To travel with a passionate man is the ultimate. George Branch is a passionate man and so I was fortunate to find myself beside him on a most unusual journey.
It was, in many ways, an exploration, an expedition of intent, an adventure, a safari with a difference. I mean, how often do you get on intimate terms with limpets, penguins, abalones, gulls, dolphins, mussels, lobsters and winkles not to forget oysters and chitons? Chitons, I see you muttering. What are chitons? Aha.
Take a safari with Strandloper and you'll meet the most handsome chiton on the block.
Strandloper Safaris is the name of a very different touring company based in Cape Town and on this excursion we'd explore the footsteps of the earliest inhabitants of these shores - the strandlopers (beach walkers or beachcombers), the San and the Khoi-Khoi people who, in ancient times, survived right here. They fished, harvested limpets, mussels, abalone, oysters, other crustaceans and marine life and lived in caves and under overhangs along the coastline.
Strandloper Safaris offers (as they state in their informative brochure) "a wide range of adventures to discover the secrets of the marine realm around the South African coast.
"South Africa has the privilege of being bathed by two currents - the Agulhas current on the eastern shores� and the northbound cold Benguela current on the western shores."
Actually, Jon Erlandson, an American archaeologist, believes that strandlopers existed as far back as 10 000 years ago - I discovered this when checking out the word 'strandloper' on the Internet.
But to get back to George Branch and the Strandloper Safaris.
It was with George Branch, very eminent professor of Zoology at the University of Cape Town, that I would be exploring a small, but diverse, part of our coastline.
I should just mention that in international academia, George is an "A-rated" scientist, which means he is a world leader in his research field. In other words, he is a Main Man.
As we'd be exploring the shoreline, these tours are carefully planned around tides so our first stop was eyeballing the African penguins at Boulders. Now I've visited the penguins on many occasions and nothing can be more pleasurable than swimming with them and watching how agile they are in the water. But there is something far more pleasurable.
Go with an expert - George - as he explains the penguins, their habitat, the currents, their movements around our shores, the fish they eat and the changes that are taking place before our generally unobservant noses.
But I was in the pound seat! Not only was George today's leader, but his wife Margo, biologist and author of natural history books, was also part of our small group. To be with knowledgeable enthusiasts is such a bonus.
It was when we arrived at Dalebrook Marine Reserve, the small rocky beach between St James and Muizenberg that the tour really began to rock and roll.
To tell the truth, I hadn't even realised there was a beach called Dalebrook here - and, when the tide is high, it's totally covered.
But at low tide, all is revealed and what an "all" that is - rocks, rock pools, sandy outlets and kelp brushing the shores. Plus a whole world of exciting marine life.
I bet you didn't know that South Africa is King of the limpet world. In the rest of the world there are only a paltry 17 species of limpets, but in our country we have 27 species alone and this is remarkable - what's more, many of these most attractive little creatures reside at Dalebrook.
Limpets are the cap-shaped shells that cling to the rocks and they come in many shapes, sizes and colours.
George introduced us to the giant limpet, the pear limpet (yes, shaped like a pear), the goat's eye limpet, the slipper limpet (a small tear-drop shaped shell with an internal shelf that made it look just like a miniature slipper), and a keyhole limpet.
The pear limpet comes complete with its own garden of scrumptious red algae on which it exists. So delicious is this algae that other limpets will try to steal some, but the pear limpet defends its territory fiercely.
In a rock pool, I spotted the chitons, shelled creatures resembling armed warriors with overlapping plates. Was it the spiny or the black little bugger?
Later, checking out the illustrations of chitons in Two Oceans - A Marine Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa written by George, Margo, Charles Griffiths and Lynnath Beckley, I wasn't sure.
The richest exploration site is the inter-tidal zone between high and low tides - the Littoral area.
Here, you might find an abalone hiding beneath a rock. You'll certainly see crabs, fish, and sea urchins. In fact, we have 58 species of sea urchin in southern Africa, but it was the greeny Cape urchin and odd black heart urchins I was peering at.
George Branch is passionate about the sea and the shore and suddenly, instead of just a dark rocky surface, I saw creatures in every shape and size.
In context, this was a living food supply and you could see how many of these sea delicacies formed part of the original strandlopers' diet. But today Dalebrook is a protected reserve.
Prise a limpet from a rock and you are committing a sin for which, if you are caught, you will be fined.
So fascinating was it at Dalebrook, that I could have stayed for the day, but the tide was coming in and soon the wonders would be hidden. Our next stop was the Cape Point Nature Reserve with its wild beaches, offshore dolphins and whales in season, seals and sharks and prolific sea birds.
Sheltered by a fynbos hedge, Lucy Kemp, who is at the helm of Strandlopers, set out a picnic and we lunched in leisurely splendour as an ostrich trotted up to check us out. Lucy, a past student of George's, is also a marine biologist and for her thesis, studied the ancient fish traps of the strandlopers - for which she was awarded the South African Association for Science Bronze Medal for the best Masters thesis in the country.
Margo Branch, who has done remarkable work in environmental education, is very involved in the centre and her enthusiasm was infectious as she led us around explaining coastal plants, shells, birdlife and the ecology of the nature reserve.
The guides at Strandloper Safaris are all highly qualified and will offer you more than the usual dry tour. It's the knowledge and insights that make these tours distinctive, not to mention the love of our rich coastline and all things marine.
After a wander on the beach, naturally investigating the seriously mussel-inhabited rocks, the pools and the kelp, we departed for the Buffelsfontein Visitors Centre at the Cape Point Nature Reserve. The newly-opened centre is located in the historic Buffelsfontain homestead which dates back to the 1740s. It had stood derelict, but thanks to extensive local and international funding, is now a wonderful information centre.
Margot Branch, who has done remarkable work in environmental education, is very involved in the centre and her enthusiasm was infectious as she led us around explaining costal plants, shells, birdlife and the ecology of the nature reserve.
As is stated: "The very special Cape Point Nature Reserve protects many endangered species, including four whale species, three dolphin species, four tortoise species, 17 limpet species, 250 bird species, and a staggering 1 016 species of fynbos (but this is a mere 12 percent of the 8 200 species of fynbos found in the Cape, which form the smallest and richest of the world's six floral kingdoms)."
The tour ended and I felt elated. What an incredible way to spend a day - there are tours and tours, but this was an experience to be cherished.
I felt privileged to have joined George and Margo Branch and Lucy Kemp on this remarkable adventure. And never again will I look at a limpet without wanting to know its name, address and phone number.
If you go (and you really should...)
- Contact Strandloper Safaris on 021-650-4520, cell: 082-501-8437, email: [email protected] or check out the website: www.strandlopersafaris.co.za
- A day's adventure with Strandloper Safaris will cost you R850 and this includes comprehensive guiding with marine experts, travel, a delicious lunch, excellent company and an experience to savour for ever. Strandloper Safaris offers several tours including:
- Where Mountains & Sea Collide
- Where Whales Play
- The Wild West Coast
- Open Seas for Pelagic Birding at its Best
- Encounters With White Sharks
- Follow the Archaeological Footprints of the Strandloper
- The Two Oceans Aquarium
- Recommended reading: Two Oceans - a guide to the marine life of southern Africa, GM Branch, CL Griffiths, ML Branch, LE Beckley (David Philip), R279. The Living Shores of Southern Africa, GL Branch, Margo Branch (if not available at your bookstore, ask them to order you a copy).