On vacation (not really)

So, I know you’re probably sick of these by now, but I’m still driving today and I’m pretty sure I won’t be in the mood to write anything tonight, so I’m scheduling this ahead of time.

Rainbow
I’m afraid the pot ‘o gold is at the bottom of the ocean

On Friday the weather started clearing up, so the wife and I made our way to Mossel Bay one last time – this time to Cape St Blaise…

Picking up seashells
…where the wife promptly made a new friend…
Rocky beach
…while yours truly thought some more deep thoughts…
Surf on the rocks
…and played chicken with approaching waves.

From the beach you have a clear view of the Cape St Blaise lighthouse.  This lighthouse is still operational – every evening I could see it winking at me from across the bay.

Lighthouse
In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil will escape my sight

Cape St Blaise is a popular point for dolphin and whale watching.  Unfortunately the whale had not yet arrived by the time we left, but we did get to see a large school of dolphins cruising up and down the coast.

Dolphins
Look! A school of fins!

Just underneath the lighthouse you can find the Cape St Blaise cave which is the oldest archaeological site in South Africa, first excavated in 1888 and containing evidence of stone age peoples from 200 000 years ago.

Overhang at Mossel Bay
Not a very deep cave

A hiking trail starts here as well, following the rugged coastline for about thirteen kilometres to Pinnacle Point.  We did not do the hike this time, but it’s definitely on the agenda for the next visit.  We did climb up the trail until right underneath the lighthouse though.  The view was magnificent.

Lighthouse
The lighthouse up close
Rocky coastline
I can see my car. It’s the green pick-up along the left edge of the screen.

As you can see it’s quite a climb up to here.  The wife is a rather severe acrophobe (she’s not overly fond of heights), but she handled the climb wonderfully.  They did have to amputate my hand afterwards, but I reckon that’s a fair price for her to overcome her fears.

Cape Rock Hyrax
Some more dassies, cause they’re cute
Rocky coastline
No caption necessary

On our way down we greeted an elderly gentleman sitting next to the path and spent the next half-hour listening to him telling us about all the faces he had identified in the rocks over the past two-and-a-half years.  I’m afraid I saw very few of them, but he was so excited we humoured him.

Toktokkie or darkling beetle
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Seriously, who’s there?

This little guy is a type of darkling beetle called a Toktokkie.  This particular beetle attracts mates by knocking with it’s abdomen against the ground (thus the name…if you don’t get it, look up onomatopoeia in the dictionary).  Different species use different patterns to attract mates.  We came across him in the parking lot and my camera had just enough juice left for one shot before it died on me.

Seagull
Never knew a bird could give you a resentful look (cellphone pic btw)

On the way home we bought some frozen snoek to take back home and ended the day with calamari and fries on Dias Beach.  There was a seagull that looked as if he wanted to hop on our laps and help himself when we didn’t share.  We had to eat quickly.

3 thoughts on “On vacation (not really)

    1. They are, aren’t they? And quite tame at Cape St Blaise thanks to generations of tourists feeding them.

      A few days earlier my wife and mom were there and they actually crowded a lady so much that she fell down trying to get away from them. We also saw them climbing up into the engines of cars in the parking lot. That could turn ugly. They’re really as much a nuisance there as the baboons are on Table Mountain.

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