Indice dei contenuti per October 2017 in go!

Boeremeisies on a break I’m a lecturer at the Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute outside Middelburg in the Eastern Cape. I’m also a keen photographer – I did a photography workshop with Toast Coetzer and Sam Reinders once. This is a pic of some of our female students, many of whom are avid readers of Weg. (Our Afrikaans sister mag. – Ed.) Their lives start where the tar road ends and they love learning about all the spectacular destinations we have on our doorstep in South Africa. JOHANETTE VAN HEERDEN, Middelburg The more, the ferrier With reference to the article about Lake Tanganyika in go! #135: In 2013, my brother-in-law Cobus Rossouw and I sailed on the MV Liemba from Kasanga to Kigoma in Tanzania. The Liemba is apparently…

Stay in style at Mountain Zebra There’s new accommodation in the Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the park, eight new units have been built: six twin-sleeper cottages and two four-sleeper rock chalets. The four-star rock chalets have been built to maximise the views of the surrounding landscape. Each has en suite bedrooms, a fireplace, an outdoor braai, air conditioning and a selection of DStv channels. Watch mountain zebra and buffalo grazing in the veld while you sip your coffee on the stoep. Rates: Twin-sleeper cottage from R1 250 per night. Four-sleeper rock chalet from R2 750 per night. Bookings: 012 428 9111; sanparks.org Oktoberfest in Cape Town Durbanville will host its own Oktoberfest this month. There will be beer (duh), traditional…

You hear them before you see them, and once you’ve seen them it’s impossible to tear your eyes away. I’m standing on a wooden platform about 5 m off the ground. The rustling sound starts in a grove of swamp fig trees about 50 m away. They call this kind of grove a mushitu forest, and it’s the perfect habitat for bats: enormous, straw-coloured fruit bats. At first I can almost count them: Ten-strong groups combine into clouds of hundreds. The bats are getting more active as the day’s tropical heat seeps away. Around us, the swamp breathes. A slight chill sets in. Now the mushitu forest comes alive. The bats are swirling like a tornado gathering speed. The tornado picks up flotsam, flinging it aloft: dark, jagged shapes, each…

SOPHIE’S BISTRO, NELSPRUIT The Farm Stall at Halls in Nelspruit has been a must-visit roadside stop since the 1950s. It has grown into quite an institution: These days you’ll find the Fever Tree Nursery, an equestrian supplies shop and a new eatery called Sophie’s Bistro on the same premises. Sit down at Sophie’s and it’s easy to think you’ve been transported to Mozambique. Owners Dries and Elize van Rooyen worked in the restaurant business in Maputo and surrounds for about 20 years before they moved to the other side of the Lebombo Mountains. Dip chunks of fresh pão (Portuguese roll) into their delicious peri peri sauce while you wait for your chicken livers (R55) to arrive. The prawns are made according to a Mozambican family recipe and they’re scrumptious. Order…

Photographer and writer Willem van der Berg – who often contributes to this magazine – visited the Pilanesberg National Park earlier this year for a feature in go! #134. He was hoping to get a photo of a leopard and criss-crossed the park for three days scanning the canopy of every suitable tree and peering in vain at every likely rock outcrop. On his final afternoon in the park, on the Mankwe Way loop, another visitor told Willem about a leopard he’d just seen: It had crossed the road and climbed a nearby koppie. Willem went to the koppie and waited for nearly an hour until the same leopard materialised on a big rock. It gave him a fiery look – just enough time to press the shutter button –…

The one that didn’t get away During a recent visit to the Pilanesberg, I went to the hide at Mankwe Dam to photograph kingfishers. The little birds delivered plenty of action – and them some! It was the first time I’d seen a kingfisher catch its prey, lose it and catch it again mid-air. I was using a Canon EOS 7D Mark II camera with a shutter speed of 1/6400 second. Shows how fast a kingfisher moves! NICK MATHIOS, Secunda WRITE TO US & WIN! Nick wins a Jolly Trolly worth R2 500. The trolley is sturdy, weighs only 12 kg and can carry up to 65 kg. The strong canvas material is easy to remove and clean. Use the trolley when you’re camping, browsing a market or relaxing on…

