Live Water, Dead Water, Live Water

A quick ecology quiz: Is there more life in cold waters or warm waters?

Our journey has provided some wonderful empirical evidence on this question. When we set out from Cape Town, water temperatures in the Atlantic hovered around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. When we reached Richards Bay in northeastern South Africa, the Indian Ocean clocked in somewhere in the 70s. And as we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn off the coast of Mozambique, the mercury was up around 80 degrees.

So, where did we see the most marine life? Around Cape Town. The ocean is cold there, because it is fed by upwellings from the deep ocean. That deep water is cold, but it is also full of nutrients. As a result, the water around Cape Town is rich with sea birds, Penguins, Fur Seals, and our friend the Great White Shark.

The waters around Richards Bay, on the other hand, appeared virtually devoid of life. The jetties at Cape Town were crowded with cormorants, gulls, and terns. The jetties at Richards Bay were empty.

This pattern is not special to South Africa. The richest marine environments around the world are concentrated in places with cold, nutrient-rich waters -- places like the Arctic, the Antarctic, Georges Bank, the Galapagos, the southern Sea of Cortez, etc.

Happily, warm water doesn't have to mean no marine life. As we moved further into the tropics off Mozambique, we began to see more critters. Flocks of sooty terns diving on shoals of bait driven to the surface by predatory fish. A fairly rare pod of Melon-headed Whales (photos). And several pods of Transtropical Spotted Dolphins and Spinner Dolphins. There's still not as much biomass as down near the Cape, but there's enough to keep things interesting.

Punta da Barra

Our second stop in Mozambique was at Punta da Barra, a quiet stretch of beach just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. We saw some fun birds on shore like the Red-billed Wood Hoopoe and the Whimbrel (sorry, no photos). But the highlight was watching the local fisherman setting and pulling in their nets. As shown in the photo, the fishermen use pairs of dhows to set the net, along with a team of men and boys who shuttle between the shore, the two dhows, and the water to make sure the net is set right and to drive fish into it. A real National Geographic moment. (That's our ship, the National Geographic Explorer in the background.)

Maputo

Our first stop in Mozambique was the capital city of Maputo. Maputo has the feel of a city that was in long decline and has only recently started thinking of the future. As one traveler put it, there's an awful lot of deferred maintenance. Relatively modern buildings from the late colonial period are abundant, but they look like they haven't received a coat of paint since the Portguese suddenly pulled out in the early 1970s.

There a few interesting sites -- a steel building designed by Eiffel, a lovely railroad station, the local market, and the derilict building where thieves live (don't drop in) -- but nothing particularly striking. There were some signs of new development, particularly along the bay front, but we took it as a bad sign when our local guide said that politicians own the most expensive houses.

The Little Five

The fine folks on our ship held a contest the other night to see which guests could name the Little Five -- the more diminutive African creatures that share names with the Big 5. We were one of two cabins to get all five.

The prize was a bottle of wine. Since we aren't oenophiles, Esther sweetly asked whether they could substitute a stuffed animal. And look who showed up in our cabin.

The Little Five

Elephant Shrew
Ant Lion
Leopard Tortoise
Buffalo Weaver (which we saw in Namibia)
Rhinoceros Beetle (which we also saw in Namibia)

South Africa Recap

Biggest natural surprise: Plethora of birds at Joburg airport hotel.

Biggest man made surprise: Discovering someone using an acetylene torch to cut a hole in the side of the ship next to our cabin - while we were at sea. (The ship has some ventilation issues.)

Least pleasant experience (Donald). Trying to put on a 7mm wet suit that was too small.

Least pleasant experience (Esther). Exercising on the ellipse machine while cruising in heavy seas (resulting in uniquely unpleasant motion sickness).

Best bird: Saddle-billed Stork. (Runner-up: African Penguins.)

Best mammals: Baby Hippos. (Runner-up: More Baby Hippos.)

Best reptiles: Nile Crocodiles.

Best site: Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. It's stunning (and a great birding spot to boot).

Important warning: "Baboons are dangerous and attracted by food."

Most intuitive warning: "Keep your hands and feet inside the shark cage."

Least intuitive warning: "Don't hold the handrail." (The gondola to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town rotates during the ascent and decline, so you can't hold the handrail; one wonders what it's for.)

Hippos, Crocs, Monkeys, and Other Critters

The trip organizers called an audible the other day, deciding to spend some extra time at Richards Bay in northern South Africa before moving on to Mozambique. This was a great decision for us, because we used the time to visit St. Lucia, a lengthy estuary that houses the largest population of Nile Crocodiles in the world, plus Hippos, other mammals, and water birds.
Lady Luck also smiled on us: Many hippos had recently given birth, so we got to see week-old (or even younger) baby hippos hanging out with their moms. Very sweet.
Baby hippos would, of course, be a tasty morsel for the many crocodiles, but the crocs know better than that. The momma hippos have gigantic, sharp teeth that could easily chop a croc in half. The same goes for people of course. Many are the warnings that the hippo is the most dangerous animal in Africa, and that it kills more people than any other animal except the mosquito. (Note: Snakes kill many more people than hippos, but you get the idea.)

Hippos weren't the only mammals around. We also saw Bushbuck, Waterbuck (which allegedly taste so bad that crocs leave them alone), a Water Mongoose, and a troop of frolicking Vervet Monkeys.

Our feathered friends also put on a great show. Standouts included the Saddle-billed Stork, which towered over all the other birds except the Goliath Herons, and the African Fish Eagle. Other highlights were the Giant Kingfisher and the Yellow-billed Stork.

