South Africa, March 19th - April 2nd 2019

[GordonT]

After leaving Nova Scotia on March 19th, we touched down in Johannesburg, the morning of March 21st. We spent three nights visiting newly met relatives in town,venturing out into the countryside as well, before moving on to Kruger National Park for three nights and thence to Cape Town. Without knowing what to expect of a visit in early autumn, the trip was simply amazing!

Our first plant 'discoveries' were encountered while on a guided "Snare Walk" (searching for illegal snares in the nature reserve... we found none that day) in the Cradle of Humankind, outside of Johannesburg. The first plant to show up was a terrestrial orchid, which I thought was a species of Satyrium, but now I am not so sure. Photographs aren't the best since we relied on the phone to document our trip.

There were more hidden treasures hidden in the grasses of the high veldt, but without flowers, identification was impossible. Boophone disticha however, was an exception. We saw another even larger plant a few hundred meters away from this one, but were so engrossed in the landscape, we missed taking a photo.

Another exception was Xerophyta retinervis. I only wish it had been in bloom. This is the first member of the Velloziaceae that I have seen in real life, and it is locally known as the "Black Stick Lily". Two other plants spotted that day were both unidentifiable to me, one might be a species Gladiolus, and the other could be another Brunsvigia species

[David Nicholson]

Must have been a wonderful trip Gordon, thanks for posting and I hope there is more to come.

[GordonT]

Thank you David, and yes, there will be plenty more to come. we began our trip in Johannesburg,after more than 40 hours travel time. Thankfully we slept during both intercontinental flights (Canada  to Germany, and then on to South Africa). After a few days in Johannesburg, we  visited Kruger National Park for three nights before finishing the journey in Cape Town. i hope you don't mind if I post a few photos of wildlife along with all the plants we experienced.

[Maggi Young]

Goodness me , it would be  "criminal" not to have  wild life  pix from a South African trip!

[GordonT]

Will do my best to not disappoint!

[GordonT]

Actually, the first "wildlife" we saw upon arrival (not counting the crowds at O R Tambo Airport), was of the insect persuasion. The grounds of our hotel in Poortview, Johannesburg, were quite lush, so it wasn't a surprise to see insects so quickly. It seemed a bit odd however that the first sightings were Mantids.

The white mantis wasn't fooling anyone with its slow shuffle across the pavers. i hope the poor thing made it onto the stucco walls, before it was spotted by a bird. I couldn't identify the species.

I nearly missed the second mantis. Our unit at the hotel had a small courtyard with a tiny garden containing one of the tree aloes. One of the aloe stems had a dead twig that seemed a bit small for the diameter of the main stem. On closer inspection, it turned out to be an African twig mantis (Popa spurca).

The following two days were spent exploring the archaeological heritage site 'The Cradle of Humankind". Our first venture was mainly to learn about human prehistory, and experience the high veldt. The rough drive along dirt tracks did its best to shake the fillings from my teeth, but we had an amazing time.  The trek began beside a wall of Tecoma stans... not native to South Africa, but it put on an impressive floral display. The outbound journey was hindered once by a sizeable Leopard Tortoise in the middle of the track. The ranger brought the tortoise on board briefly before moving it out of harm's way. We were given a tour of the Gladysvale cave and fossil site, before moving on to Malapa Cave, where fossilized remains ofAustralopithecus sediba were first discovered. 

Many of the caves in this region were mined for their depositsof calcium (in the form of flowstone and stalactites, in an effort to supply the Johannesburg gold rush town with Lime, needed for construction. Piles ofdiscarded rock from mining activity isoften a source for fossils, but without the context provided by laying in situ, these bones do not provide any valuable information about the era when they were formed.The Gladysvale dig site has only given up a vast number of antelope bone fossils. They littered the ground outside the cavern itself.

[GordonT]

We managed to get some photographs of two of the three archaeological sites we visited on adventure day 1. The Gladysvale and Malapa caves were really interesting to us, (as well as being necessary to our trip, since our good friends, who were caring for our pups during our trip, are both retired archaeologists). Gladysvale Cave clearly showed signs of the late 19th century carbonate mining, with stalactites having been removed. The remains of a  rustic Lime Kiln were found nearby.


After seeing the Gladysvale cave, with its stalactites and flow stone, we were surprised by the unassuming appearance of Malapa Cave. It doesn't so much resemble a proper cave, as it does a modest depression in the ground. our guide let us know that looks are deceiving... Malapa is still under active investigation, and has already yielded countless fossils of early hominin species.


