Category: ‘ZA South Africa’

‘Our Story’ written by André Craye

Since its official opening in April 2009, Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary, located on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg in Hartbeespoort, has widened its spectrum of primates to over 70 free-released specimens.

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Three years ago I went to teach English to the locals of a remote village in the  former Transkei. I was 54 and a tad old I thought to be having a mid-life crisis which symptoms included nothing more dramatic than a restlessness, a constant shifting about in the seat of my oh-so-comfortable existence.

I lived 6 months of the year in an idyllic provençal village in France and the other 6 in another idyllic village Kommetjie, 35 minutes from Cape Town. There was no epiphanaic moment, my goals were clear and simple: I wanted to go back to teaching and where better than somewhere in Africa. Read the rest »

‘Many Roads to Rome’ by Pasha Alden

Whether globe trotting on a well earned break, or simply attending an important meeting it is safe to say that there are many ways to kill a cat or should the adage be adapted to read ‘Many roads to Rome?

Despite the limitations brought about by blindness there are many myths.  One of these is that blind people always travel on the arm of someone.  This is in some situations certainly the case.  However, through completing a course in mobility, that is the use of a long cane, or a guide-dog, travelling independently can be a most liberating experience for people who are blind.   Read the rest »

March 2008. It was hot! About 32 degrees and no wind at all. The region we were driving through was dry and dusty. We were on route to Shingwedzi camp and it was around 3 pm. We needed to keep going at a steady pace if we were going to make camp before the gates close…

On the Old Main Road loop there was nobody else on the road. We had spotted a couple of elephants at the waterhole and were baking in the heat. The road was dirt and the shrub quite thick and close. This made spotting quite difficult and the sun was keeping the wildlife in the shade - or so we thought… Read the rest »

Coming from South Africa, it hasn’t been difficult to enjoy Zapiro’s political cartoons in the newspaper over the years. And every now and then my father-in-law sends us a fax with another “that’s a goodie”.

This morning, to my delight, I read an article about the Z-News puppet project that was going to be aired on the SABC (South African Broadcasting Company) in November 2008, but the project was pulled beforehand. The SABC chose the safe route instead of possible law suits. Want to see toes being humourously stepped on? Watch this video (23:29 min) Read the rest »

Recently we had the good fortune of watching Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert at the Schouwburg Theatre in Almere. A great performance!

We are so proud of this 47-year old Music Legend … definitely one of South Africa’s best exports. But what delighted us the most, is their relaxed, authentic manner in sharing their isiZulu culture. Read the rest »

Rob and Janet Cuthbertson (from Leopard Walk Lodge) work very closely with their local Zulu communities. They believe that low-impact tourism is an excellent way to provide much-needed employment in the area and to preserve the magnificent beauty of Zululand.

During our stay with them, they organised a guided canoeing trip for us with Temba, a Zulu guide who is perhaps the epitome of responsible eco-tourism. Not only has Temba set up his own tour operating company, he is also encouraging his community to become more involved in eco-tourism. Read the rest »

In the hot, baking sun we drudged ourselves, albeit rather willingly, behind two armed game rangers from Orpen Camp in the Kruger National Park. Our guides, Carol and Thomas, had fetched us in their open game-drive vehicle from the ablution facilities at Tamboti Tented Camp where we were staying. After introducing themselves and giving us a briefing of the walk, we headed out into the bumpy bushveld. Read the rest »

On my birthday, Marcel and I headed out to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, about 40-min drive from Leopard Walk Lodge where we were staying. We arrived nice and early as the gates opened, and after signing in, we were rewarded with a lovely sighting of warthogs right at the gates. What a fab start to the game drive! The sun was shining and the wildlife obliging.

The office manager had shown us various routes we could take, so with map in hand, we headed out, eagerly taking in the helpful spotting tips and great overview of the animals we might catch a glimpse of. Read the rest »

In February 2007, Janet Cuthbertson from Suni-Ridge Org. ZA (013-525 NPO) contacted us asking if we’d promote Leopard Walk Lodge in Zululand, KwaZulu Natal. At the end of the e-mail, there were a few paragraphs about how they rehabilated an old pineapple farm and gave it back to nature, forming a wildlife reserve.

Among other things, they also mentioned False Bay School, which Janet established in 1992. I was so impressed by their achievements, that I offered to build a pro-bono website for Suni-Ridge. Read the rest »

Marcel’s parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in February 2008 and organised a fabulous apartment in Margate for all of us. They’d arrived a week earlier and had found a fabulous little restaurant renowned for their fish & chips in Port Shepstone, so decided to treat us for lunch. Before going to lunch, we couldn’t miss out on visiting the Port Shepstone Lighthouse, which was built in 1902(5?) and is situated on the mouth of the Umzimkulu River. Read the rest »

“No matter where you come from, as long as you’re a black man, you’re an African. No mind your nationality, you have got the identity of an African“. ~ Peter Tosh

Albeit in reverse, Peter Tosh sings about the way I felt a lot of the time while growing up in South Africa with my pale skin - I felt out of place in my country of birth. The old apartheid “European Only” signs indicated that a white skin meant that we were European, but we felt African. So, who and what are we? Are we South Africans? Are we English? Are we Dutch? None of the above? Read the rest »

The plan was simple. We wanted to see as much of the coastline of South Africa as possible, as we were emigrating to Europe. Having shipped our belongings, we closed the door of the house for the last time and handed over the keys to the new tenants. There was now no turning back and we had three weeks until our flight from Johannesburg International Airport.

Armed with our trusty white VW Golf (no aircon), a handful of maps, a bag of clothes and some cash, we decided to head west. Firstly because we had never been that way to the coast before and also following our instinct to “Go west, young man”… Here follows our diary of the trip. Read the rest »

After completing our master diving training course, we took a month out to go scuba diving in Umkomaas, to rack up our scuba hours and experience. The brief for this dive was to (hopefully) see Tiger Sharks.

Our dive leader (and sea dog) Walter took us to “Eels Skins” at a depth of 15m on Aliwal Shoal. We hope you enjoy watching this brief video of our 68-minute dive. Read the rest »

During our Master Diving training course, we were instructed to do a shore-entry navigation dive in our buddy pairs. This meant kitting up on the beach, gently easing into the waves, setting the appropriate navigation course, putting fins on, submerging beneath the waves and setting off in the right direction.

The intention was to swim out 30m, surface, wave to the instructor, take another bearing back, submerge and return. Being near-professionals, currents and swell needed to be taken into consideration. We had calculated how long it took us to swim 30m, so the time had been set. Read the rest »