graaff reinet

The rain came down strong and steady in what was otherwise a mild Cape winter, washing away the fear, the smell of sanitiser. It filled the dams, the wet earth spawning the best wild-flower season in living memory. We endured one of the world’s toughest lockdowns but emerged blinking in the September sun, at Level 1.

It takes courage to make the long haul south. It’s also important to check the latest travel advice and be aware that, although international flights to South Africa has resumed, there are currently restrictions on travel from countries which the South African authorities consider to be high risk. This includes the UK, with travel for tourism or leisure from the UK prohibited unless you intend to stay in South Africa for three months or more. 

However, once those restrictions have passed (and ministers this week said they were hopeful of an easing of the rules by December), the rewards will be great: this is Big Nature country, with space that encourages you to exhale – no cliché, when breathing has become so fraught. Cape Town has always been a draw, but the proximity of its wilderness – the mountainous spine of Table Mountain National Park that runs the length of its peninsula, the golden kelp forests that sway beneath the Atlantic – has never mattered more.

The city offers a springboard into outdoor experiences, from walking the Kogelberg, in all its complex biodiversity, to swimming with flamingos in Langebaan lagoon; from diving into spring-fed pools fringed with palmiet to sleeping under black heavens dusted with a million stars in the Cederberg.

With the new challenges of travel, it makes sense to stay longer. Hire a car and meander from the Cape to the Camdeboo, staying in remote cottages and welcoming guesthouses (with protocols in place, of course). Or make yourself at home in the terroir of your choice, living like a local, wine-tasting on foot.

If you’ve dreamt of going on safari, 2021 is the year to book, with rates frozen, long stays incentivised and exclusive-use options for families and small groups. With more time, there is no reason to fly domestically – roads are mostly excellent. If you prefer, hire a high-clearance camper and plot a route that never touches tar. Trawl for art and experiences you can’t Instagram.

With the exchange rate at 21 rand to the pound, all this will be possible once restrictions lift. If we have learnt one thing this year, it is to be present. Make it somewhere extraordinary. 

South Africa in 2021

‘One of the great experiences’: Griff Rhys Jones on exploring South Africa by rail

Griff Rhys Jones talks to Adrian Bridge about the highlights of his rail journeys across South Africa.

South Africa’s greatest wildlife holidays, from Big Five safaris to desert drives

Fresh lion prints at dawn on a Kruger trail; a golden cape cobra uncoiling over red Karoo dust; a day at Kosi Bay that began with flamingos and ended with dolphins… Mike Unwin offers a guide to South African wildlife holiday. 

Meet the young South African woman defying the odds in the name of wine

Kiara Scott ticks a lot of firsts. She is not only a woman working as a senior winemaker in South Africa (unusual in itself) but at 27 is one of the youngest.

The perfect holiday in South Africa – our ultimate two-week itinerary

How do you experience the best South Africa has to offer in a two-week trip? By following the ultimate itinerary created by our expert Pippa de Bruyn.

Food, wine and natural wonders on South Africa’s greatest road trip

In addition to its world-class wines, this fabled region in South Africa offers a true taste of the country at roadside stalls along the way.

Eskom has implemented extensive power cuts in three Karoo towns falling under the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality after the municipality failed to adhere to a payment plan to cover R127-million in debt to the power utility. The municipality was expected to go to court this week to ward off even longer power cuts, lasting up to 14 hours a day, as Eskom plans to ramp up pressure.

Three Karoo towns are facing daily power outages of more than six hours after the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality failed to adhere to a payment plan to cover its R127-million debt to Eskom. The municipality cannot afford the R12-million monthly payment, according to the mayor, Deon de Vos, who was locked out of his office in Willowmore on Monday by angry residents. Earlier this year the municipality stated in a presentation to Parliament that its monthly bill for salaries was R13-million.

Willowmore, Steyterville and Jansenville are now without electricity daily from 6am to 9am and again from 5pm to 8.30pm, with cuts of 14 hours at a time to be implemented by next week if no agreement can be reached.

In a statement, De Vos said the municipality had experienced financial…

Eskom has implemented extensive power cuts in three Karoo towns falling under the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality after the municipality failed to adhere to a payment plan to cover R127-million in debt to the power utility. The municipality was expected to go to court this week to ward off even longer power cuts, lasting up to 14 hours a day, as Eskom plans to ramp up pressure.

Three Karoo towns are facing daily power outages of more than six hours after the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality failed to adhere to a payment plan to cover its R127-million debt to Eskom. The municipality cannot afford the R12-million monthly payment, according to the mayor, Deon de Vos, who was locked out of his office in Willowmore on Monday by angry residents. Earlier this year the municipality stated in a presentation to Parliament that its monthly bill for salaries was R13-million.

