Survivor: Ice Age

Thousands of years ago the southern tip of Africa survived massive worldwide extinctions
by Nick van der Leek

I spent last weekend driving around the Cape Peninsula. It's a spectacular peninsula. We saw whales smashing their tails just outside Kalk Bay harbour, and then another one drifting towards Simonstown (a few kilometres down the coast) . We also went for a walk on Boulder Beach and saw a few penguins jump out of a small wave and run-waddle towards some nearby boulders. At Kommetjie - which has stupendous views towards world famous Hout Bay - we saw a baboon sitting on a white roadside rock, taking it all in. When life unfurls around you in such vivid abundance, it is not hard to find oneself imbued, colored in, filled with a sunny sense of wellbeing.

When you see creatures lazing about in a bright blue ocean, glittering with stars, the world seems well, and a place where we can live good and healthy lives together. But beyond the obvious abundance of life here is something far more astonishing. The Cape Floral Kingdom has about 9090 different species, Central Asia has only 3000. In a space of 10 square kilometres, over 1000 different species of plants grow side by side. To put this in perspective, South Africa's closest rival (when it comes to floral variety) is South America. The rainforest has about as third as many plant species over the same area.

What's even more fascinating are the endemics. Endemics are plants found in only one region and nowhere else. The Cape Floral Kingdom has over 6200. The United Kingdom has around 20. Early Dutch explorers called these endemics - bushy plants they encountered at the Cape - 'fynbos', a reference to the fineness of the leaves.

If you want to see the sort of plants that survived the Ice Age (and thus were around for millenia) visit the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, or climb Table Mountain and pay attention to the interesting floral forms around you. A protea for example does conjure up a different world. Perhaps not Middle Earth, but a place filled with bigger and tougher creatures. Proteas are some of the largest and most colorful floral forms, growing taller and bigger than most flowers.

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