Ken Cross in Southern Africa: 3 October - Cape Point and surrounds

BIRD OF THE DAY - CAPE LONGCLAW!

Scenery near Cape Point

Our route today took us south from Hout Bay, ultimately to the southern most point in the south west, Cape Point. And, of course there was some birding enroute and some on the return journey.

From Wikipedia;

"Cape Point is a promontory at the southeast corner of the Cape Peninsula, which is a mountainous and scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the African continent in the Republic of South Africa. Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town are close to the northern extremity of the same peninsula. The cape is located at 34°21′26″S 18°29′51″E Coordinates: 34°21′26″S 18°29′51″E, about 2.3 kilometres east and a little north of the Cape of Good Hope on the southwest corner. Although these two rocky capes are very well known, neither cape is actually the southernmost point of the mainland of Africa; that is Cape Agulhas, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) to the east-southeast."

From a Cape Point website;
"Named the ‘Cape of Storms’ by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488; the ‘Point’ was treated with respect by sailors for centuries. By day, it was a navigational landmark and by night, and in fog, it was a menace beset by violent storms and dangerous rocks that over the centuries littered shipwrecks around the coastline.
In 1859 the first lighthouse was completed; it still stands at 238 metres above sea-level on the highest section of the peak and is now used as the centralised monitoring point for all the lighthouses on the coast of South Africa. Access to this historical building is by an exhilarating three-minute ride in the wheelchair-accessible Flying Dutchman funicular that transfers visitors from the lower station at 127 metres above sea-level, to the upper station.

Cape Point - the southernmost piece of land in south west Africa

Cape Point

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Cape Bunting

Cape Point is in the Cape of Good Hope nature reserve within Table Mountain National Park, which forms part of the Cape Floral Region, a World Heritage Site. It includes the majestic Table Mountain chain, which stretches from Signal Hill to Cape Point, and the coastlines of the Cape Peninsula. This narrow stretch of land, dotted with beautiful valleys, bays and beaches, contains a mix of extraordinarily diverse and unique fauna and flora."

At Cape Point we stopped for the brief, climbing walk to the top of the hill to look further southwards to the point itself and the ocean beyond. The wind was incredible and the ocean looked as expected; a mass of white caps. Here and there, way out among the white water was the occasional Cape Gannet accompanying the gulls and terns.

We were not alone on the walk as there were masses of tourists from seemingly everywhere plus some particularly cheeky Chacma Baboons. These guys were bold, trying to steal whatever food was going plus water bottles. Marie had her bag grabbed and a few other folks felt the hand of a baboon. John learned that it is not a good idea to stand on a baboon's tail as that makes them irritated.

Cape Wagtail

Before getting to the Cape proper we stopped in the Cape of Good Hope nature reserve. Here despite the wind we found a few very cool critters. First we stopped for an impressive male Ostrich and a little while later some Bontebok. This is an endangered species of antelope that has over recent decades been brought back from the brink.

Bontebok

Bontebok

Sandwich Terns

Matt not believing Wian's identification Or merely shielding his eyes from the flying sand

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Olifantsboss - a wonderful kelp strewn beach

Crowned Cormorants

Kittlitz's Plover

White fronted Plover

Cape Grassbird

Other mammals in the reserve included Chacma Baboons. These animals, the first we saw, were not habituated and preferred to graze and browse quietly past us.