An Early Morning at Moyo Pier in Durban, KZN, South Africa

If you are a local Durbanite then the Moyo Pier is a well known landmark on the far right hand side of Durban beachfront. It is situated right in front of uShaka, home of the unique Durban Aquarium. 

The pier is quite unique in terms of having the Moyo Restaurant situated on top of the end of the pier. It is a building that few believed would ever be built. Even from the start it was always going to be a long shot getting environmnetal, municipal, coastal, heritage and local town planning approval. When the project finally got the green light they had 5 months for design development, documentation, tendering and delivering the building. A real tribute to the professional team.

The site is environmentally sensitive. The pier is a structure to service the well-points located below the end platform of the pier. Any contamination of the sea here would pass directly into the aquarium at uShaka and endanger life there. Strict environmental controls were enforced. The structure and components of the building are light-weight, prefabricated and the ground floor (apart from the structure) is removable for the scheduled servicing of the wells.

As far as photography goes, this is a definite favourite with the local photographers especially at sunrise. If one stands on the Durban city side of the pier, the sun rises behind and around the pier which makes the pier an awesome subject for early morning photography. I'm not a great fan of shooting images of subjects that have been captured a zillion times but recently found myself down on the beachfront wanting to capture a sunrise over the sea. There is a lot of development going on with new construction of a massive complex happening just behind the pier. The whispy clouds gave promise to some lovely colours and I set up to start shooting.

The colours showing just before sunrise

I shot a few different compositions but being me, I don't stand still for long and move on to capture the next shot. I try looking for different to the norm angles so move quite fast so as not to lose the light. Standing under the pier I placed the camera slightly to the right of the pier and used the pier on the left hand side as a lead into the image.

As I was shooting this image a canoeist walked past me with his canoe and I instantly hoped that I could incorporate him and his canoe into my sunrise shot. I quickly picked the tripod up and followed him down to the waters edge. He set his canoe down and proceeded to ready himself to head out to sea. I grabbed the opportunity and set the tripod up slightly behind the canoe, composed the shot and fired away.

The sun was lifting it's head above the horizon now and the day had began. The canoeist picked up his water craft and headed out to sea. I waited a few moments until he was just about to climb into the canoe and started shooting.

I had set myself up to get the rising sun on the bottom left third and he couldn't of positioned himself better for my shot. I was very chuffed with what I saw in my viewfinder. The beauty of using mirrorless cameras is the live view viewing and focusing giving one that instant review in the viewfinder.

With the canoeist on his way out to sea and the sun rising fast I quickly moved back to under the pier and tried a different type of shot. I had never seen a shot of someone shooting the sunrise through the pillars of the pier and I wanted to try get this shot. It was low tide so I could go down quite far towards the end of the pier. I added some ND filters to the front of the lens and positioned myself to the composition that I wanted and then set the camera so that I would have a long shutter speed to show some movement in the water. I also positioned the camera so that the sun rays were protruding through the pillars giving me a beautiful sunburst. I was very happy with the resultant image.

The lapping water showed as if it was a gentle stream under the pillars and the colours were just as I wanted. I had captured the sunrise under the pier as I hadn't seen before with the pipes on the ground looking slightly submerged and all pointing out to sea. Soaked from the occasional wave of water catching me unawares, I decided it was time to head back to the car park where the famous coffee guys would have some hot cuppucinos to warm up the freezing innards. I looked around and saw the Golden Mile all lit up with the early morning light so set the tripod down, changed to a wider angle lens and then composed my shot.

Being right under the end of the pier gave me quite an expanse of water being washed towards the beach in front of me. Once again, using the ND filters, I managed some nice slow shutter speeds which gave the water that lovely smooth look. The beach was alive with activity and the slow shutter speeds introduced some blur on the moving people and subjects. Happy with this shot I picked the tripod up and started heading off to the car park. That hot cuppucino was calling. 

About half way to the car park I casually turned around to glance at what was happening behind me. mmmmm… Another shot perhaps? Oh hell, the cuppucino could wait a few more minutes. Tripod down, camera set and presto, another image!

With this last shot in the bag, I was happy that I had had a successful early morning shoot. the weather and clouds had played along. The colours were lovely and I had my shots. 

Autumn at Kenmo

It was Tuesday morning when I got the call. "We need some good autumn colourful images for the publication".... mmmm.. I had done some autumn images at Zoo Lake the previous week but that wasn't quite going to be spectacular  enough for what we needed. Where to was the question? I had seen quite a few spectacular images from Kenmo Lake in the Southern Drakensberg but I had never been there before. It is situated just outside a small town called Himeville which is a few kilometers from Underberg. I quickly made some enquiries about where I could stay and the plans were made.

