Inhaltsverzeichnis für September 2018 in go!

This tall tale – all true! – started with a family friend buying a giraffe bull for his farm Bakenkop near Outjo in northern Namibia. Bakenkop is a goat and cattle farm, but there are also game animals. He collected the giraffe in a lorry and during the drive home, he noticed something odd in the rear-view mirror: Every now and then, the giraffe would lower its neck and bend down to study the vehicle’s tyres. Curious, the farmer stopped to investigate. He realised then that the animal wasn’t inspecting the tyres but rather ducking out of the way of low-hanging telephone lines! Some time later it was university holidays and I drove up to Outjo with my two sisters, Annelie and Nerina, for a farm visit. One morning, over…

I’m on my hands and knees on a sand dune in the Kouga region. Kouga is an old Khoi word that means “place of abundance” and the region stretches roughly from the Baviaanskloof to the seaside village of Cape St Francis. Go to Google Maps, switch to satellite view and you’ll see a long, thin dune field between Oyster Bay and St Francis Bay, wedged between coastal forests to the north and south. You can’t access this place in a vehicle – you have to walk. At first there seems to be nothing “abundant” about the dunes that we’ve been clambering up and down for hours. It’s easy to imagine being lost in the Namib or the Sahara. But get down on all fours – like the hikers are currently…

ANDRÉ NEL Canon EOS 7D Mark II Sigma 16 – 300 mm lens ANDRÉ WRITES: I took this photo at Senyati Safari Camp near Kasane in Botswana. I was travelling with my wife Marieta and some other family members and we stayed there for five nights. The waterhole at Senyati has a ground-level photographic hide, where you can watch the ellies up close. The evening I took this photo, however, we were sitting on the deck at the restaurant. A storm was coming in and I set up my tripod and started playing with my cable release. Soon some elephants came to drink. I took 128 photos and captured lightning in five of them. TOAST SAYS: Awesome! You need a bit of luck when it comes to lightning shots, but…

A car next to me hoots impatiently. My hiking buddy Gerhard, whom I met just more than a week ago on the first day of my pilgrimage, is standing there, puzzling over a map of Rome. It’s not even 9am and his face is already red from exertion. How is it possible that such an amazing walk could end like this? It’s day nine on the Via Francigena; I began my pilgrimage in the tiny Tuscan commune of Radicofani just over a week ago. Now, after crossing rivers and mountains, sometimes in pouring rain, Gerhard and I find ourselves on the outskirts of Rome, rather flustered. It’s Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter Weekend) and Rome is uncommonly busy. We have to decide on a route to take to walk…

HIKING TOURS How does it work? This is slackpacking at its best over four days and four nights in the company of Venture Beyond’s expert guides. Group sizes are restricted to a maximum of 14 people – just bring your hiking gear, a walking stick, your camera, binoculars and a daypack. Everything else is covered: accommodation, three meals a day, entrance fees to the various parks and reserves as well as transport from one trail to the next. We also offer a shuttle to and from Plett and George airports to make your whole experience hassle-free! Where do I stay?  There are two accommodation options: Stay in three- and four-star-graded lodges in Plett or camp in style. We provide fully kitted-out dome tents with stretchers, mattresses, bed linen and bath…

DE RUST VIEW GUESTHOUSE, DE RUST If you want to unwind in the Little Karoo, there are few places that beat De Rust when it comes to location. The village is about a half-hour drive east of Oudtshoorn on the N12. From there, you can choose to go north through Meiringspoort into the Great Karoo or you can carry on east towards Uniondale on the R341 – a scenic road with little traffic that will eventually lead you to the beaches of the Eastern Cape. Don’t be fooled by the rural tranquility you’ll find in the shadow of the Swartberg. There’s a lot going on beneath the placid surface. For decades, De Rust was a one-donkey village during the week and maybe a two-donkey town over weekends. Then, at the…

