Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i go!

Sutherland, with its astronomical observatory and clear Karoo skies, is South Africa’s premier stargazing destination. Now there’s a new attraction in town – a planetarium! The planetarium seats 30 people. Sit back and watch a 45-minute film projected onto the domed roof. There are a number of such films: Learn about the history of the telescope, the constellations, new technology used to explore the moon, and satellite research into the makeup of black holes. If you don’t have time to watch a show, swing past the planetarium for the best coffee in town. Aluciaane Wentzel will make you a fine takeaway cappuccino. Where? Corner of Piet Retief and Sarel Cilliers streets, next to the church. Cost: R80 per adult; R50 per child. Tuesday special: R50 per adult; R30 per child.…

Did you see the Planet Earth II episode about leopards that hunt domestic animals on the fringes of Mumbai, India? This kind of behaviour is not exactly what people have in mind when they think about a leopard “in the wild”, but it’s an unavoidable reality of human encroachment into the animals’ territories. For a while there was a leopard living on the outskirts of Phalaborwa, where it caught a number of local dogs. It was doing pretty well, living under the radar, until it was captured and moved to a nearby wildlife rehabilitation centre. It’s fascinating to see how leopards can adapt to life in an urban area. The leopard is one of the least specialised big cats. In other words, it has a wide…

This market opened in June 2018 after businessman Roger Orpen converted an old apple packing shed next to the railway line into a funky new space. Get something to eat from one of the many food stalls – curry, ribs, pizza, shawarmas, quiches – and grab a fresh fruit juice from Splashh Smoothies or a gin and tonic from L-Gin. For dessert, buy an ice cream, fudge or a waffle on a stick. There’s live music and a playground to keep the kids happy. When? Friday from 4 pm to 8 pm; Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm; Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm. Where? Oak Avenue, Elgin More info: 021 204 1158; elginrailwaymarket.co.za What else? You can travel to the market with the Ceres Railway…

Modern life is a busy affair. There are never enough hours in a day or enough short cuts on your route. We’re always running late or leaving things behind – often ourselves. These thoughts were racing through my head when the speed camera on the N1 coming into Cape Town caught me doing 80 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. Again. Not only were my nerves already shot from rushing around, now I was paying for it with hard-earned money. And what for? Thank goodness I’ll be travelling to Namibia soon, where the roads force you to take things easy. I love the moment when the tyres change their tune from monotonous whine of tar to melodic crunch of gravel, punctuated by the odd stone clanging against the undercarriage. For…

At this family getaway all you are required to do is relax and immerse yourself in the natural environment. This experience is enhanced by your accommodation in a luxury tent, sheltered amid an ancient forest. Our locally sourced food is prepared and served alongside a meandering river. Enjoy a guided walk, paddle, cycle or birding adventure, or simply relax and recharge your soul in this beautiful corner of South Africa. INCLUDED IN THE RATE* • Two healthy home-cooked meals a day • A guided coastal nature walk • A guided experience in the indigenous Knysna Forest in our concession area of the Garden Route National Park • The camp has its own mountain bikes and kayaks for your use • A bird hide is situated near the camp, perfect for sundowners and photography The…

ZINGELA, TUGELA RIVER VALLEY, KZN You shouldn’t be flippant when you declare a place to be “in the middle of nowhere”, but this is actually the case with Zingela Safari & River Company. It’s hidden deep in the Tugela River Valley about 20 km north of Weenen and a similar distance east of Colenso. That’s as the crow flies, but you’re not a crow. To drive there, you have to take the “Zingela Freeway” off the R74 – a 27 km dirt road that will test your off-road driving skills as you wind your way up a mountain and down into the valley. Mark and Linda Calverley started building their river camp on the Tugela about 35 years ago. Today their son Peter is at the helm – he has…

GO ON A GAME DRIVE Mabalingwe Game Reserve Recommending a game drive in the Bushveld is like telling you to visit the Big Hole in Kimberley – it’s pretty obvious. Mabalingwe is home to four of the Big Five (no lions), as well as antelope, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe. There’s a nice campsite, a heated swimming pool and a bar – all the right ingredients for a Bushveld weekend away. On my first night in the reserve, while I’m lighting my braai fire, my neighbour in the campsite Joe du Toit comes over to show me a cellphone photo of a pod of hippos next to a dam. He and his wife Annetjie have been camping here for years, but they’ve never seen hippos out in the open like that.…

