Exploring Nature

While many developers and entrepreneurs scheme on how to construct attractions for tourists to the Garden Route, most of them overlook the gifts of nature on our doorstep that we are presented with daily, indeed that we live amongst. Numerous travels on seven continents have exposed me to attractions that the true international traveller seeks, and it definitely is not the trappings of urbanization, but rather an opportunity to reconnect with nature.

A granite dome in California receives more annual tourists than a mall. Niagara Waterfalls has more visitors per year than the whole of South Africa has ever had, a whopping 12 million visitors. The small town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, the size of Sedgefield, accommodates 6 million guests seeking the beauty of glaciers, turquoise lakes and nature trails in six months. Very few can describe the mall and structures of the town but will entertain you with hundreds of images of the landscape.

In the lead up to Christmas I have reflected on some of the attributes of the Garden Route and the many of the Gifts I have received from Nature in the past 15 years of living here.

In 2000 I was inspired to find evidence of the Matriarch of the Knysna Forest. Armed with a sense of adventure, a GPS and lunch pack I would set off on the various trails in the forest. The first few outings were fruitless, but in that time the essence of the forest captivated me. The shades of green, the abundance of growth, the tingle of life inspired me to return. It was a chance sighting of a dung heap that was my first evidence that there was indeed an elephant in the forest, but the size of the dung had me speculating to the size and age of the animal. Over the next 3 years I managed to record a number of sightings, but never had the privilege to see any. But from these simple outings I built up a pattern of sightings, of possible trails and some information of their (for I firmly believed that there was more than one elephant in the forest) habits and interactions. So it was a huge relief when Gareth Paterson recently published his studies of the past nine years indicating that there are definitely five elephants, possibly more.  His understanding of the forest elephants has enriched my experiences.

Living in the Garden Route corralled by the Indian Ocean and the Outeniqua Mountains, a passion for the sea and it’s magic has to develop. We are fortunate to host annual visitors to our shores, namely the whales, a sighting of which stills the mind of even the most consumed businessman. A special sighting I recall took place at Gericke's Point.

There is a pair of resident Humpbacked Dolphins, which if you remain still and scan the bay carefully, you will see most days. On this day, a Southern Right Whale had come in close to the edge of the rock shelf, maybe for shelter from the choppy sea. And that is when the incredible happened. The two dolphins approached the whale to within a few meters of the whales head, as if in conversation. After few moments, the whale submerged, rotated 90 degrees to face the opposite direction and surfaced again. The dolphins, like two excited puppies, swam around to the front of the whales again, all three suspended in conference for a minute before the whale submerged and rotated again, the dolphins returning boisterously to the front of the whale. This continued for over 45 minutes before I had to depart, the crisp sparkling droplets on the whales back and the deep sound of it’s exhalation etched in my memory.

 Another marine experience was truly a gift. Surf skiing at Buffalo Bay a school of dolphins relaxed uncharacteristically in the bay. Dramatically two dolphins erupted from below on either side of my surf ski and proceeded to guide me parallel to the beach towards Brenton on Sea. After a few minutes they dived, disappearing from view and remained submerged for about two minutes. Suddenly the surface boiled up with a pall of blood. Knowing the folklore about Great Whites in the bay, my immediate thoughts were that one of the dolphins had been attacked and that it would be prudent of me to move off.

A split second later three adult dolphin fins and one baby dolphin fin broke the surface and started swimming off. I had just been present at a dolphin birth. Why I had been lead to the birth I don’t know, but from the two initial dolphins it was now clear that I was no longer going to be tolerated as they blocked my way from following the mother and her new born. Once the baby got the hang of swimming the whole school of dolphins gathered together and set off into the blue yonder.

Back on the land, there are a few special requests when taking guests out, especially from birders. Flufftail, Narina Trogon, Knysna Woodpecker and the Holy Grail, a Knysna Warbler. All of these are not easy to find, but the last one takes plenty patience, lots of networking and a bolt of luck from above. On Monday I received a call from Liezl : she wanted to go birding and on top of her list was a Flufftail. Needless to say in the howling wind on Tuesday morning the prospects of calling up a Flufftail were thwarted. Later, up at Woodville Big Tree, things were not going so well. Most of the birds were high in the canopy and difficult to spot despite the continuous singing. Starting to head back to the car we were halted as a loud and piercing call of a Knysna Warbler started up. This had to be the moment, but as we approached the spot that we thought the call came from silence descended on us. As compensation I led Liezl to a Chorister Robin’s nest hoping the chicks had not departed yet. They had, but an Olive Woodpecker arrived and saved the moment. And then the bolt of luck struck – the warbler started calling a few meters away, high in the canopy. You could feel the aura of anticipation as we scanned the forest for a tell tale movement. A quick flutter of feathers and right in front of us, not one, but a pair of Knysna Warblers. For me a three year quest had been achieved, for Liezl a brag moment to her dad when she returned home. Over the ensuing 5 minutes I learnt something that my PDA version of Robert’s did not tell me – the male and female have two different songs.

I look forward to the next twelve days of Christmas. Carpe de natura and have a wonderful Christmas in nature.

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