On today’s section of my hiking trail along the southernmost shores of Africa, I was immensely fortunate to see one of the most endangered bird species of this region, called the African Oystercatcher.
I was able to spot them on the rocks in the distance and snap a quick photo by using the zoom on the camera phone. These timid and elusive birds are found throughout southern Africa, along the shoreline from Namibia in the west to Mozambique in the east and in certain places in between.
They are known for their black bodies and pink legs with orange beaks. Because they make their nests on the rocky or sandy parts of the ground and not in trees, they are a bit vulnerable to other predators. They can be disturbed by dogs and humans which then puts them off breeding. Since they are slow breeders and fully monogamous, their overall population numbers have struggled to grow and thus they remain endangered as a species.
These elusive birds breed exclusively along the shores of southern Africa and I have glimpsed them on numerous occasions throughout my hikes in the past. Today, however, I was able to get close enough to photograph them in the distance. I often see them in pairs, just two together on the rocks, presumably a couple with a nest hidden nearby somewhere.
Today the skies were a clear bright blue but the sea was churning up foam like whipped cream. It makes for an awesome sight. The seascape with all the foam surrounding the rocks looks like a giant bowl of dessert, at least that’s how I see it. I see a sea of cake and cream like a child’s fantasy of festive feasting.
I presume that this kind of perception is all in the eye of the beholder. Beauty and art is rather subjective although there is something to be said about the symmetry and uniform design of the overall seascape under these conditions. The thick, creamy looking foam covering the ocean and splashing up on the shore really looks so appealing. Perhaps I’m just hungry.
And there’s quite a build-up of energy as the increased swell of the ocean churns this tasty looking dessert out of the raw ingredients all around me. Alice Dee in Wonderland would be impressed. I may have just climbed down the rabbit hole and landed on the shores of the ocean of milk, so vividly described in the ancient Sanskrit Vedic Puranas. If I look carefully I may even see Vishnu reclining on his serpent couch on the milk ocean.
As you can see, this landscape really invokes inspiring perspectives, when coupled with a vivid imagination. I was able to reach the creamy foam churned up by the swell of the Indian ocean and even climb through it along the rocks of the shoreline, but alas it dissolved to the touch and, like fairy food, remained but a fleeting illusion, like a mirage for a hungry traveler. There was no cream cake at this tea party.
Still, the sight of this fluffy foam juxtaposed against the rugged rock was just epic and vast so I captured a few photos of it which I hope will convey a fraction of the dreamlike quality of the entire scene that surrounded me on this desolate and deserted shoreline. Perhaps my imagination has wondered off to wonderland once too often, for here I find myself to be the only soul in this fantasy-like landscape, like a dreamer in a lucid state of subliminal and surreal splendor.
The only other moving souls were the Oystercatcher birds in their black feathers like waiters at the tea party table serving cake and cream. Sighting them today was auspicious and made for a successful result in my explorations of this fascinating terrain, which seems to bridge the worlds of fantasy and reality. So if you love exploring the rare and unique places to be found in the wild outdoors or wish to see exotic species of flora and fauna, then be sure to add the south Cape coast of Africa to your travel agenda. You will be pleasantly inspired.
(photos my own)