There are various types of millipedes, but one I always like to find somewhere is the Shongololo millipede. These guys aren't little worms and can grow up to 20cm long. Around here they are a glossy black, but I see in my nature book that you also find some with alternating yellow and black bands. I also have not found that one so they probably occur somewhere else in the country. I've always wondered how many legs a millipede actually…
At both the places we camped at over Christmas and New Year we got to see bats. Not tons of bats, but a few flying up and down around about dawn. Whenever they banked low over our heads the Damselfly would give a shriek. Its so girly of her. LOL. On our last night a baby bat flew past us and landed on the side of the tent two spots down from us. We watched him (or her) back its…
Karin posted a pic of her son holding one of those snails that live in the tidal zone on Picture this! by Karin yesterday and I went scratching for my Plough Shells pics. A little while ago we went camping at Cape St Francis. While taking a walk on the beach we found literally hundreds of these snails. They live under the sand within the tidal zone. After a wave washes over them they come out of the sand to…
For the last week or so I've noticed a lot of little orange butterflies fluttering around the garden in front of our offices. I've been wanting to hunt them with my camera all week, but the winds been blowing (like it normally does this time of year) and we had a bit of rain so "hunting" for a good photo has been out of the question. Today was a gorgeous day and at lunch time I headed out with my…
The Aloe is a succulent plant that is native to Africa and very common in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. There are about 400 different species of Aloe plants.The Aloe Ferox is found specifically in South Africa and is one of only a few that were used traditionally as a herbal medicine. Although the Aloe Vera is the best known Aloe as far as medicinal value goes, the Aloe Ferox also has various uses. Today, the gel found…
So I don't really know the difference between grasshoppers and locusts. Wikipedia tells me locusts are several types of grasshoppers that would swarm at times. Around here I haven't seen any swarms, so these must be grasshoppers. What confuses me more is that in Afrikaans we just say "Springkaan" which is grasshopper for all of them. Whatever! I'm not really one that likes to get too close to things like spiders, grasshoppers or anything with more that four legs, but…
Although the Table Mountain National Park is not a game reserve, it does have some game in the Cape of Good Hope section of the park. Land mammals include zebra, eland and baboon, while dolphins and whales are often spotted along the coastline. Many bird species can be found there as well, from the world's biggest bird, the ostrich, to sometimes antarctic birds making land here. But for all the scenery and everything else there is, its the little things…
Seeing that two of my "blog friends" have posted spider pics over the last day or so, I decided to do the same. I went digging for some spider pics and found two I took a little while ago. This one I caught kind off unexpectantly. I was trying to get some nice pics of the water drops on the web when the little guy made his appearence. Good ol' Daddy Longlegs sitting in a corner that we have neglected…