Innehållsförteckning för October 2016 från go!

There’s hope in Hwange Visiting Hwange National Park was the highlight of our recent holiday in Zimbabwe and Botswana. We stayed at Sinamatella rest camp, high on the side of a koppie, and we watched lion, buffalo, giraffe and elephant drinking water on the plains. The roads were in a good condition. The rest camp was deserted, which was such a shame. The friendly staff were doing everything in their power to keep things running smoothly. An NGO called Painted Dog Conservation does work in the park. One afternoon I accompanied their operations manager David Kuvawoga and veterinarian Ishmael Makamba to free a wild dog from a snare. With tears in his eyes, Ishmael explained that under normal circumstances he would put the animal down, but had to try and…

Cape Town in bloom Whether you want to show off your pretty petunias or turn your garden into something from the pages of VISI, the Cape Town Flower Show is for you. The work of some of the best landscape architects and designers will be on display. You can also attend a workshop or demonstrate your skills in the MasterFlorist competition. Gardening equipment and seeds from a range of shops and nurseries will be on sale, plus there will be food stalls, craft beer, coffee and sparkling wine. Dates: 27 – 30 October Where? The Castle, Darling Street, Cape Town Entrance fee: R180 per adult; R90 per child aged 10 – 17 years; free for children under 10. More information: 021 464 1141; capetownflowershow.co.za WIN TICKETS! Win double…

Dive with crocs Shark-cage diving is so last year… Now it’s all about diving with crocodiles. At Le Bonheur crocodile farm near Paarl you can go under water with a diving mask and up to 20 of the farm’s biggest crocs. The water is filtered so you can see the reptiles through the perspex windows of the cage. If you’re brave you’ll even be allowed to touch one… Those who don’t want to get wet can go into a dry viewing box below the water level. Where? Babylonstoren Road off the R45, Paarl Cost: South Africans R500; foreigners R750. You spend about half an hour in the water and the rate includes hiring a diving mask and wetsuit. No children under 9. Entry to the dry viewing box costs R250…

Every game reserve is special in its own way, but there are a few that stand head and shoulders above the rest. Like the Kruger and the Serengeti. And Etosha. They’re places you have to see at least once in your life. And once you’ve been, you’ll start dreaming of your next visit. At first glimpse it’s hard to isolate exactly what makes Etosha so attractive. It’s winter and I’m at the Renostervlei waterhole in the west of the park, surrounded by washed-out plains with the odd scraggly mopane tree. If you were here for the landscape you’d turn on your tail and flee. But stay a while and you’ll begin to feel the quest for survival in this harsh place, especially in winter. Soon the animals will start to…

Since its introduction in 2012, the NC750X has become a popular mini adventure tourer throughout the world. The updated 2016 model has received several improvements to further increase its touring capabilities: The screen is 7 cm taller, which improves wind protection, and the storage compartment above the engine has been enlarged to 22 litres – big enough to swallow an adventure helmet with a peak. The lid of the storage compartment also has rails, which make attaching a tank bag so much easier. What’s the ride like? You can choose auto mode or you can shift gears manually. The dual clutch transmission (DCT) in auto has been vastly improved, opening and closing the throttle feels more feathery than before and there are three riding modes that adapt to your riding…

It’s 6.59am on a Wednesday in May. I’m sitting on a rock at the main beach in St Francis Bay. The sea is calm and the water is a deep blue. The sun is poking holes in a thick bank of clouds. It soon gains the upper hand and bathes the beach in golden light. “It looks like someone took a paintbrush to the sky,” says Arné Theunissen, a Gautenger on holiday with his family. He lifts his smartphone to capture the moment. St Francis is the general name given to a number of holiday villages south-west of Port Elizabeth: The Canals at the mouth of the Kromme River, Port St Francis with its small harbour full of yachts and chokka boats, and Cape St Francis further south, watched over…

Farm dogs seem to have figured out the secret to a happy existence. I reckon it’s because they just accept whatever comes their way, whether it’s their owner telling them to scram, the feral cats on the farm or a stranger full of city smells. Nine times out of ten, a dog will greet you at your vehicle when you arrive on a farm. The wet nose against your palm and the dusty paws on your legs is the dog’s way of saying, “Welcome to the pack.” At Olive Grove guest farm I had dinner with Reggie the black German shepherd; at Stuurmansfontein a ridgeback pup called Dunga nearly bowled me over in the kitchen; my heart was stolen at Rooiheuwel by Roxy the boxer and her Jack Russell friends…

Head-on collision We were watching cheetahs next to Transport Dam when an impala suddenly darted from the bushes and ran straight into our vehicle. It must have broken its neck or been knocked out because it didn’t get up. One of the cheetahs took the initiative and pounced on its prey. It dragged the impala away to share the lucky meal with its family. A tourist in another vehicle remarked: “Sorry about your vehicle but it was very exciting!” HELENA GILFILLAN, Nigel Injured on the front lines This male baboon must have been in quite a fight. We watched him and the rest of his troop near Olifants. He joined the babies under a tree to eat fruit from the ground while the other baboons climbed the branches. Despite having…

