A Succulent Morning 30 Aug

Packing, then a late breakfast (eight thirty).

Our host has offered to take us to see a unique habitat, with a high diversity of succulent plants. A distant view of the landscape.

At first inspection the habitat on the plain looks very barren and dry, with very little vegetation.

Our destination

 A bit closer - still looks pretty barren

On even closer inspection it may be very dry but there are a host of succulents beneath our feet. So much so that it's a job not step on them all the time.

The drought in this part of South Africa has been very bad this year (well for the last few years). Consequently even the succulents are rather stressed.  Most are not in flower but there are a few, literally three.  Crassula species.

 

The flowers leave seed heads that remain on the plant until it rains, these pods have little triangular flaps that open when water droplets hit them, spilling the seeds out.

A hare also darted out from the vegetation. Rather good. 

Plateau views along the way

This visit was followed by a quick tour of a succulent nursery, where we can see what they look like when they have enough water (includes a restroom stop)

 also managed to bag a Malachite Sunbird feeding.

 This plant was growing in the wall in the succulent greenhouse - it's not a succulent, but in fact is one that they make cancer drugs from.

Back in the bus and and a bit of a long drive to lunch.

The termite mound created habitat, sometimes called Fairy Rings, are even more visible here.

We sit on the verandah of our food stop, order lunch and then enter the rather well stocked gift shop for a browse.  Eric wondering whether he should have ordered the lime milkshake, it looks lethal.

Onward and northward. We were going to make a sixty kilometre diversion to some flower fields, but have been told there's nothing there.  The lady in the shop has given some tips for local flower spotting. First a roadside verge.

Plenty of flower species here, plus invertebrates, although we are being hooted at by the lorry drivers. Some are friendly short hoots and a wave, others are not quite so understanding of our interest in the roadside flora. Our driver just waves at them and we ignore the hooting, particularly the long, angry ones. 

Between stops some Mountain Zebra are spotted. 

Next stop, some roadside fields. A few new species, some birds and a trio of different reptiles. The driver is perhaps starting to think we are a bit bonkers. 

 

This is a Honey Bush - and smells a bit like Iris foetida otherwise known as the Roast Beef plant (in my part of Wales anyway) based on the smell of that Monster Munch variety of crisps

A rather scary black and white caterpillar.

Time to head for our accommodation for the night, just outside Springbok.

View along the way.

Lovely views from our room, it is called Mountain View B&B don't ya know.

and including a rather spectacular lizard

 

We are supposed to have Wi-Fi at this accommodation, but the one in our room is not working.  After dinner we manage to sit in reception for a while - the only place we can have internet access. Tomorrow the man will come to fix the Wi-Fi box in our room. Unfortunately we are only here for one night! It's a very comfortable place to stay anyway and the landlady is very pleasant.

Around Namaqualand 29 Aug

As our B&B only serves breakfast at 8:30am the decision is made to have an early session prior to eating, both to work up a good appetite and not to waste wildlife viewing time. 

So it's up at seven and a venture out to a waterfall about ten kilometres away. The gorge containing the waterfall appears as a major canyon dropping away from the plateau we are travelling along. Despite there not being any water coming over the falls - and we really mean not a drop - we had good views of a number of species.

Firstly, the view over the gorge.

 

 and some Aloe on a ledge on the other side of the gorge from the viewpoint.
 

Species seen included Rock Kestrel, Cape Wagtail, this smart Yellow Bishop

Cape Bunting and the gloriously named Gymnogene (also boringly re-named recently, the African Harrier Hawk).

This magnificent bird we saw actually flying past very low and very slow, coming in to take prey off the face of a rock.  It seemed to land on the vertical face with it's wings splayed out completely, its body and wings flat against the surface, taking the prey from a crevice. It then flew onto a perch to devour the morsel. Unfortunately our picture doesn't quite do it justice as we were in the bus when it did its spectacular flat display. 

Plants included;

 

Yes this really is a plant.

Return to the restaurant for our breakfast before heading out on another outing to a glacial pavement, formed millions of years ago.

 

Eric says it doesn't look very icy, even though the air temperature this morning is about 7C.  Others in the group are amazed by the fact that the Welsh male is in only his shirt sleeves - they all have fleeces and jackets on.

Eric researches the site details and tells us that a glacier with boulders and rocks trapped on its bottom surface formed these grooves, with the weight of the glacier slowly moving along, dragging rock against rock surface. 

