This is a view of the Cape of Good Hope as seen from on top of Cape Point. Portugal’s Bartolomeu Dias was the first to round it in 1488. He named it the “Cape of Storms,” for good reason. Ten years later, Vasco da Gama followed the same route and then sailed up the coast of Africa, prompting King John II of Portugal to rename it the “Cape of Good Hope.” It opened a sea route to fabulous wealth of the spice trade in India and the Far East.
Today marks my 25th and final post on our African Safari. As you read this, Peggy and I are driving between Carson City, Nevada and the Central Coast of California where we will spend the next two weeks exploring Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, Pinnacles National Park and the surrounding area. The visit will kick off our next series: A three month, thousand mile journey following the Pacific Coast through Northern California, Oregon and Washington— one of the world’s most beautiful coastlines.
But first, a wrap up on South Africa where we will visit the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town and Table Mountain.
We took a full day excursion from Cape Town down to the Cape of Good Hope. Along the way, we were entertained by the ostrich, snakes, penguins and a lizard that you have already met in previous posts. This is the end of the road— as far as you can drive on the south-western coast of Africa without getting wet.This is Point Cape, just east of the Cape of Good Hope. Looking west, we had the view of the Cape that I showed in the first photo.This lighthouse was built was built in 1859 on Da Gama Peak, the summit of Cape Point, 780 feet (238m) above sea level, to protect sailors from the dangerous rocks off Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. It seemed like the ideal location. Unfortunately, it was often hidden by fog. A modern lighthouse is now located down Cape Point at 275 feet (78m). The hawk was a bonus.Our drive down to the Cape of Good Hope provided this view just south of Cape Town. We also saw this young caracal with its impressive long ears near the Cape. Our guide Johnathon was very excited and told us this was the first caracal he had ever seen in the wild. A member of the cat family, it hunts almost exclusively at night and is rarely seen by anyone! We were lucky. I moved quickly to get a shot before it disappeared into the brush.This rather impressive Peninsula Granite Fynbos wasn’t going anywhere, however. Peggy and I could take our time photographing it. It’s endemic to the Cape Town region and nowhere else.I managed to sneak up on one for a close up…And another. Now, back to Cape Town and the Springboks. I’m not talking about the attractive South African antelope known for its pronking, taking several 6 foot high leaps into the air in quick succession. I am talking about the South Africa’s Rugby Team that had just won the World Championship and was booked into our hotel for their Cape Town celebration.A large crowd had gathered around our hotel and was waiting their arrival. The police opened their cordon to let us through. Several people thought we were related somehow and snapped our photos. A number of teenage girls waited nervously. One actually managed to get a selfie with one of the stars. She tried to be cool when taking the photo but immediately screamed afterwards. So much for cool.Our guide, Jonathan, took us on a tour of Cape Town and Table Mountain in addition to taking us down to the Cape of Good Hope. Here, he is talking about the colorful homes in the small community known as Bo-Kaap that I featured at the end of my last post.The original residents of Bo-Kaap were descendants of slaves imported by the Dutch from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka during the 16th and 17th centuries.Because of their cultural heritage, Bo-Kaap is primarily a Muslim Community. Even the mosque was brightly painted, matching the brightly painted homes.One of the homes.It seemed that each one was painted a different color.A final exampleWe found this artistic elephant in Bo-Kaap…And this man selling freshly caught fish from the back of his pickup.Johnathon also took us to the Shimansky diamond jewelry shop where we watched diamonds being cut.The diamond cutters showed us two of the diamonds he was working on. Judging from their size, I’d say they were a bit beyond my budget. Quite a bit.Any trip to Cape Town should include a trip up to Table Mountain, the dramatic backdrop for the city. We got there by going up this tram.Almost there…Looking back at Cape Town from Table Top Mountain.Our hotel was mixed in among these tall buildings. View of the top of Table Top…And another view. A number of flowers demanded their photos be taken.Including one I had never seen: a peninsula conebush. The cone is tough and will only open and release its seeds as a result of fire. Cala Lilies were an old friend.These flowers created a pretty bouquet among the rocks.Peggy shows the mist rising up on the ocean side of Table Mountain. Her hair shows that it was accompanied by a breeze.This little beauty, an orange-breasted sunbird, was waiting for us as we neared the end of our time on Table Top Mountain.After all of the great people, incredible wildlife, and striking scenery, I think it is only appropriate that we end our African safari series with the small hyrax on Table Top Mountain, seemingly waving goodbye to us. The next morning we began our long air journey back to Virginia. I hope you enjoyed this series. We were ever so glad you decided to come along. Next up, an introduction to our thousand mile journey following the Pacific Coast.
