southern Africa", by Thomas Pakenham, while enjoying early winter in Toronto, Canada. The book has brought back many fond memories of spectacular and unusual trees throughout Southern Africa. The book was obtained recently during an unscheduled trip back to South Africa and Zimbabwe due to the passing away of my mother. A friends large garden in Johannesburg proved to be an absolute pleasure in early summer, due to his rehabilitation efforts. A garden previously dominated by eucalyptus trees is now bursting with life as the indigenous species start to flourish, and attract so much more insect and bird life. In this regard, I differ with Thomas Pakenham, and would be classified a "Taliban" by his definition, eager to rid the countryside of the many alien inasive tree species. My reasoning is twofold - the fact that the exotic tress consume so much more of the scarce water resources than the indigenous species, and secondly, the visual aspect in the game reserves and national parks. During my work and training as a game ranger, we spent many hours clearing the reserves of alien invasive plant species such as prickly pears, lantana, syringa, jacarandas and mesquites. On our drive up to the Zimbabwe border at Beitbridge, we passed through the Soutpansberg Mountains, and I was delighted to see so many of the invasive eucalyptus trees, some very large, ring-barked. (Probably the work of the Working for Water Programme in South Africa). Across the border though, north of Beitbridge, a desert is being created. Notwithstanding a few years of below average rainfall, the landscape has been devastated in places by over-grazing. Not a single piece of green vegetation survives at ground level, and the small acacias have been browsed clean to heights as far as the goats and sheep can reach. Any conservation efforts are definitely a lower priority in the lives of a human population struggling to survive each day.

William Arthur Ward, "To Risk"

... But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing ...

End of a Remarkable Life Experience !

Well, a remarkable six months of travelling together mainly in South America is coming to an end and Heather and I fly tonight from Lima back to Toronto, via New York. We are both looking forward to getting back home now. It has been an awesome time and we have managed to fit into six months enough experiences that probably should have spanned a few years. We have seen together some magnificent natural landscapes, encountered beautiful and unusual wildlife and met and communicated with remarkable people throughout. Our feet have been kept firmly on the ground as we understood some of the daily challenges of survival many of these people face, and yet are remarkably content. For me personally, my positive mindset from the trip was proved by finally completing the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon, a race probably three quarters done with the mind, and one quarter with fitness. (I started the race having not run for five months). Above all else, the trip is very special for both of us, because of the shared experiences and opportunity to have done all this together. Enough of the ¨slush¨, thanks for sharing with us.

More Adventure - Mancora, Peru

In line with the rest of our six month trip and the adventures we have experienced, we never were going to lie back and enjoy a simple beach holiday before our return. After my extreme marathon 10 days ago, and my feet still recovering, this time it was Heather´s turn to keep our team colours flying high by taking her first ever surfing lesson. Heather did fantastically well as the photos show, getting upright and riding some waves from her very first attempt. Needless to stay, this evening Heather is very stiff !

Mancora, Northern Peru

13 hr flight from Johannesburg, South Africa to Buenos Aires, Argentina with a stop over in Cape Town; 5 hrs at Buenos Aires airport followed by a five hour flight to Lima, Peru; 15 hrs in Lima, followed by a 16 hr bus ride north. We finally arrived at our objective, a rustic sea side resort called Mancora, close to the border with Ecuador. It is a surfing spot, with a great beach, warmish sea and lots of sunshine. We plan to spend the entire week here relaxing, (and me recovering from the extreme marathon), before heading back to Lima for our flight back to Toronto next weekend. The last week of our six month trip. It will be strange returning to city life and our day jobs, but what a phenomenal adventure we have had together!

Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon 2008 !!!

Heather and I are back in Johannesburg and close to the end of our three week trip to South Africa. Early Wednesday we fly back to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Finally, after almost five years of thinking about the extreme marathon, and two previous attempts, I have completed the race in 2008. It was great to have Heather in support as part of the crew. It is a race run in a remote area of South Africa in the Kalahari desert, and the large crew have a lot of work to do in keeping the race progressing and the runners safe. Apart from the sheer length of the race of 240km in seven days in stages, with one rest day, the main challenge is coping with the heat and humidity. My particular mental barrier has always been the long day/night stage of 75km, this year on day four and five. I coped with the first couple of stages very cautiously trying to preserve some energy for later in the race. The staggered start for the long stage had me starting at midday (12h00), just an hour in front of the race leaders. I kept going through to 02h15 the next morning to complete the 75km, and from then on, with just two stages left, the end was in sight. Surprisingly, having never covered such a distance before, I felt stronger with each day, and I think all of us adapted gradually to cope with the heat better. Two days after the race, my feet are still a little trashed, with swelling and blisters. It is a spectacular environment in the Kalahari, and just a remarkable place in which many animal and bird species thrive. The race website (www.extrememarathons.com/augrabies/) includes many photographs, and some links to videos on "youtube".

