Tag Archives: dam

The beauty of Zevenwacht

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The beauty of Zevenwacht
I remember attending a friend's wedding on the lawn in front of that old Cape Dutch building several years ago. Zevenwacht Estate in Kuilsriver is still just as beautiful as it was then, and while I haven't yet tried the estate's restaurant, I'm fairly confident that you'd enjoy a walk under the trees and among the vines, followed by a breakfast or lunch on the lawn. Give it a try. :)

Sparkling reeds

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Sparkling reeds
The sparkling light through the reeds is really beautiful, don't you think? Isn't it a shame that our eyes don't capture light quite like this? True, our eyes to a better and more useful job, but I'm sure you can't deny that a camera's limitations and properties often do produce awesome effects.

Egyptian geese, a pest?

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Egyptian geese, a pest?
These parents with their four goslings looked awfully cute as they swam around the dam with the rising sun highlighting their brown colouring. They are beautiful to watch, however along with the beauty comes a contrast.

The dams in the Durbanville area (Sonstraal dam and Vygeboom dam) use to be surrounded with green grass and were previously home to families of the ordinary white ducks and geese. Over a period of a few years Egyptian gees started nesting in the area and soon overtook their white neighbours in number and appeared to push them out of the area. I remember watching the birds for some time and observing that the Egyptian gees appeared more hostile whereas the white ducks just looked clumsy and meek.

Today there are hundreds of Egyptian geese in the area and since they typically eat grass, leaves and seeds, it appears as though their sheer number overgrazing has rendered the once-green grassy areas barren and sandy. It's sad really - those two dams specifically use to be such beautiful places.

Get smarter and paint with light

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Paint with light
Don't you love the reflection in the water? The photo looks to me like it should really have been a painting - perhaps a Monet - don't you think? :)

Sitting on the banks of the small dam at the Majik Forest (map) was one of the most tranquil moments that I'd had this whole year. The air was cool but the sun was warm, there wasn't a breath of wind and I wasn't distracted by thoughts of having to be elsewhere. It was perfect.

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Freshwater fishing in Durbanville

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Freshwater fishing in Durbanville
One of the few places in Durbanville to relax for an afternoon with a fishing pole is the Majik Forest. It's difficult to see the young boy's fishing pole - but if you look really closely you will see it. He seemed to have been sitting there for quite some time waiting for a fish to bite, which to me is extremely impressive. I'm bored after 5 minutes of watching the float bob on the water's surface!