Soul surfers

Demi is a wonderful young girl that is in the church and it was her birthday on Saturday and I was cool enough to be invited! Her current interest is the movie Soul Surfer, about a girl who loses her arm in a shark attack and overcomes all obstacles to surf again competitively. Running in this theme, it was a surfer party where the group of 5 girls were able to try their hands at surfing. It could not have been a more perfect day! The weather was awesome, hot but with a cooling breeze and the water wasn't freezing with well-sized waves and just looked so inviting! We met at the beach at low tide and the girls eagerly followed Charl into the water. Charl had organised a longboard, a good stable board when learning to surf and one by one the girls had a chance to catch a few waves and all of them got up and stood on the board, smiles all round! And then I decided that there could not be a better opportunity for me to try it too! So into the water I went with Charl and managed to ride some waves but not standing.. yet! There is room for improvement and I look forward to having another go at some stage!

Much excitement!

Demi the birthday girl up and standing!

Too cool!

And she's up!

Paddling for the wave with a push from Charl..

Charl showing us how it's done!

PE

Before Shane left we spent two days with Stacey, a good friend we met in PMB doing her fieldwork, but who lives in PE. It was a well timed trip home for her and Shane leaving that we were able to see her. She is still doing some work in PMB and Shane would see her a few days later but for me it was so good to see her and chat and catch up! The first night we went to The Boardwalk, where there is apparently a most amazing show with water fountains and coloured lasers. Unfortunately over the few days we were there it was down for maintenance before the grand opening of the new hotel there and we were unable to see it, next time! And since we were in PE, which had some decent shops we went shopping. My current laptop has had a bit of a breakdown and is struggling, and with the need to be able to deal with high resolution photos and videos, I decided it was time for a new laptop. So I bought a new laptop! Happiness! And while I was out spending I went and bought a pair of awesome new Polaroid sunglasses, justified by the whale-watching work, and my fieldwork!

The Boardwalk at night.

Testing the water fountains and lasers.

An image projected onto a sheet of water!

Fynbos fun

We were fortunate enough to find some time to join Mark in Nature's Valley for a morning of fynbos ringing before Shane left. It was an early start to the day, leaving home at 5am and setting up nets in a rather chilly, cloudy dawn. Our ringing table moved under shelter as it rained on and off for most of the morning. Despite the miserable weather we caught a total of 27 birds, and I was able to add 2 new species to my list: Swee Waxbill and Southern Double-collared Sunbird.

Swee Waxbill.

Volleyball

Every Monday evening, Xtreme Life Church play volleyball on the beach as a way to bond as a church family and to invite people we see to join in the game, and to invite them to church. Shane played volleyball at school and was excited about the prospect of a game or few. I have tried my hand, but I seem to have some serious directional issues and it is safer for all if I sit on the sidelines, chatting with the other ladies and enjoying the game from a distance!

Ready to play ball!

Watching from the sidelines.

Shandon serving.

Jump!

Mark getting into the game.

Birds on Bird Island

One morning Shane and I headed out to paddle to Bird Island. We packed some rings in case there were still some chicks that had yet to fledge. The river was exceptionally choppy as we made our way to the island half of Bird Island (the main breeding colony is in fact on a peninsular). There were hopes of some chicks to ring, but we were only able to find an African Oystercatcher chick for which we did not have any rings!

The decision was made and we paddled (and when I say we paddled I mean Shane paddled I passengered) across to the peninsular. Again all the chicks had fledged and it was looking rather bare compared to all the birds that were there a few weeks ago. We did find a Sacred Ibis chick but again we did not have the rings for it! That would have been an awesome new species to ring! And that was probably the last trip for the Green Machine until the breeding season starts again and it is now sitting at home, high and dry.

Nervous parents trying to distract us from the chick's location.

African Oystercatcher chick.

The Kelp Gull chick that Kel and I ringed, all growed up! Mostly..

Do not disturb.. 

Water Thick-knee

Sacred Ibis breeding group.

Whale watching

During the first week of me being in Plett Mark told me that he may have found a job for me in the winter non-breeding season on the whale-watching tourist boats, watching whales. A few days after Shane arrived I had a meeting with Mark and Gwen about my, now definite, job. Gwen is studying whales and looking at their movements along the coast and will be in Plett surveying the whales here from March for a month or so before moving to False Bay to continue to track them. While she is in False Bay it will be my responsibility to be out on the tourist boats most days when they have a trip booked to take photos of the fins for identification purposes. Excitement much! And so it ended up that Shane and I were able to join a Sunday morning trip out whale watching, mostly so I could get a feel for what I would be doing and to chat more with Gwen.