FAMILY MATTERS Ornithologists have long treated babblers as a sort of taxonomic rubbish bin, dumping any species of uncertain affinity into the babbler family. With the rise of DNA analysis, however, we’ve started recycling some enigmatic birds into other families. The babblers are a predominantly Asian group. Of the 145 species, only 21 call Africa home, and only five make it down to southern Africa. In Mzanzi, we have two species: the arrow-marked babbler, so-named for the white, arrow-shaped plumage on its breast; and the southern pied babbler (pictured above). These two are usually separated by their different habitat preferences, but where they overlap, chaos often ensues. You see, babblers are the Modern Family of birds. They live in close-knit extended family groups of about 6…

WHEN IT RAINS ON VERNEUKPAN In December 2016, we were on our way to Verneukpan, a pancake-flat salt pan in the Northern Cape. Knee-high scrub stretched from horizon to horizon. As we got closer to our destination, the vegetation started to peter out into sand. The landscape was parched. To one side, I saw a whirlwind rise from the plains. Something changed in the atmosphere and the horizon began to darken. A thunderstorm was brewing… I took a few photos with my Nikon D7000 and 18 – 140 mm lens 1 . It doesn’t rain in that part of the world very often. I had never seen so many whirlwinds before and after a while I stopped counting. It was as if they were running from the storm. Lightning strikes…

Meeting new people is often the best part of being a travel writer and some of those people leave a lasting impression. You might allocate 15 minutes for a chat because you have 10 other things to do, but before you know it, hours have passed and you’re still talking. Christo Knox was one such person: friendly, enthusiastic and genuinely interested in others. He told me about growing up in the Kruger Park, the weddings and other functions hosted at Shimuwini and the elephants, lions and leopards the guests come to see. When I was back at the office in Cape Town, I sent Christo a few more questions via e-mail. He seemed like the kind of person who would respond immediately, so I was surprised when I still had…

Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho must be one of the least-visited national parks in southern Africa. This is unsurprising considering its rugged, hard-to-reach location near Qacha’s Nek, but it also means that if you make the trek you’re likely to have the sublime landscapes all to yourself. Freelancer Evan Naudé realised this when he visited last winter on assignment for go!, which is why he made sure to take a tripod so that he could be both photographer and model. He even packed a bright red jacket so he’d stand out clearly in the winter landscape. Sehlabathebe is the oldest nature reserve in Lesotho and forms a part of the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area.…

Did you know that South Africa is the only country in the world where you can see biomats with the naked eye? Biomats are the earliest form of life on earth for which there is fossilised evidence. You can see fossils of biomats that existed more than 3,2 billion years ago in the Barberton area, which is just one of the reasons why the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains between the town and the border with Swaziland have been given UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The other reasons are also linked to the area’s important scientific and geological heritage: For example, volcanic and sedimentary rock dating from up to 3,6 billion years ago – when the first continents began to form – has been well preserved. You can explore our newest World…

Ask anyone to name a comet and they’ll most likely say Halley’s. It’s by far the most famous one, largely because it puts on some of the most impressive displays and also because it’s the comet that made Sir Edmond Halley realise that comets follow an elliptical orbit around the sun. Halley’s Comet takes 75 years to complete an orbit, but others make the journey in a much shorter time. Chances are good that we’ll get to see one such comet during September: Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, which takes 6,5 years to orbit the sun. French astronomer Michael Giacobini discovered the comet in December 1900 and calculated its orbital period at 6,8 years. When, 6,5 years later, his fellow astronomer Ernst Zinner from Germany discovered a “new” comet, people at first thought…

Journalists Sophia van Taak and Toast Coetzer recently drove almost 4 000 km in a Toyota Fortuner while filming the latest series of Weg Agterpaaie . (Repeat broadcasts are shown on Via, channel 147 on DStv until 5 October: Fridays 5.30 pm and 11.30 pm; Saturdays 5.30 am.) The latest series focused on the West Coast, starting in Cape Town and ending in Alexander Bay. They also detoured into the interior and explored the Cederberg, Namaqualand, the Richtersveld and Bushmanland. You need a production team to make a TV show, which is why Chris Kritzinger and Louw Prinsloo also went along in their own chestnut brown Fortuner. (Toast and Sophia drove a white Fortuner – the third star of the show!) Both Fortuners were excellent for the…