I promised more sunsets as I continue the wrap-up on our African safari. This one was on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. Today, I will be focusing on those photos from Lake Kariba, Chobe National Park and Hwange National Park that were blog-worthy but didn’t fit into our earlier posts.After sunset, it’s time for moonrise. Right? We were entertained by a full-moon at Lake Kariba one night, when we out exploring later than usual. That’s a weaver bird nest on the right, BTW.I was curious about how my new camera would handle a close-up.This was our houseboat on Lake Kariba.Numerous islands were on the lake.Most of the islands were covered in vegetation. This one featured acacia trees. Rangers from Matusadona National Park next to Lake Kariba took us on a trip back into the park that I covered in other posts. But I missed this photo of impala and zebras running. We found that the wildlife at Matusadona was much more skittish than it had been at other national parks. I figured it was because they saw far fewer tourists, either that or there were more poachers operating in the area. We woke up at 5:00 on the morning we were supposed to return to port because the boat was rocking and rolling. A major storm had come in overnight that none of the weather forecasts had predicted. This photo was taken from where we were anchored close to the shore. Big waves were rolling on the lake. Lake Kariba is the largest manmade lake in the world by volume. The captain took the boat out, looked at the waves, and brought the boat back in. It was too dangerous. There was talk of bringing another boat in that could handle the waves better. Eventually the waves calmed down enough that the captain was willing to make the trip. It was a rough crossing. We knew how rough when we tried to walk and when the liquor bottles came tumbling off the shelves in the bar. We survived!While we in Africa at the wrong time to see the massive migrations that take place, this herd of Cape buffalo moving along the Chobe River gave us a feel for what it might be like.A closer view of the Cape buffalo. A jackal in Chobe National Park.Here I am with the warthog at our lodge on the Chobe River. You can see how close I was and how unconcerned he was about my presence. There were several photos of this fellow when I did my post featuring warthogs. This photo provides a look at what much of the terrain looked like in Chobe National Park away from the river. We had stopped for a snack and potty break. You are looking at the restroom. It was called wander off into the bush where you couldn’t be seen and hopefully not eaten.Samantha demonstrates how to headload toilet paper. Guides make a tremendous difference in the success of any tour and Samantha is among the best that Peggy and I have ever had. She was knowledgeable, efficient, and fun. Hats off to the Collette Travel Agency for hiring her. The waterlilies along the Chobe River were magnificent. Before moving on to Hwange National Park, here’s a photo of sunset over the Chobe River.We stayed at Iganyana Tented Camp when we visited Hwange National Park. The swimming pool where the elephants came to drink while we were eating dinner is just off to the right. Iganyana is the name for the African painted dog. This one was located in a shelter designed to provide care for the painted dogs that had been injured. This was our tent, which was quite comfortable, glamping at its best! The dark spot to the right of the trail was where the Cape buffalo left its calling card.Terry Anders, who co-owns the Iganyana Tented Camp along with his wife Sheona, took us on a safari walk through the area surrounding the camp. He and one of his staff were both armed in case of a wildlife attack. Here he stopped to talk about termites. Peggy’s brother John and I were persuaded to sample what the termite mound tasted like. Dirt. Large termite mounds were found wherever we traveled in Botswana and Zimbabwe, as they were in West Africa when I served there as a Peace Corps Volunteer. We called them bug-a-bugs in Liberia.Cal Nyer, a photographer and videographer from the Collette Travel Agency joined us on our journey through Botswana and Zimbabwe and added a lot to our trip. Here he has climbed the stump near the Iganyana Tenanted Camp that the lions had climbed up to escape the rampaging Cape buffalo that I blogged about. I can pretty much guarantee that the lions got up there much more quickly than Cal. But had he been chased by an angry Cape buffalo…I’ll close today with this photo of Cal and me. Next up: South Africa and our last Safari post. Bo-Kaap is a colorful neighborhood in Cape Town South Africa.
