On the road to Calvinia

Gemsbok or Oryx on the number plate of a local bakkie (ute)

Intriguing name for a self catering house

Sign in Calvinia - Upington has the consistently highest temperatures in South Africa

Too much corregation on the dirt road eventually caused a total blowout

Robin tries to help the proficient driver/guide with the blowout

Old Africaans style guesthouse in Calvinia

Tourist postbox in Calvinia

Old (converted) farmhouse building in Calvinia main street

Local butchery

Kagga Kamma private game reserve

Here are a few quick snaps from Kagga Kamma game reserve, uploaded in the local cafe in Springbok, the only place I could find with passable internet.  All pictures by Robin Nichols.

Infra-red shot from my balcony at Kagga Kamma camp...

Duiker seen briefly on our night drive

Blaesbok crossing the road at Kagga Kamma.
This was the tamest antelope we saw in the park and was not fussed being close to us. Every other antelope kept a good distance between us....

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Night sky above Kagga Kamma camp

Malachite Sunbird

Female Malachite Sunbird

Night sky over Kagga Kamma

San Bushmen rock art at Kagga Kamma

Rondavel accommodation overlooking the fynbos landscape

Nighttime at the boma, Kagga Kamma

View over the vast 22,000 hectare reserve(nfra-red

Klipspringer keeping a watchful eye on our group

Desert flowers

Wildlife and Landscapes Tour: Student photos

Have a look at these great shots from guests on my Southern Africa, Landscapes and Wildlife Tour. All a bit hurried as the places visited so far have very limited WiFi that does not support image uploads. These were uploaded from the restaurant in the only hotel in Springbok.

Pin cushion protea in Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town
By Antonia Begbie

Panoramic view from the rondavel (circular thatched hut)  at Kagga Kamma reserve
Pic by Antonia Begbie

Mole's backside, Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town
By Antonia Begbie

View over the Karoo.
Pano by Winnie Larsen

Proteas at Kirstenbosch Gardens
by Winnie Larsen

Distant snow on the mountains, fynbos country, Kagga kamma reserve
by Winnie Larsen

Bushman art on Kagga Kamma private reserve
Pic by Richard Muhs

Quartzite and sandstone boulders that make up the chanracter of Kagga Kamma reserve, South Africa
Pic by Richard Muhs

Part of the accommodation at Kagga Kamma involves staying in a fake cave among the real cliffs and boulders.
Pic by Richard Muhs

Typical fynbos vegetation looking out over the bush at Kagga Kamma
Pic by Richard Muhs

Starry night at Kagga Kamma
Pic by Robin Nichols

On the road to the Cape of Good Hope

HDR of the Cape of Good Hope

Turbulent seas around the Cape of Good Hope

Turbulent seas around the Cape of Good Hope

African penguins at Boulders Reserve, Simonstown, Cape Town

African penguins at Boulders Reserve, Simonstown, Cape Town

Hardedar Ibis in the Cape of Good Hope Reserve

Sunbird with insect, Cape National Park

Male Sunbird, Cape National Park

Close up of a male ostrich wandering by the road in the National Park.

Wining and Dining in the Cape

South Africa is famous for its wine growing heritage.  As an Australian even I know that. So, with a free day I organised transport first to visit one of the oldest wine makers in Cape town, Groot Constantia followed by a trip 70kms north to Boschendal and Backsberg estates.  Interestingly no one in the group really liked any of the wines at Constantia so with the rain coming down hard we headed out to check out the wines at Backsberg estate. These we found to be far more palatable, especially the shiraz.  Backsberg estate is part way between the Stellenbosch and Franshoek wine growing areas, and is surrounded by impressively jagged peaks - which were for the most part completely shrouded in mist. Still it was a beautiful location - Boschendal, another classic Cape Dutch winery with a beautiful manor house dating back to 1812 was both under renovation and inundation - there was both hail and rain coming down at the same time. We managed a few snaps before moving on to Franshoek, the tidiest wine town in the Cape.  And possibly the most expensive.  Like many tourist towns this place has a staggering range of small shops selling every possible kind of handicraft, food product and, yes, even wine. It's the place to come for a nice weekend away from Cape Town and, apart from the original Cape Dutch architecture and the mountain ranges behind the town, looks just like Leura or Morpeth! Still, it's a good place to visit as you are spoilt for choice on so many levels.

Before the storm: Groot Constantia homestead shot using infra-red

Classic Cape Dutch architecture at the Groot Constantia winery.

Another part of the old buildings and duck pond at Groot Constantia

Red wine barrels made from imported French oak

Fermenters at Backberg's winery. This place lacked the usual stainless steel vats preferring to use the ore traditional oak bins.
Much of the wine is stored in carefully designed rooms like caves with thick walls.

One of Backsberg's wine maturing rooms

Boschendal manor house after the rain. Canon EOS 5D MkIII, HDR.

This was the Dutch church in the main street of Franshoek highlighted perfectly against a stormy sky.