JUST TO WATCH THE SEAGULLS PASSING BY.......

This photo was taken just before sunrise on the beach of Danie and Bella, our Whirehair
Terrier. You do not need TV during your holiday in the Wilderness..... the Beach is
the BIG SCREEN with so many activities up and down this wonderful Beach. People
walking their dogs... fisherman.. the joggers and the sunbathers and swimmers... and
the bird watchers !

Birdlife in Wilderness
The village of Wilderness is the start of the Wilderness National Park. The park stretches
from the Touw River mouth to the Swartvlei estuary near Sedgefield and is home to numerous
types of birds from forest and mountain dwellers to water birds.
There are a series of interconnecting lakes between the Touw River and Rondevlei, which host
a variety of water birds, such as the great crested and black-necked grebe, reed cormorant,
grey and purple heron, African spoonbill, little Bittern and red-knobbed coot.

The white fronted plover can also be found on the mud banks of the Touw River, adjacent to
Ebb and Flow restcamp.

The surrounding forested hillside is home to several raptors, including; cuckoo hawk, crowned
eagle, forest buzzard, sparrow hawks and African goshawk

You may also spy the elusive Knysna Lourie or one of the many kingfisher species, such as the
malachite and giant pied kingfishers while walking along the nature trails in the unique
ecological system.

WHALES

This is our own Whales in front of our Guesthouse. So many of them have visited us during the last season. We still saw them about
two weeks ago....and can still be seen when going out with OCEAN BLUE in Plettenberg Bay
Recent singtings in the are were : Cape Fur Seal, the Humpback Whales and
the Common Dolphins as well as the Bottlenose Dolphins. Only 45min drive to Plet.
Very popular for the adventurous the Shark diving in Mosselbay.

Dead Whale

Victoria Bay only 10 min away from us and a popular surfers and swimming beach, is in the news. A dead whale was washed out on the rocks and the whole beach is under thread of pollution. Two years ago we had a similar situation with a dead whale..... and what a problem! Oil covered the whole area around the whale and the smell !!! This one was buried on the beach in front of our Guesthouse ! Whale teeth is also very valuable.... so we might start digging one of these days!

BIRDS

A few visitors in front of the Guesthouse.

Birds Paradise

This is a paradise for Bird watchers. One of our Guests counted 40 different species just while
relaxing on the deck during the few days they stayed at C Paradys. The National Park, 10 min drive from us have opened a new Bird Hide two years ago and where all the waterbirds can be observed.

Lounge

The lounge on the ground floor with stunning view over the Beach. Honesty Bar for the
convenience of the Guests and a homely atmosphere awaits everyone !

What to do on windy days..... lots of fun with kite flying on the beach !

This is not lipstick gone wrong !.... this photo was taken during our Winter Holiday in the
Kruger National Park. Three cheetahs killed a Impala and then they posed specially for
the camera so that I could take these wonderful shots.

THE MARAIS FAMILY

This is just part of our family ! In total Danie and myself have 7 children with their spouses =
14 children. Then we have 20 grandchildren together. What a blessing ! and the best .... All
our children are still living in South Africa. Some have studied in Switzerland, Germany, USA
UK and some have travelled a few times around the Globe but are all happy to raise their
children and to stay in this wonderful land of ours.... SOUTH AFRICA !

WINTER HOLIDAY

During our Winter holidays during the month of June and this year we went to the Kruger
National Park. This is one of my increadible photos that I took near Krokodil Bridge where 3
cheetas killed this Impala. My best photos have been send to a Photo Compitition... and
hopefully I can win a 4X4 !

WILDERNESS BEACH

A visitor that enjoyed the sun on our beach the
other day.. this Seal. He was so happy sitting on
our beach undisturbed. Many people walked
passed him and he did not even blinked an eye.
Mossel Bay is not even an hours drive from us and
you can have a boat trip from the Harbour to see
the Seals on Seal Island
We saw so many Whales just in front of our Guesthouse yesterday... this is their mating time
and you must see them perform.... !!

MOODS OF WILDERNESS BEACH

We see these fishermen daily, some fish through
the night all in the hope to get the BIG one.
Through all the years I have not seen many of
them that was very successful !
But we have experienced a very exciting catch one day when someone caught a 35kg Cob and after a few hours of struggle could finally bring it
in (man alone) Then he also had a problem getting it into his car. Model of the story....be prepared for the when luck gets your way.
We have so many exciting things happening on our lovely beach!

SUMMER IS AROUND THE CORNER!

End of September and hopefully beginning of the Summer after a long cold winter.

Our lovely outstreched sandy Beach is one of the most wonderful

sights in the Garden Route and would like to show you in the next post all the moods of the Beach.

1. The Romantic mood.... for all our Honeymoon Couples to enjoy.

Wilderness is so popular for Honeymooners. ... for some it is their first Honeymoon, and others the second or 10th Honeymoon.....as long as it is enjoyed !

Danie and myself have seen so many Honeymoon Couples during

the 20 years. Some came back to show the first, second and sometimes the third child.

Our Honeymoon couples are spoiled with shampaigne, flowers, fruit and chocolates in their room.

NOW CAN YOU SEE WHAT WE SAY BY ROMANTIC ???

THIS IS SO ROMANTIC.... HONEY

MOON IN WILDERNESS!!!

Whats up in Wilderness and Area ?

Springtime in the Garden Route

This means FLOWERS & FLOWERS like most other places on earth. But what is unique
about Wilderness flowers ?

We have the Aloes that are growing wild everywhere and with its bright orange and red colours ... brightens up the dreary cold and winter days.

The Choo choo Train used to run through our small village but nowadays only the Wilderness Station is still up and running as a Restaurant. The area along the rail is covered with so many
different kinds of Aloes and so many tourists stop to take photos of this wonderful
colour display.

It is also a bird photographers dream taking the best shots of so many different birds.

During the winter months our guesthouse closes for the whole month of June and our staff

and Danie and myself go on our annual holiday. This year we went to the Kruger National

Park and last week we went to Namaqualand, that is on the West Coast of the Cape.

In my next posting I will show you my best photos of both these places.

This is my first attempt to start my own blog and hopefully it will just get better every time!

Would like to know that every person that will read my blog will enjoy the wonders of this

magnificent Garden Route.

In my next posting I will also show photos of the staff and of Danie and myself.

Between us.... we have ? (how many) grandchildren ?? Ooh my, so many, we are so blessed!

Till next time

Maryna

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