When David Livingston, the seasoned Scottish missionary and explorer, first came upon these roaring falls, one of the largest in the world, he was so impressed he named it after Queen Victoria, England’s long reigning monarch. To the natives of the region, however, the falls were Mosi-oa-Tunya, or “Thundering Smoke.”
I tried, I really did. This was supposed to be my last post on our African Safari. But when I looked through the last thousand photos of scenery, people, and a catch-all-miscellaneous that I considered blog worthy, I just couldn’t do it. Eventually, I got the thousand down to 82. I’ve divided them into three posts. Today I will focus on Victoria Falls and the surrounding area. The second post will wrap-up Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park and Lake Kariba. The last post will feature South Africa.
We arrived at Victoria Falls at the end of dry season when the water flow was close to its lowest. Imagine what this looks like at the height of rainy season! Based on its combined width, 5,604 ft (1,708 meters) and height, 354 feet (108 meters), Victoria Falls is considered the largest waterfall in the world. In April, when the river flow is at its peak, the spray sometimes reaches a height of over 2600 feet (800 meters) and can be seen from 30 miles (50k) away.A trail leads along the Zambezi River showing the main falls and several others such as this one that are part of the complex.Same falls, different view.Peggy absolutely loves falls. Whenever we are near one, we detour from our selected route. She was one one happy camper.Another view from where we were sitting. During rainy season, this view would be wiped out by the spray.And a close up. Can you hear the roar?Walking along the trail, we came on these jewels.The Zambezi River continues to cut a canyon. Eventually, this may be an island. For now, the river flows out, around this promontory, and on.We went on a dinner cruise on the Zambezi River above the falls. Clouds were threatening a beginning to the rainy season. You have already seen crocodiles, hippos, and various birds from this cruise on earlier posts.Peggy and I really liked the contrast created by this dead tree and the greenery behind it.Another view of the trees along the Zambezi.Our evening cruise also brought us a spectacular, ethereal sunset. It was one of many we experienced while we were in Africa. We will be featuring more of them in our final two posts.A view of the hotel we stayed at in Victoria Falls. This is the hotel where I was visited by the mongoose.The trees surrounding the hotel were bursting in color.We traveled with a great group of people on our safari through Botswana and Zambia. These are three of the friends we made along with Peggy’s brother John and his wife Frances joining us for a final photo in our Victoria Falls hotel. On our way to the airport to fly to South Africa, our guide, Samatha, took us to see this huge baobab tree on the outskirts of Victoria Falls. Peggy provides perspective on its size. This tree is estimated to be around 1200 years old. Its circumference is 73 feet and height 78 feet. A tree this size can hold over 120,000 liters of water, over 31,000 gallons.Another large baobab tree stood next to the giant.I took a photo from the base of the tree up. The scarification is likely caused by elephants that love to feed on its bark. That’s it for today. Our next post will feature final scenes from Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park and Lake Kariba.View along the Chobe River in Chobe National Park, Botswana.