The R60 between Swellendam and Worcester has lots of roadside farm stalls and other places to stop. If it’s all too confusing, save your appetite for this green-and-yellow spot near Ashton. You won’t regret it. Steps decorated with mosaic tiles lead you to a comfy veranda and a green lawn where you can forget about bad drivers and potholes for a while. Sit on a couch or at one of the picnic tables on the lawn and look out over the Langeberg while you wait for your Oreo milkshake (R35) to arrive. The farm stall kitchen makes delicious light meals like toasted bacon, egg and cheese (R40) or quiche with salad (R35). The menu is on a blackboard on the veranda and you’re welcome to order takeaways. If the kids…

My yearning for a picture-perfect Karoo braai had turned my heart dark as coal. My wife Elsabé and I love the Tankwa Karoo and we travel there for weekends whenever we can. So it was this time: We both longed for crisp air in our lungs and to braai a few chops while looking out over Pramberg turning red at sunset. Elsabé made a few quick calls: She booked an overnight stop at Sadawa Game Reserve north of Touws River, followed by two nights in the Tankwa Karoo National Park. We left Somerset West early the following morning and filled up at De Doorns – petrol stations are scarce in the Tankwa. We turned off the N1 onto the R46 and headed into the great wide open. Soon we were…

Old sayings tumble through my mind as I stand next to my touring buddies at a remote spot on the Wild Coast, all of us staring out over the Indian Ocean: “Africa is not for sissies. Cowboy country. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger...” To my left, the green hills of the Transkei vanish into oblivion. To my right, a lost cow struggles towards us over the rocks. In front is the mouth of a man-made tunnel, which disappears underneath those rocks. Rusted pieces of an ancient steam engine are strewn around. Waves crash against the cliffs like punches thrown by a tireless boxer and deeper in the blue lies the wreck of the Grosvenor – and its many treasures, as legend would have it. The Grosvenor was a…

MYLES SHARP @myles_greggo_sharp Nikon D3200 Sigma 70 – 300 mm lens MYLES WRITES: Earlier this year, about a week after the Knysna fires, my dad and I were up at The Heads around sunset. We heard a firefighting helicopter in the distance. I grabbed my telephoto lens and started snapping away. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. TOAST SAYS: Myles is 16 years old and he already has a good eye for photography – check out his Instagram posts for more cool photos taken around South Africa. There was just enough light left in the day to take this photo. Half an hour later and it would have been too dark to use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the moving chopper.…

Karoo Passes & Poorts Ride part of the Swartberg Pass, the hills of the Little Karoo and the plains of the Great Karoo. Then swoop through Meiringspoort and fly down Montagu Pass. TOUR DETAILS  Dates: 9 – 13 November 2017 How long is the tour? Five days/four nights Average daily distance: 30 – 50 km Departure: Queens Hotel, Oudtshoorn Accommodation: Hotels, guesthouses and special Dryland campsites Rates: R8 495 per adult sharing; R4 250 per child under 12 sharing; R10 995 single supplement Garden Route Ramble Follow ancient elephant routes along the contours of the Outeniqua Mountains and down through indigenous forest to the sea. TOUR DETAILS  Dates: 14 – 18 November 2017 How long is the tour? Five days/four nights Average daily distance: 30 – 50 km Departure: The…

How does it work? This is slackpacking at its best over four days and four nights in the company of expert guides. Group size is restricted to 14 people. Just bring your hiking shoes, a walking stick, your camera, binoculars and a daypack. Everything else is covered: accommodation, all meals, entrance fees to nature reserves and transport from one trail to the next. We’ll even collect you and drop you off at the Plettenberg Bay airport if you fly in. CemAir offers daily flights to Plett from Cape Town and Joburg. Where do I stay? There are two accommodation options: Stay in lodges or camp with us – two nights at Diepwalle Forest and two nights next to the Keurbooms River. We provide spacious canvas tents with stretchers, linen and…

Dassie dilemma Q PIET VAN STAADEN from Welgelegen writes: I photographed this creature in Mapungubwe National Park. I consulted a few guidebooks and I think it’s a tree hyrax, but they aren’t found in that area. Can you help me identify it? ALETSIE COETZEE from Mapungubwe National Park says: Thanks for the wonderful photo, Piet. This is actually a yellow-spotted rock hyrax, not a tree hyrax. The species has a number of colour variations: grey fur with a white stomach – like here – is characteristic of the Zimbabwe colour variant. Another way to identify a yellow-spotted rock hyrax is to look for the white spots above the eyes. The rock hyrax and tree hyrax don’t have these spots. Red blush of winter Q HORST PRITZEN from Windhoek writes: I…

