North, Truly

Start moving, you'll feel better.

Cape Point 360

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 7:19:06 PM

Sit back, relax and enjoy this virtual tour of Cape Point -where the whales play and baboons steal your chocolates bigsmile

Cape Point is our peninsula national park, and most local people grew up visiting it or driving through to the point and relaxing on one of the beaches. My family certainly did bigsmile We got chased by baboons who stole our food, and one day my dad discovered a shark in the tidal pool bigeyes It was always fun to BBQ at Buffels Bay.

Later I spent a lot of time there, ironically I was chasing the baboons, this time lol Some payback for that loaf of bread they stole. They are a pest, you've obviously realised, but that's not really their fault. They are in real trouble now and numbers are dwindling.

I honestly feel that these don't do it justice, but i offer it to you in cyberland nonetheless. It is heartwarming to share my city smile

Have a look at the picture library to get more of a sense of the "almost" southernmost point of Africa.

Hugs

Capegirl

Pleased to Meet You?Elementary, I Thought

Comments

Darkogdare Tuesday, February 26, 2008 7:25:53 PM

I am wondering what did you stole from them left
bigsmile

MichelleCapegirl Tuesday, February 26, 2008 7:38:27 PM

only their pride bigsmile and lots of backpacks had to be gotten back. they know it all...how to steal it, unzip, untie, unpack... which chocolates they like best bigeyes when i lived there my house was ransacked and i had a mexican standoff with one of them who was hiding under my bed..

him: bigeyes
me: bigeyes
me: chases with broom (sweeping up crap from the floor)
him: runs
me: natasha (coming down the passage) he's coming right at you..
natasha: bigeyes faint


lol funny memories they trashed our place so bad. bit holes in the toothpaste, urinated on the beds, ate the root vegetables, got into the fridge....like bears.....with opposable thumbs

Darkogdare Tuesday, February 26, 2008 7:57:06 PM

lol
Why did they urinated on beds?

MichelleCapegirl Tuesday, February 26, 2008 8:01:28 PM

to mark their territory. we smell. bigsmile

Darkogdare Tuesday, February 26, 2008 8:14:38 PM

lollol

Rippripp2002 Tuesday, February 26, 2008 10:18:36 PM

sounds like an interesting time p

devil

MichelleCapegirl Tuesday, February 26, 2008 11:51:00 PM

Cape Point is a magical place. there are walks past old shipwrecks and deserted spaces...not on the touristy sections bigsmile that's where the folks in the know go bigsmile

Rippripp2002 Wednesday, February 27, 2008 2:01:29 AM

Sounds like it would be a very relaxing afternoon. I would enjoy the shipwrecks

devil

Martin Ouellettemartinouellette Wednesday, February 27, 2008 5:34:13 AM

Nice the pictures and the 360. smile

It's funny, I hear about SA lately and I think about you. I watched "Renditions" and the first scene was in Cape Town. Also today in the Montréal newspaper was a nice article from a guy visiting there.
He was saying something like: This place is wonderful, it's lush green, it's rocks and sand, it's mountains and the ocean, the animals, everything is more. It's heaven it's the south of the south -from a Canadian point of view-

I know it's sounds weird like that but the article made you want to be there right now. smile

MichelleCapegirl Wednesday, February 27, 2008 10:03:43 AM

Ripp, it really is...very remote on the sections the tourists don't bother with bigsmile

Martin> Lush green???? i'll have to go and try to find some!!! was he at Cape Point? i guess there is SOME green right now in the new veld. but it's been a hot summer, so there is plenty of dry brown around too lol but yeah. cape town makes you want to compose poetry or write music and it's not easy to always explain why...

Nicknickthesurfer Wednesday, February 27, 2008 4:24:28 PM

Tre-cool ........ I love the coast (pretty much any coastline to be honest).

Rippripp2002 Wednesday, February 27, 2008 4:56:07 PM

Some of the best places in the world are not tourist attractions.