We saw only a handful of the numerous species of antelope found in Africa but the ones we saw were magnificent, such as this handsome male kudu that came in for water at the Iganyana Tent Camp where we were staying next to Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.And brought his family of five with him including this mom and her baby.He watched over them as they drank.His spiral horns will continue to grow until they have made 2 1/2 twists. Note his large, and I think, beautiful ears. Their large size enables them to hear approaching predators. The horns of mature male kudus are used in traditional cultures as musical instruments.His female companion with her large brown eyes was as beautiful as he was handsome. A final family shot. Here’s a fun wrap-up fact: The sport of Kudu dung-spitting is practiced in southern Africa. (Think of watermelon seed spitting contests.) The winner is the person who is able to spit one of the antelope’s small, hard pellets the furthest. Our guides demonstrated for us. None of us volunteered to join them. I read that the world record is 51 feet. That person must have had one heck of a tailwind.Waterbuck: “Imagine sitting down on a freshly painted toilet seat,” our guide told us. Waterbucks are easily identifiable by the prominent ring around their tail as this female shows.A male waterbuck along the Chobe River displays his ring. This photo shows his impressive horns and rather attractive fur. When excited, the skin of a waterbuck secretes a greasy substance called “greasy kob”. It stinks so much it serves to discourage predators but it also serves as waterproofing when the waterbuck jumps into water as an escape route.Impala: The impala is another African antelope with a beautiful set of horns. We saw more of them than any other antelope.We found these elegant animals in fairly large herds. The buck behind was chewing on something.We came on this herd when we were out for an evening drive in Hwange National Park. Something had obviously alerted them. If they had spotted a predator, they would have been out of there at speeds reaching 50 miles per hour with prodigious leaps of over 30 feet in length and 10 feet in height. We were privileged to watch them leaping and running away from us at Lake Kariba. It was poetry in motion.Wildebeest: Wildebeest travel in large herds. We only saw one. Africans like to say that the wildebeest was the last antelope God created and he had run out of parts. So he took the leftovers from other animals including the stripes of zebras, bodies of hyenas and heads of buffalo and created the blue wildebeest. We found this fellow when we were on a safari hike in Hwange National Park.Later that evening we found him digging in the dirt to create a dust bath. I couldn’t help but wonder about where his spare parts came from here.He became a blur as he took his ‘bath.’ He certainly seemed to be enjoying it!Tsessebe: This was another strange looking dude. The straw in his mouth reminded me of a stereotypical country bumpkin. Tsessebe are nothing bumpkin-like when it comes to running however. They’ve been clocked at 60 mph(100k).Steenbok: And the final antelope we saw. It’s southern Africa’s smallest antelope, standing about 20 inches tall at its shoulder. It is a common but solitary animal. We found this cutie hidden alongside the road in Hwange National Park. Another view. Note the small horns and large ears. We weren’t sure what created the small scars. Our next post will be a wrap-up on our safari featuring the varied scenery, places we stayed, and the people met. Victoria Falls
This is something you don’t see every day: An elephant being carved. Our guide Samantha, who had taken us to the fishing village, decided that visiting an African artists’ workshop in Victoria Falls where various African animals were carved out of wood and stone would also be interesting to us. It was located in a junk yard that offered car and truck parts for sale. Multitasking. We arrived close to noon and lunch was being prepared.Was this lion catching a snooze?A rhino, small elephant, and African fish eagle near completion.A close up of the rhino’s head.This regal-looking eland is about to get its tail. Note the fine detail. This is the work of a master carver!A carved water buffalo was for sale in downtown Victoria Falls. Samantha told us it would cost a lot more to ship it home than it would be to buy it.We were amused by a carved crocodile chasing a welded warthog.I used the elephant head a a teaser for today’s post in my last blog. Peggy provides perspective in this photo. Several stone carvings decorated a sculpture garden.I don’t think that they were for sale.I suspect that lots of folks will find this carving ugly but I felt it was powerful and modern.This painting would feel right at home on the walls of our home.I bought a small warthog from this woman. I figured Bone would like it. And Peggy bought a piece of art made from reeds. That’s it for today. My next post will feature African antelope we encountered on our safari.A curious kudu.
If you’ve been following my blog over the past couple of months, you have already met Anhingas: In Africa. I showed one demonstrating the proper way to eat a fish in Chobe National Park, Botswana. We found this fellow with its googly eyes along the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades National Park, Florida.
Peggy and I traveled to Everglades National Park a few weeks ago, came back to our basecamp in Virginia, spent two weeks rushing to prepare for our five-month road trip, and are now in Terre Haute, Indiana sitting on the border of Missouri. We were supposed to be continuing west today, but the National Weather Service had a severe thunder and lightning storm warning up for Missouri. It’s not the type of weather to be out on the road, especially when pulling a small, light trailer.
The storm introduced itself last night. We could hear it approaching from miles away, at first a distant constant rumble, it became an earth-shaking roar. We hunkered down and wondered if Armageddon had arrived. I worried about hail. Baseball size chunks were crashing down on Kansas City. Serafina, our trailer, would not have been happy. But the storm passed us by without any damage.