Mendoza to Buenos Aires, Argentina

We had our second attempted theft of our trip, this time my day pack at an internet cafe in Mendoza. A young guy tried to snatch it from next to me not realising I had my foot on a strap. He was red-faced when confronted and fled out of the internet cafe. I guess we have got into the mode of being aware all the time of possibilities like this. Well, we are now back in Buenos Aires, and fly out to South Africa tonight for three weeks, returning to Buenos Aires for our last ten days in South America before flying back to Canada at the beginning of November. The trip to South Africa had always been a possibility before we started our South American trip. One objective is for me to attempt the Kalahari extreme marathon again (and finish!), a challenge I have had on my mind for a few years now. This year, Heather will be a part of the race crew, a tough enough task on its own.

Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza turned out to be far larger and much more built up than we had expected. Even the main wine tour route in Maipu was far from rural. Even so, on Saturday, we had a very enjoyable day out, renting bikes and visiting some of the smaller boutique wineries and vinyards. The Mendoza region produces over 70% of Argentinas wine, the majority of which is malbec or blends using malbec. This is a grape of poor quality in France, but grows far better in the dry areas of central Argentina. The region also has substantial olive tree plantations. We visited a small winery owned by a french couple who emigrated to Argentina in 2004 and bought a vinyard with little knowledge of wine making. The first years wine was not great, and thereafter for a few years they hired local consultants to work with them and teach them. Last year was their first range of wines produced by themselves. A real good story that dreams can come true!

Puerto Varas to Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina

A full day travelling has brought us to Mendoza, Argentina. We spent little time in Lima, La Paz, Montevideo, or Santiago, and only Buenos Aires of all the capital cities has appealed to us. In Santiago, we spent as much time to change bus terminals and catch the next bus through to Argentina. The road is spectacular through the Andes, winding up to the highest point. The ski runs in places pass over the road. We are back to some of the quirks of travelling in Argentina, with tips requested for unloading your luggage from the bus. This time, the tip was requested by the customs officials at the border crossing to unload/load our backpacks from the minibus to be searched and scanned!

Puerto Varas, Lake District, Chile

We have spent a couple of days in Puerto Varas, close to Puerto Montt, the destination of our ferry trip. We are now in the lake district of Chile - lush green meadows, lakes, snow covered mountains and snow capped volcanoes and definitely some warmer weather. As the crow flies we are just a short distance from Bariloche in Argentina, an area we visited previously. Yesterday we did a good walk close to the base and up the side of the Volcan Orsano, the one pictured in the photograph. The hike was tough almost up to the snowline, and on the typical volcano shape, the higher we went, the steeper the slope ! Today we spent the day further north along Lago Llanquehue at a small quaint and quiet town called Frutilla with a german heritage. We had a great short walk in a native forest area maintained and studied by the Faculty of Forestry from the University of Chile. Another overnight bus trip tonight as we make our way north to the capital of Chile, Santiago.

Navimag Ferry, Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt

Sea ... Sky ... Sea ... Sky ... , that was the view from the side windows of the dining area on the ferry as it pitched and rolled in the Gulf of Penas and the Pacific Ocean on Saturday afternoon and evening. The movement of the large boat was significant causing sea sickness to some passengers. The wind too was very strong gusting up to 50 knots. Unbelievably the rest of the three day trip through the channels and inlets of the rugged southern Chile coastline was very calm, and for most of Sunday we were out on the open deck taking in the views and sun. For the first morning we passed through some very narrow channels. The trip was an excellent way, and probably the only way, to see this part of Chile. We are pleased now though to be on solid ground and stretch our legs after lots of reading and card playing on the boat.

Guanacos, Vicunas, Alpacas and Llamas

Some blurb on the camelids of South America ... Throughout the Andes of South America and the Patagonia region, we have come across all four of the above closely related species that are relatives of the camel, belonging to the same family. They have been interesting to see, partially because there is certainly no animal like them in North America or Southern Africa. They are also integral to the lives, beliefs and traditions of the local people of the entire region. In Potosi, Bolivia at the Cerro Rico silver mine, we saw the blood splattered hut door entrances and mine entrances where alpaca were slaughtered as a protection offering to El Tio, the devil, lord of the undergorund.