Willowmore, Steyterville and Jansenville are now without electricity daily from 6am to 9am and again from 5pm to 8.30pm, with cuts of 14 hours at a time to be implemented by next week if no agreement can be reached.

In a statement, De Vos said the municipality had experienced financial…

If the outbreak in the Karoo gets too large, it’ll travel to the maize fields in the Free State, warns Professor Frances Duncan.

While a pandemic sweeps the globe, food security in much of Africa is being threatened by a plague of biblical proportions.

Swathes of Southern Africa have been hit; about seven million people in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have been affected.

Now, authorities in the Eastern Cape are ringing the alarm bells while maize fields in the Free State are under threat.

Lester Kiewit asked Professor Frances Duncan (Wits’ School of Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences) why swarms of brown locusts are destroying crops.

In a nutshell, unusual climatic conditions are driving two unrelated outbreaks.

‘Plague’ is a colloquial term meaning the locusts are huge and spread over a vast area… The locusts coming down from North Africa… there are millions of them covering several countries – it’s a plague…

Professor Frances Duncan, School of Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences – Wits

The brown locust outbreak in the Karoo… if it gets too large, it’ll travel to the maize fields in the Free State.

Professor Frances Duncan, School of Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences – Wits

The eggs can stay dormant in the soil for three to five years, waiting for the rains to come.

Professor Frances Duncan, School of Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences – Wits

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

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Griff Rhys Jones talks to Adrian Bridge about the highlights of his rail journeys across South Africa

It doesn’t take Griff Rhys Jones long to get into his stride. “If you want to see the glories of Africa, there’s no better way than taking a train in South Africa!” And he should know. While making a series of programmes about travelling through the entire continent by train, he had a number of rail adventures in the Rainbow Nation, and they weren’t confined to the luxury options so beloved of tourists – the legendary Rovos Rail and Blue Train.

“Most of those I travelled on were public trains,” he says cheerily. “We took a night train from Johannesburg to Kimberley and for me that was one of the great experiences. 

“We did stand out, though. A lot of people wondered what we were doing on board.” 

Rhys Jones was there to tell stories about South Africa: about the extraordinary discovery of diamonds in Kimberley and gold further on – the foundation of the country’s immense wealth; about how farmers here became so expert at plucking ostrich feathers; about the apartheid era and about the history of the railway itself in this part of the world – a story that dates back to colonial times and the vision of Cecil Rhodes (“Now discredited, I know, I know”) to build a line from Cape Town to Cairo.

“The idea was that people who were working in South Africa would be able to get on a train to Cairo and be home [in Britain] for Christmas, then take a steamer down to Cairo and be back in South Africa for the new year. 

“That incredible journey started in South Africa with the train from Cape Town to Johannesburg and then up into Zimbabwe, through to the Victoria Falls and right up into Kenya.

“Travelling by train in South Africa confronts you with South Africa both as an incredible place, but also as a historical development.”

Like all travellers before him, Rhys Jones was palpably struck by the astonishing beauty of the country. “Some of the vistas in terms of the landscape are fixed in your mind forever because they are so majestic, so incredible. Think of the semi-arid Karoo desert and the beautiful garden landscapes around Cape Town. There you see you have entered a temperate world which bears resemblance to parts of Switzerland.”

It was on his way to Cape Town from Matjiesfontein that the actor, presenter and Sunday Telegraph columnist made his sole concession to luxury train travel by hopping aboard one of the signature Rovos Rail trains from Pretoria. 

“Oh yes, I went out to that open carriage at the back of the lovely green train and simply drank it all in – wonderful. It was also on that train that I was filmed scrubbing myself in a bath while we were passing through some of the townships and the less successful bits of South Africa. 

“We wanted to experience all forms of train travel in the country and show some of its many sides.” Would he recommend it to readers of The Daily Telegraph? “Absolutely. South Africa is one of the few places on the continent where you can still experience the railway fully – in parts of central and east Africa it has been eclipsed by travel on the roads.”

Is there any particular favourite?

“If I were to go back with Mrs Jones, I wouldn’t mind travelling on the epic Rovos Rail journey from Cape Town to Dar es Salaam. I do love a good long-distance train journey…”

Griff Rhys Jones – Slow Train Through Africa is available on DVD (£14.99; amazon.co.uk).

Rovos Rail (rovos.com) offers a number of adventures by rail in South Africa and beyond, including a 15-day Cape Town to Dar es Salaam trip with fares from about US$12,000 (£9,125). 

