My experience at the Cape Point Nature Reserve

My experience at the Cape Point Nature Reserve

On the 27^th of September the 1^st year students went on a field trip to the Cape Point Nature Reserve. 

I have never been to the Cape Point Nature Reserve before and found it to be an interesting experience.

I learnt lots of new things about the history of the lighthouses as well as the indigenous plants that reside within the reserve. I really hated the weather as it was very cold and wet at times. I found it really strange that at Cape Point, the wind was extremely strong compared to other areas, especially on higher grounds. I did not know that Cape Point Nature Reserve was actually such a widespread area. 

I enjoy being surrounded by nature and I would not mind studying in a nature reserve, lol. I couldn’t really identify any kinds of smells in the nature reserve, however the sea let off a nasty smell at certain areas in the park (I still wonder why, because sea water supposed to have a “fresh” odour). 

I hoped to see more animals though; all I saw were a few baboons, an ostrich and one or two birds. The walk up to the lighthouse was torture! It is amazing to see how unfit we are as first year students at such a young age. I was out of breath by the time I reached halfway, but i wanted to get to the top and just kept going.  I also enjoyed going up the trail to the top f the rock ridge. Nobody went up, most people were too tired and just went either halfway or they just stayed at the bottom. I made it to the top and had lunch there. I’m not much a camera type of person but this day was an exception as I went ahead and jus took a bunch of photos. 

I hated the bus ride so much! Firstly, it was long and slow. Secondly, the seats were really uncomfortable as it was too straight up and hurt my back.  And last but not least, there was no music in the bus or some form of entertainment. My mathematics lecturers were quite annoyed to hear that we won’t be there on Friday because we will be missing a mathematics lecture. I wish all or most of our practicals could be in an open area or more “practical“ and not just based in a lab. I observed a lot about the nature reserve and think that the country needs to invest more money on its Nature Reserves. Poaching levels are on the rise and I noticed that there is no sense of security or Park rangers to monitor what people do and to ensure the safety of people, animals and plants is taken care of. Baboons tend to be aggressive at times and I believe that anything can happen with them around and people would not know how to handle the situation correctly.  Overall, I would say that I don’t regret going as it was a fun day for all.