Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2015 i go!

Hide the bacon! We recently camped at Mabuasehube on the Botswana side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Early one morning, two lionesses and their cubs casually strolled into camp. One lioness walked right past this tent – I was standing outside, stabilising my camera on a spade! There was a male lion around, and it appeared that infanticide was a concern for the lionesses. They stayed for about half an hour. The cubs were very playful, coming up to the tent, making us a bit anxious: You can sense the protective instinct in those females… MARTIN BRIGGS, Newlands WINNING LETTER Martin wins a pair of Wolverine Black Ledge hiking shoes worth more than R1 000! The Black Ledge has a full-grain leather upper with a moisture-managing mesh lining and compression-moulded…

Snakes alive! Snakes are more active in summer – there’s a real chance you’ll encounter one between the months of January and April. And not just on a hiking trail in the mountains. Snakes have a sneaky habit of showing up in residential areas, too. Keep slithery visitors away from your property by trimming dense foliage and removing loose building material. If you do encounter a boomslang hanging out on your washing line, however, don’t try to remove it yourself. Call a registered snake handler in your area. For a comprehensive list all over the country (and elsewhere in Africa), visit africansnakebiteinstitute.com and click on Links & Rescources – you’ll also find a list of emergency numbers in the case of a bite. Remember: A snake is far more scared…

THE RATE INCLUDES WHAT TO BRING TOUR DETAILS Dates: 6 – 12 February 2016 How long is the tour? 7 days, 6 nights Departure point: Knysna Accommodation: formal accommodation Cost: R11 450 per adult; single supplement additional 30 % ADVENTURE ITINERARY Day 1 & 2: Our trip starts on the Garden Route where we enter the Knysna Forest. We spend two days deep in the forest, where we visit the Dalene Matthee Memorial and the historical gold mine at Millwood. Day 3: After breakfast we head north, towards the western part of the Baviaanskloof where we’ll stay one night. On route we navigate Prince Alfred’s Pass, entering the Baviaanskloof through Nuwekloof Pass. We explore the narrow cliffs of the…

The sickle moon is on its back in the west. Some farmers in the Karoo believe that when the moon reclines like this, it gathers the rain and stops it from falling. When it lies the other way, it pours out water and the chance of rain is high. Hopefully they’re right and I’ll stay dry in my campsite 20km northeast of Williston tonight. I’m going to spend a few days in the Hardemanskaroo around Williston, Fraserburg, Loxton and Carnarvon. I want to get to know the Karoo’s windmills and meet the mechanics who keep them running. My tent is snug against a cement dam about 200m from one of those very windmills, on Japie Meyer’s farm Rooihoogte. Japie has been running the Williston Windpompdienste business for the past few…

Hermanus Take a break over the long weekend in August and head to Hermanus for the Kalfiefees and the Hermanus Food and Wine Fair. Celebrate the arrival of the whales and taste more than 250 fabulous wines accompanied by great food. Team this with local theatre productions and some top-class children’s activities to keep the little ones entertained for hours. Bring the family, watch the whales and have some fun! HOW MUCH? From R 3 610 per person sharing. Rate valid for departure on 7 August 2015. RATE INCLUDES Tanzania Experience some of the most famous parks in the world – Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara – which all offer exceptional game viewing. This safari is run at a leisurely pace, ensuring plenty of time to explore…

Vilankulo fisherman Amanda van Blerk Nikon D90 Sigma 18 – 200 mm lens AMANDA WRITES: We spent a week in Vilankulo, Mozambique. The mornings on the beach were spectacular, with boats and fishermen on the calm sea. Birds flocked to every incoming boat to look for scraps to eat. The sea draws back during low tide, so the boats are steered by pole in the shallows. TOAST SAYS: This is the kind of photo I like. A lot. It gives you some insight into the people of Vilankulo and how they make a living. It’s not a photo of a tourist attraction or a well-known statue, but it tells you more about Mozambique than any statue ever could. It’s an action shot, so Amanda used a shutter speed of 1/2…

It all began in Africa. Early humans made tools, then fire and eventually walked out and made the world their own. In 2013, Africa’s population was pegged at around 1,1 billion (about 15 % of earth’s total population), made up of an estimated 3 000 tribes. Each of these tribes has a different language, different religion and innumerable cultural practices, art forms and social structures that persist despite increasing globalisation. This month we celebrate a few of these proud tribes – each of which weaves a pattern into the tapestry of our remarkable continent. Dusk in the Sahara Art Wolfe Tuareg tribesmen in Mali stop for refreshment and a warming fire against the cool air of the desert night, under the watchful gaze of their camels. The Tuaregs traditionally lead…

