Zebras

Bill and I took a detour Saturday morning from our plan to grab some lunch on the beach and wound through the wildlife reserve around the plant in search of--you guessed it--zebras.  Here's what we found milling around on the road and parking lot at the north end of the reserve.

I like the one in the middle, who seemed to be posing and then gave me a a look that said, "Are you going to take the picture, already?"  There must have been 15-20 of them.

As we headed back toward the gate, we encountered a group of springbok right beside the road.  I think they must be the national critter, since there are sports teams named for them and they appear on the international stamps.  They are smaller than most deer, perhaps because the subsist on the fynbos, which I think means something like "brushwood" in Africkaans, but is basically what we'd call brush.

Behind and beneath the two at the top is a carpet of flowers, white and an intense orange.  And below are two photos that show how the floral explosion has continued and increased in the weeks since we visited Postberg.

The flower season marks the end of the rains, and from now on we head into a dry season and landscapes like southern Calif. in the summer. 

We went on to lunch (veggie pizza with lots of avocado) at the Kliphaus in Melkbos and then hiked south along the beach to see what was there.  We were surprised to see a group of six or so parasailers heading toward us as we ended our excursion.  One of them seemed to be into photo ops, as you will see below.

He's waving in the bottom photo, but I'm not sure you can see that.  Anyway--close enough to kiss!

Here, too, below, are Bill's photos of bird on the rocks.  He kept creeping closer and closer, and these are the closest he was able to capture.  If you can tell us what species are there, we'll be grateful!  There is a comment area below each post (and I'd feel less lonely if you'd use it!).

 And finally, proof we were both really there--one of Bill with Table Mountain, a constant presence we see whenever we turn to the south, and of one me on the southern beach where we saw these birds and the parasailers.  We also picked up a lot of abalone shells and will be finding the best three to bring to our three beautiful grandchildren!

Well, it's getting late and time to say goodnight.  Hope you enjoy the pictures and leave a word or two to let me know you are there!