Malapa Cave, and the ongoing discoveries being found there, make for quite a tale. You can read more about it here:

https://www.maropeng.co.za/news/entry/malapa_cave_australopithecus_sedibas_place_of_discovery

The long drive back to our car proved to be eventful for larger African wildlife, leading to a high veldt traffic jam


Giraffes seem to be extremely curious, but still a bit wary. They chose to keep just ahead of us, walking the bush track , instead of heading into the tall grass. Eventually they tired of this slow motion game of pursuit, and moved a short distance off the road, where they could observe our antics at ease. this one towered over a "Mountain Cabbage Tree"


The local name for these short trees is Kiepersol, (Cussonia paniculata). Some of the trees we saw en route had extremely glaucous blue green foliage, and they stood out in the landscape. Our guide commented that these were his favourite trees in the field, and I would agree!

[David Nicholson]

Fascinating stuff Gordon.

[GordonT]

Thank you David. I wish we had brought a real camera for many of the photos. We relied on the phone camera instead.

My first post in this thread mentioned a "Snare Walk". This was a group event, we were briefed before venturing out into the high veldt, to search for illegal snares in the wildlife reserve.



Thankfully we didn't find any snares, but there were some interesting things to see, even as we set out from the parking lot. Weaver birds had been busy in an Acacia shading the vehicles, and as we got en route, an explosion of yellow greeted us. We wondered what  African beauty might be, and were a bit saddened to learn it was Tecoma stans, a shrub from Mexico.





The walk took us through tall grasses, and along dry gullies. Thankfully we didn't find any snares. Very little was in bloom, although we did come across a few geophytes in leaf, along with an unidentified aloe.



One thing we did find, however, were Ticks... plenty of them, hiding in the tall grass. They didn't come as a surprise to anyone, we had been cautioned beforehand. At least these ones don't carry Lyme Disease (like the ones at home).



More to follow...

[GordonT]

The following day, we left Johannesburg, and spent three nights at a safari lodge in the southern part of Kruger National Park. The lodge was an hour away from Skukuza Airport, and even the drive in, was exceptional. Baboons created a traffic jam, we saw several Kudu, Impala, and other antelope while en route.





 Our plan had been to take advantage of any "walking Safari" opportunities. This would give us a chance to see the animals and plants native to the region.  Our guide advised against  the walking option. There had been plenty of rain earlier in summer,  and the grasses were quite tall, making observation by foot, a difficult proposition.

The game drives were amazing. We were with the same guide for all six forays. Late summer is not the best time for botanising in the park,  there is not much in bloom. In spite of this, we did manage to get a few photos of local vegetation. There were several representatives from the mallow family in bloom. This is wild cotton, Gossypium herbaceum subsp. africanum.



It seemed to grow everywhere, along with Ceratotheca triloba (South African Foxglove), and a zinnia species that I thought was native... but appeared to be Zinnia peruviana. Both of these species seemed to be quite weedy, scraggly and unkempt, so we passed on taking photos.

One of the local shrubs made a far better impression, with its bright orange-red blooms. Bauhinia galpinii really makes a statement when it is happy! The local name for it is "Pride of De Kaap", and it has become a popular garden plant outside of its native range



Our first game drive ended with a spectacular sunset over the park.

[GordonT]

On the advice of our guide, our days in Kruger began with coffee in our room at 4:30 AM, and we were out in the bush by 5 AM.  This gave us three hours to explore the park at sunrise, before returning to the lodge for breakfast. we learned that the term "The Big Five"  (African Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion and Rhino) arose from the early years of hunting. All five animals on the list were viewed as the most difficult and dangerous to hunt while on foot. Thankfully all our hunting was with a camera. It was a humbling experience to see these creatures in the wild.



We learned that when a pair of lions decides to mate, they tend to stay in one place, and forgo eating. These two had been spotted the previous evening by another crew, so we were able to find them the next morning. Some of our other lion sightings were at almost unnervingly close range, but they ignored us and went about their business.

Leopards were another matter altogether. They are elusive at best, and the fact that they lounge in trees, made them both hard to discover, and a challenge to photograph. Everyone in our group (six people max) were relying on phone cameras for photos, so our images weren't the best.



Our guide, Jan, achieved the impossible. He took each of our cameras, and a pair of binoculars... and managed to hold them together perfectly, to take close-up shots of this beautiful male leopard.



It was a joy to observe elephants in the wild. During our last game drive we were stopped in the road by a family group, the lead matriarch, and younger females, along with youngsters of various ages. Martin captured a great video of them while they crossed the road in front of us, the grande dame standing guard until everyone had moved on. On an earlier foray, we came across a young bull, grazing on grass in the dry river bed (these flow seasonally, after significant rainfall... but maintain water below the sand surface during dry periods).