THE GARDEN OF LIFE & DEATH I lived in Cape Town for a short period last year and spent a lot of time in my garden. I often walked around in search of interesting things to photograph, armed with my Pentax K5 and 100 mm macro lens. One morning I came across a cocoon on a log and took a quick snap 1 . My curiosity got the best of me and I took the log into the house so I could photograph the cocoon every day – I’ve never seen a butterfly emerge from one before! I also noticed a mantid nest inside the log – it was full of sand and leaves and seemed as if it had been abandoned. A few days later I saw tiny insects…

The Swartberg will rock you My wife Lorraine and I recently spent some time in the Karoo. Driving the Swartberg Pass was top of our list. We could barely contain our excitement. After a visit to the Cango Caves, we travelled to Prince Albert via the pass. We made slow progress – not because the road was bad but because the views were so spectacular! We pulled over, got out, took photos, drove another 200 m and repeated the process. There were other highlights, but the Swartberg Pass was by far the best. We live in a beautiful country – thanks for inspiring us to explore. HEINDRIG SMITH, Pretoria Spa buddies I visited the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve in KZN in 2015. It was a very dry year and we didn't…

Conqueror boasts a solid 25 years’ experience manufacturing off-road campers. They are the market leader in South Africa due to their own manufacturing processes, export and good aftersales service. Conqueror is at the forefront with their innovative designs, relentless field tests and unique manufacturing processes. Africa’s roads are definitely not for sissies, so Conqueror campers are not only built strong enough to withstand the African bundus, but also any bad road in the world. You can tow a Conqueror with absolute peace of mind, and with all its built-in luxuries, you will camp like a king. Conqueror initially focused on building military products, and in the early 1990’s applied this know-how to building new campers. The first Conqueror campers were available for sale during the Nampo harvest festival, and within…

Would you know what to do if someone gets bitten by a snake in a remote location? Thanks to the African Snakebite Institute, you can now carry a first aid guide in your pocket. Their new app tells you what to do in an emergency; it features a guide to identifying snakes, and tips on how to have snakes safely removed from your property. The app is free and available for iOS and Android – download it from your app store by searching for “ASI Snakes”. You need an Internet connection when you first open the app, but once it has downloaded you can access it offline. More info: africansnakebiteinstitute.com…

The International Space Station (ISS) regularly flies over South Africa and this month is no exception – time to play satellite hunter! As you watch the speck of light streak past overhead, consider that there are six people on board, doing research and helping with maintenance. They’re flying at a speed of about 28 000 km/h, orbiting the earth every 90 minutes and experiencing 15 sunrises and 15 sunsets every day. The time and visibility of the sightings will differ depending on where you are in the country. Like any good satellite hunter, you’ll have to make your own predictions about when and where the satellite will pass over your town or city. Don’t worry – it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Follow these steps: Visit heavens-above.com…

Ski in British Columbia, cycle through 43 countries, fly through the air on a 600 m-high zipline… These are some of the high-octane films you can watch at this year’s BANFF Mountain Film Festival, sponsored by Cape Union Mart. Eleven adventure films will be shown at six Ster-Kinekor cinemas across the country: • Cavendish and Tyger Valley in CT (26 Oct – 4 Nov) • Sandton City (26 Oct – 4 Nov) • Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria (26 Oct – 4 Nov) • Gateway Centre in Umhlanga (3 – 4 Nov) • Baywest Mall in PE (4 Nov) Cost: Standard Ster-Kinekor ticket price; book online at sterkinekor.com  or call 082 16789 More info: banff.co.za…

It’s hard to say where the Great Karoo begins and ends. Does it start in Touws River or Laingsburg? And which town signals the furthest boundary? Pofadder, Colesberg, Cradock? As the saying goes: “The Great Karoo is everything except the Little Karoo.” No matter where you draw the boundaries, it’s big. Besides the Southern African Large Telescope near Sutherland and the Victorian village of Matjiesfontein, there aren’t many typical tourist attractions either. That’s not the point. The point is to find peace in the endless landscape, or maybe to visit the farm where your great-grandmother grew up… You can adapt this 11-day travel plan to suit your needs. Talk to the locals, buy a lamb pie and drink moerkoffie. Stop next to a dirt road and listen to a windmill…