Adventurous families are spoilt for choice when it comes to SUVs. There are economical runabouts like the Ford EcoSport and enormous expedition vehicles like the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Range Rover, which will help you tackle the wilderness of Bishopscourt. But it wasn’t always this way. In the 1980s, before the SUV craze took off, aspiring Kingsley Holgates had to choose between a Landy and a Pajero. Land Rover was the vehicle of choice for hard-core adventures like the Camel Trophy, while Mitsubishi ruled the Dakar Rally for 12 years. Where Land Rover epitomised adventure, the Pajero offered style and reliability – and it was far more family-friendly. At the turn of the millennium, Mitsubishi South Africa sold 2 000 Pajeros annually, but that number has declined in recent…

Smithfield is one of the best towns to be stranded in. I want to tell this to the sweating, cellphoning owner of the GP-registered BMW with a shredded front tyre, who is busy having his car loaded onto a flatbed truck in front of the filling station in the main road. Clearly being here is a major inconvenience for him. It’s okay, I want to tell GP Man. Smithfield is chock-a-block with friendly people, farmers’ wives who know their way around a cheesecake, two-cars-per-hour gravel streets, fresh air and blue skies. There’s even a restaurant called Nick’s Place with a Banting menu to keep Tim Noakes off your back. Should GP Man linger long enough, he’d be able to take an art class with Bets de Bruyn on a farm…

Toad feast for Mr Spider? Q LANCE BAILEY from Ballito writes: This incident happened at our home in Zimbali, where we have a koi pond near our front door. At 8 pm I saw the toad swimming around with the spider on its back. After about 20 minutes, it seemed as if the spider was pulling the toad up the side of the pond and dragging it away. The toad was going red from the head down. Is this a rain spider? Do they prey on toads? A Entomologist DUNCAN MACFADYEN responds: It’s not a rain spider, it’s a fishing spider, which is capable of walking on the water and even diving beneath the surface to catch its prey – usually small fish and tadpoles. I don’t think the spider…

March’s tiny moon On 5 March you’ll see the “smallest” full moon of 2015. (Later in September you’ll see the biggest – the so-called super moon.) These fluctuations in perceived size occur because the moon’s orbit around the earth is elliptical, not round, causing a distance variance of between 357 000 km and 406 000 km, nearly 14 %. (The easiest way to see the difference in size is to take photos of the full moon in March and September with identical camera settings and compare them.) If you watch the full moon rising on 5 March, it won’t look particularly small. This is due to an optical illusion that causes the moon to appear bigger when it’s close to the horizon. It will gradually shrink as it rises higher.…

Why the Kruger? I fell in love with the park on my first visit in 1997 and I’ve been back many times with friends and family. I’ve become fond of the manner in which the system operates. Why go elsewhere when you’ve already found paradise? What has surprised you most? Seeing it outside the season in which I’ve usually visited in the past. Seeing rain, the burgeoning spring and the changes in animal behaviour… How would you describe the park to someone who’s never been? Imagine a piece of wild Africa that you can drive through, and where you come across animals that tolerate your presence without being either tame or contained. What is the one experience so far that has made the biggest impact? I came upon a pack…

27 FEBRUARY – 1 MARCH Taste of PE This year, the Friendly City joins the list of global cities to host the Taste International culinary festival. PE’s best chefs and top eight restaurants will gather to present their signature dishes. Craft brewers, artisan producers and wineries will also be exhibiting. Where? The Boardwalk Entertainment Complex Cost: R80 per person (includes a tasting glass). More info: itickets.co.za; tasteofpe.com 1, 8, 15 MARCH Backsberg Picnic Concerts, Paarl Watch local musicians including Piet Botha & Akkedis (1 March), The Blues Broers (8 March) and Mr Cat & The Jackal (15 March) rock out while the sun sets over the lawns. Where? Backsberg wine estate Cost: R100 from plankton. mobi; R120 at the gate or R60 with a valid student card. Children under…

If you’re a white South African and you’ve spent any time abroad, you’ve probably heard this line: “But if you’re from Africa, why aren’t you black?” This is just the tip of the iceberg. Visit a few more countries and you’ll soon realise how little the rest of the world knows about South Africa – whatever the colour of your skin. Let’s start with Americans. Broadly speaking, they fall into three camps. There are the liberals who know all about Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and the Freedom Charter. These are usually the same people who proclaim, “South African is, like, my second-favourite accent!” Then there are the hunters who know all about the different animals they want to shoot, and what they need to do to get their arsenal of…