Two southern right whales wave a tail-fluke farewell (or so I like to imagine) as I tramp up from the beach. Day over, I think. But, as I fish for my car keys, a lithe feline form appears on the boardwalk ahead. A caracal – the mystery cat, my first in two decades of African wildlife-watching. Tufted ears swivel and amber eyes lock briefly on to mine. It slips away into the dusk. Was it ever even there?

That was De Hoop Nature Reserve, 15 years ago: one among countless magical memories of South Africa’s wildlife. Others evoke wildly different landscapes: crouching with my armed guide in a Zululand thorn thicket as a black rhino huffs and puffs alarmingly close; lying out beneath Kalahari stars as lions moan from the surrounding dunes; cresting a Drakensberg escarpment to spy a bearded vulture soaring across the void below.

In 1994, celebrating its rebirth as a melting pot of colours and cultures, South Africa was dubbed the Rainbow Nation. An ecologist might choose another metaphor – the Mosaic Nation? – to celebrate the country’s natural diversity. For comparison, Australia and Brazil, each more than six times larger, have just seven major biomes (ecological regions) to South Africa’s eight. Its multi-hued ecological rainbow contains desert dunes, coral reefs, snow-dusted mountains, coastal heaths, semi-tropical forests and, of course, “bushveld” – that quintessentially African panorama of dust and thorns synonymous with safaris.

Each biome has its own wildlife, from the grand herds and rampant predators of Kruger Park to the oryx, cheetah and meerkats of the arid Kalahari. Birders, meanwhile, will find such gems as twinspots and trogons in Zululand’s unique dune forests, while marine wildlife buffs can enjoy the likes of breaching southern right whales and nesting loggerhead turtles around the endlessly unspooling coastline. Some of this biodiversity is unique to South Africa. The fynbos heathland of the Cape is one of only six recognised floral kingdoms in the world, with two thirds of its plant species endemic. Much of it is of critical international importance: this one nation now protects some 90 per cent of the planet’s remaining white rhinos.

The good news? It couldn’t be easier for visitors. South Africa virtually invented the big game park and, more recently, has pioneered game translocation, re-establishing historic wildlife communities in neglected areas. Today, an excellent infrastructure and hospitality industry lays all this on a plate. You can luxuriate in an exclusive bush lodge or simply drive yourself around in a hire car. Activities span walking safaris, mountain-bike trails and scuba diving. There are whale-watching cruises, birding tours, flower safaris and even frog safaris. And this is the only country in Africa where you can find the Big Five malaria-free.

A nerdy totting-up of my own wildlife adventures in the Rainbow Nation reveals just how much you might see: I’ve clocked up more than 90 mammal species, for example, and nearly 550 birds. But the tallies don’t convey the memories: fresh lion prints at dawn on a Kruger trail; a golden cape cobra uncoiling over red Karoo dust; a day at Kosi Bay that began with flamingos and ended with dolphins. And I have barely scratched the surface.

Kalahari horizons

The Kalahari’s vast semi-arid expanse takes up much of Botswana but also spills over the border into north-west South Africa, offering special wildlife viewing with a unique ambience. After Christmas, new growth in the enormous Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (shared between the two nations) draws herds of oryx, springbok and other grazers, sustaining an impressive band of predators, including cheetahs, brown hyenas and the region’s famous black-maned lions. For birders, the dry riverbeds and dune ridges are a haven for raptors and desert specials such as sandgrouse. Private reserves such as Madikwe and Tswalu have restored other species to the mix, including wild dogs and black rhinos, and, from the comfort of exclusive lodges, offer a range of guided safari activities, including walking and horse riding. Local specialities here include meerkats, aardvarks and even pangolins. And the region is all malaria-free.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (sanparks.org)

Say it with flowers

Wildlife doesn’t have to move in order to be exciting. The Western and Northern Cape are home to some of the world’s most spectacular floral displays as well as a host of animals. In Namaqualand, towards the Namibian border, an explosion of spring annuals – including the likes of Namaqualand daisies and orange glories – carpets the arid terrain with colour. Whites, yellows and oranges dominate, punctuated with blues, reds and purples. Botanists will specifically seek out endemic pelargoniums and geophytes; others will just be blown away by nature’s outrageous palette. Beach Flower Camp and Skilpad Flower Camp in Namaqualand National Park, open for just four weeks during the August/September flower season, offer a complete immersion in this kaleidoscopic wonderland, with luxury tents, sea views and starry night skies.

