Innehållsförteckning för Jan-16 från go!

Secretarybirds don’t mess around We went to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park for the 21st time this year. In my experience, most first-time visitors to the park are only there to see the lions and miss out on all the other interesting sights. I’ve learnt to take it slowly and appreciate everything. We were travelling from the Auchterlonie picnic site to Nossob when we saw two secretarybirds emerging from the Nossob riverbed. They were pecking at something on the ground and then one of them suddenly lifted a huge, live puff adder and gulped it down! I could see the snake moving in its gullet. It was all a bit much for the bird so it regurgitated its meal and tore the snake to shreds with its beak and feet before…

Watch out, zebras… Your chances of seeing a lion in the Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock in the Eastern Cape have doubled since two new lionesses arrived. The lionesses are both about two years old and will share the reserve’s 28 000 hectares with two five-year-old males. Park management hopes that the four lions will form a pride structure. When the males were relocated to the park in April 2013, they were the first free-roaming lions in the area in more than 130 years. It’s all part of SANParks’ ongoing policy to reintroduce animals that occurred naturally in an area before hunting and habitat loss forced that species into local extinction. New camp in the Kruger The Kruger Park has a new rest camp in the far north. Pafuri…

Tam’JaZi Country Farm Stall, Eastern Cape Tam’JaZi is a farm stall for the whole family, safely set back from the R72 near Alexandria, with a jungle gym, a petting zoo and a play area populated with mop-headed scarecrows to delight the kids. For adults, there are signs with silly puns (a stone hanging in mid-air is labelled “Klipdrift”) and delicious curried pineapple and orange peel preserves. It’s pineapple country after all, so try the pineapple juice (R12 for 500 ml). Or what about some fynbos honey (R42)? The coffee shop serves breakfast and light lunches in the R30 – R60 price range. In case you were wondering: The name Tam’JaZi was inspired by the names of owner Sandy Zehmke’s three children: Tammy, Jason and Zarrin. Where? Next to the R72,…

What do Queen Elizabeth, Elvis, Mike Tyson and Bles Bridges have in common? They’ve each stroked the tail feathers of a pigeon and set it free, hoping that it would return. No one knows how a homing pigeon manages to find its way back to its loft. Some credit the bird’s ability to read the magnetic fields of the earth, others say it can hear at a very low frequency and pick up sound waves that bounce off the landscape. This is all speculation. There is no clear answer as to how a tiny pigeon brain can stay on course for hundreds of kilometres. The sport associated with this ability – pigeon racing – is a suitably mystical affair. Sit next to a loft and watch a homing pigeon play…

Make 2016 the year of exploring new places. Pile the kids into the car, dust off your binoculars and charge your camera batteries. Then head out with Mpafa Travel on a trip of a lifetime. Camp under the stars at Mana Pools, ride in a mokoro on the Okavango Delta, search the beach for nesting turtles, feel the spray of Victoria Falls, say hello to an elephant in Addo, cruise on a houseboat… TRANS-BOTSWANA 11 days/10 nights • 19 – 29 April • 28 June – 8 July • 6 – 16 August • 15 – 25 September THE RICHTERSVELD 10 days/9 nights • 13 – 22 August ZIMBABWE 12 days/11 nights • 20 – 31 July RHINOS, REEFS & TURTLES (KZN) 9 days/8 nights • 29 November – 7 December BAVIAANS TO ADDO (GARDEN ROUTE) 7…

BOTTLES 1 Checkers insulated bottle You can easily spend R300 on a double-walled, insulated bottle, so to find one for a mere R40 was quite exciting. The push-pull mouthpiece is nothing fancy, but it works fine. The only downside is that the water tastes a bit like plastic – something that might go away with time. I did some research and found out that the BPA-free HDPE used to make this bottle is actually safer than some of the fancier plastics used in more expensive bottles. But good luck getting your taste buds to believe this. R40 at Checkers 2 Maxed ice-stick water bottle This 500 ml water bottle is sturdy, attractive and easy to drink from. It’s made from rugged BPA-free plastic and the markings on the outside are…