ONLY R48 (excluding postage) 132 PAGES 200+ PLACES TO STAY MAPS BORDER POSTS GPS POINTS THINGS TO DO WHERE TO EAT An extensive accommodation guide lists places to stay from the Caprivi to Sossusvlei – whether you love wild camping or more luxurious lodgings, there’ll be a spot for you! This year we feature an epic Namib 4x4 trip, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay’s finest restaurants, what goes down at the Grootfontein Agricultural Show (everything…) and what to do in Windhoek when the sun goes down (have a sundowner). The guide includes travel diaries of a group of fishing buddies on the Skeleton Coast, a couple hitch-hiking barefoot across the country, two mates motorbiking through the wild north, and a couple of “oldies” travelling in style and comfort through Damaraland, Kaokoland…

READER STORY JOHAN ROTHMANN Home town: Somerset West Occupation: Retired Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet is the “capital” of the Camdeboo area and it was the starting point of our tour. Stay in the Nqweba Campsite in the Camdeboo National Park, where the call of fish-eagles will wake you in the morning. Did you know that Graaff-Reinet is almost entirely surrounded by a national park? Drive along the banks of the Nqweba Dam and look for buffalo, eland, wildebeest and Cape mountain zebra. Or stare out over the Valley of Desolation. Some of the dolerite pillars tower 120 m into the sky. You can also see the valley from another angle on the Koedoeskloof 4x4 Trail (7 km). Cost: Conservation fee R32 per person; free with a Wild card. Nqweba Campsite R207 per…

1 Maxed Core rugby shorts No feature about pants would be complete without a good old-fashioned rugby broek. This pair is as vintage as they come: The cotton twill is heavy duty, the stitching is the belt-and-braces variety and the elasticated waistband has a backup drawstring. They’re quite restrictive when walking uphill, despite being so short, and because of the thick fabric they take ages to dry, but at least there’s very little chance of them ripping. R120 mrpricesport.com 2 Jeep Spirit roll-up ladies’ shorts These already-short shorts have cotton loops on the insides of the legs so you can roll them up even further – a great way to maximise tanning opportunities and a surefire way to feel summery in an instant. The cotton canvas is soft…

Driving the N2 via Mthatha? You’d be better off stuck in a 2l Coke bottle, going down the gullet of an ostrich with hiccups. The N2 gives Mthatha a bad name. Just ask any tourist who has struggled through on their way to the Wild Coast. (If you are in Mthatha gridlock, see if you can spot the red lifeguard chair on one of the traffic circles in York Street. On busy shopping days, a security guard sits on the chair to keep an eye out for pickpockets.) But there’s another side to this town. There’s a quiet suburb with jacaranda-lined streets only a few blocks from the highway. Turn into Park Street and look for Café Lang at number 15 ( 047 532 3252). It’s the perfect starting point…

THINGS TO DO • Visit the museum. The Caledon River Museum has seen better days, but it gives a good overview of the history of this corner of the Free State, especially the Basotho wars of the 1800s. The Grietjie cannon is a highlight. Entry is free, but donations are welcome. Where? 3 Douglas Street When? Monday to Friday 8.30 am – 3.30 pm. Contact: 051 683 0427 (Alfred) • Take an art class. Sculptor and painter Bets de Bruyn lives 3,6 km south of town. Book beforehand. She’s an inspiring soul. Contact: 082 570 3755; bets@artbybetsdebruyn.co.za • Mountain-bike rides. Gus Uys knows the koppies and farms of the area well and takes experienced riders out on tours. Bring your own bike or hire one from Gus. It’s important to call…

Devil’s Knuckles, Lesotho This grouping of three peaks – also known as The Three Bushmen – is one of the most impressive sights in Lesotho. You’ll be able to see them near Sehlabathebe National Park but, like most impressive views, you have to put in some work to get to get there. The peaks are about a three-hour hike from the new lodge in the national park, which opened its doors last year. There’s no road to the spot where this photo was taken, so pack those hiking boots! Accommodation? Camping in the park R80 per person. The campsite has hot water and flush toilets. Lodge accommodation from R495 per person for a self-catering double room with shared ablutions, to R795 per person for an en suite double room with…