All of them seem to thrive in sparse areas with low scrub vegetation that wouldn´t support most other large animals. The relation between all four does not sound at all clear, but at least it was the Inca that domesticated the wild animals (Guanaco and Vicuna), to breed the llama and alpaca over 4000 years ago. Llama were predominantly raised for their meat and as pack animals. Individual llama carry small loads, but the benefit comes with herds of hundreds of animals that the Inca would use for transportation. Alpaca were raised for their wool and meat, the wool being used by the ¨common people¨ for clothing, blankets, etc. It is the vicuna that has the softest and finest wool, and was hunted by the Inca to provide wool for royalty. In fact, it was illegal for anyone but royalty to wear garments of vicuna wool. Vicuna are the most threatened and were almost hunted to extinction in the 1970´s the global population being reduced to 6000 animals.

Wildlife of Torres del Paine National Park

After hiking for five days, we didn´t sight a single mammal, but did see numerous signs and tracks. On our way back to Puerto Natales while waiting for transport at the park entrance, and after our bus shuttle left early without us, we did watch a fox chase and pester an armadillo, eventually giving up.

Torres del Paine, Puerto Natales, Chile

Late yesterday we returned, tired and weary, to Puerto Natales after a terrific, but tough !, five day backpacking trip in Torres del Paine National Park. The landscape in the park is stunning with high snow covered mountains, shear granite cliffs, glaciers and lakes. We hiked with tent, sleeping bags, and all our food over some very challenging terrain, some routes definitely not adhering to any contour paths! Even though it is late winter we had terrific calm weather, with some light rain at night. We hiked along the ¨W¨ route, which at this time of year was very quiet with few other hikers, the full circuit being closed. Annually the park hosts over 200 000 visitors, most of these arriving in summer. An extraordinarily beautiful and wild landscape.

Puerto Natales, Chile

Travelling from Punto Arenas by bus this morning, we have arrived in Puerto Natales. The last four or five days have been a struggle with both of us coming down with colds. That was probably part of the reason for us both finding Punto Arenas quiet and dreary, although at this time of the year (late winter) we discovered that most of the advertised attractions are still closed. Our trip back across the Straits of Magellan on to the mainland had a highlight though with a beautiful but brief view of a few Commerson´s Dolphins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerson's_Dolphin) swimming with ease and speed through the bow waves of the ferry. Puerto Natales is much smaller than Punto Arenas but more touristy due to the nearby hiking and climbing mecca of Torres del Paine. We hope to be 100% fit agin in a day or two, to get into the area for some trekking.

Ushuaia, Argentina

We have had a good full week relaxing in Ushuaia, and experiencing a few more of its attractions including some great cross country skiing and some scenic walks with phenomenal views of the city and the Beagle Channel. The weather as well has been in our favour, and today is almost balmy, with a maximum of 15 Deg C. There is little wind, and the channel surface is like a mirror. Early tomorrow we travel by bus through to Punta Arenas in Chile.

Upland Geese, Ushuaia, Argentina

Flightless Steamer Ducks, Ushuaia, Argentina

Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia, Argentina

Ushuaia and its surroundings are very wild and beautiful, and we experienced a bit more of it yesterday on a tough coastal walk through the Tierra del Fuego National Park. The area is dominated by beech tree forests, one species of which is evergreen, and so even at this time of the year, the forests are green. We have met up with an Argentinian couple who live in Ushuaia, and they have been incredibly helpful in showing us around. We first met them in the private reserve of Serere back in the Bolivian rain forest.

King Cormorant Rookery, Ushuaia, Argentina

Rock Cormorants, Ushuaia, Argentina

Kelp Geese, Ushuaia, Argentina

Ushuaia, Argentina

When we made the decision to travel to Ushuaia, part of the thinking was just to get to the end of the continent as part of our trip. Ushuaia however has proved to be far more than that, and our plan now is to stay here a full week before heading north again through Chile. Ushuaia´s motto is ¨the end of the world, the beginning of everything¨. Two days ago we took a boat trip out into the Beagle Channel on a very calm day. We stopped to explore H island the southern most point of Argentina. We had some great wildlife sightings there and at a couple of small islands on the return trip, including rookeries of both rock and king cormorants. The birdlife is fantastic and unusual. (Note - previous blog entry bird photograph is of Dolphin Gulls).

Ushuaia, Argentina

We have reached the southern most town in the world - Ushuaia, Argentina. Another challenging bus ride from El Calafate starting at 03h00 in the morning, and then four border crossings into and out of Chile. We crossed the Straits of Magellan by ferry with a very strong wind blowing. The scenery around remote Ushuaia is spectacular. The town is located on the Beagle Channel and is surrounded by snow covered mountains. In summer, this is the starting point for most of the tours heading south to Antartica.

