At the edge of the village, the road crosses the Rooi Els river before veering to the left and heading steeply up a hill towards Betty’s Bay. To look for Cape Rockjumper (p.73*), take the second turn-off to the right (an unsurfaced road), just as the R44 begins its ascent. Park at the gate about 1 km further on, and continue on foot. Look out for rockjumpers on the left-hand side for the next 2 km, and for Black Eagle, Ground Wood-pecker (p.105*) and Cape Rock Thrush.

A little further east on the R44 lies the village of Betty’s Bay and nearby Stoney Point, site of one of only two mainland colonies of African Penguin (see pp.24 and 32*). On the lower mountain slopes of the dramatic Kogelberg range is the Harold Porter Botanical Garden, offering good fynbos and forest birding. To reach Stoney Point, take the signposted right turn towards the coast, just before the series of lakes on your right as you enter the rambling village of Betty’s Bay. The African Penguin colony is smaller than that at Boulders Beach on the Cape Peninsula (p.24) and usually hosts less than 100 breeding pairs. One unique problem that has faced the Stoney Point colony was devastating predation by a Leopard (Panthera pardus) that descended from the adjacent mountains. Bank Cormorant (p.21) also breeds here, alongside the more common Crowned, Cape and White-breasted Cormorants.

The Harold Porter Botanical Garden lies conspicuously signposted on your left just past the commercial centre of Betty’s Bay, and is a fine place for a few hours gentle ramble. The cultivated gardens are quite small, but surrounded by moist mountain fynbos dissected by two forested ravines, Disa Kloof (to your left) and Leopard Kloof (to your right). From the entrance gate, head up through the cultivated gardens to the solidly-built bridge over the Disa Kloof stream, and continue along the path up the kloof itself. Common birds of the lower gardens are Black Saw-wing Swallow, Cape Bulbul, Karoo Prinia, Southern Boubou, Malachite, Orange-breasted (p.33*) and Lesser Double-collared Sunbirds, Yellow-rumped Widow, Bully Canary and conveniently accessible Cape Siskin (p.33*). Protea Canary (p.57*) occasionally wanders down into the gardens, but is by no means regular here. There are usually swifts and swallows foraging overhead (including Rock Martin and African Black and Alpine Swifts), alongside soaring raptors (most commonly Black Eagle and Jackal Buzzard).

The forested path up Disa Kloof leads to a small, bitterly black dam, and ends a few hundred metres further on where a waterfall interrupts the stream. The forest along this path provides Bar-throated Apalis, Cape Batis, Paradise (summer) and Dusky Flycatchers, and occasionally Swee Waxbill. During late summer, spectacular Red Disa (Disa uniflora) orchids can be seen clinging to the dripping and slippery cliffs adjoining the waterfall. Make your way back to the dam and cross the bridge over its wall. A pair of African Black Duck is often present on the dam, if not elsewhere along the stream. A gentle path then leads out of the kloof and around the buttress between Disa and Leopard Kloofs, before dropping back down into the gardens. Cape Siskin, Neddicky, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Victorin’s Warbler (p.73*), Grassbird and Ground Woodpecker occur along this path. To visit Leopard Kloof, ask for a key at the entrance to the gardens. The forest conceals a series of pleasant waterfalls and, in addition to the forest species mentioned above, also hosts Olive Woodpeckers and the Cape’s westernmost regularly occurring Blue-mantled Flycatchers, which sometimes wander down into the cultivated gardens.

Cape Eagle Owl (p.105*) may be seen in the gardens at dusk by only the most fortu-nate of birders, and has even been observed at the roadside in Betty’s Bay village. Listen for its deep call, especially in winter.

The black water lakes and seeps around Betty’s Bay hold an exciting div-ersity of amphibians, including the Micro Frog (Micro-batrachella capensis), one of the world’s most threatened frog species.