1 – 2 OCTOBER Strawberry Festival, George  Pick strawberries, eat strawberries and drink strawberry drinks. There’s a wine-and-berry tasting for the adults (R50 per person) and an outdoor play park for the children, including target shooting, pony rides and miniature-train rides. The whole family can enter a fun walk or fun run, and there’s an MTB event. Where? Redberry Farm, Geelhoutboom Road, Blanco Cost: Saturday R45 per adult; R25 per child aged 3 – 12. Sunday R55 per adult; R35 per child aged 3 – 12. Free for children under 2 on both days. More info: 044 870 7123; strawberryfestival.co.za 5 – 10 OCTOBER Tierlantyn’kies Festival, Pretoria  Three friends started this festival in 2010 and it has grown so much that 14 000 people attended in April 2016.…

The meerkat is one of Africa’s most endearing animals. Timon was the real star of The Lion King and his brethren have headed up international advertising campaigns and graced cellphone network billboards. A family of meerkats even starred in their own reality TV show – the Kardashians pale in comparison. Meerkats occur in the dry western reaches of southern Africa. The Makgadikgadi, with its open spaces and scattered shrubland habitat, is one of the best places to view these lovable members of the mongoose family. Their appeal has a lot to do with our natural desire to anthropomorphise them. They look like little people when they stand on their hind legs, and their family life is as complicated as ours. Let’s start with sentinel duty. The Makgadikgadi is home to…

Where does your love of nature come from? I grew up in KZN, mostly on sugar cane farms. Many of my school friends lived in town so I spent a lot of time on my own, fishing the local dams and streams or shooting things with an air rifle. This engagement with nature at an early age fostered a love for all things wild. What’s your thesis about? It’s a case study in how we can manage leopards better at a provincial and national scale, and how management can be improved to help conserve the species. To do this I’m addressing questions like whether it’s possible to trophy hunt sustainably, how game ranching affects free-ranging wildlife, and how connected leopard habitats are across key regions in southern Africa. What does…

My campfire has died twice already. It’s hard to keep an eye on the flames when the Amphitheatre looms so close. It’s the crowning glory of the Drakensberg – a 5 km wall of basalt that rises more than a thousand vertical metres – and it makes Table Mountain seem like a Dinky Toy. It’s even better at sunset, viewed from the chalets at Thendele Camp. Around me people come out to stare, dinner all but forgotten. What must have gone through the minds of the Voortrekkers, or the Bushmen before them, when they first saw this? Somewhere up on the plateau is Mont-aux-Sources – a mountain peak that has fascinated me since primary school. It straddles KZN, the Free State and Lesotho, and it’s the point at which the…

CHRISSIE NAUDÉ-FOURIE Home town: Centurion Occupation: Retired We visit the Netherlands in spring every year, when the tulips and rhododendrons are in bloom. My son Jaco Naudé lives in the town of Roosteren in the south of the country, with his wife Marieke de Ridder and their three daughters. They often cycle across the Maas River to eat out in Belgium! Every time we visit, Marieke plans a fun itinerary for us grandparents. This year Pieter and I headed to the north of the Netherlands for a week. It’s a scenic part of the country, with a Venice-like feel. Canals flow around the houses and through the farmland. DAY 1 Edam On the afternoon of our first day we explored the town of Edam. We had a glass of wine…

The Nature’s Best Photography Africa competition is a platform to showcase the exceptional biodiversity of our continent. Run in association with Iziko Museums of South Africa, it’s open to amateurs and professionals from all over the world; the only condition is that the photo you enter must have been taken in Africa. There were 14 categories in this year’s competition and more than 9 000 entries, with prizes that included a trip to the Maasai Mara in Kenya or the Serengeti in Tanzania. “The judges were impressed by the overall quality” says chief judge Lou Coetzer. “This, combined with an increase in entries of over 40 %, bodes well for the future of the competition.” A selection of winning images and finalists are currently being exhibited at the Iziko South…

October in the north of Botswana is not for the faint-hearted. The rains haven’t yet arrived, the waterholes dry out and the animals become desperate. The lions of the Savuti region in Chobe National Park are well known for hunting elephant, but this desperate lioness took to hunting smaller prey to keep her going in the merciless heat. The stalking lasted about 20 minutes until she pounced. There was an explosion of feathers and she loped away with a dove in her jaws. Want to visit Chobe? Our Botswana map guide (R55) is on shelf now. Or order a copy at winkel.weg.co.za…

