Welcome the Whales

The last 6 weeks have flown past and I have been meaning to announce the arrival of the southern right whales in Wilderness.
This is a yearly event and for me marks the beginning of early signs of spring. To see that immense body heave up out of the surface of the ocean is so thrilling, and then to sit back and observe them is a treat.

The thing that is most special is their pace, their p-a-c-e.. it is so slow and unhurried.
To sit and be with them, I find the daily stresses of the "busyness" of life draining off and before long find myself sighing with relief and contentment.

Another wonderful experience is to be so close to them, that one can hear the breath, for sure, one can hear it from rocky shores, when they laze close by. !! The blowhole opens and tons of air escapes slowly and evenly for what seems a long time; and that sound can transport one right into that giant barrel of peace.
Fantastic.

So the whales really offer us moments of peace and wonder, and this is food for thought.!

The real reason for their yearly trip to these waters is to calve and nurse their single offspring. At this stage in August quite a few calves would have been born and are being nurtured into healthy whales, and in January they head off back to Antarctica.

At Sea Paradise we have had whale sightings from our breakfast room. The pic I have included clearly shows two of them.
What they are up to, ....I would not know, hopefully having fun.

Till next time.
you have fun and find your "unwinder"

Magicians in the forest

This past weekend I took some friends on one of my favourite walks in the Wilderness area, the 30 minute forest walk and "BIG Tree". If you`re feeling relaxed, not overly energised and in search of a therapeutic mini journey, this one`s the one.

Just 15 minutes drive inland from the beach and onto the plateau is a large stretch of afromontane forest, and behind the forest lie the Outeniqua Mountains.
For centuries now the population of trees here have established themselves as mature forests and the elders here are generally between 500 and 600 years old.
Amongst all the magnificent trees however, there is one family that stands out, the yellowoods, and in particular the Outeniqua Yellowood.
With their long flowing old man`s beards draped loosely from branches up to 40m high, these trees exude presence and magick. Fluted crowns and expressive branches,... this truly is Tolkien`s world.

On this particular walk you shall meet our oldest resident we know of, an 800 year old giant. At this stage of his life his girth measures 12 metrs and he towers 33m above the forest floor.
As a little seedling in the early 1200s he would have started his journey in life, growing through times like the middle ages, Bartholomew Dias and Vasco ds Gama sailing past on their wooden boats, possibly observed elephant and dreaded woodcutters, a couple of Khoisan running around and in all this time of international human action, movement, development and land occupations all round, he stayed in one space occupying the same 4 square metres at the base. How centred can one be!

Is it not amazing that that there is a force that powers plants to grow, continually so and for 800 years. Wow. This is fantastic. You see this is what happens when one meets a magician of this natue. He sparks one`s imagination, and before you know it, you`re on a rollercoaster of images and dreams; and is this not how stories develop?

At this point it is time for me to let go, let you sit back and wonder and imagine your own creation story or...possibly a visit to a magical Tolkien`s world.

Outeniqua Yellowood ( podocarpus falcatus)

Wilderness Beach

Just a note and a pic to show the beauty of Wilderness beach. This shot is taken from the garden at Sea Paradise guesthouse.
As you can see there is an additional hidden deck set in amongst the dune vegetation where you can feel the indigenous plants and smell the aroma all round.

Although the ocean is cold at the moment ie 14 degrees Celsius, the 6km long beach is great for walking, and there are beautiful rock formations and rock pools along this stretch.

Christa Fairhead