I left Johannesburg on the Friday morning and after one or two quick stops, I arrived in Himeville just in time before sunset. Early Saturday morning, about an hour before sunrise, I was at the lake... with about 100 other photographers. This was a photographers hot spot with everyone finding their spots to capture the magic that was about to unfold.. I immediately headed to the opposite side where everyone was setting up. I most certainly didn't want the same shots as everyone else. It was overcast and very misty and I was worried whether the light would be any good. Did I mention that it was cold? One degree in fact! My fingers where numb and carrying the tripod didn't exactly help.

My first view. Misty, cold and overcast

I walked to the far embankment and waited for the light... and then as if a magical wand had been swung, the sky was a bright pink and the view around me sublime..

As the morning progressed I witnessed many different magical scenes. I took countless images and it would be impossible to show them all here. I have chosen a few of my favourites from the morning but this is only really a sample of what I saw. It was a feast for the eyes. The ever changing colours and views from the plethora of colours that kept unfolding in front of me. A true gourmet meal for the eyes.

I returned on Sunday morning and it was a different world. The sky was clear with not a single cloud to be seen. A completely different scene was about to unfold before my eyes. There were not as many photographers present this morning and I had a bit more freedom moving around without getting photographers in my shots.. :) :)

The "Burning Bush"

The wives of 2 of the photographers I bumped into struck some poses for us.

Visit to Giants Castle - Drakensberg

I recently had the opportunity to visit one of my most favourite spots in South Africa. Giants Castle Nature Reserve is known for its magnificent San rock art, fabulous hiking, invigorating climate and the vulture hide. This KwaZulu-Natal nature reserve is an historic place and home to the Bearded Vulture. This beautiful reserve was named in honour of the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains, whose silhouette resembles that of a sleeping giant.

The vulture hide is situated high on the side of one of the peaks and affords people to be able to observe and photograph these majestic birds. The site is frequented by both the Cape and Bearded vultures as well as on occasion, other birds of prey.

I arrived in somewhat cloudy and wet weather and was hoping for the best. The road up to the hide was at times very slippery and the 4x4 really worked! We quickly set up in the hide and then scattered the bones we had brought in the area in front of the hide. 

The waiting game began! Within minutes the crows and starlings were there and these can become rather annoying pests. They pick up and fly away with the bones, as if they were out shopping for their evening meal. 

Front view of the hide

View down the valley from in front of the hide

One of the pesky Red Winged Starlings

We hadn't been there for long when I noticed some ears rising over the horizon. The Black Backed Jackals had come for their meal. Although they are at times also active during the day, they mostly rest up in holes dug by other species such as ant bears (aardvark), as well as other shelters like rock crevices, under bushes etc. They are very active at night and are often seen at dusk and dawn. In areas where they are protected they are also active on cool overcast days, but in areas where they are persecuted by man they tend to be shy and hide away. Well this was an overcast day and there was easy food to be had so they were coming in for their lunch.

A bit of rivalary for the lunch but no serious damage done.

We had been watching the skies for any signs of the vultures that I had actually come to photograph and eventually we spotted a couple of birds doing the circling pattern for which they are so well known. A couple of Cape Vultures had arrived and were doing fly byes to see if there was something for them to snack on. 

The Cape vulture is one of the nine different vultures recorded in Southern Africa. Its conservation status is classified as “Vulnerable”. What makes this species so important is that it is endemic to this region and is found nowhere else in the world. If our Cape vultures become extinct, there are no replacements! Cape vultures used to occur all over southern Africa, even on Table Mountain, but now their population is declining and there are only six big breeding colonies left. Cape vultures are big, bulky, creamy-white birds with long, muscular un-feathered necks. Some people call them ugly! Their bald heads and long necks help them to keep clean while scavenging and accessing juicy morsels from right inside the carcass. Males and females look alike. Young birds have brown eyes which change to the yellow colour of adulthood at about five to six years of age when they become ready to breed.

Gliding past looking for food.

Coming in to land

Flaps open, brakes on, landing gear down!

Their bald heads easily seen and this one an adult with coloured eyes

The scavengers check their competition out.

The crows were coming and going and then one of them seemed rather odd to me. I took the binocs out and there, coming in was a Jackal Buzzard. The adult South African Jackal Buzzard is strikingly plumaged. It is almost black above with a rufous tail. They have a weeah ka-ka-ka call like that of Black-backed Jackal, hence its name.