The Big Two-and-a-Half

Don't even try to pronounce Hluhluwe; you won't get it right (it's roughly "shish louie"). All you need to know is that it was the first national park in South Africa, founded way back in 1894, a few years before the more-famous Kruger. It's a Big 5 park, meaning that Elephants, Lions, Leopards, Rhinos, and Cape Buffalo all call it home, as do a host of other animals. But, of course, there are no guarantees, particularly with the predators.

We toured the park from roughly noon to 6pm on our visit. This is not the greatest timing; it would be better to arrive much earlier, but that didn't work with the ship logistics. But we did manage to see some critters. For starters, we racked up two-and-a-half of the Big 5. We saw several Elephants, including one that met us just outside the park gate. And we saw a herd of Cape Buffalo (distant) and a solo buffalo up close. And we saw several pairs of White Rhinos. That's where the half comes in. It turns out that the White Rhinos are relatively mellow fellows. So picky people believe that only Black Rhinos belong in the Big 5.

As noted in our Etosha report, we aren't really obsessed with the Big 5. We liked seeing the 2 1/2 (and would like to see the other 2 1/2), but we enjoy other critters as well. In fact, the best sighting of the trip (by some folks in other vehicles) was a pack of Wild Dogs bringing down a Nyala.

For us, the other highlights were some funky-looking birds (e.g., the Hamerkop and Pin-Tailed Whydah), our first Vervet Monkey, and our old friends the Warthogs, Zebras, and Giraffes. Oh, and we just missed a pair of lions who were reportedly stalking the lone Cape Buffalo that we saw.

Cage Diving with Great White Sharks

The water off Gaansbai was 9.5 degrees Celsius -- that's 49 degrees Fahrenheit. And a Great White Shark was circling the boat. Time to hop in the water!

Have you ever seen video of Great White Sharks going airborne in attacks on baby fur seals? Well, our small boat was anchored a few miles from "Shark Alley", where much of that footage has been taken. Unfortunately, as so often happens when chasing large fish, we had arrived at exactly the wrong moment. The fur seals pups won't take to sea for a couple more weeks, so we wouldn't be witnessing any acrobatics in Shark Alley. And the cold water had made the sharks lethargic in their alternative haunts along the beach. (Note: According to one staffer, the best time to visit is in May, when visitors typically see 7 to 10 sharks per trip.)

Despite the odds being against us, our boat did manage to attract several sharks over the course of three hours of chumming (i.e., ladling chopped up fish into the water). The first three sharks came and went pretty quickly. But the fourth one was more agreeable, giving several of us (including Donald) enough time to jump in a shark cage to see it from underwater. Visibility was very poor, but we did get one good side look at the shark as it chased a tuna head. And the 7mm wetsuit provided reasonable protection against the chilly water.

Now you might expect us to find the shark scary or beautiful or impressive or something along those lines. But our first reaction was that the shark was cute. He was clearly just a yearling, perhaps five or six feet long, and not at all terrifying. (Sorry for the poor quality of the picture -- clearly we need to get a polarizing filter.)

We will have to come back in May one year to see him when he's grown up.

Penguins, Tennis, and Mandela

Thanks to the Doctor we had an extra day in Cape Town. Rather than join the main tour group for a visit to South Africa's wine country, we joined up with one fellow guest (Tom) to visit Robben Island.

The island is most famous for its prison, which held Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners for many years. But its history goes back much further, including stints as a leper colony and as a gun battery in World War II (although the guns weren't actually finished until after the war). The island was much larger than we anticipated -- the official tour involves circling the island by bus before visiting the prison itself.

The island tour is striking for the contrasts. At one moment you are looking at the limestone quarry where prisoners worked in stifling heat. And the next moment you are gawking at penguins, rabbits, deer, sea birds, and the other critters that call the island home.

For the prison, our guide was Glenn, who was a prisoner there for more than six years. Needless to say, he provides a uniquely informed view of how the prison worked. From the cells to the menus to the routine, Glenn gave great insight into prison life. Most surprising to us was the importance of tennis. Each cell block had its own tennis court, and prisoners took advantage of that opportunity for exercise (they also played soccer). Of course, the prisoners also looked for ways to put the tools at hand to good use. One method of illicit communication: slitting a tennis ball open, inserting a message, and then flinging it over the wall to another cell block.

The Doctor Was Out, But Now He's Really In

The mercury hit 40 degrees C (that's 104 degrees F for Americans) on the day we arrived in Cape Town. Why so hot? Because the Doctor was out.

The Doctor is the wind that regularly cools Cape Town, blowing away pollutants and oppressive heat. Wind plays a big role in Cape Town's climate. In addition to cleaning the air, it has a huge effect on the overall climate. Most important (and most surprising to us) is that the wind causes the ocean around Cape Town to be colder in the summer than it is in the winter; this moderates the seasonal swing in air temperatures. Apparently the prevailing winds blow out the warm water in summertime, allowing cold waters from the deep to rise to the surface.

The Doctor returned with a vengeance two days later. Winds hit at least 70 knots, well into hurricane range. Ships -- including the National Geographic Explorer, which were scheduled to board in the afternoon -- were unable to enter the harbor. So the Doctor left us stranded. We ended up sailing a day behind schedule. That means we will miss one stop along our scheduled itinerary. But, as we will discuss in our next blog posting, we also got to squeeze in some additional sightseeing around Cape Town.