More animal encounters

I have had two separate interesting encounters in the last week.

The first was near Boulders penguin beach with these harmless sharks:

And then this cormorant decided to use me as a taxi:

How good is Google Earth?

When Google Earth first came out I was gobsmacked (I was also awestruck but awesome is such an overused word) but heck it is an awesome program - and it's free! People use it all the time now when planning hikes and paddles, two guys paddled the length of the Orange River and collaged together the whole river from Google Earth printouts to help them plan.

Then came Google Street View and people tried to get themselves into these shots or if they were lucky/unlucky were in them anyway. Here's the street view of our jetty where regulars will recognise the blurs that are the card guard and vendors who work there.

Now I imagine few people can say they that they are visible in Google Earth but I am! - well anyway I recognise the smudge that is me but nobody else would! Below is the wide shot of the jetty and yacht club and further below are the blow-ups of the marked rectangles.

The yellow circles highlight two of the white double kayaks we take day trippers on, seen in the top picture, and in the red circle is me leading the group back.

But the point here is not to boast and this post is really all about this last picture.

Behind the kayak you can see some circles which is movement from the paddle strokes in the water! Now that I think is awesome!! And that the use of all these exclamation marks is fully justified!

Another lousy winter day in Cape Town - not :)

We have had some magnificent winter days here in False Bay and here are some pictures taken on four of them. Click on the pics to enlarge.

Chose not go paddling this day of 20 foot swells and instead went to take
pics of the surfers near Cape Point

...and a Southern Right Whale popped up to check them out

Buffels Bay to Simon's Town - Sunday 12th June

The forecast as of today, Wednesday, for this Sunday is pretty good so the trip is currently on.

This Sunday we plan to be paddling from Buffels Bay in the reserve to Simon's Town. Meet outside the shop at 8.30am to arrange a car pool.

Peninsula Paddle - Sunday 5 June on World Environment Day.

From Kim who is coordinating this paddle:

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The grand armada of paddlers braving the dawn in support of the Peninsula Paddle need to meet in Muizenberg at the Waterslide car park by 6:45.  The paddle starts on the beach at 7:00. So for those who are slow in the early morning cold, better get there earlier than 6:45. The armada will then set off along Zandvlei to where the Sandriver canal enters the vlei. The idea is to provide an escort and to collect floating plastic, mainly bottles, which will be taken to a recycler after the paddle. 

Once the Peninsula Paddlers have headed off down the Sandriver canal on their journey to Milnerton, those of us so inclined can explore the Marina Waterways and then stop for a provide your own picnic breakfast on "The Island".       

For people allergic to getting up early or who are not keen on a lake trip, the usual paddle at Bertha's will still take place.  

Anyone tempted to do the entire route or wanting to rejoin the Peninsula Paddlers for the last leg following the Black River out to sea at Woodstock beach and then coming ashore at Milnerton can click here for details.

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The Peninsula Paddle aims to draw attention to the need for transformation in our waterways: environmentally, socially and politically and will navigate upstream, following the canalised rivers of the Cape Flats that have their mouth in False Bay. Reaching the apex of the watershed, the organisational team will then paddle downstream, following the Black River as it exits into the Atlantic Ocean. The expedition will follow waterways that flow through the most affected watersheds: those that have been canalised, water quality compromised, and in communities most affected by poverty and a rising water table.
Paddlers are invited to paddle the first section on Zandvlei to enjoy the dawn, see the birdlife and clean up along the way. See this blog closer to the time for details.

It is also Paddle for the Planet Day.
"Uniting paddlers around the world for a one day global relay event in an effort to raise environmental awareness and give something back to our oceans."

See http://www.facebook.com/Paddlefortheplanet?sk=info
There is also a web site but it has no content yet