As a kid I have been out to sea and not had any ill effects, but I was nervous for this trip out to sea. Launching was interesting, and off we went. The first sighting was a very bloated and very dead Cape Fur Seal. We went to the Cape Fur seal onshore breeding colony which is at the base of Robberg Peninsular for some epic photo opportunities  There was a report of a Bryde's Whale so off we went to see if we could spot it. Unfortunately we were unable to find the whale but we did come across some Bottlenosed Dolphins which were awesome to see!

We arrived back on terra firma about 2 hours later, quite content with the trip and really looking forward to future trips and all the creatures I may see!

Ready for a trip out to sea!

Lounging in the sun.

And chilling in the water..

Awesome!

Practicing my fin profile photography skills.

Dolphins!

Our sturdy craft.

Robberg round 2

A forecast for a cooler day in Plett spurred Shane and I on to Robberg for the longest walk that goes to The Point and back. A round trip of an estimated 4 hours, we packed lunch, fruit and lots of water. It was a very very long walk. In actual kilometers, not too bad, but to my legs, very bad!

As we started out along the trail, there was a disturbing aroma in the air. Not overpowering but a constant lingering of distaste on the senses. A brief discussion as to the source of this smell yielded very few ideas and so it was ignored and the walk was continued. The smell was a new addition to my Robberg experience but the ants were not. They were still active in full force! So I tended to stop very seldom and in any ant free zone that could be found. Except Robberg is a place where you do want to stop, and often. There are so many beautiful views over Plett, and interesting things to photograph, especially the lizards! Shane has recently bought a new camera that was put to the test with the many lizards we came across, and definitely proved its worth! After stops and starts and ups and downs along the peninsular, the source of the smell was discovered, a seal colony! Unfortunately we were too high up to get any really good photos but man it was still awesome to see them there! And so the walk continued. We reached the point with a stiff cool breeze which helped things along, and found a shady spot in the cliffs for lunch, which helped things along even more! Knowing that you're on the homeward stretch does tend to invigorate tired legs but going up and up and up wears all strength down, down, down. I arrived back at the car red and huffing with wobbly legs and plopped down, Shane walking behind looking none too worse for the walk. Sigh.

The walk took us 4 hours, including many stops for photos and a lunch break. The scenery is spectacular, the flora and fauna fascinating, and the company was perfect. But I am going to run up and down stairs before I'll feel ready to do that walk again.

Lizards were of the photographic focus

Here's lookin at you..

Smelly seals!

Catching a breeze at The Point.

Enjoying the view

Along the walk back

Just beautiful.

Roadside raptor ringing

As soon as Shane set dates for coming to visit he also started organising his Western Cape ringing permit so we could go out raptor trapping. It ended up that Mark, Shane and myself went out early one morning to see what raptors we could catch. We left at 5am and started up the pass that the family and I had arrived into Plett on, which seemed remarkably shorter than I remember. First bird spotted was an owl which flew off before we had any real chance of trapping it. And that set the tone for the day. Roughly 300 km over 8 hours with many birds seen, and many trap drops done, and we caught a grand total of 1 bird, a Jackal Buzzard. For some reason I am more comfortable handling the Crowned Eagles that Shane and I had been ringing back in PMB and I was nervous about handling this bird. In the end I ringed the bird while Shane held it and then there was a huge debate about how to hold raptors and then I got to hold it and handle it while Shane checked my measurements, and then release it after some photos! I am starting to feel more confident about handling raptors, and ultimately every outing and raptor ringed and handled adds to my experience.. Soon I'll be a pro, hopefully!

Beautiful bird!

Freedom!

The view across from the road

Gunning for it

When in Plett, do what Plettatoes do.. Yes, Plettatoes, as fondly dubbed by the lovely Lindals. And Plettatoes surf. No no don't get too excited! I'm not surfing, yet. I was doing some body-boarding, which is more difficult than I remember from many years back, but perhaps some fins would help to get that initial speed up. But while out shopping with Shane, looking for rash-vests and boards and the like, we discovered something called a hand-gun, used when body-surfing. We did some shopping around to find the 'perfect' hand-gun and eventually Shane bought a custom-made in Cape Town wooden hand-gun. And we were immediately off to the beach to try it out! It is an amazing little piece of equipment, and works so well! I get to keep it when he goes back to PMB so I can practice my skills, currently non-existent! But I am looking forward to becoming a beach baby.. Run to the beach in the morning for a swim and hand-gun session and run back, like a boss!

