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S O U T H A F R I C A
South Africa at Leisure
The Cape – Natural History Tour
Tuesday 05 August – Sunday 17 August 2014
Leader: Bert Palthe
2014 Cost: £3,599 single room supplement £340
Johannesburg
SOUTH AFRICA
LESOTHO
Langebaan
CapeTown
Hermanus
e journey to the Cape of Good Hope to an area of outstanding beauty, and visit at a time Simon’s Town
W when we have the chance to see a bounty of wondrous natural events. Firstly, the
Southern Right Whales will be coming to the warm waters of Hermanus to mate and calve, and we shall be able to watch them from our bedroom
windows, as well as taking walks along the cliff paths, for close views of these great creatures as they spyhop, sail and lobtail. This is the premier site
in the world to see these rare giants. Secondly, the Great White Sharks are still patrolling the Fur Seal colonies a little way down the coast. We can
take a short boat ride and have these powerful predators following the boat and feeding on bait – a fantastic and thrilling sight. Lastly, if our timing is
right, we have the chance to view the flowering of the Namaqualand flora. Of course, there will be penguins, dolphins, fur seals, flamingos, baboons,
eagles, lizards, ostriches, gazelles, tortoises and much more besides. This holiday will examine all aspects of the natural history of the area, and
throughout the tour Bert Palthe, a local naturalist guide, will lead our group.
African Penguins, Simon’s Town
ITINERARY
Days 1 to 5
We leave London on an evening scheduled flight
and we arrive into Cape Town early next morning
where our guides will meet us. We then transfer
to Hermanus on the southern Cape coast, where
we stay at the Windsor Hotel in sea-facing rooms
for four nights.
Southern Right Whales come inshore to breed at
this time of year and wonderful views can be
obtained along this section of coast. They come
very close inshore at times. We will spend some
time walking along the rocky shore locating whales
and watching their antics. Walker Bay at Hermanus
offers the best shore-based whale watching in the
world. Bryde’s and Humpback Whales also visit
this section of coast on occasions and perhaps we
can get a glimpse of these species as well, but they
are not regular and do not breed in these waters.
Apart from whales we should also see dolphins in
the breakers. There are a number of species and
these include Common, Bottlenosed and
Humpback Dolphins, with a slight chance of also
viewing Dusky Dolphin, although it is only
occasionally seen near Hermanus.
On one of the three full days we spend at
Hermanus we have an excursion out to sea in
search of Great White Sharks. We launch at
Gansbaai not far from our hotel and will have a
marine biologist on board with us who is
researching this impressive large shark. It is a
thrilling experience to see these sharks at very
close quarters as they rise to take the bait our
scientist will be offering. We stay out all day and
will also view a large breeding colony of Cape
Fur Seals and learn about other marine life. For
those of us who are interested there will be an
opportunity to dive down in a specially
constructed steel cage to view the sharks under
water. On rare occasions Killer Whales (Orcas)
have been sighted from this area as well and if
luck is our way this impressive mammal could
also be on our list.
During our stay at Hermanus we will also have
time to walk in a botanical garden reserve nearby.
Here we can examine and identify numerous
flowering plants from the Fynbos habitat unique
to the South West Cape. There will be proteas,
leucospermums, leucodendrons, restios, ericas
and many others. The Cape Floristic Kingdom
(Fynbos) is the richest known flora in the world
with over 2,600 species of flowering plants in an
area under 200 sq miles. This is more than the
total number of species found in the British Isles.
This area is also very good for viewing tortoises,
lizards and even Puff Adders!
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For a previous tour report or further information please call: 01794 519445