Eco-Lite Mini-Trip: World Of Birds, Hout Bay, South Africa

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Tara

Eco-lite Mini-trips are for everyone! Families with small kids, busy business travelers who need a break or eco-tourists who want to see the birds up close to be able to recognize them in the bush!

OVERVIEW

World of Birds is the largest bird park in Africa and one of the few large bird parks in the World. Over 3 000 birds (and small animals) of 400 different species are uniquely presented in more than 100 spacious landscaped walk through aviaries, allowing you the most intimate closeness with nature. A tropical garden setting in the Hout Bay Valley
is the environment in which the aviaries are spaced over 4 ha of land, framed by the back of Table Mountain, the Twelve Apostles, Constantiaberg, Chapman’s Peak and Little Lion’s Head. A paradise for nature lovers and photographers, the World of Birds is one of Cape Town’s premier tourist attractions which no visitor should miss.

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

The Hout Bay Fishing Village and Fishing Harbour just 10 km outside Cape Town can be reached either along the scenic routes of the Coastal Drive via Camps Bay and Llandudno or via Kirstenbosch and Constantia, or on the way to and from Cape Point Nature Reserve via the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive.

HOW MUCH IS IT?

Entrance fees are:

Adults R95
Children R45
Pensioners and Students (with card) R55

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SPEND THERE AND WHAT SHOULD YOU SEE?

We spent a couple hours there leisurely wandering through the aviaries. It looks like it has grown since we were there in 2009 so maybe allow 3 hours.

VALUE TO CONSERVATION

World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary is an independent institution.

Preservation, breeding, education and research projects undertaken by World of Birds can be supported through
The Wild Bird Trust (Reg. No. T834/91)

(Wild Birds & Small Mammals Preservation, Education & Scientific Research Trust)

WHERE TO STAY NEARBY ON POINTS

Numerous options are in Cape Town.

PHOTOS

Here is a day we spent exploring this wonderful bird park where we got a close glimpse of many African species we normally wouldn’t get to see up close. Originally published on Feathered and Free which is now being merged to MTTW.

African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus)

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Tara

The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the jackass penguin and black-footed penguin is a species of penguin, confined to southern African waters. It is also widely known as the “jackass” penguin for its donkey-like bray, although several related species of South American penguins produce the same sound. Like all extant penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat.

African Penguins are found in the coastal areas of southern Africa. They are easily seen at Boulders Beach, about an hour’s drive south of Cape Town.

Af Peng

LEARN MORE ABOUT AFRICAN PENGUINS

VIDEOS

This is a fantastic video which depicts just about every activity in an African Penguin’s life (and I do mean EVERYTHING)!

And here’s some information about conserving them.

Day Trip Around The Cape Of Good Hope

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Tara

You can do this either as a guided tour or on your own in a rental car. Driving is easy around South Africa once you get away from the cities and we chose this option to have more control on where we went and how long we stayed there.

The distance isn’t that far, you will have around 3-ish hours of driving time plus what time you spend along the way. We stopped at Boulder Beach to see the Africa Penguins, then took the scenic drive out to the Cape of Good Hope and stopped at World of Birds on the way back.

Cape Good Hope

So we got up early and headed to Boulders Beach in hopes of beating the tour groups. We did pretty well, had nice close views of the African Penguins!

We headed south towards the Cape of Good Hope. This is where we ran into the tourist crowds again. It was especially funny to see the baboons jumping on some of the cars. There are signs everywhere telling people not to feed the baboons (we didn’t) but apparently some people did.

After walking around a bit, we headed back up towards the World of Birds as we wanted to have enough time for lunch and a good look at the birds.

Gateway City: Cape Town, South Africa

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Tara

Cape Town is one of Africa’s most beautiful and fascinating cities and there is plenty here to deserve a few days stay before or after heading off into the bush on safari. This series on Cape Town and the Eastern Cape Province covers a trip we did back in April 2009.

GETTING TO CAPE TOWN

I have a post on getting to South Africa using airline miles with details of the best programs to use. Cape Town is well served by international flights and most people like to fly here and leave from Johannesburg (or vv) so they can see as much of South Africa as possible.

STAR ALLIANCE

South African Airways is a Star Alliance member and the obvious choice to fly here and around South Africa. You can also get here on Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines & Lufthansa.

ONEWORLD

Comair is part of British Airways and offer good value using Avios to get around South Africa but always check the YQ surcharges as these can be excessive. Qatar Airways and British Airways also offer flights from the Middle East & Europe respectively.

SKYTEAM

Only Europe has direct flights to South Africa on KLM & Air France.

WHERE TO STAY ON HOTEL POINTS

As a world class destination, Cape Town is well supplied with hotels you can redeem with points for all budgets.

IHG REWARDS

Holiday Inn Express Cape Town City Centre – 15,000 points

SPG

Westin Cape Town (This is where we stayed) – 10,000 Starpoints

Since it was so long ago, I am not doing a full review as updated info can be found on Trip Advisor but I must say we LOVED the view!

CLUB CARLSON

They have 4 options in Cape Town:

Radisson Blu Le Vendome – 38,000 points

Radisson Blu Waterfront – 70,000 points

Park Inn by Radisson Cape Town Foreshore – 28,000 points

Park Inn by Radisson Newlands – 28,000 points

HILTON

Hilton Cape Town City Centre – 40,000 points

Doubletree Upper East Side – 20,000 points

MARRIOTT

Since Marriott partners with the South African chain Protea, they have a whopping 14 options in Cape Town ranging in price from 7500 – 20,000 Marriott Rewards points.

Or you can go indie and choose from many hotels on PointsHound or Rocketmiles to earn frequent flyer miles for them.

WHAT TO SEE IN CAPE TOWN

Here are a few suggestions for sight-seeing in Cape Town greater city area. I will make a separate post for our day trip around the Cape of Good Hope.

VICTORIA & ALBERT WATERFRONT

Great for dining, shopping and soaking up the atmosphere.