After the festive-season splurge, it’s time to tighten our belts again. But thanks to these three crowd-pleasers there’s always money for wine in my budget. I hope that’s the case for you, too! Van Loveren is known for its everyday drinking wines. The estate had a brand redesign last year and all its wines are looking smart in modern packaging. They’ve also added some new wines and I was rather taken with the Daydream Chardonnay/Pinot Noir 2015 (R49). The 6 % pinot component makes the wine a pretty onion-skin pink colour. It’s light and fresh, with a touch of sweet fruit: perfect for summer sipping. Welmoed has always made solid, well-priced wines and last year they added new wines to their range, including a rather toothsome Pinot Grigio 2015 (R50).…

KAROO PASSES AND POORTS See both sides of the Swartberg Pass – the undulating hills of the Little Karoo, the sunbaked plains of the Great Karoo and Montagu Pass on the Garden Route. TOUR DETAILS Dates: 25 – 29 February 2016; 21 – 25 April 2016 How long is the tour? Five days/four nights Average daily distance: 30 km – 50 km Departure: Queens Hotel, Oudtshoorn Accommodation: Hotels, guesthouses and a special Dryland campsite. Rates: R7 950 per adult; R3 975 for children under 12. Single supplement additional 30 %. ITINERARY Day 1: The tour starts at the Queens Hotel in Oudtshoorn. From there you’ll be transferred to the Chandelier Game Lodge for a short ride to warm up the legs and test the bikes. Then it’s back to the…

ELANDSKLOOF FARM COTTAGES, NEAR GREYTON Elandskloof is as storybook as a farm can get. The cows are fat and furry, the fields are emerald green, the mountains are decorated with clouds turning pink and each cottage has a wisp of woodsmoke rising from its chimney. Walk with the kids to the playground, amble down a jeep track into the kloof, swim in the Elandskloof River, ride your mountain bike around an orchard or just put your feet up on the stoep and imagine living a simpler life. Accommodation: There are lots of options for families of all shapes and sizes. Willow Cottage sleeps up to nine people (R2 200 per night); the four Thatched Cottages sleep 2 – 7 (from R800 per night); and the five Riverside Cottages sleep up…

How to get there? Inhambane is 960 km from Joburg and 450 km north of Maputo. You can fly there from OR Tambo, but you might make stops at Maputo or Vilankulo. Flights are also pricey: from about R6 000 per person return. Okay, so I’ll drive. There’s a tar road all the way to Inhambane. The dirt stretches to Barra and Tofo are accessible in a sedan, but some clearance will help – ask about road conditions when you book. You need a 4x4 to explore the more remote parts of the peninsula. Malaria? Inhambane is a malarial area. Take precautions. Best time to go? The heat can be oppressive in summer, and it’s also when the peninsula is overrun with tourists, so consider going in the low season…

The Old Arts and the Old Chemistry buildings were the original structures on the University of Pretoria campus. While serving as Colonial Secretary, Jan Smuts raised £40 000 for new buildings on the Pretoria campus of the Transvaal University College (TUC). The Department of Public Works of the Union of South Africa was tasked with the design of the properties, led by architect Percy Eagle. The corner stone of the Old Arts Building was laid on 3 August 1910. Construction on the Old Chemistry Building began around the same time and the university moved into the two venues in September 1911. At that stage there were 62 students, seven professors, six lecturers and one secretary. And just two fields of study: humanities and science. During the move, straw was used…

Why this story? Pigeon racing is big in Europe, but you won’t see SuperSport in South Africa doing a breakdown of the day’s races. Yet it’s popular here, with a rich subculture. I was hooked. How did you do your research? Over the course of two racing seasons I got to know the pigeon fanciers of the Western Cape and I spent many Saturdays at their lofts, waiting for the pigeons to return. I also attended basket evenings and I hitched a ride with the truck that takes the pigeons to their liberation site in the Karoo, to watch the birds being set free at dawn. Any surprises? It took me months to understand how everything worked, but once I did, I became obsessed. I don’t think I’ll ever stop…

