Great White Sharks, Gansbaai, South Africa

Could not conclude this series of blog updates without a mention of our trip to view great white sharks offshore from Gansbaai. Many people don't agree with these trips, as a small bait is used to attract the sharks, and does anybody really know how their natural behaviour is being impacted. We can only say great things however about the trip we took with sharkwatchsa.com. My opinion is still that the broader positive impact in terms of awareness, education and support of research and scientific endeavours is worth it. Respect for the creatures is maintained. After a number of visits by smaller great whites, towards the end of our trip a large female came close to the boat, and estimates were 4.5 meters in length - just an amazing creature to see so close ! Visibility in the water was poor that day, and our best viewing was from deck outside of the shark cage.

Cape Point, South Africa

Well, having made it to the southern tip of the South American continent in 2008, (Close, Ushuaia was our furthest point south), Heather and I reached Cape Point in South Africa. Again, not the southern most point of the continent, that would be Cape Agulhas further east. We were just two of many, many tourists visiting on a terrific cape summer's day. We did manage to find a more secluded rocky picnic spot for a siesta. Since a large portion of the peninsula is now a national park, we encountered ostrich and bontebok close to the rocky Atlantic shores.

African Penguin Colony, Simon's Town, South Africa

On the first day of our trip to Cape Town in February this year, we stopped at the penguin colony in Simon's Town. A huge change, and improvement, to the infrastructure and protection of the land-based colony since I studied at university in Cape Town. Unfortunately as with most wildlife around the world, the continued survival of these penguins is threatened, since they have to swim further and further to fish in competition with commercial fishing fleets. The picture below of the parent and chicks is amusing though - I am not sure how much protection from the sun, the parent was actually providing !

 

Black Mamba, Limpopo-Lipadi, Botswana

Talked about often around bushveld camp fires, and in first aid courses, but not often seen ! After many visits and work in southern African game reserves, this is the first I have seen in the wild. The snake crossed the dirt road in front of the game drive vehicle, went through the game fence and up into a tree outside the reserve. With it's flared neck, the snake is upset with our presence, but the photo is misleading. It is a significantly cropped image from a 500mm telephoto lens image. We did not get to see the black mouth diagnostic for the species, but the "coffin shaped" head seemed to confirm the identification. The snake was probably close to 2m long.