Flower camps in Namaqualand National Park (flowercamps.co.za)

Table-tops and penguins

South Africa’s Cape Peninsula is a world apart: it’s like a slice of the Mediterranean, in terms of both its climate and its landscape, affixed to the bottom of Africa. To some people, this means wine. To the wildlife lover, this Unesco World Heritage Site means unique natural riches – from the scented fynbos heathland, where endemic sugarbirds flit between blazing proteas, to the shallow, sheltered bays where southern right whales arrive during the winter months to rear their calves. Table Mountain National Park embraces both the iconic flat-top itself, where a hike to the summit may bring encounters with rock hyraxes or Verreaux’s eagles, and Cape Point, where rare bontebok graze the headlands and African penguins waddle out of the surf at Boulders Beach. Oh, and did I mention the wine?

Table Mountain hikes (capetown.travel)

Overlooked Overberg

Cape Town to Garden Route: it’s a time-honoured eastbound tourist itinerary. But what it often overlooks are the charms of the Overberg region, where the coast bulges south to form Africa’s southernmost tip. De Hoop Nature Reserve, at the eastern end, offers a beguiling combination of inland hiking trails and, from July to October, some of the world’s best land-based whale-watching as the southern rights arrive from Antarctica to breed in the sheltered bays. There’s no dangerous game to worry about – though the odd shy leopard reputedly roams – but you’ll see herds of bontebok, elands and Cape mountain zebras, elegant blue cranes and the Western Cape’s only colony of Cape vultures. Expect the unexpected: caracals, porcupines and an impressive 6ft mole snake all took me by surprise.

De Hoop Nature Reserve (capenature.co.za)

Heartland haven

The ancient, semi-arid plains of the Great Karoo, in the Western Cape interior, once hosted some of the greatest animal migrations ever witnessed: herds of springbok millions strong took days to pass the town of Beaufort West. Sheep farming long ago replaced such spectacles, but in the Karoo National Park much of the region’s indigenous wildlife can still be seen. This is not Big Five country, although lions and black rhinos have been reintroduced, but rather a fascinating terrain of hidden details, where alongside desert-adapted grazers such as oryx and springbok, night drives may produce treats such as aardwolves or caracals. Accommodation is in charming Cape Dutch cottages, while activities include a network of 4×4 and mountain-bike trails. Keep an eye out for fossils.

Karoo National Park (sanparks.org)

Eastern elephants

When Addo Elephant National Park was declared in 1931, just 11 elephants remained, the beleaguered survivors of the hunting that had otherwise eradicated the great pachyderms from the Cape. Today that number has risen to 600, making for an impressive scrummage as they crowd into waterholes on a hot day. The reserve’s dense scrub is now also home to lions, buffaloes and black rhinos, restored by translocation to their former haunts, alongside plentiful other wildlife – right down to the endemic flightless dung beetle. Its boundaries have also been stretched to the coast, bringing within its protection whales, penguins and the world’s largest gannet colony. To the east, several private reserves, including the award-winning Shamwari, have introduced the luxury Big Five experience and nailed it, making this now one of the top safari regions in the country.

Addo Elephant National Park (sanparks.org)

Scale the peaks

Drakensberg means “dragon mountain”, and these formidable buttresses, squeezed between the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring Lesotho, do indeed suggest some mythical lost world beyond. Rising to more than 11,400ft – Africa’s highest point south of Kilimanjaro – the Drakensberg’s escarpment marks the south-eastern edge of South Africa’s central plateau. This is not safari country, being better known for its spectacular waterfalls and scenic splendours. A network of trails will produce such special upland birds as the bald ibis and bearded vulture, while elands and black wildebeest graze the slopes, and rarities such as otters may turn up. As with all mountains, come prepared.

Drakensberg information and hikes (drakensberg.org)

Rhinos on foot

Nothing quickens the pulse quite like a two-ton, two-horned behemoth blocking your path. The connected parks of Imfolozi and Hluhluwe, in KwaZulu-Natal, are synonymous with both white rhinos and walking safaris. The first, because it was here that the world’s second-largest land mammal – after elephants – rallied against impending extinction a century ago. The second, because this is where the wilderness trails concept evolved. Expect close encounters with white rhinos. Black rhinos, rarer and jumpier than their larger cousins, also thrive here, while elephants, buffaloes and lions are all present. The trails, which book up well in advance, are as much about wilderness immersion as big-game thrills. The camping is rustic; the guiding superb.

Imfolozi wilderness trails (kznwildlife.com)

Wetland wonders

In northern KwaZulu-Natal, iSimangaliso Wetland Park might have been designed to illustrate a biodiversity textbook. One of Africa’s largest coastal wetlands, this multifaceted reserve, proclaimed a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999, protects an improbable richness of ecosystems, both freshwater and coastal. There are few places in Africa where you can cruise among hippos by pleasure boat and, within the hour, watch a humpback whale spouting off the beach. Add to that the prolific coral diversity along Africa’s southernmost reef, a tangle of semi-tropical dune forest with narina trogons and samango monkeys, beaches on which leatherback turtles lay their eggs, and savannah where elephants, giraffes and black rhinos roam, and you have a veritable wildlife world in one.