The southern right whale appears from the gloom, swimming closer without a sound. I’m part of a group of divers and we’re hanging in the water just below the surface, taking in the spectacle. With determined strokes of her tail and flukes, she heads straight towards us. She’s aware of our presence but she hardly seems fazed – and I don’t feel threatened either. She seems gentle, curious even. Maybe she’s inviting us to swim with her? She’s not the only mammal in the water around us: Hundreds of bottlenose dolphins dart and dash in the endless blue. Every now and then they pause, as if to see what will happen next between the humans and the whale. The whale is right below me now; I have to pull up…

Scuba-divers, anglers and enthusiast photographers tend to think they need to spend a lifetime saving to travel to exotic destinations… but there is an unspoilt paradise just a short flight from our shores: Welcome to Madagascar! 1. With more than 20 dive spots and calm (and warm) water, with 30 m to 50 m visibility, Nosy Be is the place to be if you want to scuba. You’ll see unique coral formations, as well as 1 000 different species of fish. And if you travel here between September and November you’ll be able to swim with whale sharks. 2. Pack your camera and GoPro! Nosy Be is the undisputed capital of underwater photography, but its colourful markets, palm trees, hundreds of places where you can eat fresh seafood and sip…

1 My first book of… It’s hard for young kids to grasp the concept of a game drive: Sit still in the back seat and look out the window… Seriously? Get a few of these books, published by Struik Nature, and the experience becomes so much more rewarding. My three-year-old loved ticking all the birds he saw when we were in Addo, and he took great delight in telling us which ones enjoyed eating other birds’chicks. (The horror!) All the books have big illustrations of the creatures featured, and simple graphic depictions of things like diet, habitat, life cycle, etc. Get your kids interested in nature when they’re young and they’ll be nature lovers for life. From R83 at takealot.com ; there are 12 books in the…

HERE’S WHAT TO EXPECT If you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to be inside the world of Dalene Matthee’s stories, populated with phantom elephants, giant yellowwoods and lush ferns, here’s your chance. SANParks has awarded Bhejane 4x4 Adventures the exclusive rights to do day trips into the inner sanctum of the Knysna Forest. On this tour you’ll experience indigenous yellowwood and stinkwood trees, ferns, bushbuck, blue duikers and Knysna turacos. You might even see an elephant. On your drive you will learn more about the fauna and flora, the Italian settlers who hoped to make their fortune in the silk trade, and the woodcutters and lost travellers. We meet at Harkerville, about halfway between Plettenberg Bay and Knysna, just off the N2. Here, the Bhejane team explains the…

REEDSDELL COUNTRY GUEST FARM, EC HIGHLANDS Wartrail is a farming district in the Eastern Cape Drakensberg, north of Barkly East. It’s a landscape of rugged mountains, meandering streams, poplar groves and dirt roads. Reedsdell is at the centre of all this splendour. The farm is owned by Kath and Chris Isted and they’ll make sure you want for nothing. Guests stay in a stone cottage adjacent to the main farmhouse, which was once a stable. Downstairs you’ll find a fully equipped kitchen, a bathroom and a comfy lounge with a fireplace; upstairs there are two bedrooms and another smaller bathroom. (There’s a bunk bed in the lounge to sleep an extra two people.) Meals are part of the deal: Every evening, Kath will arrive at your door with a delicious…

I’ve been married to my wife Kitty for 38 years. We met in Oshakati in Namibia and we both have a thirst for adventure. It began with our honeymoon – we travelled through the Khomas Hochland and the Namib Desert on a Yamaha XT500. We’re both in our sixties now and we’ve done plenty of trips in Africa – in a Kombi, in a 4x4 double cab with a rooftop tent, towing a caravan, a bush trailer… Recently, however, we embarked on our most challenging – and most rewarding – tour so far: We cycled around the Richtersveld on mountain bikes, from Vioolsdrif to Eksteenfontein and on to Kuboes, Sendelingsdrift and Aussenkehr. We rode about 380 km in eight days and slept in riverbeds along the way. It was a…

Some of the world’s best wildlife photographers will gather in Cape Town this December for the Wild Shots symposium. Everyone is welcome to attend, whether you’re an amateur photographer or if you just want to see some beautiful nature photos. Speakers include Hannes Lochner, Peter and Beverly Pickford, and Marcus Jooste (check out Marcus’s portfolio on p 76). The keynote speaker is acclaimed conservation photographer Brent Stirton, who won the 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The programme includes 12 sessions, lunch and snacks, plus a cheese-and-wine function. Where? Nedbank auditorium, V&A Waterfront Date & time: 1 December; 9 am to 5 pm Cost: R950 More info: info@wildshotsevent.com ; wildshotsevent.com…