El Chalten, Argentina

We have just arrived back in El Calafate after a few days spent in remote El Chalten known for the spectacular surrounding mountain scenery. For most of our stay though, the inclement weather of low clouds and sustained snow falls prevented us from even a glimpse of the mountain landscape. This morning, the clouds cleared and we trekked out of the valley the little town is located in. The trekking was great and for most of the trail, we were the first walkers after the recent heavy snowfalls. We had some views of the famous Cerro Torre and Mt Fitz Roy, towering granite peaks, before the clouds came in again and we headed back to the town. On our first afternoon, restricted from hiking because of the weather, we watched videos at the national park office in town of climbing expeditions to the mountain peaks. Just incredible scenes of experienced climbers attempting to navigate the shear granite faces of the mountains.

El Calafate and Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina

We are overwhelmed by the continuing incredible sights and experiences of our trip. The main attraction of El Calafate is its proximity to the Los Glaciares National Park, and the most accessible of several glaciers is the Perito Moreno Glacier that we visited today. Like many other sights of our trip, the glacier exceeded our expectations. The size of the ice river is just amazing, made more so by the closeness of a boat trip voyage towards the ice wall, and the positioning of visitor walkways on the nearby peninsula. The glacier is also by no means static, with parts of the glacier front advancing 2 metres per day. There is the occasional loud crack and rumblings as the ice shifts, and some blocks crash into the water below. We all stood staring at the spectacle for hours, trying to predict where the next ice block will fall - far worse than watching and waiting for a kettle to boil. The colours of the ice are beautiful, and again pictures portray a better idea than any words we could string together.

Bariloche to El Calafate, Argentina

We have headed further south and are now based for a couple of days in El Calafate, below the 50th parallel in latitude. In sailing jargon, they talk about the ¨roaring forties¨ and the ¨screaming fifties¨ when sailing through the southern oceans, but at least inland and for now, we are experiencing some remarkably calm weather. We had our longest bus journey yet of 29 hours to reach El Calafate - a very long time. By the end of the trip, the story lines of the movies we had watched started to merge together in our minds. The interior of Patagonia is very sparse, low scrubland for miles and miles, a wild coastline on the east, and spectacular snow covered mountain ranges on the west.

Bariloche - a very beautiful part of Argentina

Just awesome scenery in and around Bariloche. Yesterday we visited Villa de Angostura 80 km further up Lago Nahuel Huapi, and today we travelled to the top of the very large ski resort El Catedral.

St Bernard, San Carlos de Bariloche

Yes ok, we succumbed as well to paying a fee to have our photograph taken !

San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

Argentina is certainly a very diverse country, and we have had a great couple of days exploring the town and its spectacular surroundings - so different from everywhere else we have been so far in the country. Again, we have been very fortunate with the weather with just one day of ongoing rain, and a couple of days of intermittent sunshine and cloud. This morning we travelled to the top of a nearby mountain by cable car with great views of the town and the very large Lago Nahuel Huapi. The snow covered mountains, valleys of dense forests and extensive lake system provide for stunning scenery and hiking terrain. Many of the visitors at this time of the year are here for the skiing but we have opted out of that. Heather is more than proficient, but my skiing abilities, having grown up in southern Africa, would restrict me to the kids training slopes. The town itself is filled with character, with attractive and unusual log and stone architecture, numerous St. Bernard dogs posing for photographs with their owners for a fee, and numerous and some very large chocolate shops.

Bariloche, Argentina

We have travelled again, and arrived yesterday on an overnight bus in Bariloche, in the Lake District of Argentina. Light snow was falling which was a distinct contrast to the coast at Puerto Madryn. The scenery is post card perfect with snow covered mountains, dense forests in the valleys, and large lakes. On our last day in Puerto Madryn, we joined a tour group on to the Peninsula Valdes itself. Disappointing in comparison to our previous experiences with whales and sea lions. The reasons are two fold, one being that our timing of our trip to this part of the world is maybe a month or two before the main concentrations of marine wildlife arrive at the peninsula, and secondly that even though the peninsula is a world heritage site, the peninsula is entirely privately owned and expensive! Access to various parts of the peninsula are limited and our only marine sighting was a few scattered elephant seals. Our disitnct memory though will definitely be the underwater close encounter with the sea lions.

Our Dive with Sea Lions - pictures are worth a thousand words !