Lovers or fighters? QCHARLOTTE AUGUSTYN from Bloemfontein writes: I took this photo in Mokala National Park near Kimberley. The giraffes had their necks entwined. What does this behaviour mean? A Wildlife expert LD VAN ESSEN says: As soon as a juvenile male giraffe is able to look after itself, it will join a bachelor herd of bulls. Judging by the photo, this is one such herd. Bulls determine dominance by sparring. They’ll interlace their necks and lean against each other to gauge their opponents’ strength. Young bulls will also swing their heads at each other, but their sparring sessions don’t last very long and seldom result in injuries. In older bulls, however, sparring sessions can be much more brutal. The battle can last up to half an hour and the…

Do you look at the wildlife photos in go! and think: I want to go to Botswana and take an elephant photo like that? Well, what are you doing in April? We’ve tailored our popular Mpafa/Bhejane self-drive tour of Botswana, the Caprivi and Vic Falls to suit enthusiast photographers. You couldn’t ask for more photogenic locations: the Okavango River, Makgadikgadi Pan, the Chobe River… And to help you make the most of every photo opportunity, picture editor Shelley Christians and travel editor Toast Coetzer will be coming along, too. You can ask Toast and Shelley all of your camera questions, whether you shoot with a D-SLR, a bridge camera or a miken-druk. Where will we stay? Safe, comfortable bush camps with hot showers, flush toilets and power points to recharge…

I wasn’t always this fancy. Long ago, before I arrived at work in the morning looking debonair in my collared shirt and smelling like the freebie cologne sachet in a magazine, I used to be a farm boy. I grew up on a farm just outside Somerset West, where daily tasks included building forts and stealing Oom Wimpie’s strawberries. Later, after university, I worked on a cattle ranch in Australia. While my peers were deciphering their first IRP5 form, I was doing handbrake turns in a bakkie and castrating steers for a living. But then, somehow, I got an office job in Cape Town. Maybe someone in the HR department thought that “branding” on my CV meant I knew about marketing strategies. It was actually a reference to my skills…

Below us the bush is ghostly silent. Even the birds are quiet. I’m sitting on a rocky outcrop covered in three colours of lichen, like a tortoiseshell cat: Creme Soda green, pumpkin-slice orange and velvety white. They say the presence of lichen is a sign that the air is unpolluted and with every lungful here at Skeurkrans it certainly feels that way. Skeurkrans is a farm in the Waterberg about 54km north of Mookgophong (previously Naboomspruit). I’m here with Leanne Rencken, a friend from Joburg. Gauteng and Skeurkrans are two very different places. As far as I’m concerned, you need a weekend in a place like Skeurkrans every few months in order to survive a madhouse like Gauteng. It’s Saturday afternoon. We’re staying tonight and tomorrow night and Leanne will…

DAVE PETERS Sony A100 Sigma 170 – 500 mm DAVE WRITES: I took this photo at the Giant’s Castle vulture hide in the central Drakensberg. The look of disgust on the Cape vulture’s face as he watched his meal being stolen by the black-backed jackal is what makes this shot. Although the meat is left out purposefully for the vultures, the opportunistic jackals are always quick to pounce. The result is an ongoing battle between these two species. SHELLEY SAYS: That look says it all! Dave captured an absolutely priceless moment. Who said animals don’t have emotions? His shutter speed of 1/1 250 second was an excellent choice for this action shot because it froze the moment. Always err on the side of a faster shutter speed if the subject…

What is it? It’s the first ever “wearable multitool”: A stainless steel bracelet containing up to 29 tools including various screwdrivers, spanners, and hex drives, plus a bottle opener, glass breaker and a SIM card pick, among others. Will it fit my wrist? Simply remove links to achieve a comfortable fit. This does mean leaving one or two tools at home, but you can choose to leave off the ones you seldom use. How does it work? Remove the Tread from your wrist, find the tool you need then fold the bracelet double (in most cases) and get to work. Tick, tock… Sometime in 2016, Leatherman is planning to release a watch version of the Tread. No news on how much it will cost, but it seems like a good…