Like a boss!

And back out for some more!

A happy Kiwi with his new toy..

What's New in Plett

One evening out at Robberg Vlei ringing swallows I met Charmaine Wild Who owns The Print Shop, and also runs a local Plett newspaper called What's New in Plett. And so I had my first bit of publication about my project! Two weeks in a row! There is also a website and facebook page with lots of random bits and pieces and happenings in Plett.

Shane

My plans to leave PMB and pursue an MSc project in Plett began only a few months into my Honours degree and initially I was very excited for the move and the opportunities in a new area. As the time came closer to move, the reality of going alone, and leaving behind family and amazing friendships became painfully stark. Especially with respect to a certain man. Shane moved from New Zealand to PMB in April to start his MSc project on urban Crowned Eagles. We easily slipped into a comfortable friendship and along with Lindy, and later Stacey, we formed a motley group of random, unique people to laugh with and share in the journey of life. As time went on, friendships and feelings changed and my Kiwi friend became something more. And all too soon I was leaving, now not only leaving family and friends but a boyfriend too. And then he came to visit! 11 days later he was back on a plane to PMB but what an amazing and refreshing time we had together!

Storms River

For Kel's birthday the Brown clan plus one, me although I am now the big sister and part of the family, went to Storm's River for the morning. We had perfect weather! Beautiful blue skies and sunshine, and cooling fresh breeze that kept us from overheating, for the most part at least.. The plan was to walk to the suspension bridge and then have a picnic lunch when we returned. A half hour walk each way, we set off, amidst much laughter, curiosity and excitement! Over the past few weeks I have discovered that little people ask many questions, have curiosity in abundance and find wonder and excitement in the small things that as adults we overlook or dismiss. And so the half hour walk turned into so much more as we stopped often for photos and investigations and laughs. The walk is entirely on a boardwalk, with many steps along the way. For short legs this was a struggle and Kate had a piggy-back for the last stretch before the suspension bridge. Most of the walk is in the cool shade of trees and vines, with lookout points over the sea and mountains and well placed benches for a sit and bask in the beauty of life. We emerged from the cool shadows into a rather warm sun, with the bridge in sight! A steep decent down some stairs put us at the beginning of the bridge. When Mark said the plan was to walk to the suspension bridge I was so keen! I have been on the suspension bridge at Oribi Gorge which small and unstable and sways in the wind and with every footstep and you get this awesome rush walking across it! Too much fun! This was the image I had in my head when I heard suspension bridge, and so to see a well built, rather solid looking bridge I was a bit disappointed. But it still moved underfoot and the view over the sea was spectacular! We got to the other side and had a sit, rest and cool down on this beautiful pebble beach. Yes indeed a pebble beach. Not a sand beach. I was amazed that there were all these rocks ground smooth by the tide and each other and piled into this exquisite beach with piles of driftwood. And as the waves broke on the shore the rocks/pebbles shifted and rolled against each other with soothing clicks and cracks. I could easily have settled in and grown roots there for a good few hours, but thirst and hunger drove us car-ward and we begun the walk back. The steep steps that took us down to the bridge, although on a different route, seemed even steeper and higher and more tiring. The walk back was faster, with more purpose and fewer stops and we returned to the car a hot, sweaty, thirsty and hungry bunch. Lunch was a magnificent spread of finger foods eaten in the picnic area overlooking the sea. We were kept company by overly friendly Red-winged Starlings, and a slightly more cautious Kelp Gull and Rock Hyrax. As we were leaving we spotted a tern and coromorant roost! All in all it was a most enjoyable morning and we all returned home happy and pleasantly exhausted for an afternoon nap!

Stunning!

A view along the walk to the suspension bridge.

An epic gnarled tree, perfect for a rest!

Little legs needed a piggy back!

The Brown clan on the suspension bridge.

Birthday girl, Kel, and her princess, Kate, on the pebble beach.

Gull and hyrax, waiting for leftovers!

Spot them all!

Tern and cormorant roost.