On top of that, we had a propane leak, which can be more dangerous than softball-size hail. My solution, other than a few chosen words, was to shut the tanks off and wait until we could find an RV service facility to fix it, which often takes days or even weeks to schedule. Fortunately, we have options that allow us to function without propane.
Peggy and I have learned in our recent travels that mobile techs can solve most RV problems, however, often on a same-day basis and at a fair cost. Since we were here for the day, I called a local business in Terre Haute: At Your Service— Mobile RV Repair. And boy did we luck out. I reached the owner, Allen Grota, and he told me he would be over as soon as the storm stopped. He went through everything, tanks, connections and regulator. Finally he found the problem. The hose to the trailer had been left hanging next to one of our levelers and the lowering and rising of the leveler had cut it. As soon as this had happened, the regulator had shut down the tank. We weren’t in danger, but neither would we have propane. Allen then ran downtown to get what he needed to fix the problem. The cost was incredibly reasonable. And it turns out, Allen is a heck off a nice guy.
I’ve already done three posts on our Everglades trip: One on white pelicans, one on osprey, and one on the area around Everglade City on the Gulf Coast. I’ll conclude today featuring more of the Atlantic Coast side where we found the osprey and white pelicans. We entered the park at the Ernest F. Coe entrance. After stopping off at the Visitor Center, we made a beeline for the Anhinga Trail, just inside the park. Peggy and I had been there before and were quite impressed with the alligators and birdlife.
From there, we drove down through the park to Flamingo, where we would be glamping. We stopped along the way at various pulloffs to check out features of the Everglades emphasized by the National Park. First up, the Anhinga Trail.
Our first stop was to admire this impressive mangrove. Peggy provided perspective. Shortly afterwards, we came on this colorful bird that was busily walking over lily pads. It’s a Purple Gallinule.Quite the stretch! Check out the feet.Pretty amazing, huh.Next on our list of colorful birds along the Anhinga Trail was this great blue heron.Head shot.Here’s another shot of the googly-eyed Anhinga. One of its relatives was busily fishing in the pond below.Anhinga style, only its head was above the water. We liked the shadow.It had been fishing under water and came up for air here.A turtle also swam by underwater while we were watching the Anhinga.In addition to the wildlife, the scenery along Anhinga Trail is also quite attractive. A loud noise in the middle of it caught our attention…A large alligator had raised its head among the trees and was bellowing.A close up. Remember, one way you can tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator is that the crocodile shows its teeth. The alligator doesn’t. Another is the alligator has a shorter snout.Having made his point, whatever it was, the big fellow swam toward us. We liked this photo as well.One of our stops along the way toward Flamingo was the Mahogany Hammock Trail where we found this great egret. I called it scruffy neck. They say that great egrets have really long necks.That would certainly appear to be true from this photo. But it got longer…We wondered if it had inherited giraffe genes!A head shot. Our glamping tent in Flamingo. It had a good view of Florida Bay. Low tide brought in various birds to take advantage of the the feast it made available.Among them were these guys hungrily scarfing down miscellaneous delicacies, at least from their perspective. While they may seem like different birds, they are all white ibis in their various development stages from juvenile to adult. A reflection shot of one of the adults.A snowy egret joined the white ibis.I close with this shot of the egret. Next up, we take a look at some of the excellent wildlife carvings we found in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and take you to the workshop where they were made. You will be surprised.
Children anxiously awaited our arrival at the tribe fishing village we visited on Lake Kariba. Which one was trouble? Grin
When the Zambezi River was flooded in the 60s to create Lake Kariba, several villages of Tonga people were flooded— without compensation. Some of them were later granted limited fishing concessions on the lake. Our guide was eager for us to meet Africans as well as wildlife and arranged a tour of one village located on an island. I found the people and village life quite similar to what I had experienced as a young Peace Corp Volunteer in West Africa 50 years earlier. Following are some of the photos that Peggy and I took.
