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From sunrise to glorious sunset - 03:17 pm
24 Feb 2010
The sun’s out. Hurrah! We could go and explore so we went straight towards the dunes in a land that’s already more vibrant than when we arrived thanks to good soaking rain and then something of a downpour.
The dunes glow against the sky and fynbos - massive peaks of shifting sands. When the winds blow the sand flies off the top of them like clouds from a mountain and these dunes are always slightly on the move. We’re not investigating them just yet - we’re saving them for later in the week.
The thing is, the landscape is already responding to the rains and out of nowhere the chandelier lilies or candelabra lilies (Brunsvigia orientalis) have popped out of the bare ground. They don’t even seem to have any leaves. They’re not a common flower but they’re well known as they’re unmistakable and very visible in a fynbos landscape.
The day filled quickly as we moved between microsystems looking at the different plant species and any associated animals. Before we knew it the sun was settling and we headed back to our rondawels to log the tapes and do the admin and make ourselves a gourmet meal. But we were distracted by the sunset over the vlei.
There are some sights that are simply outrageously beautiful. As pictures tell a thousand words I’ll shut up at this point.
Exploring the bottom of Africa - 11:08 am
23 Feb 2010
I’m filming with Pierre again. We’re back in the western Cape, nearly at the very southern tip of Africa. Our destination this time is De Hoop Nature Reserve, a RAMSAR site thanks to the massive vlei attracting numerous waterbirds, and is also a World Heritage Site.
We’ve arrived at the same time that the first rains in months are falling. It’ll make filming tricky but we can see it’s more than time for some moisture in these parts.
Despite the overpowering vlei, the land is dry.
The fynbos is patchy, interspersed with areas of scorched grass and the whole place is a tinderbox.
But the rain is making the fynbos glow as if with an inner light. It looks and smells fantastic and the gloom is making it highly atmospheric.
There seems plenty for us to film over the next two weeks and with the rain, hopefully we’ll see the first flush and an improvement in the condition of the animals.
For now, tea and toasted sandwiches are in order. We have accommodation which is a great improvement on that on Malgas.
The only problem we have is trying to locate a very loud and energetic cricket which has found its way into the back of our car. Hopefully we can get it out, otherwise all our footage is going to have a very cheery chirping soundtrack.
Happy Birthday Oystercatchers! - 02:47 pm
04 Feb 2010
After yesterday’s grisly scenes, we wanted to focus on something a bit happier. We decided to try and get some shots of African black oystercatchers feeding their chicks.
This is not easy. Oystercatchers are supremely suspicious birds and their eyesight appears to be incredibly good. At the first sign of us they will fly off their nests and if they have chicks, circle us chirping non-stop.
We pretended to be facing the other way – focusing on the gannets…but they were not fooled. At the first chirp from their parents the chicks will scamper under a rock and pretend – very effectively, to be a stone.
We sat in the hot sun all morning and got nothing. Only adult oystercatchers watching us closely.
But then a highly exciting thing happened. On checking some nests where we knew there were eggs, it turned out they were beginning to hatch.
About 5 or 6 different nests’ eggs were all pipping at the same time. Hoorah!
We snuck to a nest for a couple of minutes and returned an hour later. We couldn’t stay long as the parent birds obviously weren’t happy with us being there and we had to avoid gulls coming to see what we were investigating.
But we got that special moment of seeing the tiny egg tooth moving and peeking out of a hole in the shell.
For our last day on Malgas, this was a fantastic way to end the trip. We’ll be heading for a hot shower with actual soap first thing in the morning. Nice. And after a week, I’d say it’s probably essential.
Jaws has nothing on these seals - 08:28 pm
03 Feb 2010
Today was actually pretty awful. We’ve fallen in love with the gannets – totally, and today we had to watch the reality that happens when they leave land. We know that the seals here take full advantage of juvenile gannets getting into the water. There are plenty of signs around.
We wanted to see if we could find some of this predation to film. We didn’t know what we were in store for. We’ve been watching all week for signs of seals hunting, but today has been the first significant day. The wind…
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Spot the difference! - 10:09 am
03 Feb 2010
Here we have a Cape gannet no?
