by Adolf Botes | Jun 23, 2016 | Uncategorized
Thursday, 23 June 2016 – … and so the first photos of this winter’s frost appeared this morning and driving through town, the ‘white’ lawns were the proof of quite a chilly night in Stilbaai!
Looking at the photo by Karen Harding of Wild Olive Guest Farm outside Stilbaai nestled next to the Goukou River, it must’ve been really cold last night as the frost formed a white blanket on the area next to the river. This is quite a serene scene…
(Link to the Instagram photo)
Find the weather forecast as well as the tides on www.mystilbaai.co.za and view the day’s weather on mystilbaai.co.za on Facebook
End
The frost this morning at Wild Olive Guest Farm (Photo by Karen Harding via Instagram)
by Adolf Botes | Jun 21, 2016 | Uncategorized
It was great to see so many visitors this past weekend – a long weekend for some that included Father’s Day on Sunday (19 June) – in Stilbaai and Jongensfontein and vehicles with number plates from as far as the Cape, Gauteng and the North West Province were seen around. The fact that it is winter with temperatures already below 20°C, did not keep them off the beaches or out of the water and a few windless days and an abundance of sunshine made for a great (long) weekend.
One does not always have to be entertained to have fun and to just relax is also something to do here. There were ‘entertainment’ though, like typical platteland markets and shops as well as activities on the outlaying farms.
We found a few nice photos shared via Instagram and it just showed us again that our visitors – like the residents – like Stilbaai and Jongensfontein for the things they can do here and to relax. This weekend they surfed; took the dogs in a canoe on the Goukou River; did gin tasting at Inverroche Distillery and cheese and wine tasting at Kasselshoop Cheese; attended the Sheep Dog Competition; fished; played tennis and worked-out while enjoying the quietness at the Farm Story country house; visited the restaurants and of course enjoyed the spectacular sunrises and sunsets and long beach walks. There are many photos of happy people enjoying a great view – be it over the sea, the beach or even the sight of colourful aloes that are in bloom.
The schools are closing for the winter holidays this Friday (24 June) and we hope that our visitors will have a memorable time here in the bay of the Sleeping Beauty…
Keep an eye on the EVENTS section to see what is happening in and around town and wander over to ACTIVITIES for suggestions about things to do in Stilbaai. (Let us know if you know of anything not listed there.)
Visit the mystilbaai.co.za Facebook page for even more Instagram photos shared this past weekend in and around Stilbaai and Jongensfontein.
End
by Adolf Botes | Jun 7, 2016 | Uncategorized
Stilbaai’s Tuin-op-die-Brak Fynbos Park, situated in Stilbaai East adjacent to Main Road that runs parallel to the river, is on the ‘must visit’ list – not only for people who are interested in plants (especially local plants), but to any visitors as there is something for everyone. Make sure you have an hour or so on your hands as there are so many interesting plants and trees to see and various different sections to discover. Follow the (wheelchair-friendly) walkways to stroll through the garden and learn about the area’s plants.
This botanical garden – it recently won the award for the most innovative project in the Western Cape – with plants characteristic of the Hessequa environment, is now eight years ‘old’ and has recently been handed over to the local municipality. There are 280 species of plants and 200 individual trees in the park including 11 endangered plants that are on the Red Data List.
Make sure not to miss the labyrinth (an age-old geometric pattern which is typically circular with a single path which meanders around in circles to the centre of the labyrinth and out again). This one is called ‘Essence of Chartres” and anyone can walk it… make the most of it and when you get to the middle, sit down and relax and enjoy nature!
There is also an analemmatic sundial that provides lots of fun. The Stilbaai one is a horisontal sundial installed flat on the ground where your shadow, when standing on the flat date line in the correct position, will be on the curved hour line and showing the time. Try it!
According to their brochures, the uniqueness of the park is due to the fynbos of the Hessequa region (including Stilbaai) that grows on alkaline soil as opposed to all other fynbos that grows in acidic soil. It is also interesting to note that according to recent archaeological research, the fynbos of this region aided the survival of modern humans (Homo sapiens) in an era when all of humanity was almost wiped out during an Ice Age.
The park as a whole is also specifically designed to provide a multi-sensory experience to benefit persons with disabilities – the ‘braille trail’ or ‘Touch and Smell Route’ is just perfect to experience the garden by following the rope where boards explain the plants.
There is also a man-made dune and wetland; sections showing the edible / inedible and medicinal plants and Tree of the Year section. Make sure you get to the big, old tree and have a look at its interesting trunk.
Read all the boards; learn about all the plants; sit on the benches; walk the Labyrinth; check the time; and enjoy the ‘Tuin-op-die-Brak’ experience.
End
(All photos by www.mystilbaai.co.za – more on mystilbaai.co.za (Facebook)
by Adolf Botes | Jun 2, 2016 | Uncategorized
Look what we have found!
Some beautiful photos by the nature and lifestyle photographer, Nicole van der Walt, taken of the ‘dassies‘ at Jongensfontein.
Dassies are quite common in both Jongensfontein and Stilbaai and many of us have taken photos of them, but we thought these photos of a dassie ‘posing‘ on one of the benches, are quite ‘cute’…
The photographer has even captioned her photos with relevant information on Instagram!
“The rock hyrax also called the Cape hyrax and commonly referred to in South African English as the dassie.
Rock Hyraxes spend a lot of time sun-bathing. They spend about 95 percent of their time resting.”
Thank you for sharing, Nicole van der Walt Photography!
Visit mystilbaai.co.za on Facebook for more comments and information!
(All photos by Nicole van der Walt)
by Adolf Botes | May 23, 2016 | Uncategorized
Today (23 May) is World Turtle (lives in the sea) / Tortoise (lives on land) Day. The purpose of this day is accentuate the serious situation turtles and tortoises face and to increase the knowledge of these animals so as to to protect them from extinction. We are privileged to have quite a lot of tortoises in the Stilbaai area – it is most probably less than what it used to be – and they are quite special animals.
There is 13 species of tortoise in South Africa and eight of these are found in the Western Cape alone! According to a recent article in the local newspaper, Suid-Kaap Forum, two of the rarest tortoises can be found only in our area, namely the ‘Padloper‘ (it grows no bigger than 10cm and weighs about 100g) and the ‘Rooipens‘ or ‘Ploegskaar‘.
The world’s smallest tortoise, the ‘Suidelike Klipskilpad‘ (loosely translated as southern rock tortoise) as well as Africa’s second biggest land tortoise (the Leopard Tortoise) that can weigh up to 20kg and can become older than 70 years, can be found in the Western Cape. The Western Cape is also the only place in the world where you will find the world’s rarest tortoise, the ‘suurpootjie‘. This tortoise can be recognised by its yellow stars on the black shell and is endangered as its habitat, alluvial fynbos soil, is being destroyed.
Apparently it is not uncommon to see tortoises in Stilbaai in winter as the ‘coastal’ tortoises are still active during winter while the inland species, are inactive.
They say you can distinguish a ‘rooipensie‘ by its red tummy (it also has a shield at its throat) while the shells of ‘padlopertjies‘ are quite smooth.
Tortoises have been on earth since the days of the dinosaurs and still look like they did 220 million years ago! One can, however, not keep them as ‘pets’ and requires a special permit to keep them.
End
References: Suid-Kaap Forum / Die Burger