Life continued as usual in the village during our visit. The bathtub.The dish washer.And dish dryer.Child safety seat. How much safer could one be?Transportation system.Mainstreet.Housing construction varied. This one was was made of round mud bricks.The construction process. We watched as bricks were added.A different technique.Both methods would eventually be finished off with this solid clay covering, which I assume withstood rain.Roofing materials varied as well. This was a traditional covering. The reeds were purchased from a nearby town and brought in by boat.Modern tarps of various kinds were more common.This came as a surprise. You may have noticed it on our ‘Main Street’ photo. A solar panel makes lots of sense. Roof decoration? It’s possible that this hippo jaw was present to scare away evil spirits.A more modern store featuring the latest in sugar-free drinks! “Same great taste.” Even in 1965, the then small town of Gbarnga, Liberia where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer had a Coke billboard. And one for Guinness.The chief of the village (blue shirt and leaning on post) took us on a tour where cooking, house building and fish net mending were demonstrated. The man in the cap talking is the captain of the houseboat we lived on while exploring Lake Kariba. This demonstration was how the Tonga cooked fish.Mmm, mmm, good! Since fishing was the primary source of income for the villagers, fish were also their primary source of food. The village’s fishing boat fleet.Mending fishing nets was an ongoing, daily process.Fish caught for sale were salted and dried.Close up.A different drying rack.Fish filet! Yum.After a steady fish diet, eggs might make a welcome substitute. Or chicken? How about duck?Peggy taught one of the children to make the Peace sign. The kids were an absolute delight.How did she do that?And here Peggy was teaching them the ‘A wuni kuni ki yo oonie’ song and clapping game. Everyone of our grandchildren, nieces and nephews will immediately recognize this. Peggy, a retired and well-loved elementary school principal, had a large group of the children with her wherever she went in the village. I’ll close today with a photo of two of the children who had adopted John. He skipped up to the village with them!
Peggy and I are on the road again. Tomorrow we start our journey west where we will be taking three months to travel up the West Coast from Big Sur to Olympia National Park camping out in our travel trailer as we go. I will blog about the trip as we go! Hopefully, I’ll be able to wrap up Africa and the Everglades on our two week drive across the US. I’ll continue to read blogs and respond to comments as time allows.
Cape buffalo are dangerous, no doubt about it. But what makes them so? The look alone says “Don’t mess with me.” The eyes, the horns, the ears and even the nose speak of danger! We were safely ensconced in our boat on the Chobe River. Did I mention that the buffalo are great swimmers…Size matters. The big bulls can weigh up to a ton. The really big ones can reach over 6 feet in height and 11 feet in length.Which, in no way, means that you would want to mess with a thousand pound female…And then there are the horns. No one, not even a lion, wants to be hooked by one.They are the boss. That is actually what the horn structure is called. The solid shield created where the horns meet is so tough that it can withstand the pressure of another large male crashing against it!They attack as a group. You won’t be dealing with one. It could be the whole herd. They protect each other, including the young, the old and the sick. The largest males form a circle around the vulnerable with their horns pointing out. When a calf cries in alarm, the bulls come charging.Terry, the co-owner of the Iganyana Tent Camp where we stayed on the edge of Hwange National Park, told us a story about this downed tree. His brother-in-law came to visit and went out for an evening walk. He called Terry and asked for a pick up because he heard lions. Terry jumped in his truck and rushed to the scene. He didn’t have to worry about the lions. They were up as high as they could get on the stump as the herd of buffalo ran in circles under it, threatening instant death if they dared to come down. That’s how scary they are. The week before we arrived, a herd of around a thousand came to visit the camp and stayed until 11 that night, Terry told us. No one could go back to their tent until the buffalo left! One of them left its calling card on the pathway up to the tent we were staying in. Peggy and I had a hard time imagining being in the tent while the herd roamed around outside.We were out for an evening drive with our guide when we came across the herd crossing the road. “Be quiet,” the guide told us. “Be very quiet.” The guide waited until there was a break and dashed through it.What our guided didn’t tell us was that the herd was coming to graze in the same field where a surprise party was being hosted for us! While Peggy made horns, I checked out the tree for a possible escape. Just in case, you know. I’m happy to report that the buffalo happily munched away on their side of the field while we drank on ours. Fortunately, there was a sufficient supply of alcohol with a great motto. Enough that Peggy changed her approach to making horns. That’s it for today. The next post will be about a fishing village we visited on an island in Lake Kariba, and a carving camp we shopped at in Victoria Falls.A few of the children from the fishing village gathered around me and demanded that I take their photo.
