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Eco Tourism

The most effective way to experience all this area has to offer is to get out of your vehicle and walk.

Flora

The Cape Province has such a rich and wide variety of flora that it is one of the six Floral Kingdoms of the World and is known as the Cape Floral Kingdom. The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest of the floral kingdoms – only 470 square kilometers – but has the highest known concentration of plant species: 1300 per 10 000 square kilometers. Conservation of the Cape Floral Kingdom with its distinctive vegetation, known as fynbos, is therefore of utmost importance. The word fynbos is derived from the Dutch word for fine - leaved plants (fine bush).

Fynbos plants are characterized by small, thin drought – resisting leaves, and have three main components, namely proteas, ericas, and restios (or reeds). Fynbos plants include South Africa’s national flower, the king Protea, as well as the symbol of the Cape Province, the Red Disa. Fynbos is rich in orchids, gladioli, irises, geraniums and many other colourful and beautiful plants, despite the fact that the Cape’s soils are sandy and dry.

In fact over 7 700 plant species are found in fynbos and approximately 70% are endemic to the area, i.e. they are found nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, many are faced with extinction, and one of the major threats to fynbos is the spread of alien plants such as the hakea, the Australian wattles commonly known as “Rooikrans”, the Port Jackson willow and the European pines that grow prolifically and smother the natural vegetation. These alien plants are difficult to remove – burning them is not effective as the plants are stimulated by fire and release large amounts of seed, thereby spreading even further.

One of the most effective ways of eradicating them is by hacking them out, which is a labour – intensive operation. Other threats include the frequent fires, commercial forestation and the development of housing estates and farms.

Fauna

Herds of large mammals cannot live off fynbos as the soils are nutrient – deficient and do not provide enough nitrogen for the protein which is required by large mammals. However smaller mammals are supported by fynbos, and some of those common to fynbos are chacma baboons, grysbok, klipspringers, dassies, mongooses and the striped mouse.

All of the six bird species endemic to the south – west Cape are supported by fynbos, and these include the Cape sugarbird, the orange - breasted sunbird and the double - collared sunbird. The former two species are found only in the fynbos area and play an essential role in pollinating flowers by drinking the nectar from the flowers, especially the ericas and the proteas. A large number of butterfly species are also supported by fynbos.

One of the world’s rarest species of tortoise, the geometric tortoise, is endemic to the Cape and is also supported by fynbos. 62 different types of frogs are also found in the Cape (more than half of South Africa’s frog species), 29 of which are endemic to the area. Some of these include the Table Mountain ghost frog, the tiny micro frog and he Cape platanna.

High concentrations of threatened fish species are found in fynbos, especially in the Olifant’s River system. Found in the southern Cape is 1 rare fresh water endemic, 3 rare estuarine endemic fish, 3 endangered fish and 3 vulnerable fresh water endemic fish. Some of these include the Berg River red fin, the fiery red fin and the Cape whitefish.

Marine Mammals

The Cape Fur Seal: This seal can often be spotted swimming in Table Bay Harbour and in the Alfred basin, or you can take a boat trip out to Duiker Island or Seal Island where they are most numerous during their breeding season in November and December.

The Southern Right Whale: This is the species of whale most often seen here. The cows’ average about 14 meters in length while the bulls average about 12 meters, and a newborn calf is about 6 meters in length. These whales can be encountered at Fish Hoek from July to November during their mating or calving season. If you’re prepared to travel a bit further then one of the best places to go whale watching is Walker Bay in Hermanus.

The Dusky Dolphin: This is the dolphin most commonly seen in the Cape Peninsula coastal waters and is around 2 meters long. It has a pointed snout with no beak, and a black fin that is concave behind.

Coastal Birds

Three of the most common medium-sized coastal birds found here are the Cape Cormorant, Hartlaub’s Gull and he Southern Black-Backed Gull.

The Cape Cormorant: Also known as the Cape Trek Duiker. This is a black bird with a short tail and a beak that is yellow streaked underneath with a slight hook at the end. The Cape Cormorants often fly in a large V formation quite closely to the sea’s surface. This is an energy- saving tool- while the leader flying at the tip of the V formation cleaves the air, the followers take advantage of his aerodynamic “wake” thereby reducing their load. Each bird takes turns being front flier. Cormorants roost in large groups on the beach or on offshore rocks. They feed on surface shoals of pilchards and anchovies.

Hartlaub’s Gull: This medium sizes gull is pale grey on top and white underneath. As well as being seen around the coast following fishing boats or keeping the harbours clean by feeding on offal, they can also be spotted quite far inland, scavenging on rubbish dumps and feeding on little mud-dwelling creatures found on flooded lawns and rain puddles.

The Southern Black Backed Gull: This gull is a little larger than Hartlaub’s Gull and its colouring is slightly different being black on top. Its beak is yellow with a red tip on the lower half. They follow a similar feeding routine as those of Hartlaub’s Gull, but they do not go far inland to feed, instead preferring to stay along the coastal stretches of cliffs.

The African Penguin: Previously known as the Jackass Penguin is a flightless seabird and is endemic to the coast of southern Africa, i.e. it is found nowhere else in the world except in this area. They breed on offshore islands between Namibia and Port Elizabeth, and they can also be found on additional colonies on the mainland at Betty’s Bay and Simon’s Town (Boulders Beach). African Penguins are ground-nesting birds and nest by burrowing into guano (bird droppings which can sometimes be several meters deep and which have compacted into a hardish substance). Unfortunately guano is not so prevalent anymore as most of it as removed for fertilizer during the 19th century. Penguins now make their nests in burrows in the sand, or under bushes, overhanging rocks or sometimes even out in the open. They can bred anytime of the year and usually lay two eggs. Most adult birds feed during the day and the chicks are fed regurgitated food in the late afternoon, and the parent birds take turns in catching the food as well as guarding the nest. Penguins feed on fish including sardines, maasbanker , anchovy and squid are also eaten. The African Penguin swims quite fast with an average speed of about 7km/hour, and they are also highly efficient navigators. The population of African Penguins stands at about 120 000 birds. In 1930, the total population numbered at least 1,2 million birds. Penguin numbers have therefore decreased dramatically in the last 60 years, and this fall is continuing. As a result, all the islands where African Penguins breed, except Robben Island, are protected as provincial nature reserves or fall within the West Coast National Park.

Bird Watching

A, most rewarding past time, the Peninsula has numerous birding locations with specialist guides available. If you would like more detail let us know. The boat trips from Simons Town include a weekly pelagic bird-viewing trip.

Rehabilitation centres close by include the Raptor centre at Spier Wine farm, World of Birds in Hout Bay with Rondevlei a small nature reserve offering special hides for those who prefer to see the birds in their natural environment.

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