There is a state park south of Daytona Beach (quite a ways south) and it is incredible. I spent many nights illegally camped (the park closes at sun down; there tend to be bad people around doh that was me at that time in my life) there and it was pure peace and quiet. Just a open stretch of beach, the stars, and peaceful waves.

devil

MichelleCapegirl Wednesday, February 27, 2008 4:58:40 PM

me too Nick, you should come and visit sometime smile

so you were a bunch of hoodlums enjoying the moon and stars?? ha ha yeah LC, you're a real badass:P

Martin Ouellettemartinouellette Wednesday, February 27, 2008 5:17:47 PM

He traveled South Africa... many places. Can't say where exactly. smile

MichelleCapegirl Wednesday, February 27, 2008 5:24:23 PM

oh ok. maybe to KZN or higher up..it's very green there in summer..summer rains... smile

in Cape Town we have our green in winter and the flowers too bigsmile

Rippripp2002 Wednesday, February 27, 2008 5:29:20 PM

I obviously wasnt a bunch of hoodlums; just one, and maybe not even the worst one whistle

doh as for being a badass; you have never heard me say that lol I run like a girl in the face of danger (ok, maybe a mean bitch but I still run doh I will even trip anyone around me so the bear gets them first) doh I mean I always stand tall and never flutter in the face of danger, like a sunflower doh mighty oak tree doh better a mighty redwood tree :toughmeanbastardstandingtall:

if that was the worst thing that I ever did I would be completely ok with that.

devil

MichelleCapegirl Wednesday, February 27, 2008 6:08:53 PM

running in the face of danger is really rather smart in some cases. well unless it's a lion...or a rhino...or a hippo...

that reminds me of a funny saying we have here:

how fast do you have to run to avoid being killed by a rhino *hippo* *lion*?

"faster than the guy next to you"

Rippripp2002 Wednesday, February 27, 2008 6:21:38 PM

doh we have those sayings here but with bears, dogs, sharks, etc... nothing cool like a rhino, hippo or a lion awww

devil

Rhona Kirstenrhona Monday, March 3, 2008 12:47:13 PM

Wow!! That looks great Michelle smile

I'm glad u had a great time, despite the pee bigsmile

MichelleCapegirl Monday, March 3, 2008 2:53:10 PM

lol working in nature conservation was never glamorous, but mostly we like it this way bigsmile

i did get your e-mail and will reply shortly...as well as to everyone else. why am i so busy lately? when will i in fact, vaccuum my carpets? i am SO getting assisted living! bigsmile yes that's right, free up some time...

MichelleCapegirl Monday, March 3, 2008 4:40:40 PM

this is very nice. i will teach them how to use it bigsmile

Adele BrandSittingFox Thursday, March 6, 2008 9:10:25 AM

Lucky you! What a beautiful place happy

Ah, baboons. I visited the Serengeti in Tanzania some years ago and I remember them trying to get into the lodge bigeyes Time to shut the windows - I'm not going to argue with anything that can chase off a leopard wink

Unfortunately, as you say, it isn't really their fault, and wardens in Canada's national parks are now trying to stop wildlife getting food from visitors and "mooching" about waiting for more! Sadly, a lot of coyotes and bears have been shot after eating handouts sad

MichelleCapegirl Thursday, March 6, 2008 10:05:25 AM

indeed, they are unafraid and could kill you, quite easily.

at Cape Point they are so habituated to human influences and smarter than smart at outfoxing (lol) people. they recognised the white vehicles the rangers drove and the khaki uniforms, so all they'd have to see is us coming up and they'd run.

in times gone by most management strategies involved killing the Alpha male. There was one particularly troublesome one, named Rocky- a large, smart, agressive and formidable baboon. all that really happens is that another male replaces him and he is already habituated to the foraging strategy, although in some cases less bold. and over time the problem just reinforces itself.

none of us actually liked doing this job..but there is a public protection mandate that goes along with natural areas.

these days emphasis is on baboon monitoring teams who follow the baboons and try to keep them out of the public areas, before they get settled there. occasionally one finds its way into the suburbs near where i live and then the madness begins..these are tranqulised (once they can get to them)and returned to their home range.

one Cape Point one troop will likely always be a problem as the tourist infrastructure has been built within their home range-who can blame them really?

interestingly the Olifantsbos troop which is located in a different area of the park lives quite naturally and is seldom seen, they remain a lovely, gentle troop, free from human interventions bigsmile

yomeritayomeriux Wednesday, March 12, 2008 10:09:35 PM

wow...the first beach looks soooooo nice smile (imagining myself there doing absolutely nothing)

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