Well maybe not pretty, but we thought the neck colors of this wood stork we found standing next to the road in Big Cypress National Preserve rather striking. We asked her if she hired out for delivering babies. Her response was, “Are they tasty?”
Peggy and I visited two different areas during our recent trip to the Everglades. The first was Everglade City that I will be blogging about today. It’s a small town on the southwest Gulf Coast that has a feel of old Florida. It’s far away from the huge populations and hustle-bustle of the southeast coast where Miami reigns. We could easily walk anywhere in town and meet friendly people, including a few old timers who fit the description of quirky. Our kind of folks.
The town’s primary source of income is the tourist trade that comes to experience the natural wonders and adventures provided by the Everglades 10,000 Islands and the Big Cypress National Preserve. Local businesses offer a variety of options for exploring inside and outside of the park from airboats and swamp buggies to eco-tours and kayaks. We chose a motorboat eco-tour for the 10,000 Islands area. To start, we drove south from Everglade City for a couple of miles to Chokoloskee Island and the end of the road. Our objective was the old Smallwood Store, which does double duty as a museum and a tour center. The store provided a perspective on the first white settlers in the area. We met out tour guide/boat captain there and headed out into the 10,000 Islands with one other couple. Following are a few highlights.
Three different species of mangroves provide the base for most of Florida’s 10,000 Islands. These trees have adaptations that allow them to take in extra oxygen and to remove salt that allows them to thrive in coastal intertidal zones. The creation of new islands is an ongoing process. 10,000 is a guesstimate at best. Our two hour trip took us through the relatively open waterways shown above to the enclosed jungle-like canal shown here. Speed varied from zoom to put-put with occasional stops to admire the local flora and fauna.The Everglades are one of the few places on earth where crocodiles and alligators co-exist. While our small, bouncy boat wasn’t the best platform for photography, it’s easy to see that this is a crocodile from its long, thin snout and visible teeth. Our tour through the 10,000 Islands also produced this colorful bird with its interesting top-knot, a yellow-crowned night heron.Something moving very fast left this trail through the water in a split second. Can you guess what it was?It was a dolphin. Several of them had chased fish into the shallow water and were working to catch them. I had never realized how fast they are. Apparently they are quite common in the area. One tour operater offered, “If you don’t see dolphins on our trip we will refund your tickets.”
After our tour, we stopped at a local Chokoloski Island institution, the HavAnnA Cafe for lunch. It’s a charming, roofed-over, open air restaurant with lots of greenery— and chickens. A flock came clucking through while we were eating, eager to pick up any crumbs that had escaped to the floor. “The officials won’t let me sell their eggs to our customers,” the owner complained to us. I was both surprised and pleased that the officials allowed the chickens visiting rights at all. I did see chicken on the menu, however. I ordered a Cuban Sandwich instead.
We decided to drive ourselves on a tour of the Big Cypress National Preserve, which was just north of Everglade City. The name of the road we would start on is Birdon Road. How could we resist? And it was true. The three roads we drove over— Birdon, Wagon Wheel, and the Turner River— followed streams and were packed with birds, and alligators.
A pair of wood storks barely bothered to move off of Birdon road as we drove by.An osprey seemed surprised by our presence. A snowy egret hovered over a stream where it was fishing.One of the defining chacteristics of a snowy egret is its yellow feet. Hard to miss!Close up.This snowy egret was perched in a tree. One of the streams we followed through the Preserve.This great white egret was surveying its world from the top of a tree.Another view.We found another one fishing by the stream and took a close up.A great blue heron flew away before we could take his photo. “Be that way,” I called after it and snapped a photo in flight. An anhinga twisted its neck so it could keep an eye on us.A white ibis was also curious.We also found alligators lurking along the stream. The clearness of the water and the time of day led to some interesting reflection shots.…such as this.And even more so here! I’ll wrap up today’s post with this ‘two tailed’ example. At first glance, Peggy and I thought we had spotted a monster! The next blog will be on the most dangerous animal in Africa, the Cape buffalo.