Both species of Rhino (White, and  Black) can be found in Kruger, but the closest we got to Black Rhinos was a sighting of footprints in the sand. Martin and I were in awe, whenever we came across White Rhinos (why they are called "White" still remains a mystery to us).  We learned a lot about Rhino behaviour from our guide. Males are territorial, and mark their domain with dung heaps. They walk in it, and lay down a scent trail along the boundary of their territory. Females visit these "Rhino latrines", and make their own contributions, just to the side, letting the male know they are in the area. Oddly, the Rhinos seem to be taking advantage of the roads within the park, positioning their middens at the roadside, so vehicles can carry the scent on their tires... for miles and miles. One of these animals was kind enough to demonstrate the procedure, right beside us. I wonder if Rhino manure would add an extra boost to a garden plot 

[Stan da Prato]

Both species of Rhino (White, and  Black) can be found in Kruger, but the closest we got to Black Rhinos was a sighting of footprints in the sand. Martin and I were in awe, whenever we came across White Rhinos (why they are called "White" still remains a mystery to us).  We learned a lot about Rhino behaviour from our guide.

Surprised  your guide  didn't explain that it was never to do with skin colour but a British misunderstanding  of the  Dutch word for wide  referring  to the mouth. They  were also called  Square-lipped Rhino. They are grazers while Black Rhino are  browser so more pointed mouths. Kruger is still a good place to see rhino-and elephants  with big tusks -  but even there  poaching  is taking  a toll. 

[Steve Garvie]

Nice images Gordon!

There’s nothing quite like Africa when it comes to wildlife experiences.

[GordonT]

Surprised  your guide  didn't explain that it was never to do with skin colour

Stan, we already knew that the common names for rhinos had nothing to do with skin colour, and that the two species had very different lip structure. Our guide spoke about both of these things, describing the grazing habit of the White Rhino, and how the Black Rhino uses its pointed lip to browse on shrubs. He also added that during his 20+ years working in the park, he has also observed White Rhinos browsing , and Black Rhinos grazing... so the feeding patterns aren't exclusive to each species. What we didn't know, was how the names came about in the first place. Thank you for passing that on.

There was plenty of discussion about poaching in the group, and Jan was clear to say it still happens in the park. We encountered one of the anti-poaching units on the road during one of the game drives. It was sad to learn that even though it is illegal to bring firearms into the park, poachers manage to get in masquerading as tourists. We asked how they manage to get their ill gotten gains past the gatekeepers. They manage it by smuggling or outright corruption (paying off corrupt guards).

Steve, thanks so much for the compliment. This was our first venture in Africa, and  Martin and I plan to return to South Africa during their springtime, at some point. The next time we go, we won't be flying on points (40 + hours in transit from Nova Scotia to Johannesburg). A friend of ours has been going to Namaqualand yearly for the past forty years, to lead photography wilderness trips in the region. He is 81 this year, and just spent the last two months there.

[GordonT]

The time spent in Kruger National Park was magical, to say the least. We arrived there on the 24th of March, and departed for Cape town on the 27th. During those few days, we were able to go out on six separate game drives. There were usually only four people on board, excluding our guide/driver.  We were blessed with sightings of the Big Five, three outings in a row, and managed to see four of the five on the fourth foray.

The fifth member of this group is the African Buffalo, Syncerus caffer  subsp. caffer. Our first encounter with these animals was after nightfall, as we returned from an evening game drive. It didn't make for any photo opportunities. The following day, we found ourselves in the midst of a large herd.



Our guide, Jan, told us that African Buffalo are perhaps the most dangerous of the 'Big Five" due to their unpredictability, and their penchant for carrying through on a threat. They don't bluff a charge. This group of over 100 animals were extremely relaxed, as we observed them in silence.

The variety of animals that we came across on these treks, was really mind boggling. When we first arrived, catching sight of a few Impala, was enough to stop the vehicle for photo ops. Two days later, and we all dismissed them... as common as fleas on a farm dog. We were glad to capture a decent shot of this Impala buck.



Some animals were more difficult to photograph, because they were: uncommon, elusive, or both. Oddly we had a very hard time capturing a decent shot of Zebras. Virtually all of our images are of striped butts. This was the best one, and it includes a Blue Wildebeest, and yet another Impala.



During our last evening in the park, we were spellbound by an encounter with a pack of endangered African Wild Dogs. The entire park (2 million hectares) contains an estimated 400- 500 wild dogs. Our pack consisted of about 11 individuals, one of them was clearly pregnant. They are in decline in Africa for several reasons: loss of habitat, conflict with humans, competition from lions and hyenas, diseases such as rabies and distemper.