Where does your love of wild places come from? I have always loved animals, especially those found in Africa. We’re so privileged to have such a diversity of wildlife on our doorstep, yet our rhinos are in serious trouble, as are many other animals like elephants, lions, pangolins, wild dogs, cheetahs and giraffes. Why did you decide to help rhinos? In 2015, I heard about Osita, a baby rhino in Aquila Private Game Reserve that had been abandoned by its mother at birth. I knew straight away that I needed to help him. I followed his story on social media – he looked so cold and alone! I started with donating my own pocket money and later raised money among my family and friends. I also created a Facebook page.…

WHY BECOME A TOWN? Namdeb has been scaling back mining operations. The decision was made to transfer some non-core infrastructure and public services to the Namibian government. The ultimate aim is to sever the interdependency of the mine and the town, to prolong the economic lifespan of both. In 2011, Oranjemund was proclaimed as a town and a year later the first local authority, the Oranjemund Town Council, was established. On 21 October 2017, the town was officially declared open, meaning permits are no longer required for non-residents. Some services, like water supply and waste removal, are the responsibility of the municipality; the next big step is to transfer private and commercial property. In the meantime, governance is a joint effort between the town council, Namdeb, the government, business owners,…

MARYKE SCHEUN Nikon D7200 Tamron 150 – 600 mm lens MARYKE WRITES: I took this photo at the Ngotso North waterhole in the Kruger Park, where seven hyenas were playing and splashing around in the water. The sighting reminded me that these exceptional hunters also have a fun, playful side. It was early in the morning and I had a hard time exposing the photo because the sun was behind the hyenas. Afterwards, I adjusted the white balance in Adobe Lightroom to make the light a bit warmer and to emphasize the golden glow. I also lightened the shadows to reveal more detail on the hyena’s face. SHELLEY SAYS: What a special moment! Hyena sightings often happen after dark or near a kill with the harsh sun beating down. This…

We’ve heard the gossip… “National Luna is behind the times. National Luna is stuck in the past. National Luna uses old technology.” Admittedly, there is some truth in these statements, but there’s more to the story than meets the eye… WHY WE STUCK WITH THE OLD FAITHFUL SOLENOID The story goes back some 21 years, to when our Intelligent Solenoid system first hit the market. Before that, off-road travellers were using a manual switch to isolate the auxiliary battery from their vehicle’s cranking battery. Sometime in 1997, we saw an opportunity to automate this process by isolating the two batteries with a heavy-duty, supremely reliable, intelligent solenoid switch. We were one of the first companies to offer a commercially available dual-battery solution to the global off-road market; and, for many…

DATES 28 June – 8 July 2019 6 – 16 August 2019 15 – 25 September 2019 HOW LONG IS THE TOUR? 11 days/10 nights Departure point: Nata, Botswana End point: Kasane, Botswana Accommodation: Formal Rates: R25 650 per adult; single supplement additional 30 %. THE RATE INCLUDES • A professional tour leader and an experienced field guide • Three meals a day • All park fees • All accommodation • Bedding and towels • Two-way radios WHAT TO BRING • A vehicle – a 4x2 with high ground clearance will do (fuel and border fees are for your own account) • Drinks and snacks • Camping chairs • Your passport • Personal things THE TOUR IN A NUTSHELL Day 1: We meet at Nata Lodge and enjoy sunset at the famous Makgadikgadi Pans. Day 2: We explore…

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP? Our online course is aimed at amateur photographers who want to learn the principles of photography and how to operate their camera. If you have a D-SLR but you tend to only use “auto” mode when shooting, this is the course for you. How does it work? You can start your first lesson as soon as you’ve registered and paid. You can go through the modules at your own pace and from the comfort of your own home – everything is online. Cost? R950 once-off fee. This gives you unlimited access to the course content. You can pay with your credit card or via EFT. REGISTER NOW! takebetterphotos.gomag.co.za…

AT HOME IN THE SKY A mother and her son give me funny looks and hurry past. They must wonder why I’m standing here, staring at the sky. I can’t blame them – normal people look ahead, not up. What am I looking at? Swifts. Most birds fly past on a mission to somewhere, or from one tree to another. But swifts spend their whole lives in flight – they can go weeks, months, even years in the air without landing. Swifts are the masters of our planet’s troposphere. They eat, drink, play, mate and sleep in flight. When a young common swift leaves the nest for the first time, it will stay in the air without landing for up to three years! Scientists tracked a common swift in Switzerland…