My experience of the Cape Point Nature Reserve.

The Cape Point Nature Reserve excursion.








The Cape Point Nature Reserve which is by far the most attractive tourist attraction in Cape town is situated at the tip of Cape Peninsula where the two ocean currents meet, the Indian and Atlantic ocean. It is declared as a Natural Heritage Site as it houses over a million flora and fauna. On our way to the Nature Reserve we were welcomed by beautiful and refreshing sea breeze with the wonderful smell of nature and beautiful flowers. The site is not only pleasing and just out of the ordinary but it has a way of giving one that relaxing feeling. The beauty of nature was evident in the different type of plants that showed strong colors as though they were in contest for pollinating insects and birds. Talking about birds while we were site seeing we came across a beautiful ostrich.

The weather was really chilly and was good for a walk. The hike to the light house from the car park was one thing that tiring about the excursion but the view was very spectacular. In the steep road to the light house i had to catch my breath in more than one occasion. I think i was blown by the wonderful natural beauty the reserve possessed. The views are immense and you'll get great panoramas of the ocean, both peninsula coastlines, dramatic cliffs and the clean white sweep of Dias Beach far below.



The Cape Point nature reserve conserves endemic and indigenous plants and animals, the most wonderful part about the excursion was to learn about the different types if plants that can only be found in the western cape. I recall the excitement my fellow students and i had when we saw a really friendly baboon which we learnt that is the Cape peninsulas endemic Chacma baboon. Shy predators such as caracal and small-spotted genet patrol the crags, and Cape clawless otters frolic in rock pools.Reptiles and amphibians are abundant. Fortunate frog fundis may catch sight of the very rare Table Mountain ghost frog or Cape chirping frog. My experience from the excursion were amazing especialy going to the Cape of Good Hope, which was a rocky yet beautiful place where we took a lot of pictures on the sea shore.

ECP Life Science

The purpose of Life Science (LFS151) is to prepare students and help develop skills that will help us as future scientists these entail the basic labatory skills and scientific report writing . The content is the basic foundation prior to what we learnt in high school.
Life sciences is a module which i thought would be boring in the begging of the year as i thought would be the revision of what i did in high school. To my surprise on our first practical  we went to the University of the Western Cape  nature reserve to analyze and compare plant species. One of the outcomes of the practical was to create awareness about the endangered flora species in cape town. From that i began to learn about the vast fields present in science and how they all interconnect. Secondly the activities such as the scientific process changed my initial perception of life science.

Academically in life sciences we have a lot of support from the lectures and the practical dames. They are always keen on  answering our questions and help us understand the work. Additionally their doors are open for consultation. There is an old saying that says "show me so i may remember" , this saying relates to my experiences in the life science practical, because that is where we experiment on what we learn in the text book and on lectures. the practical basically sum up the work we did for a week in three hours. However in those three hours we gain understanding through practical work. Well i recall the excitement i have in the laboratory when we had to prepare and view things under a microscope, which from that we learn how to focus under certain magnification. The most exciting thing is to learn that you have focused correctly such that the specimen can show clearly.


Dr Meerkotter  my life science lecturer makes the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding of any topic fun and interesting. Her method of teaching is that she balances the lecture so that both visual learners and the learners that like theory more. On every lecture she plays movies about the topic to emphasize and instill understanding. This has helped me such that after every lecture i downlaod the movies so that i can understand the relevant topic more.
 My experiences in life sciences thus far have been both challenging and exciting at the same time. The work load increases every day and you always have to prepare so that you understand what is being covered in class.

My tutorials allow me to boost my marks in life sciences and help my confidence as a scientist as i get high percentages and the environment helps me to learn more and build knowledge.