Green and gold The feature “In the footsteps of Uncle Uys” in go! #122 made me revisit photos of hikes I’d done in the Drakensberg over the years. The trail to the summit of the Amphitheatre from the Sentinel car park must be the most popular route to the top of the escarpment. I did the hike in March 2005 and it remains my favourite. It rained most of the way and we found the Tugela in flood on top of the mountain. The following year I did the hike again, this time in September. The Tugela was a mere stream after winter and the waterfall was almost invisible from the opposite end of the Amphitheatre, in stark contrast to the previous year. RIP WYMA, Pretoria Turn to page…

Beaky bishop Q ALTUS CLOETE from Centurion writes: I’m an amateur bird photographer. A while ago I noticed there was something wrong with this bishop, which routinely visits my garden. When I took a closer look at my photos, I saw that the bird had a deformed beak. Is this a common occurrence in the wild? How does it eat? A Ornithologist ADRIAN CRAIG says: Like fingernails, a bird’s beak keeps growing. This bishop’s beak will keep growing in the wrong direction unless it wears down over time. A deformity like this is rarely seen in the wild and was probably caused by an injury. That said, the bishop seems to be in good health and it must have found a way to eat using the back of its beak.…

“In your hands and those of your children lie the power and freedom won; you must not merely maintain but increase the sacred gift. Be merciful towards the weak, the down-trodden, the stranger. Do not open your gates to those worst foes of freedom – tyranny and selfishness.”Emily Hobhouse at the inauguration of the National Women’s Monument, 13 December 1913 When did you first hear the story of Emily Hobhouse? I learnt about her at school – the work she did in the concentration camps and her spinning and weaving schools. But I knew nothing of her great intellect, her writing talent, the fact that she spoke seven languages, her pacifism or that she fought tirelessly for human rights. Why write this book? She’s been unfairly treated by history, both…

I arrived in Mendoza with no Spanish, no money and no work. Thankfully I soon got a job working night shifts at a youth hostel. My job involved letting drunken Kiwis and Irishmen in at whatever ungodly hour they arrived home, and cleaning up after them if required. This just about covered my rent for a tiny flat overlooking a sunless courtyard. One Friday night, soon after I had moved into my flat, I had no one to see and nowhere to be, so I put Winamp on shuffle on my laptop (those were the days) and fried myself a hunk of A-grade Argentine beef on the single-plate gas burner. My window was open because of the scorching Zonda wind, much like a Cape berg wind, that descends on Mendoza…

I’m stranded deep in Bushmanland, somewhere north of Loeriesfontein. A 30-metre-wide flash flood has blocked the road, making small brown waves as it sweeps past farm fences. My map says there’s a detour a short way back, so I turn around. But when I get there a wild-eyed farmer stops in his bakkie and shouts through the window: “Get out of here, the vlei is filling up!” He submarines through the water and speeds up a hill. I head back to the temporary river and wait. By late afternoon the rain clears up and the sun breaks through the clouds. I light a fire and get out my camping chair. How did I arrive at this spot? It’s all because I’m chasing the longest and heaviest bulk train in the…

JAN FOURIE Nikon D7000 Sigma 150 – 500 mm lens TOAST SAYS: One of the highlights of the photography tour that we offer in conjunction with Mpafa Travel is a sunset cruise on the Chobe River. You can get so close to the animals, whether they’re colourful birds like kingfishers and bee-eaters or big mammals like hippos, buffalo and elephants. The animals are used to the tourist boats and they go about their business as if you’re not even there. These young elephants were keen to wrestle and Jan’s action shot captures their energy well. His shutter speed was 1/640 second – just fast enough to freeze the movement of the animals and the water. He could have framed the shot a little wider to give the ellies some breathing…

THE COMPANY’S GARDEN RESTAURANT, CAPE TOWN Did you know that one of the original pear trees planted more than 300 years ago during Jan van Riebeeck’s era is still standing in the Cape Town city centre? Have a look at the old tree and learn more about the history of the Company’s Garden, or visit the South African Museum, the National Gallery or the Planetarium, all of which are nearby. You can also peek through the gates at Tuynhuys, the Cape Town office of the Presidency. Another good reason to visit the garden is its restaurant. You can spend the whole day with friends, nibbling off platters and sipping good wine, or just have a quick cup of tea and a scone or a slice of carrot cake before you…

1 Olive Grove, near Beaufort West Olive Grove is for people who want a farm holiday without giving up their creature comforts like DStv, Wi-Fi and restaurant meals. There are two accommodation options: Self-catering family chalets overlooking the olive grove that sleep up to six people, with private braai facilities; and en suite double rooms, each with a fridge, coffee station and television. The farm dam is a 10-minute walk away. Follow the Porcupine Trail to the bird hide (pictured below left) on the dam wall or hire a canoe at reception and go for a paddle. There are several roads to explore on your mountain bike, or do a farm tour (R150 per person) and see how an olive farm is run. You’ll also see game like kudu, springbok,…