Wildlife
Overberg Mammals
Many of the mammals of the Agulhas plane are seldom seen due to their nocturnal lifestyle but signs of them having passed through an area
Beachcomber Guide Blogs
Cape Clawless Otters
These delightful creatures are abundant on our coast yet few people have seen them. What is relatively easy to find is signs of them having
Microscopic Aquatic Life
Marine microscopic life is incredibly diverse and still poorly understood. For example, the role of viruses in marine ecosystems is a field barely explored to
Wildlife
Barnacle Bill
Barnacles are often overlooked but a short trip into the life of these varied and advanced creatures tells a different story. A barnacle is a
Spiral Maths & Everything
Fibonacci is the smart guy that introduced our modern day numerical system (Arabic numerals) in 1202, replacing difficult Roman numerals, he also introduced to Europe
Expanding our Perception
We live in an amazing world of limited perceptions, viewing our world with sense organs and a nervous system that are equipped to perceive and
General
Light Pollution
It makes me shiver when I hear people propose street lights for Pearly Beach, under the misconception that it will help stop crime. Better lighting
Wildlife
What type of crab is that?
It’s not often that I come across something that baffles me on the sea shore, and so I lay down the challenge to my hiking
Wildlife
Paper Nautilus: the hunt is on!
Autumn and winter is a great time to find Paper Nautilus shells on the beach, but you must be up early to beat the birds
Medicinal Fynbos Plants
Many spices are identified and explained on the Perlemoen Trail. The Khoisan were the first to discover the healing qualities in the various parts of
Edible Seaweed
An important part of the coastal experience is discovering the benefits of the abundant plant life. Seaweed is mostly edible (but not always palatable), full
Wildlife
Whales & Dolphins of South Africa
Undoubtedly the best place to spot these Cetaceans from land is De Kelders, near Gansbaai. From June each year large numbers of Southern Right whales, Eubalaena
Plant life
Inter-tidal zones – a varied habitat of extremes
Coastal intertidal zones provide a varied habitat of extremes: amazing animals and plants that have adapted and evolved to combat the pounding waves; desiccation at
Fun facts from your guide
Cormorants ability to swim underwater is aided by having a reduced preening gland, which most birds use to condition and repel water from their feathers.
Rock pools – is this where life began?
Rocky shorelines frequently contain tidal pools of varying sizes, and they may have provided some unique conditions that would have made biogenesis possible, (the chemistry
Wildlife
A rare find: a loggerhead turtle on the Cape Whale Coast
A rare sighting on a guided walk on the Perlemoen Trail in Jessie’s Bay Quoin Point Reserve. Loggerheads are considered an endangered species and are
Wildlife
The amazing limpets of South Africa
The name limpet is most often applied to members of the clade Patellogastropoda, the true limpets, which are all marine; however, the feature of a
The illicit abalone trade: a poaching problem
There are five species of abalone endemic to South Africa, but only one, Haliotis midae, is of any commercial value. Known in South Africa as perlemoen
History
Shipwrecks of the Cape Whale Coast
Notable Shipwrecks between Danger Point & Cape Agulhas The makers of maps that show the shipwrecks along the South African coast must have struggled to
History
Stone-Age Man’s history on the Southern African shoreline
When Neanderthal man was still ruling supreme in Europe, modern people were living in caves along this coast 85/100 thousand years ago. Evidence of this has