Eric prefers the Bulbinella, thinking it's a yellow lollipop, 

 

to the black gall he found on the trail.

 

 But we saw this plant, which has small exquisitely formed flowers and is extremely showy.


A possible Jackal skull is also found.

Potentially a spider hole: about the size of a fifty pence coin. Wouldn't want to meet the owner thank you.

Driving to our next destination, just before we arrive we see this Ludwig's Bustard on the far side of an adjacent field. It's a very big bird!


We arrive at Hantam Botanical Garden; it is unusual in that it is a botanical garden set in the native habitat that does not contain plants from around the world, just Namaqualand natives growing in this preserved habitat - so not planted at all, just growing wild.

This  rather large home for invertebrates is just in front of the visitor centre; good for Bees and Lacewings and other suchlike. Eric thinks it would suit him too.
 

We see evidence of porcupine, but as they are nocturnal we don't see the actual animal. Thinks - If we collect enough quills perhaps we may be able to assemble a whole one? Apparently they are very large - the size of a small bush.

Eric found a quill and thought it could make a good spear, making him like a Masai Warrior (we don't like to say that we are in the wrong country for that).

 

There were some Lachenalia species plants that look a bit like Orchids.

Some plants with curly leaves (no flowers yet), but there were quite a few different species with a variety of curly leaves, so maybe it is some form of adaptation to the climate or habitat. Forgot to ask our guide so will have to check that out.
 
 Some with very papery bracts (I presume)

 A pretty twining climber

 A pretty flower that looks a bit like a powder puff.
 
Insect with a long pointy end! Yet to be identified.

Bird - we are checking the identification as the one we think it is (Collared Flycatcher) it might not be (possibly out of its range).

We thought that this was a piece of un-ravelled plastic string, but apparently it is a parasitic plant! Growing on the roots of the small curly plant next to it.

Also a small scorpion was spotted under a rock by our guide.

We  return to our accommodation for lunch before heading down into the Karoo landscape. Here we visit an Aloe forest.

It's hard to come to terms with the scale of the views. The flat top mountains, termed sills, which are interspersed with flat plains make up a typical Karoo landscape. They formed as a result of erosion of rocks which were laid down when Africa was part of Gondwanaland. A long time ago then!

Eric finds a good seat to contemplate the geological time it took to form this landscape.

 

Some general views of the Aloe forest. It is Aloe dichotoma, or the Spindle Tree.

 

 

There has been very little rain here for a while - the Aloe leaves on the floor are a sign that the trees are stressed, and there is some concern about their long-term future with the effects of climate change.

 

 Some of th trees are actually dead already.

  

Knowing how much we love rock shapes, my brother points out one on the horizon that looks like a church or maybe a Big Top tent? All caused by erosion, nature is wonderful.

Two slight detours on the way back . The first took us to the Rhyn's Pass viewpoint, where a panorama over the sills and plains was available. 

Sometimes the view is obscured by a layer of mist/fog or cloud, but today we are lucky as the sun is shining. 

Next stop Olongskloof to view some Fynbos Protea species.

 Behind this Protea (above) was a Roobois Tea Plantation, neatly planted in rows.  This is big business in South Africa as they ship the tea all over the world. Our driver tells us his mother used to make it for him when he was younger, but not with a teabag, just infusing twigs in water.

 If I remeber correctly this may be an Euphorbia - but will have to get back to you with a positive ID later
 
and on the other side of the road, this rather pretty plant, also needing my memory to be better for identification!  We will have quite a lot of naming to do when we arrive home, luckily the daily lists should help to joggle the brain to link the name with the picture.


Coming back to our accommodation we passed the factory where they process the Rooibos tea before packing it to send around the world.  Here they firstly put it into long piles for a few days before spreading it out and leaving it out to dry in the sun, the stage you see in the photograph.

Close to the main part of the town (or perhaps village) there is a church. The South Africans seem quite observant in the sense of adhering strictly to the rules of a particular religion - we've noticed that pretty much everything is closed on Sundays, much like it used to be in Wales at one time.


 Photo courtesy of relative - LM

Return to our cottages for a short rest and refresh before dinner. There was a Heron lurking in the garden.



Our B&B host is very knowledgeable about the local flora and has laid out many books about the area on a table in the dining room for us to peruse before we eat. A pleasant meal and chat later, it is time to retire.