In June 2017 South Africa, and the world, watched in horror as a wildfire swept through the Garden Route destroying over 500 homesteads, farmland and timber plantations. The shear destruction left in the path of the blaze amounted to 22,000 hectares burnt, 7 lives lost and communities traumatized. The fire, like so many international wildfires that occurred in 2017, was the perfect inferno, the result … Continue reading Flaming Fynbos In the Garden Route
Date: Sunday 2nd September 2018 Location : Swartvlei Beach By Mark Dixon. Late Sunday morning the much awaited autopsy of the beached Sperm Whale carcass got underway. Joining the research team were Dr Stephanie Plon from NMU with Dr Greg Hofmeyr from Bayworld visiting briefly while en route to Cape Town. The most noticeable external observation was of the advanced onset of bloat that had … Continue reading Preliminary Sperm Whale autopsy report.
Date : Sat 1st September Location : Swartvlei Beach Sperm Whale washed ashore. By Mark Dixon It is remarkable that in the past two months no less than two whales have washed up on Swartvlei Beach west of Sedgefield. Even more remarkable is the fact that both whales washed up a few hundred meters apart, testimony to the consistency of currents along the shoreline. The … Continue reading Rare incidence of a Sperm Whale washing up on Swartvlei Beach beach in the Garden Route.
The Greatness of Small Creatures. All things Great and Small, we saw them all last night on the Moonlight Meander. With a slight offshore wind there was no sea mist and the views of the Milky Way, Orion Belt and the Southern Cross were crystal clear. Marine Nursery. In the tidalpools, it was like a marine nursery with many exciting finds of juvenile organisms. It … Continue reading Moonlight Meander – a night time tour of tidal pools at Gericke’s Point.
Recently I read a social media post where the account holder slated one of the trails in the Garden Route. Her complaint is that, just because a trail is established doesn’t make it worthwhile walking and that, for her, it was a boring trail. The trail she was slating was one of the Elephant Trail loops at Diepvalle. I was amazed. All three of the … Continue reading Overcoming ecological ignorance while travelling.
Garden Route Trail 