South Africa is a country on the southernmost tip of the African continent, marked by several distinct ecosystems. Inland safari destination Kruger National Park is populated by big game. The Western Cape offers beaches, lush winelands around Stellenbosch and Paarl, craggy cliffs at the Cape of Good Hope, forest and lagoons along the Garden Route, and the city of Cape Town, beneath flat-topped Table Mountain.
Table Mountain is one of the oldest mountains in the world, believed to be about 240 million years old. The mountain is often covered in cloud. The cloud that forms around the mountain is called “table cloth”.
Duiker Island or Duikereiland, also known as Seal Island, is an island off Hout Bay near Cape Town South Africa.
The island is renowned for its marine wildlife, including the Cape fur seals and marine bird species such as the common cormorants and kelp gulls.
The seal colony has between 5,000 and 8,000 seals in it – though the number in the water on any given day is completely up to the seals and their moods.
Boulders Nature Reserve is a sanctuary for wild African penguins and offers pristine white sandy beaches and granite rocks for plenty of sheltered nesting and breeding areas.
The aquatic birds, which are an endangered species, were formerly called jackass penguins on account of their donkey-like braying – you’ll have a chance to hear it if you turn up during the main breeding season, which peaks from March to May.
African penguins breed in huge, noisy colonies. They lay two eggs in burrows, bowl-shaped depressions dug in the sand, which protect the eggs from the sun. Similar to other species of penguin, they tend to form tight pair bonds, and both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks for 2 to 4 months.
The five life stages of an African penguin are an egg, hatchling, chick, juvenile and adult. hatch. Once the hatchlings hatch, they are fed by their parents for up to three months. At that point they molt their down feathers and are now able to swim and forage with the parent still providing food.
The average lifespan of an African penguin is 10 to around 25 years in the wild and up to 30 in captivity. The primary predators of African penguins at sea include sharks and fur seals.
The Cape was originally named the Cape of Storms in the 1480s by the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias. It was later renamed to Good Hope to attract more people to the Cape Sea Route that passed the southern coast of Africa.
The fauna at the beautiful Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point National Park in South Africa is very diverse. Around 250 bird species, various mammals, reptiles and insects – from Cape Mountain Zebras and antelopes to tortoises, lizards or colorful grasshoppers – and wild ostriches, can be found in this place.
World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park is an avian, reptilian and wildlife sanctuary in Hout Bay, a suburb of Cape Town in South Africa.
Over 3 000 birds (and small animals) of 400 different species are uniquely presented in more than 100 spacious landscaped walk through aviaries, allowing you the most intimate closeness with nature.
A tropical garden setting in the Hout Bay Valley is the environment in which the aviaries are spaced over 4 ha of land, framed by the back of Table Mountain, the Twelve Apostles, Constantiaberg, Chapman’s Peak and Little Lion’s Head. A paradise for nature lovers and photographers, the World of Birds is one of Cape Town’s premier tourist attractions which no visitor should miss.
There’s a 300-kilometer stretch of coastal road on the south west tip of South Africa regarded as the most beautiful region in the country. Known as The Garden Route, the road trip gets its name from the Garden Route National Park that it covers, and the diverse vegetation and wildlife, and abundance of lagoons, lakes, mountains, forests, and beaches along its winding roads. Home to almost a dozen nature and marine reserves, a road trip on the Garden Route offers plenty of opportunities for activities along the way, from hiking to eco and whale watching tours, to exploring caves and deserted sandy beaches.
The route meanders between the Indian Ocean and the Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua mountain ranges, creating contrasting, yet equally stunning views on either side. The lush greenery of the indigenous forests meets the jagged cliffs and the sprawling coastal vistas, producing the type of panoramic views only found in magazines.
Buffelsdrift Game Reserve is set at the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains in the Cango Valley. This sprawling 3000 hectare reserve is home to an array of wildlife including rhino, zebra, elephants, cape buffalo, eland, springbok, giraffe and hippo. Over 200 bird species, pristine bushveld and lush vegetation all add to a truly unique bushveld experience in the heart of the Klein Karoo.
I have stayed in one of the luxury tents, a few steps away from the waterhole filled with hippos. On the first day, we took part in elephant walk and feeding.
The three elephants were orphaned when the adults were poached. Jabari, Bullelo and Malaika come from circumstances that if the lodge did not intervene, they would not be alive today. They are true gentle giants and have great personalities. Elephants are very affectionate and caring animals.
