In search of Father Jack.

Before I got to the coast I had a scary moment on the road. A tortoise crossed the road in front of me so I went back to have a better look. I know what a black cat can mean but wasn't sure about a tortoise. He was on the side of the road and I tried to take a picture but he kept scurrying away, that is scurrying for a tortoise, like me claiming I'm going fast on my 125cc bike. Anyway, I felt I was bothering him so stood back and watched. He then made a beeline for the bike and started attacking it, well, trying to bite the front tyre. He was clearly an aggressive tortoise, even if only about 15cm long. I decided to clear off before he did any damage and I got on the bike. He was still at the front wheel, so I reversed it carefully not to run him over and make him more angry but he started chasing the wheel. It was time to leave and I got out of there as quick as possible. One up to the tortoise!
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It was great to see the sea as I approached Lamberts Bay. I was trying to remember when I last saw the Atlantic Ocean and it was in Scotland jn June, as I rode up the west coast from Stranrare, in pouring rain of course. Today however, was bright and sunny but with a fresh wind. The aporoach to the bird sanctuary was through the harbour and I parked opposite a fish resturant. It was so chilly I kept my biking trousers and boots on and secured my jacket to the bike. It was a short walk over a causeway to the Island and the first view was on terns packed on a rock, hundreds of them, and different kinds. Then there were the cormorants, both Cape and Black variety. Then I got to the hide where the gannets were huddled, 18,000 of them, I'm told. I didn't count but could see there were lots!

These are the Cape Gannets, as opposed to the North Atlantic gannets I'm more familiar with. This is there breeding season and clearly some breeding was going on. They only come to this island, and two others in South Africa, to breed. The eggs take 40 days to incubate and 3 months to rear the young. After 3 months the young are fully grown and are abandoned by the parents. The young then spend about 4 years at sea before coming back to the island to find a mate. The young stay on the edge of the colony and the breeding pairs further in. There are also some gannets on rocks above the colony and these are the bachelors, who have lost a mate. You'll gather the guide was very informative.
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Then I saw an African or Jackass Penguin. Called Jackass because its call resembles a donkey braying. He'd come on shore for a rest it seemed and he was huddled just outside the hide window. I hope to see more of them later in the trip. I was aware there was a seal colony but the guide said I'd have to get a boat to see them. However I spotted some in the sea, and occasionally breaching. They were some distance away but I got a couple of photos. On the way back to the bike I took a closer look at the gulls which are similar to our Glack Back Gulls. These are called Kelp Gulls.

The bike was still there when I got back and had been viewed by one of the customers. I told the story of buying it in Congo etc and riding here and as usual there was amazement it could be done on such a little bike. I settled down to my fresh Kingclip fish and reflected on an enjoyable few hours on the Island. On the way home there were no tortoises thankfully, but some pretty flowers.

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You will be inundated with penguins if you go to Boulders on the Eastern side of the Cape Peninsular, near Simonstown. And just a bit further along, if you park on the high ground at Castle Rock and just sit and look at the sea (False bay) you are bound to see whales. If you are lucky, or patient you will see them breaching
Then I saw an African or Jackass Penguin. Called Jackass because its call resembles a donkey braying. He'd come on shore for a rest it seemed and he was huddled just outside the hide window. I hope to see more of them later in the trip. I was aware there was a seal colony but the guide said I'd have to get a boat to see them. However I spotted some in the sea, and occasionally breaching. They were some distance away but I got a couple of photos. On the way back to the bike I took a closer look at the gulls which are similar to our Glack Back Gulls. These are called Kelp Gulls.

The bike was still there when I got back and had been viewed by one of the customers. I told the story of buying it in Congo etc and riding here and as usual there was amazement it could be done on such a little bike. I settled down to my fresh Kingclip fish and reflected on an enjoyable few hours on the Island. On the way home there were no tortoises thankfully, but some pretty flowers.

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Was with some sadness that I left Clanwilliam yesterday morning, heading south. The town is very relaxed and a good place to rest up sand also had a couple of interesting half day trips nearby, to the Bushman paintings and to Lamberts Bay. When I planned this trip I was not intending to go to Cape Town. Because it can be a dangerous city and recently there had been protests, some of which were violent. I'd also visited the city before and been to Table Mountain, Robben Island etc. Anyway this morning, despite my earlier feelings, I decided I'd go to Cape Town. I picked out a cheap place outside of the city centre where I might stay. I then discussed my plans with the B&B owner before I left and he expressed concern. He explained that there had been protests in the last 3 days on the main road(N7 the one I was going to use) close to Cape Town and the area where I hoped to stay was not the best. So with his advice, I planned to come off the N7 before Cape Town and enter on a quieter road and I decided to go to the hotel and it it didn't feel right I'd move on.