The SUV in your driveway will do, a double-cab bakkie too. And you already own all the camping gear you’ll need. So now for the planning… In this article, we provide a 70-day travel itinerary with recommended places to stay (usually campsites) and info about national parks and other attractions. In last month’s issue (#146) we published two accounts from readers who recently did a self-drive tour through Africa. That article gives information about how other South Africans approach a long overland trip: what food to pack, what the roads are like and how to make your rands go further. The two articles work in tandem. Our route starts in South Africa before zipping through Botswana and Namibia into Zambia. From there we go into Tanzania and down to the…

Cost? The trail costs R4 770 per person for four days and three nights. (It’s cheaper if your group consists of more than six people.) The rate includes accommodation, meals and the transport of your luggage. It also includes a calamari tasting, a visit to SANCCOB and a sunset cruise on the canals at St Francis Bay. You only have to pay for your own drinks. The rates are adjusted in January every year. Where do I leave my car? Safe parking will be arranged for you at the Cape St Francis Resort. This is where you meet your guides and where you’ll be dropped off again after the hike. What else? The minimum group size is four hikers; maximum 16. You can make up your own group or slot…

Maletsunyane Falls! Did I ever think I’d be here? In 1973, my late husband Ian and a few of his Mountain Club pals from university hiked from Qacha’s Nek to Maseru via this magnificent waterfall and thereafter it took on a dreamlike quality for me. Now I’m here above the spectacular canyon, with the falls thundering down. A bearded vulture floats past. What more could one ask for? To the side of the waterfall, some fearless people are abseiling the almost 200m drop. I see dassies, a Cape rock thrush and a rock kestrel; red-winged starlings and martins wheel past. Our group of friends arrived in Semonkong yesterday – the name of the village means “place of smoke”. (See “Africa at its Best” in go! #145 – Ed.) There were…

VESPETTI, PORT NOLLOTH If you’re anything like me, when you drive into a coastal town, the first thing you do is go down to the beach to look at the sea. Then, if it’s around lunchtime, you get a craving for seafood and soft-serve ice cream. This feeling is heightened if you’re travelling on the West Coast. In Beach Road, Port Nolloth, the blue-and-white façade of Vespetti Restaurant catches your eye – and the aroma of seafood makes your mouth water. Choose a table outside: You want to see the waves, feel the sea breeze on your skin and hear the cry of the seagulls. Just keep an eye on those seagulls – one might swoop in to grab a chip from your plate. The name comes from the days…

DRINK A TOAST Wildekrans This lovely spot is on the R43 just outside town. You can do wine tasting and horse riding (from R150 per person for a half-hour ride; book in advance). Contact: 028 284 9902 Gabriëlskloof Turn onto the N2 in the direction of Caledon; about 5 km further you’ll see the sign for this winery on your right. The winery is high on a hill with panoramic views of Bot River and the valley. The wines are priced from R100 per bottle for the Estate Range, which is great value for money. Contact: 028 284 9865; gabrielskloof.co.za Beaumont Family Wines Go for the cosy atmosphere and, if you’re lucky, you’ll see the historical watermill in action. Contact: 028 284 9194; beaumont.co.za For a…

Fight to the end While in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park recently, we sat at Tierkop waterhole next to the lower dune road and watched two secretarybirds looking for lunch in the grass. Suddenly, one jumped into the air, flapped its wings, kicked its feet and started pecking for all it was worth. It had got hold of what looked like a Cape cobra. It eventually swallowed the reptile head first. The snake was still alive while it was being swallowed. Its tail wriggled as if trying to find anchor somewhere. With about half a metre of snake not yet gone, the tail eventually wrapped around the neck of the secretarybird. That was when the fight started in earnest… The bird struggled as the tail wrapped around a second time. It…

During Heritage Month, for the week starting Monday 10 September, there’s no entrance fee for South Africans to go into any national park (excluding Namaqua National Park). Why not put in some leave and go sit at a waterhole in the Kruger, or gaze out over the Karoo from the Valley of Desolation viewpoint above Graaff-Reinet? If you go to Cape Point in Table Mountain National Park (pictured) during this week, you’ll save R147 per adult and R76 per child. Or go and see the wildflowers in the Postberg section of the West Coast National Park, which is only open to visitors during August and September. This is the 13th year that SANParks has offered free entrance to national parks during a week in September. In 2017, more than 77…

