The Truth about Cape of Good Hope

We are visiting Cape Town, South Africa and it is turning out to be an amazing experience. But I must say I'm rather gobsmacked at knowing the 'real truth' about Cape of Good Hope. Please let me explain...

I think pretty well the whole world has been duped into thinking that the Cape of Good Hope is the most southern part of the African continent that divides the Atlantic and Indian oceans, just like Cape Horn is the dividing line between the Pacific and Atlantic in South America. That's what they've been saying in Geography text books for decades. What a shock when I found out this isn't true!

It is true that a Portuguese explorer back in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias, first made markings and title of this barren stoney point at the bottom of Africa. He had originally named it the "Cape of Storms" because of- well- the big storms that happen here. But when he got back to Portugal to tell the King about it, the King said "no, no, no Bart, this won't do". He told Bart that if other explorers heard about the storms and difficulty in sailing around the Cape that they might not go. He said "Bart, we need to be more hopeful about this... I've got an idea, Let's call it Cape of Good Hope- get it?" And because he was King- well, that was that. This gave the spin of a prosperous sea route around Africa to get to the spice trade and the Orient.

The big shocker? It turns out this Cape isn't the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans afterall, nor is it the most southern point of South Africa!! Bart's guys jumped to this conclusion too fast and many years later it was scientifically determined that a place about 250 km further east is really the dividing line and most southern body of land. But because the King said so, geographers just kind of made a note of this tiny discrepancy.

It is correct at the site though- the sign at Cape of Good Hope says the most South- Western point of the African continent:

And one last comment about this 'Cape', it's only 50 km south of Cape Town and the scenery is amazing compared to the treacherous land around Cape Horn in South America. In fact, the whole coastal region down from Cape Town has gorgeous seaside resort towns and villages. Here's a pic of Camps Bay:

And Hout Bay:

And on the other side of the point, here is a pic of False Bay:

The story on the 'false' part is that initially it was Cape Bay but because it really isn't the Cape they called it False Bay!!

Safari Highlights

Doing a safari is an incredible life experience. We did a walking safari staying 2 nights in a tent out in the wilderness (which we later learned was a 'serious' safari), then a Jeep safari staying at different kinds of lodges. We did actual lodges (running water, toilets, comfy beds), stayed in hard-roof tent lodges (basics) and a soft-roof mobile tent lodge that actually moved with the migration (I'd say tenting with the lou inside the tent). It definitely wasn't a Hilton Hotel experience while driving around in an Audi. Jeep safaris are rugged (but in a good way I guess) and it's a lot of off-road with dirt flying around at all times. We did about 1,700 km, the equivalent of going from Toronto to PEI on roads resembling our north country gravel roads but with no gravel or grading and then no roads at all!!

That said, the scenery was breathtaking. Here's a sunset at the Tarangire National Park:

And a sunrise when we were at the Ngorongoro Crater:

And here's a pic of the scenery from a spot in the crater itself:

We saw hundreds of different animals and birds. Some of our favourites? For monkeys, it has to be the Black Face African monkey:

There's also an animal that looks like a miniature deer, but it's not. It is less than 2 feet high fully grown and is called a DikDik:

We saw 3 different types of gazelles- the largest being the Topi, then the Grant and the smallest is the Thompson:

We saw 4 different cats- male and female lions, a leopard, cheetahs and a cat I didn't even know before called a Serval (about the size of a dog):

Here's a shot of a lion on a kill hunt through a herd of wildebeasts: 

You can see the wildebeasts are either looking at her directly or running away because  she's going to have one of them for dinner. 

We saw hundreds of elephants, the favourite being a mother and baby:

Did you know that elephants eat over 150 Kg of berries, shrubs and grass a day? 

We saw thousands of zebras; their marks are incredibly beautiful and they seem so majestic:

And one other favourite- the giraffes were awesome to watch while eating treetops:

There is an the eco system in the parks that is not pretty but is a reality. All the cats kill and eat other animals- primarily wildebeasts, zebras, gazelles and even DikDiks if they're hungry enough. Once they finish eating their kill, this next group finishes off the carcasses- jackals, hyenas and vultures:

And just as lions are king of the land, crocodiles are king in the water (they're bigger than our alligators in North America): 

They can easily grab a wildebeast or zebra crossing water, tire them out in their efforts to get out from their jaws, drown them then put them by the river bank for eating a few days later. That's the bad part of doing the safari and watching the kill be eaten (we saw this almost every day of our trip).

Back to nicer parts of the safari- we saw hippos that basically stayed to themselves both in water and out (did you know they only eat grass?):

And the beautiful flamingos! We saw some in groups, then if you can believe it, over 500,000 of them together in the Ngorongoro Conservation Reserve:

And we were incredibly fortunate to watch the migration of the wildebeasts and zebras in the Northern Serengeti. Each year, these animals do the trek from the south up to the north, a 500 Km journey taking about 8 1/2 months up and down. Here, they are crossing the Masai Mara River: 

There are 1.6 million wildebeasts and 600,000 zebras that do this trek. Not all make it- either they get killed by lions, leopards or cheetas along the way, get killed by crocodiles or they aren't strong enough to cross the Mara River with the current and they drown. When we were at the Mara crossing, we saw 2 wildebeasts being killed by crocodiles and 2 being swept away by the river current.  Still, watching the migration is an unbelievable experience.