The Pig & Plough Farm Shop, Winterton Next time you’re on the R74 to the Drakensberg, look out for a restored orange Allis-Chalmers tractor. This pastoral monument marks The Pig & Plough Farm Shop, where you can have wood-fired pizza for lunch on the stoep or stock up on padkos from the deli: fresh pork products, home-made rusks, light lunches… The petting zoo for kids has a friendly assortment of animals, including tortoises, ducks, pot-bellied pigs and guinea pigs. Where? In Winterton on the R74, just west of the intersection with the R600, before the bridge over the Little Tugela River. GPS: S28.81274 E29.53481 Contact: 036 488 1542…

Africa’s most obvious eagle There are some bird families that are notoriously difficult to identify. Larks, pipits and cisticolas, for example, routinely bamboozle even the most advanced birders. The same goes for raptors, especially during the summer months when many migratory species arrive to complicate things even further. Thank goodness for the bateleur, which must be our most distinct, colourful and easily identifiable bird of prey. Its scientific name is Terathopius equadatus. The latter part of the name means “tailless” and refers to the bird’s shortened tail, which results in a reduced ability to balance in flight and gives the bateleur a distinctive rocking motion when it’s in the air. This makes the bateleur relatively easy to identify even without seeing its defining markings. Juvenile birds have slightly longer tails.…

The landscape drifts past. My inflatable raft is slowly spinning in the current, but I don’t even try to steer – I’ve surrendered to the river. I lean back and watch the blue sky and brown hills. It’s quiet. A yellowfish plops. A fish-eagle calls and its mate answers. They circle and call for the next 10 minutes. I don’t want to be anywhere else. DAY 1 The king of knots I have special skills when it comes to packing; the supernatural ability to fit my family’s luggage into any car boot with ease. But my abilities don’t extend to two-man rafts. The pile of gear my wife Ronel and I will be using has to fit perfectly and be secured with ropes. This is what I’m looking at: a…

1 Game Drive by Heinrich van den Berg This excellent app mixes guidebook content with interactive quizzes that the kids will love. Structured like a book, it begins with information about all the animals, birds and reptiles you’re likely to encounter in the bush, from an elephant shrew to an actual elephant, each accompanied by a clear photo. A nifty checklist follows, which allows you to drag and drop the animals you’ve seen to keep a visual record. There are also fun sections that detail the life expectancy, gestation period, size and weight of various species – all the little details that add colour to a game drive. Then there are the quizzes. You can pair up animal tracks and sounds with the animals that made them, or test your…

Toyota Hilux Legend 45 It was November 1969, Springbok Radio went live earlier that year and “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley had just reached the top of the hit parade. In that same month, another event would change South African society forever: the launch of the very first Toyota Hilux. It cost R1 525 at the time and South Africans took to it immediately. Within the space of a single year, this short-wheelbase bakkie with its 1,5-litre petrol engine kicked the hulking American pick-ups with their big-block V6 and V8 engines right off the stage. And so began the meteoric rise of the Hilux. Over the next 45 years, Toyota would be crowned market leader in the bakkie category 43 times! Now in its seventh generation, the Hilux is finally…

1 Tshukudu Bush Walk There’s never a dull moment when you’re wandering through Big Five country while your guide points out subtle things you’d never notice from the back of a Land Cruiser, like the web-laced hole of an endangered baboon spider or the fresh tracks of a foraging porcupine. But a bush walk at Tshukudu offers something else: the chance to walk with a cheetah. Hand-reared Ntombi or her two cheetah brothers will tag along, either keeping their distance and watching out for their next meal, or staying close, wandering between your legs and purring loudly as you make your way through this 5 000 ha game reserve. Take note: The cheetahs walk freely and there’s no guarantee they will join guests on every single walk. The guides do…

Norvalspont east of Colesberg was founded in 1848 when Glaswegian John Norval built a ferry to cross the Orange River for the trekkers and fortune-seekers heading to the newly discovered gold and diamond fields up north. In 1889, Norval’s ferry was replaced by an impressive railway bridge – 500 m long with 11 columns of solid concrete, its parts shipped from Britain – linking Colesberg with Bloemfontein. During the second Anglo-Boer War, Norvalspont became an important strategic site. The Boers seized it on 1 November 1899, which allowed them to take control of Colesberg unopposed two weeks later. But the general in charge of the advance, HJ Schoeman, was a cautious man and he was hesitant to attack the towns of Noupoort and De Aar further south. This allowed the…