I arose a the ungodly hour of 3:45 a.m. showered, dressed, checked my luggage, and then took an Uber to O’Hare. Traffic was sparse and I got here 2.5 hours early, so here’s the post.
Notable events: I have to take malaria medication, and my doctor said I should take one pill a day (they’re big and bitter) starting three days before I arrive and continuing for a week thereafter. Believe me, you don’t want to get malaria! I have also taken my requisite four typhoid pills, got a preventive Covid shot and the first two doses of the Hepatitis B vaccine (the last dose will be three months after I return). I also have iodine pills to disinfect water. I don’t want to get sick on my Big Trip to See Animals.
I’ll be in Capetown for about eight days staying with old friends Martim and Rita (both biologists) who have a lovely cottage overlooking the ocean. During this time we’ll have a four-day field trip in the area, but I’m not quite sure of all the details.
Besides that, my plans include the usual tourist sites: visiting Robben Island to see the cell where Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life, visiting the Cape Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) to add another penguin to my life list (there are about six on it now), going atop Table Mountain, and seeing the unusual flora in the fynbos region (one of only a few floral regions in the world, and the smallest one), described this way:
One of only six floral kingdoms in the world and unique to this small area, the region supports over 9,000 plant species, 70% of which are found nowhere else on the planet. These include exquisite species such as the king protea (South Africa’s national flower) and exotic pincushions.
Here’s a king protea (Protea cynaroides):
After Capetown I fly north for the Animal Expedition. Thanks for my friend Rosemary, I have booked my own stay in a game lodge (yes, a fancy one) for a few days, which provides two animal-viewing trips per day as well as bushwalks on foot. Then it’s on to a two-day river trip (I’m not quite sure of the details, but it’s supposed to be lovely), and then three of us will drive through Kruger Park, again looking for animals and staying in basic accommodations.
Seeing the “Big Five” animals is the goal of all travelers; they are the lion, the Cape Buffalo, the leopard, the rhino, and of course the elephant. Of these, the secretive leopard is the hardest to see, but lions and elephants are normally on tap.
I will also see the Common Warthog, which really should be one of the Big Five. At last I’ll be able to see Ozy, who is still dominating the area and eating well.
Finally, a friend of Martim who studies the Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis), a corker of a bird, promised to show them to us toward the end of the month. Here’s a video of this remarkable species:
After all this I’ll return to Capetown for a day or two, and then back to America, where, thank Ceiling Cat, I’ll have missed all the crazy politics that will ensue for a month.
The next trip after that is the CSICon meetings in Las Vegas in October, where I’ll be giving a talk and then heading to southern Utah to visit a friend. In December I go to Poland to give two invited talks at a popular-science meeting in Silesia, and of course to visit my friends Malgorzata, Andrzej, Hili, Kulka, and Szaron in Dobrzyn. After that, a trip to New York for a Heterodox Academy panel, and, in July of 2025, a trip to the Arctic—another goal on the bucket list.
So it goes. I am glad to be free of the craziness that is American politics for a while and relax in nature. I will post as I can, but if the internet is rare, or I don’t have time, rest assured that there will be animal photos when I return. As always, I do my best.
Sounds fantastic. Have a wonderful time!
Wow! Have a great time. You won’t be low on wildlife photos when you return.
I will be exploring Svalbard in July 2025. This year the Antarctic, next year the Arctic!
Have a great trip Jerry. I know you will.
Once you get the big 5, go for the Little 5: Buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, rhinoceros beetle and ant lion!
Also, watch for urban caracals in cape town! https://www.urbancaracal.org/; they have a great Facebook page too.
If you think American politics are crazy, you clearly don’t follow South African politics.
Make sure to check out Kirstenbosch Gardens while in Cape Town.
Sounds fantastic Jerry!!! Have a great trip! Mocky and I plan to spend a few days with Tim and Betsy in NYC at end of August and take in tennis one day at the U.S. Open.
Best regards,
Brad Day
I have a good friend from South Africa, and it seems like a great place to visit, nature-wise. Aside from the terrestrial life, there’s interesting marine life,
https://southafrica.co.za/marine-life.html
due to its two major ocean currents — on the southeast coast, the warm Agulhas Current and on the west coast, the cold Benguela Current.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agulhas_Current#:~:text=The%20courses%20of%20the%20warm,the%20south%20coast%20of%20Africa.
Pet Ozy for us! (Well, maybe not.)
“Believe me, you don’t want to get malaria!”
Well… if you need to finance an Edingurgh show:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0jqxe44g7go
I find that story rather bizarre.
You’ll have a wonderful time here Jerry.
A note*: It’s not the Great Hornbill, it’s the Ground Hornbill we’ll be seeing. Different species.
Brilliant creatures, they wander about like ancient priests, garbed in red and black cassocks, on a deliberately paced pilgrimage to the prehistoric unknown.
Don’t miss the good sea food and the South African wines!
Sounds wonderful, especially the fynbos! It is a huge outlier on the diversity vs precipitation graph.
If you have spare time (hah!) you might go after the Great White Sharks. People use seal lures to get them to attack close to the boat. Sounds like fun:
https://www.divediscovery.com/shark-diving/divetours/flying-great-whites-south-africa.php
I’d be curious to learn about what camera and long lens you are using. They can be had as rentals most anywhere.
I join the others in wishing you to have a wonderful and enlightening time.
Such rich flora and fauna. What an exciting adventure you’ve got ahead of you. Ah, the heart yearns. I never took the time to learn the origin of the King protea and am fascinated to discover those lovely specimens I occasionally purchase at Trader Joe’s originated in South Africa. This is trip is exciting already. Thanks for sharing your plans with us.
In Kruger keep an eye out for a pile of dung on the road and check for the dung beetles fighting for their portions; mesmerising. And if there is an opportunity to go for a 5am drive do take it. The curious thing about walking the veldt is how at home one feels; it a curious thing. I can’t wait to see the photos! Travel well!
In true Gary Larson… the big animals are chatting amongst themselves waiting for you to show up.
Say high for us.
You will love the fynbos! And be sure to eat the wonderful passion flower yogurt!
Full of the edible seeds which provide the amazing flavor! Removing the seeds removes the taste! They should export it! It will be the end of winter but not yet spring but there will still be flowers everywhere, including underfoot. Wherever you walk, lean down and part the grass and you will find new species of flowers. If you have time take a boat from Simonstown offshore to see oceanic birds.