October 18, Hiking Up the Canyons

We hiked up the canyon behind our B&B before breakfast this morning and enjoyed close views of 3 klipspringers and listened to Victoran's Warblers singing from secretive places that didn't allow us views of this longed for bird.  Had a nice continental breakfast at our B&B which included fresh guava (a first for us) and rusk (like biscotti), and enjoyed chatting with Fransell, our hostess, about everything South African.  Then we spent the next 5 hours at the botanical garden in Betty's Bay, hiking up several canyons in search of birds and flowers - and AMAZING scenery.  Every place we've been in South Africa has been so scenic!!  I think I'd have to say that South Africa is the most beautiful and scenic country we've visited in our travels, with very dramatic mountains, canyons, coastlines, and grasslands.  We drove east of Betty's Bay this afternoon and walked out a long boardwalk to a bird blind in an estuary, with good looks at several Spoonbills along the way.

Photos are of the canyon behind the B&B, one of the klipspringers, the next 2 are of flowers in the canyon, the tannic stream coming down the canyon in the botanical garden, a tortoise (about 10" long), a Karoo Prinia, a Cape Batis, another Cape Sugarbird with its ridiculously long tail, a king protea flower (at least 6" across), two views of the canyon that we hiked way up within the botanical garden, another type of protea, and Tom on the boardwalk after leaving the bird blind.