West Coast National Park
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Langebaan
West Coast National Park
Flower Trip
Outeniqua Mountains
Malgas Island
Hermanus
     West Coast National Park borders the southern side of Langebaan.  I'm so happy to be living near a national park even after leaving Augrabies Falls National Park.  I spend as much time as I can volunteering in the park with a national organization called the Honorary Rangers.  We have monthly meetings to discuss projects and issues, and we help with many annual events:  the Seeff West Coast Marathon, the bike race, and the Glendower Wader Bash just to name a few.  (Click the left and right arrows to see all the photos.)

We were so lucky to see this cattle egret with its lunch.

A tasty scorpion for an early lunch!

It was so interesting to watch the cattle egret handle the scorpion without getting stung.

Mousebirds can be seen throughout the park. This white-backed mousebird was kind enough to pose for me!

I also caught this juvenile bokmakerie just as it took off from the bush.

I didn't realize that ostriches will actually bathe in the ocean.

A yellow-billed kite greeted us as we entered the Postberg section of the park.

And this weaver kept a close eye on us as we drove through the gate.

Young bontebok don't have the dark colourings which adults have.

Tortoises about in the park, and you have to be careful while driving to avoid them.

There are also plenty of snakes. We happened to see this beautiful puff adder crossing the road.

It also posed for a closeup!

Male tortoises fight over their territories by pushing each other until the winner manages to push the other one off his turf.

A large number of night herons have nested near the Geelbek Restaurant in the park.

Ostrich chicks are a pleasure to watch as they run around looking for food.

Gerhard and I spent a night in the park while volunteering with the Honorary Rangers during flower season.

"I'm singing in the rain..." That was how this Cape francolin greeted us the next morning.

It didn't seem at all impressed with the fact that it was raining!

Gerhard and I spent a day hiking through Postberg during the flower season.

The animals in Postberg really seem to enjoy flower season just like we do.

Of course, I think it's because they enjoy the special food on offer during that time of year!

Mysterious rock formations can be found throughout Postberg.

Postberg also has many different kinds of animals making it home: here are a springbok and a zebra.

A huge herd of eland used to live on Postberg, but many of them were relocated to the other side of the park.

The large grey eland is a bull who's keeping a close eye on his herd.

We counted thirteen zebra living in Postberg last year.

A small herd of wildebeest also live there.

The hiking trail through Postberg offers beautiful views of the entire area.

While volunteering with the Honorary Rangers, we got to stay in the park overnight. What a treat to have the park to ourselves!

Whales can be seen from June through September right off the coast!

An old shipwreck on 16-Mile Beach gives one an idea of how rough the ocean can be.

It's possible to hike to the wreck, but it takes a couple hours to finish the entire thing.

This cattle egret was waking up early in the morning.

Guess we caught it before it had its first cup of coffee!

Cattle egret chicks are very cute!

Crowned cormorants nest on both Jutten and Malgas Islands.

Cape gulls camouflage their nests quite well.