TOUR INFO Date: 13 – 22 August 2016 How long? 10 days, 9 nights Starting point? Kamieskroon, Namaqualand End point? Aussenkehr, Namibia Accommodation? Formal en suite accommodation Rate: R18 650 per adult. Single supplement additional 30 %. WHAT TO BRING • A vehicle with diff lock – a 4x2 with high ground clearance will do the trick (fuel and border fees are for your own account) • Drinks and snacks • Camping chairs • Your passport ADVENTURE ITINERARY DAY 1: The tour starts near Kamieskroon. We’ll explore the Skilpad section of the Namaqua National Park, famous for its daisies. DAY 2: We drive the back roads of the West Coast and visit a shipwreck at Hondeklipbaai before turning north. Our overnight stop is at McDougall’s Bay, near Port Nolloth. DAY 3: After breakfast we…

A dune is like a stoep, without the pot plants and dog sleeping at your feet. Why? Because sitting on a dune and sitting on a stoep have a lot in common: Both call for a morning coffee or sundowners, idle chit-chat or pensive thoughts. Sometimes, when I see a high dune, the thought of climbing to the top makes me gag. But once I’ve slogged up the side and felt the sand tugging at my ankles, I’m always glad I made the effort. And at the top, my long trail of footprints up the side feels like something of an accomplishment. So sit down and look at the view. Stay until the wind has blown drifts of sand against your legs. And don’t just walk down when you’re done.…

Grab your camera, your camp chairs and your sense of adventure and join go! on a photo tour through Botswana! We are teaming up with Mpafa/Bhejane for an epic self-drive trip from 8 to 18 April 2016. In addition to experiencing highlights such as the Okavango Delta, the Makgadikgadi Pan, the Caprivi and Victoria Falls, go! picture editor Shelley Christians will be on hand to help you take your photographic skills to the next level. nnder Shelley’s expert tuition and Mpafa/Bhejane’s guidance, you’ll see the country in an unforgettable way. TOUR DETAILS Tour duration: 11 days, 10 nights When and where? 8 – 18 April 2016, departing from Nata Lodge, Botswana Accommodation: All tented accommodation Rate: R12 650 per person THE RATE INCLUDES… • A professional tour leader and an experienced…

Chokka , the South African name for the endemic squid species, Loligo reynaudii, is the lifeblood of many Eastern Cape towns. The fishing season is closed in October and November, allowing an opportunity to photograph these incredible invertebrates during their spawning aggregations. Descending into the dark green water and hovering above the bright orange egg beds it is amazing to witness the mating ritual as the males and females come together, pulsating and changing colour, with their huge eyes reflecting the dive lights, while sharks, stingrays and other predators circle for an easy meal. South Africa’s central interior has one of the highest rates of lightning strikes per square kilometre in the world, especially in summer when thunderstorms rip through the skies above the Highveld. In this shot, Joburg braces…

Wherever there’s a rocky outcrop, you’re likely to find a klipspringer or two. These antelope aren’t confined to game reserves; you’ll often encounter them outside protected areas. The klipspringer is uniquely adapted for its life among the rocks. Each individual hair is hollow and almost quill-like, making its coat like an air mattress. This provides good insulation and, should the antelope fall, effective cushioning. Early settlers were aware of the klipspringer’s spongy coat and used its hair for saddle stuffing. Another thing you’ll notice is how a klipspringer walks on the very tips of its hoofs. It’s a master of balance. As the inner parts of the hoofs wear away over time, they become cylindrical tubes that offer even more grip on rocky substrate. Klipspringers are normally found in pairs…

3 JANUARY West Coast Market, Yzerfontein Local businesses and entrepreneurs will be selling a wide range of products at this market, from sweet treats to West Coast wine. The kids can feed the farm animals. Where? Vygevallei farm stall, on the R27. When? From 10 am to 3 pm. Contact: nadine@iloveyzer.co.za ; 022 451 2202 31 JANUARY Sani Pass Wild Flower Walk Join botanist Elsa Pooley and other experts on the Lesotho plateau to learn more about various wild flowers. The walk takes about 90 minutes and booking is essential so that transport can be organised. You’ll be leaving the country so remember your passport! When & where? Meet at 6.30 am at Giant’s Cup Café at the bottom of the pass close to Himeville. Cost: R400…

