Travelling in Cape Town (1 Viewer)

Hey All,

I have now been away from SA for 3 years and myself and a few UK friends are looking at doing a photography/birding trip sometime next year and need some recommendations please. I am from JHB and lived in Nelspruit so I am waxed as far as places out that side of the world but wanted to get some recommendations on Cape Town locations ... most foreigners just associate CT with Wine and the Mountain

In my view, and based on the limited travelling I have done down there I would imagine the following is a good starting point but wanted to get some more ideas please:
1 - Kirstenbosch Gardens (sunbirds, etc.)
2 - Mouilles Point (terns, gulls, etc)
3 - Boulders (Pengins)
4 - ?
5 - ?
......

it doesn't have to be birding only but seals, whales, etc also would be great

Thanks in advance
Victor

Some mammals:

rock hyrax is plentiful (and not at all shy) at Boulders Beach, especially if you use the south entrance and wander away from the crowds.

Seals are abundant in and around Hout Bay - there are commercial ferries to Seal Island (not the big one in False Bay, a little one just outside Hout Bay, officially Duiker Island), or you can stand on the docks in Hout Bay, holding a fish, and a seal or three will leap up the two meters out of the water to join you.

Whales are seasonal - I'm here in the wrong season so didn't look into it, but there should be lots of tour/charter boat options.


Your UK friends may be interested in the botanical aspects of the fynbos - it's quite a distinctive assemblage. Table mountain would do the trick, or lion's head, or any of the Cape Point lands.
At Cape Point you are likely to see baboons. I've also seen eland and ostriches on reserve lands, but not if you're just driving to the lighthouse. Try stopping and hiking someplace a little quieter, like the Silvermine area. (Early morning is ideal for wildlife of course, but logisitically more challenging.)

Victor Soares said:

Hey All,

I have now been away from SA for 3 years and myself and a few UK friends are looking at doing a photography/birding trip sometime next year and need some recommendations please. I am from JHB and lived in Nelspruit so I am waxed as far as places out that side of the world but wanted to get some recommendations on Cape Town locations ... most foreigners just associate CT with Wine and the Mountain

In my view, and based on the limited travelling I have done down there I would imagine the following is a good starting point but wanted to get some more ideas please:
1 - Kirstenbosch Gardens (sunbirds, etc.)
2 - Mouilles Point (terns, gulls, etc)
3 - Boulders (Pengins)
4 - ?
5 - ?
......

it doesn't have to be birding only but seals, whales, etc also would be great

Thanks in advance
Victor

Click to expand...

We stayed at the lovely Kleinbay and did the Shark trip from there, lovely, relaxed little Town, not that far from CT?

nartreb said:

Some mammals:

Whales are seasonal - I'm here in the wrong season so didn't look into it, but there should be lots of tour/charter boat options.


Your UK friends may be interested in the botanical aspects of the fynbos - it's quite a distinctive assemblage. Table mountain would do the trick, or lion's head, or any of the Cape Point lands.
At Cape Point you are likely to see baboons. I've also seen eland and ostriches on reserve lands, but not if you're just driving to the lighthouse. Try stopping and hiking someplace a little quieter, like the Silvermine area. (Early morning is ideal for wildlife of course, but logisitically more challenging.)

Click to expand...

Not sure how 'tickable' Osrtich are in this area if you're a purist, they derive from escaped, farmed birds. I know that I personally didn't tick Ostrich until we saw them in Namibia but that's a personal choice.

How far from CT will you wander?

PS you can see flamingo and other water birds in the Swart river, though it's not a terribly appealing location, with traffic noise and litter.

I'd add in a pelagic, and go up in the moutains and consider Paarl flower sanctuary.

Victor Soares said:

Hey All,

I have now been away from SA for 3 years and myself and a few UK friends are looking at doing a photography/birding trip sometime next year and need some recommendations please. I am from JHB and lived in Nelspruit so I am waxed as far as places out that side of the world but wanted to get some recommendations on Cape Town locations ... most foreigners just associate CT with Wine and the Mountain

In my view, and based on the limited travelling I have done down there I would imagine the following is a good starting point but wanted to get some more ideas please:
1 - Kirstenbosch Gardens (sunbirds, etc.)
2 - Mouilles Point (terns, gulls, etc)
3 - Boulders (Pengins)
4 - ?
5 - ?
......

it doesn't have to be birding only but seals, whales, etc also would be great

Thanks in advance
Victor

Click to expand...