Sea Lion Scuba Dive, Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Well this morning has definitely been another highlight of our entire trip, scuba diving with sea lions. As we anchored the boat off Punto Loma (the same spot we cycled to yesterday), some of the inquisitive sea lions were already leaving the beach, splashing into the sea and swimming towards the boat, soon surrounding us. We dived for close to 40 minutes at a shallow depth of 7 metres, and the dive was awesome. At times we had up to 30 female sea lions surrounding us, extremely inquisitive but not aggressive at all. They gently bit at our hands and arms and played around us, and at one point Heather had one grab on to the top her hood and pull her gently upwards. When we surfaced to the boat, a group surrounded us leaping out of the water, almost disappointed that the encounter was over. The conditions were extremely cold with a water temperature of 9 Deg C, and towards the end of the dive, both of us were starting to feel chilled. The worst was to come though once we were in the boat and heading back to the dive club - it was COLD! but definitely worth it.

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

As a kid, I remember watching a few TV wildlife documentaries on the rich marine life off the Atlantic coast of Patagonia, and specifically around Peninsula Valdes. One of the natural wonders is the unique hunting behaviour of orca whales that voluntary strand themselves on the beach to catch sea lions or young elephant seals, before wriggling back into the sea. Yesterday at midday, we arrived by bus in Puerto Madryn situated in one of the bays next to the famous peninsula. We found a hostel, had a shower, and headed for the beach front. The day was sunny and calm, and we were just in time to watch 6 or 7 southern right whales just off shore and very close to the pier. What a spectacular viewing for almost two hours. This morning the weather was cold and drizzling, but we stuck to our plan and cycled round the bay to Punto Loma, and a reserve for sea lions and a colony of cormorants. The land is certainly very barren with low scrub, but the sea has abundant animal life.

Mar del Plata, Argentina

From Buenos Aires, we have headed further south along the Atlantic coastline to the large coastal resort town of Mar del Plata. Even though the weather is not great - windy and cool but with mostly clear skies, we have had the advantage of being in town away from the summer holiday makers. Yesterday we walked for many kilometres along the coastal promenade to and from the main port. We had an enjoyable afternoon exploring the busy port with many deep sea and shore based fishing vessels, and a huge number of south american sea lions basking in almost every spare space along the harbour.

Sunset, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Back to Argentina and Buenos Aires

Our goal had been to watch live a premier league football match in Uruguay´s capital Montevideo or Buenos Aires in Argentina. We managed to book an organised trip to a match on Sunday, and so Saturday consisted of two bus rides and a late night ferry ride to get us back to the capital of Argentina. The match was an incredible experience of fanatical south american football fans between one of the ´big five´ clubs Racing Club and a smaller club Lanus. On the way to the match we were warned by our host to shout loudly and cheer when the host team (Racing Club) scored, but look very sad when the opposition scored. We are told every Argentinian supports a football team, and even an hour before the start, the singing of the standing crowds was awesome. We sat away from the standing room only parts of the stadium. The security was intense with the opposition fans confined to a smaller portion of the stadium and separated by high fences and riot police. The rule after every match is that the home fans have to sit and wait fifteen minutes before their gates are opened, to allow the opposition supporters to leave the stadium without incident. Even the field is surrounded by a concrete trench to limit any access onto the field - no different to an elephants enclosure at the zoo. The football was not that impressive being the first game of the season, but to see the passion of the supporters was something to be remembered.

Penguin Encounter - Communicating on another level !

Punta del Diablo, Uruguay

True to the original theme of this blog, the following entry relates to an encounter with wildlife, in this case penguins on the beaches of Punta del Diablo. Even in this remarkably beautiful coastline, we were starkly reminded of the devastation caused by mankind on the environment worlwide. Daily, guests from the hostel see exhausted penguins, some still alive and some dead, washed up on the beaches. We stayed with one for over two hours today. We were able to approach extremely closely, but with no aggressive response from it, as would be expected by any wild animal. Rightly or wrongly, I picked it up to encourage it back into the water, and found what might be the cause of the penguin losses, a distinct greasy residue, smelling of petroleum. A very sad part of the day.

Punta del Diablo, Uruguay

We are fortunate to have found again another terrific spot, and this time unlike any other on our trip so far - an Atlantic coast seaside resort. We are here in the off season, and the small village only has a population of about 1000 people with many empty holiday cottages. We are told in summer in the peak season, over 20 000 tourists move in and take over. The coastline is beautiful. The average stay at the hostel is 6 days, as travellers "hang out" in this amzing spot. We were up early to watch the sunrise, and in over four hours of walking today we came across only another four people. The following photos say it all !