HIGHLIGHTS WildernessGoukamma Nature ReserveBuffalo BayKnysnaNoetzieKeurboomstrandPlettenberg BayNature’s ValleyStorms River VillageStorms River Mouth There’s no specific point where the Garden Route begins and ends, but it’s safe to say that the epicentre of the region is the 150km between Wilderness and the Tsitsikamma, encompassing the towns of Sedgefield, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, and other smaller villages in-between. Mountains blend into forests that spill into the warm Indian Ocean, singing your eyes with some of the best scenery in the country. It’s well geared for tourism and there’s lots to do. We’ve cut through the clutter to bring you an eight-day road trip that strikes a good balance between adventure and relaxation. Our route goes west to east, but you could just as easily start on the Port Elizabeth side. Enjoy! DAY 1–2…

Mention Peter Bridgeford’s name in his home country and the response will often be: “He’s a really good man.” The 72-year-old conservationist would probably approve of this modest description. After all, he’s been working relentlessly for 24 years to conserve lappet-faced vultures in Namibia. He receives no financial compensation, but that doesn’t bother Peter. “I want to see the vultures flourish,” he says. “That’s reward enough.” Peter spent most of his working life in the Namib Desert as a conservation officer for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. He’s worked in the Skeleton Coast Park, Namib-Naukluft Park and the NamibRand Nature Reserve. “Park management is similar to farming, but the farm is just very big,” says Peter. “You have to make sure there’s water for the animals, repair windmills, fences…

Obie Oberholzer is one of South Africa’s best-loved photographers. He made his name with his offbeat portraits of people all over the country, but he’s also a consummate landscape photographer with an eye for detail, and a respected fine-art photographer. In this series he turns his attention to travel and street photography. Destination: Cuba, one of the most picturesque and politically complex countries in modern history. Obie visited in May 2015, inspired by the escapades of Che Guevara, and although he stayed for a month he didn’t hire a car, preferring to walk instead. “It improved my fitness,” he says. “And I was forced to use public transport, which was wonderful for street photography.”This kind of photography is different to Obie’s regular work, which often involves meticulous planning and complex…

DAY 1 Over the hills and far away Our group met up at the Garden Route Mall near George, where we piled into a couple of Toyota Fortuners, ready for the tour of a lifetime. My sons Jaco and Erick came down from Bloemfontein and my brother-in-law Burger Malherbe travelled from Cape Town. My other brother-in-law Arie Penning and his friend Neels du Toit flew from Joburg. I own two Toyota vehicles, and I love them: a 1980-model 1200 bakkie and a Camry – the best Toyota sedan ever made. My story about my 1200 bakkie won me this prize. I’ll never sell my Toyotas because they’ve never given me any problems. From George, we drove to Wilderness and then we took the road north to Hoekwil, over the Outeniqua…

CAPITAL CRAFT BEER ACADEMY, MENLO PARK At the Capital Craft Beer Academy you can taste at least 25 draught beers, plus about 60 local beers and ciders, and 104 imported beers. That’s close to 200 beers under one roof! There are beers with pear and strawberry undertones from the Åbro Brewery in Sweden, Tripel Karmeliet and Pauwel Kwak from Brouwerij Bosteels in Belgium and a series of Trappist beers from the De Koningshoeven brewery in the Netherlands. The list goes on: Grupo Modelo from Mexico, Erdinger from Germany… Some are exorbitantly priced: A 500 ml beer called Baladin from Italy sells for R500! Thankfully a draught tasting is more reasonable: a 160 ml taster costs anything between R9 and R33. Capital Craft isn’t all about beer. Their food menu is…

Inhambane, Barra, Tofo… The names alone sound exotic. All of them are holiday destinations on a peninsula in southern Mozambique where island clichés are born: white beaches, turquoise water, palm trees swaying in the breeze… As soon as you cross the border at Komatipoort, it’s obvious you’re in another country. Mozambique has a different atmosphere, helped along by the mild weather, the shush of Portuguese, cashew nuts sold next to the road and the bountiful 2M beer. But it’s only once you’re about 100km beyond Xai-Xai that the palm trees start appearing, and there are thousands of them. Welcome to the Inhambane province and its focal point: a narrow peninsula that curls away from the mainland with the breakers of the Indian Ocean on one side and a sheltered bay…