In fact no. It’s not. Can you see the differences? This is in fact an Australian gannet, Morus serrator – a rarity in these parts and therefore a rather special sight. She’s way out of her normal distribution range. She has slightly darker eyes and a much shorter throat stripe. When breeding the head will be a bit more orange as well. She also seems to have a slight nick or serration on either side of her beak - quite high…
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No wind, no fly - 12:09 pm
02 Feb 2010
Good grief it is hot! We’re slowly roasting. Our eyes are burning from the glare on the guano covered rocks and we’re mildly sunburnt despite vast quantities of sunblock.
We went to the far side of the island this morning to watch the Cape gannets take off on their foraging trips to sea. They sit in huge groups, waiting for the opportunity to take off.
We also want to see the juveniles enter the water. At this age, they can’t fly. They’re too fat and heavy…
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Learning, succeeding and failing flight school - 07:27 pm
01 Feb 2010
We wanted to sit in one place today and try our luck – just maybe getting some of the predation we’ve seen, on camera. It’s another fantastic day – but not that great in terms of what we’re trying to achieve.
There’s hardly a breath of wind, just a light breeze which some of the adult Cape gannets use to their advantage with the aid of a high rock.
But the majority of gannets seem stationary now. There are a lot of seals winding their way…
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Ode to gannets - 09:17 pm
31 Jan 2010
I love this island. The gannets have won me over once again and Pierre is entranced by them and their antics.
With their golden heads, they seem to be made for sunset and we couldn’t help but stay with them until sundown.
There’s a dark side to this island, with the gannet numbers going down year by year.
To think about a place this magical without the enormous, noisy, smelly colony is almost too much to bear. It’s a great thing…
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Back in the guano on Malgas - 12:56 pm
31 Jan 2010
It’s remarkably nice to be back on Malgas. Nevermind leaving the comfortable guest house in Saldanha with its clean sheets and bubble baths. We’ll be back to extreme basics here but at the same time, there’s something immensely appealing about being back here.
The weather is perfect – low wind and therefore smooth sailing to get here. That’s a big plus as Malgas can be a lot trickier to get onto than Jutten Island, and the probability of some gear being swept away by the strong current increases dramatically. But not today. The…
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Cheers Jutten Island. Bring on Malgas - 11:28 am
29 Jan 2010
We’re heading back for civilization and a shower! We’re not particularly clean at all. Not remotely. The thought of clean clothes and bodies and perhaps a fine meal is rather a good one.
We made it onto the boat without any mishaps. The wind has died almost completely and it’s smooth sailing for once.
Of course, we don’t travel light. Cameras demand vast amounts of gear so we had to haul everything out to the jetty and get it down the rickety stairs.
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Foreign visitor joins Malgas gannets
Cameraman Pierre Minnie is surprised to find a lone Australian gannet residing among its African cousins on the rocky shores of Malgas Island.
Face to face with a rare chameleon
The green slopes of the Sani Pass region are home to a rarely seen species of chameleon. Cameraman Boris von Schoenebeck scours the area in the hope of filming this elusive creature.
Fickle weather in the Maluti Mountains
Cameraman Boris von Schoenebeck discovers how quickly the weather can change in the beautiful but unpredictable Maluti Mountains.
Cuttlefish breed in balmy waters
The amazing breeding rituals of cuttlefish in Mozambique's Pomene Estuary are captured on film by cameraman Grant Brokensha.
Birds rule on Jutten Island
Vanessa Stephen and Pierre Minnie step back in time on South Africa's Jutten Island. Signs of the island's rich human history are fading as thousands of birds reclaim their ancient home.
River floods after heavy rains
Cameraman Boris von Schoenebeck witnesses a river's transformation from a slow and peaceful watercourse to a raging torrent.
Kingfish band together for high-speed hunt
Aggressive kingfish form a hunting pack at Stringer Reef in the waters of Sodwana Bay. Cameraman Grant Brokensha watches as they harass a school of small glassies.
Python ventures out on a rainy day
A female python emerges from the undergrowth on a rainy morning in the Okavango Delta. The snake's distended stomach is a telltale sign of a recent meal...
Lively hippos weather a storm
Cameraman Boris von Schoenebeck films a pod of hippos on a stormy morning in Botswana's Okavango Delta. The animals seem unusually active as the rain clouds gather...
Manta ray circles over cleaning station
Cameraman Grant Brokensha encounters one of his favourite ocean creatures during a dive at Stringer Reef in South Africa's Sodwana Bay. The manta ray swims leisurely as cleaner wrasse remove parasites from her huge body.