How much does it cost? If you camp, your average living expenses per person per day (fuel, food, accommodation) can vary between R400 and R800. Some activities like gorilla trekking cost a lot; others cost nothing and you can do them every day, like birdwatching from the comfort of your camping chair. Budget for the big things you want to do and plan your trip accordingly. Must I book accommodation in advance? No. Since you’ll be camping you should be okay in most places. However, you must book a gorilla permit far in advance. What about fuel availability? Our itinerary mostly sticks to main routes where fuel is available in all the bigger towns. You don’t need a long-range tank, but take one or two extra jerry cans just in…

If all one-horse towns had a bubbly person like Anél Malan to welcome a weary traveller, then the platteland would be a pleasure to travel through. I’m in Marnitz, a half-day drive from Gauteng, on the N11 near the Botswana border at Grobler’s Bridge. You can hardly call Marnitz a town: There are no speed bumps, stop signs or anyone claiming to be the mayor. But there’s a church, a farm stall – and Anél. Anél and her husband Henk have a lodge in “town”, and more accommodation on their nearby farm, where I spent last night. Henk is a born and bred Bosvelder, but Anél is from Pretoria. “I used to work for Eskom and once came to Marnitz for work,” she recalls. “I saw this little place and…

NAMIBIA On this 14-day tour you’ll see some of the highlights of Namibia, including the wild horses of Aus, Kolmanskop, the dunes at Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Spitzkoppe and Etosha National Park. The tour starts in Lüderitz and will take you all the way to Etosha, stopping at scenic spots along the way. DATES? 31 MAY – 13 JUNE 2019 DURATION? 14 days, 13 nights COST? R20 450 per person (formal accommodation and tents) TRANS-BOTSWANA The tour kicks off at Kubu Island on the Makgadikgadi Pans in central Botswana and ends at Kasane/Chobe in the northern parts of the country. Along the way you’ll visit the Zambezi Region (formerly Caprivi Strip) in Namibia and see the Zambezi River and Vic Falls. DATES? 15 – 25 MARCH 2019 14 – 24 JULY 2019…

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. THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE RATE* • Two healthy home-cooked meals a day • A guided canoeing trip on the river • 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…

MADONNA AND CHILD WATERFALL, HOGSBACK There are two starting points for this magical hike from the village of Hogback through indigenous forest to the Madonna and Child waterfall. You can pick up the trail at the parking lot on the main road at the lower end of Hogsback, just next to the police station. Or, as we did, you can start at the cliff-top viewpoint just below Away with the Fairies Backpackers. Before setting off, take a moment to appreciate the view across the deep valley with the Tyume River at the bottom, to the golden cliffs of Hogsback itself (1 845 m). The mountain was apparently named during the Frontier Wars by British soldiers who thought that the rocky ridges on its summit resembled the bristles on a wild…

Shakila Tented Camp, near Modimolle The reception office at Shakila Private Game Reserve is generally a bit shabby, but don’t let appearances put you off. The glory days of the tented camp might have faded, but things are clean, neat and cosy. It’s as if your tent has been decorated by your granny: mismatched rugs, crochet doilies on the bedside tables, ball-and-claw chairs… Each tent has all the basics you might need, plus a few unexpected luxuries like an outdoor shower with hot water, and a hot tub with a bushveld view! (For the less adventurous, there’s also a standard bathroom.) The accommodation is a mix of stone and canvas, with a wooden deck high against an outcrop. The tents are secluded and each sleeps six to eight people. It’s…

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, ABOUT 60 YEARS LATER MYRTLE MANS from Vaalpark writes: My grandmother – also Myrtle – sparked my love for the Kruger. She worked in the park from 1962 to 1968, mainly at Skukuza, Letaba and Shingwedzi. In the 1960s, staff had to multitask: Myrtle worked in the laundry, did camp inventory, manned the counter in the shop and inspected the rondavels. I was born in 1966 so I was too young to remember our visits to the park while she still worked there. But my brother Arends, who is four years older than me, says he clearly remembers being chased by a baboon at Letaba. Myrtle always told stories of how there were so many more animals in the camps in those days. Once, a pride of…