Strandloper is a member of a Khoisan people who lived on the southern shores of southern Africa from prehistoric times until the second millennium AD.
Here's what the Bientag's Cave website states:
"The cave proved to be a very suitable home for her as she could be totally self
sufficient. She dined on the rich supply of seafood which she gathered within meters of her home. Running water was plentiful, thanks to the ever-trickling stream, which still runs to this day under the staircase at the entrance to the cave.
Fruit and vegetables were grown in her garden, which is where our kitchen stands today.
Bientang was very protective of her home and guarded it passionately. It was not uncommon for her to hurl profanities as well as the occasional rock at people who dared to trespass in her domain. The ageing Strandloper was, however, not all bite, and lived in total harmony with all of God's creatures, which were plentiful in those days. It has been said that a family of Spotted-Genet Cats were her constant companions, they still live in the cliffs and if you are lucky, you might just see them too.
Bientang was believed to have been a very spiritual being with supernatural powers and the ability to communicate with animals. Pods of whales would return year after year to this exact spot and remain here for months on end. We would like to believe that it is this same spirit of Bientang, which attracts the whales to Walker Bay each year. The spirit of Bientang remains with us. "
Too bad for us. We chose a safer option (a restaurant that is inside), and it serves ostrich steaks as well as Springbok steaks.
We could not have asked for better weather to go whale watching! The sun was shining, it was relatively warm (although we were glad we bought those jackets yesterday), and the sea was not rough.
Before heading out, one of the guides briefed us about Southern Right Whales. They are baleen whales and one of three species classified as right whales. The species is easily distinguished from the others because of their broad back without a dorsal fine, wide pectoral fins, a long arching mouth that begins above the eye and small rough patches of skin (or callosities) on its large head. It has two separate blow holes that produce a distinguishing V-shaped blow. Southern rights have an enormous head, which is up to one quarter of total body length. An estimated 12,000 southern right whales are spread throughout the southern hemisphere, compared to an original population before whaling of more than 100,00i0. However, their numbers are growing around 7 percent per annum. They have been protected since 1935. Adults can be from 14m to 18 m, calves are 5m to 6m at birth. Adults can weigh up to 80 tons, calves weight from 1 to 1.5 tons at birth. They are sexually mature from 9 to 10 years and generally have calves every three years.
Our guide said there were 1,300 whales in a 100-kilometre stretch from where we were located. He also explained they are baleen whales, which have no teeth. In the mouth of a baleen whale, stiff plates of keratin grow down from the gums of the upper jaw. These plates are called baleen. They grow in rows on each side of the mouth. They act as a filter, and there are about 250 of these plates in their mouth. They feed on small vegetable matter. The baleen is not a bone tissue but is sometimes referred to as "whalebone" and baleen whales also have been known as "whalebone whales." The blubber on the southern right could be as thick as 1 foot.
We saw at least two dozen whales, and we saw what the guide indicated was rare: a Bryde's whale with its calf and a southern white that opened its mouth. The Bryde's whale is a small to medium-sized baleen whale that can be found through the tropical/subtropical climates of the world. It is shy and rather elusive. The calves are white when born.
This whale gets its name from Johan Bryde, an entrepreneur and businessman from the Norwegians who was responsible for setting up whaling ports designed to capture whales and sell their oil, blubber and other parts for money. The bryde's whale wasn't significantly hunted during the history of whaling during the whaling era, but become more popular during the 70s as other species began to be depleted in popular whaling areas.
It was difficult to get a good photograph of the whales because 1) they barely broke the surface and 2) the boat was rocking. I did a pretty good job positioning myself to get some shots, considering there were probably 50 other people on the boat wanting the same position. It made us grateful for having our own guide and vehicle when we get to Tanzania for safari.
We spent about two and half hours on the water and saw loads of whales. It was awesome.
We then went down to the esplanade where the Le Pentola restaurant is located. Got there about an hour before the sun set so we drank some Pinotage wine and enjoyed the panoramic view of Walker Bay, which is a world heritage site and the birthing ground of the Southern Right whales.. We love our Malbecs but Pinotage is becoming a favorite.
A note about the wine: it was happy wine. Here's what the label states: "Our bush vintage pinotage is not from irrigated, overgrown vines shackled to wires in horrifically hot and stressed-out vineyards. The wine in your hands is from coastal dry farm bush vines, which have had time to adapt and find their happy place. The resulting wine, therefore, is perhaps more "pino" than "tage."
Then there's another label: "Don't drink and walk on the road. You may be killed." Guess they don't worry so much about drunk drivers here but they worry about drunk walkabouts. Ha!
The restaurant's chef Shane Sauvage specializes in international cuisine with South African flavors - and it serves abalone. Apparently, restaurants serving abalone need permits, as it was duly noted in the menu. There is a big abalone hatchery farm right next to where we're staying owned by Abagold. It's the Sea View farm. There were tours available but we chose to lay low today until the whale watching trip. It might have been interesting. All we know about abalone is that it is pretty expensive, even here, and it's a prized delicacy in Asia (that is why the animals are farmed because they were poached almost to extinction. Beth ate some in San Diego with her nephew Matt but she can't remember what it tasted like.
We ordered the ostrich steak and the Springbok stead. The ostrich steak as flambed in Jack Daniels (it was called a New Orleans Ostrich Steak). See Beth's post on Facebook. We got a strawberry flambe with Belgian chocolate ice cream for dessert. I got flambed again! Twice in one day, which tells me I had a great birthday!
I stalked the Southern Masked Weavers this morning to get some better photos. Here, one of the birds emerges from the nest.
This bird has a down feather in her beak to pad the next.
This is the Southern Masked Weaver. Beautiful bird.
This is my "whaling" birthday hat! Ha!
Our guide telling us about the baleen in the Southern Right Whale's mouth. That's a piece of baleen he's got in his hands.
And off we go to find whales!
A young one was having fun flipping his/her tail around.
This is a calf, left, and its mother.
This is the brindled colored calf with its mom.
Thar she blows!
The brindled colored calf.
The pectoral fin of a Southern Right Whale.
This is a mother with her mouth open. The brownish thing between her eyes is the baleen. The guide said it was unusual to see the whale open its mouth like this.
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