Hiking the Outeniqua Mountains with Garden Route Trail
Come join Garden Route Trail in the mountains.
#GardenRoute #mountainhike #MDguiding
Exploring true wilderness, the very fabric of time proceeds at an altered pace.
There is something mesmerizing about watching a puffadder 'walk'.
If you enjoyed this video, check out my Nature Talks series on YouTube.
A lucky sighting of a Cape Dune Mole as we welcomed our guests on our 5 day Garden Route Coastal Trail.
#GardenRoute #SouthAfrica #MDguiding #coastalhike #Slackpacking #ecoadventure #hiking #hikemzantsi #trekking #WildlandsStudiesSA
Public notice : Whale stranding on Wilderness beach.
Time : 19h45
A female Humpback Whale has stranded on the wilderness beach on an incoming tide. The beach is steep which has hampered efforts to refloat the whale.
The DEA has taken control of the situation and will most likely have to euthanize the whale after it's condition has been assessed by a vet.
The public are requested to leave space for officials to conduct their duties.
This morning, while snorkeling at Gericke's Point to survey snagged fishing tackle, we were fortunate to have a large adult Pajama Shark (Poroderma africanum) swim past us, which we followed till it swam into a narrow cave. Pajama Sharks are usually nocturnal, feed on small fish and octopus and grow to about 1m. The female lays 2 eggs which are attached to the reef and take between 6 and 9 months to hatch.
Sadly the reef was again littered with fishing line, lead sinkers and hooks, some even with lures on them.
Snagged fishing tackle poses the risk of ghost fishing, the term used to describe the continued fishing of tackle after it has been lost. Estimates are that a lost baited hook has the potential to catch and kill up to 10 fish.
On our surveys at the beginning of the year, one of the species that we recovered killed by a snagged fishing hook was a Pajama Shark.
#GardenRoute #GhostFishing #StrandloperProject Knysna Hope Spot Knysna Basin Project
An exciting find of fresh elephant spoor while guiding on a forest hike recently. The elephant had walked from a cleared plantation which had good emergent indigenous vegetation, across a management track and down the slope towards the river. Measurements across the spoor were approximately 22 to 25cm.
#SpiritofKnysna #GardenRouteTrail #hikingtour
After killing a Bushbuck fawn in a thicket along the Wolverivier, this male Caracal returned twice a day to feed on it. But he wasn't the only animal feeding on it. Our cameras captured an African Goshawk, a pair Honey Badgers and a few families of Bushpigs.
#GardenRoute #SANParks #ecoadventure
For the past two evenings we have been fortunate to view two Common Octopus hunting in a tidal pool on our #MoonlightMeander tour to Gericke's Point.
One of the octopus has had two of its legs removed and it was apparent that this has hampered its hunting ability.
Last night, this large individual started hunting mullet and then switched to hunting crabs.
The next Moonlight Meander will be on Sunday 13th May.
The concept of trophic cascades is a relatively recent biological concept which describes the progression of nutrients and energy (calorific) through the food chain.
There are numerous examples of trophic cascades of which the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park is an iconic example (watch 'How wolves changes rivers').
In the ocean the barometer of a healthy and sustainable marine environment is the presence of a robust population of sharks of all sizes.
Almost counter intuitive is the fact that the more prolific the population of sharks, the greater the population of both reef and pelagic fish.
Sadly, with both overfishing and the horrendous shark fin fishery, shark populations have plummeted globally. In areas, such as Mozambique, shark populations have decreased by 90% in a decade.
In terms of shark reproduction, most of the larger species of sharks are live bearers with females, depending on species, giving birth to between 2 and 20 pups after a gestation of 9 to 12 months (again species specific).
With fish stocks plummeting, recreational fishermen have started targeting sharks for 'sport' fishing, often ignorant of the life cycle of the targeted species.
A Bronze Whaler Shark lives to approximately 30 years. Females reach sexual maturity at 20 years (2m) and give birth to 20 pups after a 12 month gestation.
Today I watched a group of 8 sports fishermen targeting sharks. There were high fives all round and posing for trophy photos before the sharks were returned to the ocean.
In an hour six sharks, 2 Hammerheads and 4 Bronze Whalers, were caught and released. Fortunately all survived, though a small Hammerhead nearly didn't needing 3 minutes before it was able to swim away. During the removal of the hook, posing for photos and dragging to be released, the Hammerhead received numerous scratches and both it's eyes received bunt force trauma and abrasions.
It was obvious watching the group that catching a shark conferred a status symbol to th
Octopus colour changing abilities.
After a session of free diving with a group to clear snagged recreational fishing tackle and line from the eastern reef at Gericke's Point this morning I jumped into a few rock pools to check out the tropical fish.
In one of the pools this common octopus displayed it's camouflage and colour changing skills.
A glimpse of the Paquita Wreck in the Knysna Lagoon. Amanda
Just love this clip of a Common Octopus hunting on a recent #MoonlightMeander
The art of hugging a tree.
As a tribute to the Knysna Forest after a 2 day hiking tour, Uta felt it only natural to hug a giant Outeniqua Yellowwood as both greeting and gratitude.
One of the highlights of our Moonlight Meander tour at Gericke's Point is finding a Tuberculate cuttlefish (Sepia tuberculata).
Measuring a mere 8cm as an adult, these mini cephalopods are incredible hunters having the ability not only to mimic hermit crabs and whelks in form and movement, but to alter their skin texture and colour as part of their camouflage while atalking and attacking their prey.
Snorkeling at Gericke's Point near Sedgefield, Garden Route
With the summer holidays almost upon us, we are looking forward to our snorkeling at Gericke's Point again.
Today we started our 5 day slackpacker trail from Wilderness to Brenton on Sea. We had a wonderful sighting of a Narina Trogon, but the highlight of the day was without question, a close encounter with a Blue Duiker and her lamb. For the past three years we have seen the adults close to the path, but this is the first time that an adult has brought its lamb so close to us. Very special to be less than 3m from them for over 15 minutes. What was interesting was watching them foraging. Two weeks ago the adult ate mainly fronds from asparagus ferns, while today they ate primarily fallen leaves and forest grape fruits.
A combination of elevated sea temperatures and small swells has resulted in clear coastal waters and an abundance of tropical fish. Under these ideal conditions, snorkeling in the rock pools and along the ledge at Gericke's Point are a marine biologists utopia.
With the heat wave blasting across the Garden Route this week, one of the best options was to spend some time in the water. Exploring the rock pools at Gericke's Point near Sedgefield at low tide can be fascinating if you enjoy marine aquatic life.
The combined restorative powers of forest and rivers are in abundance on the Elephant Trail at Diepvalle North of Knysna in the Garden Route.
