Mudcracks
Here’s two nice examples of mudcracks I saw used as paving stones in South Africa:
travel
The ventifacts of Rooiels
Site of the mystery photo I posted over the weekend, the beach at Rooiels (“red grass” in Afrikaans), South Africa, is a lovely place… Located on the western side of False Bay a tad north of Cape Hangklip, Rooiels is somewhat famous in my mind because the Guru of Gigapan, Illah Nourbakhsh, spoke glowingly of … Read more
What I saw there
Yesterday, I showed you this picture and asked what you saw there: Today I’ll give you my impressions. This is an outcrop of sandstone of the Table Mountain Supergroup, seen on the beach in the idyllic village of Rooiels, on the eastern side of False Bay, north of Cape Hangklip, in South Africa.The field of … Read more
Beach squiggles
One day in South Africa, Lily and I walked across Noordhoek Beach… Along the way, I noticed these little squiggles of sand: folded tube shapes. I decided I should photograph a few to share with Tony Martin, since he’s into trace fossils along coastal areas. Anyone have any idea what made these diminutive sculptures of … Read more
Rock hyrax
The charming rock hyrax, a cuddly-looking fellow whose nearest living relative is the elephant: This is in the coastal town of Hermanus, a lovely place for whale-watching, in season. We were there at the wrong season, but the hyrax provided a mammal sighting that made us happy. The little fellow seemed to really be enjoying … Read more
African penguins
African penguins (formerly “jackass penguins”) at Boulders Beach, Simon’s Town, South Africa:
‘Bugs’ I saw in South Africa
Here is a collection of creepy-crawlies I saw in South Africa: Big grasshopper/katydid orthopteran: Another big orthopteran (“locust”?), obviously beefier than the previous one: Beach roach (Blattodea): Mating true bugs (hemipterans): Here’s a big snail, too: And best of all? This solpugid! Solpugids are arachnids, but they are not spiders. Along with vinegaroons, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, … Read more
Mammals I saw in South Africa
Elephant shrew Epauletted fruit bat Savannah baboon Vervet monkey Scrub hare Tree squirrel Woodland (?) dormouse Unidentified rat Cape porcupine (as roadkill only) Black-backed jackal Wild dog Banded mongoose Dwarf mongoose Small-spotted genet Spotted hyena African wild cat Lion Leopard African elephant Rock hyrax (dassie) Plains zebra Square-lipped (white) rhinoceros Common warthog Hippopotamus Giraffe African … Read more
Friday fold: the Contorted Bed
Callan reviews the geology of the superlatively auriferous Witwatersrand Supergroup of South Africa, and then zooms in on a distinctive marker bed near the base of the sequence. The deformation in this particular banded iron formation (BIF) is an aesthetic wonder, as this suite of images reveal. The layer outcrops in the heart of urban Johannesburg.
Birds I saw in South Africa
Here’s my species list for the past three weeks: African penguin Cape gannet Bunch of gulls (didn’t bother differentiating them) Bunch of terns (didn’t bother differentiating them) Cape cormorant Reed cormorant White-breasted cormorant Cattle egret Little egret Grey heron Saddle-billed stork Marabou stork White stork Woolly-necked stork Hammerkop Greater flamingo African spoonbill African sacred ibis … Read more