Smile, the beloved country

Vast stretches of canola fields line the tarred artery that snakes its way towards the seaside village overlooking the point where the Breede River meets the Indian Ocean. The flowers flutter and dance in the breeze. A flock of blue cranes airlifts just beyond the yellow façade for good measure.

Blue cranes are tall birds, reaching up to 1.2m, and it’s amazing to see the breeding pairs stalking along in the farmlands. The blue crane is my favourite bird, and a protected species. The Overberg is one of three strongholds for the breed and they seem to be flourishing. I’m happy to learn that, besides our national bird, there are more than 260 bird species, the largest concentration of the endangered southern right whale and 3 000 hectares of undisturbed fynbos in the area.