A beautiful bird

 I was still waiting for what I had really come to see and photograph. I had caught a glimpse of a juvenile Bearded Vulture fly past earlier and I was really hoping for an adult to arrive. The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey, and the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), its closest living relative. It is not much more closely related to the Old World vultures proper than to, for example, hawks, and differs from the former by its feathered neck.

Whilst it is a vulture and feeds off carcasses it usually disdains the actual meat and lives on a diet that is typically 85–90% bone marrow. This is the only living bird species that specializes in feeding on marrow. The Lammergeier can swallow whole or bite through brittle bones up to the size of a lamb's femur and its powerful digestive system quickly dissolves even large pieces. The Lammergeier has learned to crack bones too large to be swallowed by carrying them in flight to a height of 50–150 m ) above the ground and then dropping them onto rocks below, which smashes them into smaller pieces and exposes the nutritious marrow. They can fly with bones up to 10 cm in diameter and weighing over 4 kg or nearly equal to their own weight.

A juvenile Bearded Vulture doing a fly by.

The adult is a lot prettier than the juvenile

A magnificent bird.

I stayed in one of the chalets in the Giants Castle reserve and while sitting on the patio having some much needed refreshments, this sight was in front of me.

A truly wonderful experience. It is no wonder that the hide is booked up for about a year in advance.

Snow on the Stellenbosch Mountains

I had been doing some work in Cape Town and stayed a few extra days to do some landscape and avian photography of the region. It had been bitterly cold (well for me at least) and the wind and rain had at times been unrelenting. Last Sunday morning saw me on my way on the R300 with my destination to be Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens at the foot of Table Mountain. Whilst driving I threw a casual glance to my left and there it was.. snowcaps on the mountains behind Stellenbosch. Now you don't understand, the feathered friends will always be at Kirstenbosch but the snow would not always be on the mountains.. Decision made, destination changed and off I steered on the N2 towards Somerset West. As to the actual mountains my knowledge was rather sparse but hey, if there were roads, I could get some shots. Not the best time of day for the best light but it would have to do.

Now the town Stellenbosch is 53 km east of Cape Town and is in a hilly region of the Cape Winelands. It is sheltered in a valley at an average elevation of 136 m flanked on the west by Parrot Mountain (yes, you read correctly), which is actually a hill. To the south is Stellenbosch Mountain and to the east and southeast are the Jonkershoek, Drakenstein, and Simonsberg mountains. The Twin Peaks have an elevation of 1,494 m and the highest point is Victoria Peak at 1,590 m.

The soils of Stellenbosch range from dark alluvium to clay. This, combined with the well-drained, hilly terrain and Mediterranean climate, prove excellent for viticulture. Summers are dry and warm to hot, with some February and March days rising to over 40 °C. Winters are cool, rainy and sometimes quite windy, with daytime temperatures averaging 16 °C.  

I firstly headed into the upper suburbs of Somerset West which showed this lovely backdrop.

I then headed up on the road from Somerset West through to Stellenbosch and managed this shot over the vineyards. I particularily liked the sky.

From here I drove through the town and headed up on the Pniel road where just a week before I had shot some images of the mountains with clouds hanging over them.

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The previous week, same place

 Traveling further down heading towards Franschoek I came across this open field which provided a wonderful foreground to the mountains.

Morning to Philadelphia

As I looked northwards I saw that the clouds from the previous day were just starting to break up. Now up in Gauteng that would mean sunshine but in the Cape this could just signify one of the 4 seasons for the day.

Nonetheless I decided a photographic trip was on the cards and I set my heading through Durbanville towards the little town of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is a beautiful little historic town nestled off the N7 from Cape Town to Malmesbury about halfway between Melkbosstrand and Malmesbury. It lies at the beginning of what is known as the "Swartland". The town itself has been preserved in its original state with one of the most beautiful church buildings in the west coast area.

My first stop just outside Durbanville was the hilltop restaurant of one of the wine estates. On a clear day beautiful sights of the mountain and Cape surrounds could be seen. Alas, this was not one of those days.

An old canon on the lawns of the restaurant overlooking Durbanville.

A lone tree on the sliding slopes

The ever so beautiful Canola fields coming into bloom.

Clouds getting more ominous all the time.

Like with so many small towns, the first building to catch your sight is the place of worship. This beautiful church at the entrance of Philadelphia.

The town has some really lovely old traditional houses.

Just love the old bath that has been painted green and cut to be used as a sofa.

The well know Pepper Tree establishment

The corner store.

A local worker preparing the home made preserves for sale.

Just loved this garden bed!