Where does your love of the outdoors come from? My mum was an avid weekend hiker. More often than not, she dragged me along for the adventure. Once you start spending time in the mountains of the Western Cape, it’s hard not to feel passionate about the environment. In my early twenties, I was lucky enough to travel through Africa from Cape Town to London, visiting 17 countries along the way. This, by far, was my most immersive time in nature. The Ethiopian highlands were a real highlight. The mountains, the people, the gelada baboons… How did Greenpop come about? In 2010, I flew around the world with a team of filmmakers to produce a documentary about soccer for Volkswagen. We visited 12 countries on four continents, flying about 360…

One of the trails rangers, Philip Gumede, is outside my tent. “Time to wake up,” he says gently. It’s 5.30am. He needn’t have bothered because I’ve been awake for an hour or more already, shaken from sleep by the frog-like krrrup of a scops-owl and the raucous chattering of some vervet monkeys. A lion also roared in the darkness, way too close for comfort. One by one the other hikers pop out of their tents and we all head to the “dining area” of the bush camp. After coffee and biscuits, the group gathers at the camp gate: Adri Visser, a physiotherapist from Somerset West; Gert and Estelle van Dyk, farmers in the Napier area; Anelenie and Albert Smit, pensioners from Pretoria; Charlotte and Richard Mayne from Ulster in Ireland;…

THE RATE INCLUDES • A professional tour leader and an experienced field guide • Three meals a day • Accommodation • All park fees • Two-way radios WHAT TO BRING • A 4x2 with high ground clearance and diff lock (fuel is for your own account) • Drinks and snacks • Personal items TOUR DETAILS Dates: 10 – 16 March 2018 Duration: Seven days, six nights Departure point: Rhodes, Eastern Cape End point: Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape Accommodation: Lodges and guesthouses Cost: R12 950 per adult. Additional 30 % per single supplement. ADVENTURE ITINERARY Day 1: We meet in the late afternoon at Walkerbouts Inn, in Rhodes. Day 2: We explore the valleys in the area and visit Tiffindell Ski Resort before returning to Rhodes. Day 3: We head towards the…

The 27 km Swartberg Pass between Oudtshoorn and Prince Albert is one of the finest mountain passes in the world: a gravel ribbon that soars to 1 583 m above sea level, with heart-stopping views at every zigzag and switchback. The pass is the crowning achievement of master road engineer Thomas Bain, who was also responsible for nearby Meiringspoort and many other famous passes in South Africa. Completed in 1888, some of the hand-packed stone walls are still in place. The Swartberg Pass is a national monument and much of the surrounding mountain range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On 9 April 2017, a flash flood washed away a section of the pass on the Prince Albert side. It will take time to rebuild because the work will have…

SHAKABARKER BIKE TOUR, ST LUCIA Mongooses scamper in the roadside shrubbery as we pedal through the leafy suburbs of St Lucia. Our guide, Siyabonga Dube, eases to a stop under an enormous buffalo thorn tree, listening to the surrounding bird calls and identifying as many birds as he can. Before we hit the road again, he entertains us with some Zulu folklore: Apparently the leaves and branches of a buffalo thorn house the spirits of the dead. If someone happens to be transporting a particular deceased person in the form of a buffalo thorn branch, they’ll have to pay for an extra seat in the taxi! The ride takes us on a big loop through the suburbs, along the estuary and down to the coast via a fun boardwalk with…

From the vantage of the Donkin Lighthouse, it’s easy to see how the business centre of Port Elizabeth has changed over the years. The Port Elizabeth City Hall 1 on Market Square (now Vuyisile Mini Square) dates from 1861. The hall burnt down in 1977, but was restored to its former glory. These days it houses the municipal offices and the public library. The Main Library 2 was once in a separate building on the square. A terracotta façade, built in England and shipped to South Africa in pieces, was added to the building in 1902. Until 1942, the Phoenix Hotel 3 was next to the city hall. This hotel opened in 1837 and was named after a steamboat that sailed between PE and Cape Town. An advertisement from 1849…