Birds and blue beaches

Published Jul 29, 2013

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By Karen Watkins

Cape Town - There are millions of birds. So said the two women caught in our headlights. “Millions of birds,” echoed Bobby sceptically.

Here we were, sitting on the veranda, sipping local wine and debating where the Atlantic and Indian oceans actually meet. After all, nobody really knows.

Earlier we’d booked in at the SANParks office beneath the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse. Built in 1849, it was the second lighthouse built in South Africa. Inside there’s a museum and, for a small fee, you can climb to the top.

Further along the coast is a plaque marking where the two oceans are said to meet, and where the rusty shipwreck, Meisho Maru, went aground in 1982.

Over the crest are the holiday homes of Struiderstrand and the entrance to Agulhas National Park where eight wood and thatch chalets blend into the surroundings.

Continuing south on a sandy track we stopped to greet two women walking past a lagoon. Nearby, outlined against a sapphire-blue sky was our destination, Lagoon House.

Officially opened in September 1999, Agulhas National Park was initially 4 hectares. Now it’s about 21 000ha and Lagoon House is situated on one of these portions. It was sold to SANParks in 2001.

When Lagoon House was built in 1898 that portion belonged to the Albertyn family. It was old Mrs Albertyn who named the bay after the book she was reading, Blue Lagoon. SANParks called the home Lagoon House in her honour.

After opening the farm door, the sky resembled the avian equivalent of rush-hour. With never-ending flocks gliding by, the sun slid into the horizon.

A spacious kitchen, more wine, a fire and food, and it wasn’t long before we were lulled to sleep tucked beneath thick white duvets.

Next day it was tempting to sit and read, but we were there to hike, and so we set off on the 10.5km yellow trail, the longest of three. Using a pamphlet provided by the office, we followed coloured poles initially walking along the coast before going inland over vegetated dunes on an undulating path. Stopping often, we tried to identify the creator of intricate patterns left in the sand. Too cold for snakes, it could be lizards or the small rodents we saw scurrying into bushes. Candelabra plants, Brunsvigia orientalis, provided a splash of scarlet in limestone (calcrete) outcrops.

Places of interest are marked in the pamphlet and this section was an old abalone smuggling route. At number four we came across a shellfish kitchen used by the nomadic Khoi who visited the area in the late Stone Age. The Khoi ingeniously constructed tidal traps to catch fish, some of them seen along this coast.

 

The Agulhas area has a great diversity of flora, including limestone fynbos, unique to this area. It’s under serious threat and is the reason for the establishment of this park. About 110 species are found only on the limestone formations and 29 of these are classified rare or threatened. One of these is the lemon-scented buchu, Agathosma collina. This is its last substantial remaining habitat.

On a rise with sand dunes of Brandfontein, Soetanysberg and Quoin Point to the west, we stopped to watch a rock kestrel, it’s feathers fluffy in the wind. Nearby, a beacon demarcates an old farm property.

Another gradual ascent and soon we reached the beacon on Sandberg, 156m, a good place to rest and watch passing ships. It’s also one of the few places where you can clearly see the two oceans, and its where this hiking trail gets its name. Below and far away are Suiderstrand and the rest camp. On the northern side is a panoramic view of the Agulhas Plains and Zoetendalsvlei, where legend tells of an eastern princess who is said to be buried there. Even further north, across what appears to be a barren landscape of the Agulhas Plains, is Soetanysberg, 260m.

The historic homestead of Rietfontein can also be seen. One of the original and oldest Strandveld farms, its history goes back to the 1740s, when the first Europeans moved into the Strandveld.

As with other old Strandveld farms, the inhabitants of Rietfontein easily made a living off the land. Keeping chickens and cows they also cultivated fruit and grew vegetables.

Heading downhill, a tortoise scurried across the limestone road before we turned off onto a sandy track, avoiding burrows that were probably home to mole snakes.

Turning south, we passed through large sand dunes and another Khoi kitchen until we slid down a sandy bank onto a pebble beach. Fishermen standing atop rocky outcrops did not appear to mind being dowsed from sea water spurting through a blow-hole.

I snuck off for a swim in the lagoon. The wind of the previous day had blown the clouds away and a spectacular sunset was our reward. Later a crescent moon glinted against an ink-blue sky speckled with stars.

Next day we followed the coastline, hoping to discover a nautilus shell. Instead we came across deserted beaches and watched African black oystercatchers, herons, sanderlings, cormorants and other sea birds search and find food. They must feel safe here, in the reserve where fish numbers are higher. Barometers of environmental well-being are the colourful lichens covering the rocks and the many creatures in the pools.

Having seen Zoetendalsvlei from Sandberg and hearing that flamingos were there, we followed the Fynbos Trail hoping to see them. But the vlei is surrounded by private farms and we could only glimpse the water now and then.

The Fynbos Road connects the southern-most tip of Africa to the whale coast and is an initiative of the Agulhas Biodiversity Project. It runs for about 100km from Agulhas National Park to the birding hotspot of Stanford, circumventing urban areas and meandering through peaceful rural lands.

Although Agulhas National Park has expanded, the largest part is not yet open for the public. Work on the infrastructure is continuing in anticipation of the re-introduction of bontebok, red hartebees and other animal species.

 

l For more, call Agulhas National Park at 028 435 6078, or [email protected] For other activities in the area, see www.nuwejaars.com. Watkins is author of Off the Beaten Track and Adventure Hikes in the Cape Peninsula. - Cape Times

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