Would we do it again- absolutely! The beauty of the scenery and the animals is hard to describe; I hope I've captured a bit of it.

Some Interesting Facts

Please do not read further if you're not interested in animal mating. This rather interesting discussion started when we saw baboons during our safari. We saw about 60- 70 baboons going down the Tarangire River for their evening jaunt to get water:

You will notice some with red bums- these are females and you can see some with little babies on their back or under their belly. The red means they are 'in heat' and ready to make more little bundles of joy. As they moved down to the water, I had noticed one male jump a female and then fall off after 5- 10 seconds. So I asked our Guide Jacumba if it was difficult for baboons to copulate and he said 'not at all' since it takes only 5- 10 seconds to complete the deed! 

So then I got to thinking about the time it takes animals to, you know, 'do it'. If anyone knew the answers, it had to be Jacumba. So with all the fearless inquisitiveness I could muster, I asked the questions I kind of wanted to know but thought it crazy to ask. Here goes...

If you thought baboons were quick to get off, giraffes are even faster to reach nirvana. Visualize two 15 feet tall animals trying to connect. With their long necks, the male is looking about 10 feet away from a rather concealed area and without hands, this takes a number of tries to dock, so to speak. But once entering, it's immediate Hallelujah and nothing more to do.

  

Now elephants are considerably longer in time and takes about 10- 12 minutes to do the deed. The female has some say here and has to agree with the advances because they won't put up with 6 tons on their back just because any guy wants to do it.

Hippos take even longer- about 20 minutes to copulate and they do it in water. They weigh 3 tons and it seems to me that elephants could learn something here about weight and water.  

And then there are rhinos- definitely the longest at 35- 40 minutes. Rhino males that complete the mating are the strongest of most other males as it takes so long to reach that happy time. Many a male rhinos try to do it but can't finish because they're not strong enough to stay mounted for that amount of time. 

Then, sadly, we talked about the crazy poachers here in Africa that kill rhinos for their tusks. There is a big market for ground-up tusks in Arab countries and Japan for male arousal and enhanced stamina. Jucumba and I made the decision that to kill a beautiful animal just for this is unbelievably cruel and ridiculous. We decided to create a new species and we're calling these guys a bunch of dicks!

10k Hiking Safari

For the adventurous- and those married to Cathy- you can take a hiking safari, which we did. As much as I hate the thought of hiking for 5 hours, it turned out to be an incredible adventure. We were protected by our Ranger Ali (left) and led by our Guide Jacumba (right):

The background 'mound' are a termite mounds and they are plentiful in the park. Termites are important for the eco system as they are food for many of the birds and animals. Believe it or not, termites eat 80% of all grass but there is plenty left for all big animals; quite an interesting system.

Jacumaba showed us how he trails the wildlife (by days/ hours of the animal poop) and as we walked, he explained the hierarchy of the animals, who eats what for survival and then tracking down some wildlife. Did you know that elephants are basically vegetarians eating only berries, leaves, twigs and shrubs? They also only sleep about 2 hours a day and eat basically the rest of the time.

We were able to see a Cheeta shortly after it killed a small Impala. Cheetas are the fastest creatures on the planet and shy so it was difficult to get pictures (you can see her head in the first shot). But she was also hungry and wasn't going to go far away from her kill, so after a waiting game, she came out to tell us to leave.

We saw a small herd of Heart Beasts:

And more elephants. Half of all elephants live in Tanzania. This bigger male is about 35 years old and he wrapped its trunk around this Acacia tree, positioned his tusks on either side and shook it till the berries dropped:

The other elephant is a 25 year old male who will grow to about the same size as his friend in the next 10 years. Elephants live till their 65- 70 years old.

As you can probably guess, we're having the time of our lives!!

First Day Safari

Remember when I said earlier that I had learned my lesson to listen to everything my wife says? Well, I'm really trying- but back when Cathy mentioned we would be camping out for two nights during our safari, I didn't get the gist of what exactly that would entail.

We're in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania and the beauty is incredible. We saw some amazing animals and birds today. The zebras were plentiful. They herd together much like horses; and something special they do with their neck is going along the back of other zebras to help shoo the flies off:

The elephants were amazing. Here is a shot of a Mom and baby elephant then a 'teenage' male hamming it up for us:

The giraffes- well- they're our favourite! They're also the Tanzania's national animal:

We also saw herds of Impalas; they scatter much like deers when approached:

The park is also known for a variety of birds. Here are some ostriches:

The next one is called a Special Starling:

And the next one is called a Red- billed Horn:

Now about the camping- yes, actual camping like in a tent! Cathy wanted to experience a "Robert Redford Out of Africa" moment so when she booked the trip, she included camping in the wilderness. Unfortunately, it didn't come with Robert Redford or Meryl Streep and no linen tablecloths and silverware. Here is our tent:

Along with this comes two cots to sleep on and a real Ranger with a real loaded rifle for the duration of our 'campout' (by law). So for campfire fun, there's Cathy and I along with our driver James, our guide Jacumba and our Ranger Ali. Now, how much fun is this!! `Oh and guess what! We're doing a hiking safari tomorrow!! With guns...