“Snake? What snake? Let me at it!” It’s hard to believe that this cute, friendly looking mongoose lying outside my door at our lodge in Victoria Falls could be a deadly enemy to snakes, or anything, except bugs…A pack had arrived on the lawn while I was “home alone.” Peggy had gone out with our group to a local in-home dinner while I was catching up on some much needed rest. The mongoose were all busily hunting for insects except for the one that was taking advantage of our warm balcony. I think she took offense at my comment…“Who dares to say I can’t take on a snake?” I thought I’d provide her with some options…How about this one? We heard our next door neighbors yelling as they dashed out of their tent cabin on the edge of Hwange National Park. They had a visitor, this long olive green fellow that looked like a black mamba. Black mamba’s are long, skinny, and can be more olive colored than black. They are one of the most feared snakes in Africa. I grabbed my camera and ran over to photograph it before the staff showed up and kicked me out. Getting up close and personal with a mamba might not seem too smart but I’ve been known to lie down in front of rattlesnakes so I can get good headshots. Grin. But hey, I turned 81 yesterday and I’m still here. Turns out it was a grass snake, but boy could it move fast. The staff came armed with brooms.Or how about this large black snake? It looked scary enough when we came upon it near the Cape of Good Hope. It’s nonpoisonous, however, and good at capturing gophers and mice. The next snake we discovered close by was different, a worthy opponent of of my visiting mongoose. It’s scientific name is Bitis ariens, and with a name like Bitis…The puff adder causes more fatalities than any other snake in Africa and is responsible for 60% of the snake bites in South Africa. With long fangs, a venom that kills cells, and the ability to swim and climb trees, it was not a snake to be messed with. Note its forked tongue and puffed out cheeks.It headed off for the grass and we were glad to let it go. We saw several other reptiles that didn’t push our heart rates off the charts, including a six-foot long lizard.We spotted this monitor lizard on the banks of the Chobe River in Botswana. They can reach 6 1/2 feet in length and are known for standing on their hind legs to monitor their surroundings, thus the name. In addition to being the largest lizard in Africa, they are the only lizard with a forked tongue. Some specialists argue that this makes them more snake than lizard. They are also supposed to have a high IQ— for a lizard. Apparently, they can be taught to count up to six. One clever thing they do that I read about is lay their eggs on termite nests. The termites cover them up and the nest provides protection and heat regulation. When they are born, they have a ready supply of termites to eat. It hardly seems a fair way to treat your host.We found this colorful lizard on a rock near the Cape of Good Hope. It’s a southern African rock agama.It disappeared over the edge, but then poked its head up to watch us.We were up on Table Mountain next to Cape Town, South Africa, when we spotted this interesting, “armor-plated” lizard. It’s called a black girdled lizard.I’ve always liked tortoises. I wasn’t expecting to see any in Africa, so this leopard tortoise in Chobe National Park came as a happy surprise.We also found another one. Check out its attractive shell. Males compete for their lady loves by bumping into each other. They also pursue and bump into females until they agree to mate. But mainly, both males and females wander around and graze on grass and other herbaceous plants.And now back to mammals and the competition for cutest animal. We thought that the mongoose featured on top might win, but that was before we met a hyrax up on Table Mountain.As I mentioned in my last post, hyraxes have a number of physiological characteristics that make them more closely related to elephants and manatees than to the rodents one would expect. They are found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.And just how cute are they? Our sister-in-law, Frances, couldn’t resist buying a cuddly toy hyrax for her new granddaughter.Speaking of cute, this small velvet monkey showed up at a restaurant overlooking the Victoria Falls gorge where we had stopped for lunch. I think he was looking for a paw out. That does it for today. On Wednesday, Peggy and I will take you back to the Everglades. On Friday, it’s all about Cape buffalo. On Wednesday, we’ll return to the fantastic birdlife of the Everglades and the Bald Cypress National Preserve plus throw in some crocodiles, alligators and dolphins.
Wandering through Time and Place 