The ride south was uneventful apart from being overtaken at close quarters by big trucks. Soon after leaving Clanwilliam the road climbed and the surroundings were very green and I saw some plantations which I thought to be roboosh tea bushes but may have been apple. The road climbed again and I was amused to see a warning triangle with the word "baboon" underneath. After crossing this pass the landscape in front of me changed completely and I was looking at a vast expanse of cereal fields. Once we got to about 60 km from Cape Town a mountain appeared on the horizon, a very recognisable mountain with a flat top. I came off the motorway at about 30km from Cape Town and cut across to the coast road fo view my possible lodgings. It all looked fine to start with but it was clearly a run down area

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I found the place and the room was acceptable but it didn't have a great feel. Someone was coming into the room to fix the toilet as I was being shown the room. The private parking advertised was a few parking spaces just off the road with no security gate. I wasn't happy leaving the bike there. They tried to get me to put the bike in an alley behind the building, with a very narrow gate. I reflected on the promise I made to myself and asked to use their wifi and found a place in Strand about 50kms east of Capetown and decided to leave. However I wanted the chance of getting a photo of the bike with Table Mountain behind, so went to the city centre. The traffic was busy and in the end the photos were disappointing but they do confirm this little bike, bought in Congo has survived nearly 10,000km and come all the way to Cape Town. The road out of the centre of town was the worst. I seem to have hit rush hour, cars were cutting me up all over the place and there seemed to be a lot of action on the street corners. It was not a place to hang about to long and I wanted to get out before it got dark.

Strand was a good contrast to Cape Town. The B&B owner let me put my bike in his garage, there was a supermarket opposite and they showed football on the room TV. Perfect for the Liverpool game later. After a shower I walked the 10 minutes to the beach and met a biker who pulled up on his BMW GS. You couldn't miss the mountain bike on the back and we started chatting. He unloaded the bicycle and changed into riding gear and before he rode off recommended Ben's restaurant, just along the front. When I got there it looked the sort of place I may have dressed a little smarter for but the menu was reasonable so I went in. When I say reasonable I mean a top class burger cost less than €5. Waiting for my burger to arrive I nipped out to take a picture of the sunset over the Cape peninsula. I watched the football later, but the least said the better, though my team won.


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Nice work. Good idea to change hotels. If it doesn't feel right, you'd only worry all night.

Turns out it was a top decision. :thumb2
 
Today was reasonable quiet with a ride up to Stellenbosch and then over to Franschhoek. I did a bit of souvenir shopping in both places, which really should not be done this early in a bike riding holidays I now have to carry them for the next month. What I did notice is that prices are cheaper here than in Botswana and Namibia, you do have bargain. It's still too early to buy though! Stellenbosch is a very ordered town, it boasts a fine church and a parking system that is closely monitored. There were about 20 parking attendants operating about the square. The scenery in the wine region was pretty and the wine houses were quite grand with splendid entrances. Not quite on the scale of the chateaux in the Bordeaux region but still pretty impressive. Lots of traffic on the way back to Strand and it seemed all the vineyard workers were leaving at the same time, I was glad I was able to filter and I think having a hi-viz jacked encourages drivers to pull over. Tomorrow I'm off down the coast to the east.
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Enjoying your trip to date. I was staying in Gordon's Bay back in February, riding a mate's GSA! Don't miss the coast road round from Gordon's Bay through Rooi Els and Betty's Bay on your way to Hermanus.
 
You’ll love Hermanus, the whale watching from the shore there is stupendous.
 
Was again hard to leave my B&B, for different reasons thus time, as the owner wanted to chat. I gave him a shamrock badge and we moved to rugby. Seems he knows the father of C. J. Stander who now plays for Ireland. I did get away and headed for the coast road, of course. This road takes some beating for coastal scenery and when you add in the fact you can see penguins and whales, along the way, its out there on its own. It also has lots of stopping places but that doesn't avoid the risk of riding while whale watching, which I don't recommend.
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Further along the road I stopped for a photo of the sign for Betty's Bay, as it was my mothers name and as I accelerated away, I saw another sign for penguins and quickly turned right. It was real spring morning and quite chilly, so no problem in keeping on my bike clothes. There were lots of penguins. Not very mobile but who says they have to waddle around for our amusement. Some were on the rocks and others in their nests or burrows, a bit like puffins. There also were rock hyrax and armour-scaled girdled lizards.
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But the day had just started an as i ate my soup back at the nature reserve cafe, i took my binoculars out and scanned the sea on the off-chance. Sure enough I spotted a plume of spray and saw my first whale of the trip. The photo only shows a fin or a tail, but it was a whale and I hadn't yet got to Humanus. No other sights of whales on the way and I stopped in Humanus at a point where I would ideally stay. Then searched for accomodation nearby and found an apartment, 5 mins from the cliffs. I agreed a good deal for the weekend and I was quickly installed.

Later I went down to the cliffs with camera and binoculars. Nothing obvious, then I saw some splashing off to the left and walked quickly to get closer. It was a mother and baby. They are very difficult to photo as the mostly stay under water and swim gently along together. While watching these I heard the small crowd whooping and looked up to see a whale breaching in the distance. Where to look, what a dilemma. That's what makes this place so special. Hopefully more whales to come over the next 3 days.
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