Information and activities (isimangaliso.com)

Big country for big game

The Kruger is the jewel in South Africa’s wildlife crown: an Israel-sized national park, home to around 150 mammal species and more than 500 birds, with the bulk of Africa’s white rhinos and the continent’s third-largest lion population. Purists find the Kruger too developed, but its sheer size means space for all comers. This is indisputably Africa’s best A-list park for a budget, self-drive safari, with no need for a guide; equally, its private concessions harbour the likes of MalaMala and Singita, bywords for safari luxury.

Plan your self-drive safari (sanparks.org) or opt for private/guided options (krugerpark.co.za)

• For more ideas, information and bookings, visit southafrica.net and sanparks.org.

Mike Unwin is the author of Southern African Wildlife, published by Bradt Guides

While Friday will be mainly hot, there will be severe
thunderstorms and hail in some places in the Eastern Cape, according to
the South
African Weather Service. 

Impact-based
warnings

A yellow level 2 warning has
been issued as severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, hail and lightning are
expected in places over the Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi and Alfred Nzo district
municipalities as well as the Raymond Mhlaba and Makana district municipalities.

Fire danger warning

Extremely high fire danger is
expected in some places over the interior and north-eastern parts of the
Northern Cape and Central Karoo of the Western Cape as well as the western and
central parts of the Eastern Cape.

Advisories

– Extremely hot conditions are
expected over the Prince Albert Municipality of the Western Cape tomorrow.

– A heat wave with persistently
high temperatures is expected over the Karoo Hoogland Municipality of the
Northern Cape until Saturday.

The
weather in your province

Gauteng will
be partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated afternoon showers and
thundershowers.

The expected UVB sunburn index
is extreme.

In Mpumalanga, it will
be fine and warm to hot but cloudy in the east and along the escarpment in the
morning with fog patches. It will become partly cloudy in the afternoon with
isolated thundershowers in the west.

It will be cloudy in the east
in the morning with fog patches along the escarpment in Limpopo, otherwise
fine and warm to hot but very hot in the south-western Bushveld, where it will
become partly cloudy from the afternoon.

The North West will
be fine and hot, becoming partly cloudy with afternoon showers and
thundershowers in the south.

The Free State will
be fine and warm to hot, becoming partly cloudy with afternoon showers and
thundershowers.

There will be morning and
evening fog patches along the coast in the Northern Cape, where it will be cool, otherwise fine and hot to
very hot but extremely hot in places in the south-west.

It will become cloudy over the
central parts during the afternoon with isolated showers and thundershowers.

The wind along the coast will
be fresh southerly to south-easterly at first, becoming fresh to strong
north-westerly.

There will be morning fog along
the south coast in the Western
Cape, otherwise fine and hot to very hot but extremely hot in
places over the north-western interior. It will be warm along the south-west
and south coastal areas.

The wind along the coast will
be fresh easterly to south-easterly along the south coast, otherwise fresh to
strong south-easterly.

The expected UVB sunburn index
is extreme.

In the western half of the Eastern Cape, it
will be warm in places along the coast, otherwise fine and hot to very hot,
becoming partly cloudy with isolated showers and thundershowers except in the
west. 

Extremely hot temperatures are
expected in places over the interior.

The wind along the coast will
be fresh to strong north-easterly, becoming south-westerly along the coast from
the afternoon.

The eastern half of the Eastern
Cape will be hot in places south of the escarpment, otherwise fine and hot
becoming partly cloudy with isolated showers and thundershowers.

Extremely hot temperatures are
expected in places in the south-west.

The wind along the coast will
be fresh to strong north-easterly, becoming moderate overnight.

KwaZulu-Natal will be
partly cloudy to cloudy in the east with morning fog over the interior,
otherwise fine and warm but hot over the interior. It will become partly cloudy
over the west in the afternoon with isolated showers and thundershowers.

The wind along the coast will
be moderate to fresh north-easterly.

The expected UVB sunburn index
is high.

Click here to see the specific forecast for your city over the next few days.

Sometimes also referred to as the Cape Winelands, the Boland is home to towns such as Worcester, Robertson, and Paarl and is packed with a plethora of interesting things to see and do.

Here are some fun and interesting (and non-wine) things to see and do in the region for the whole family.

Bobbing around the Boland

Visit the Rasta House in Mbekweni

A visit to this amazing piece of architecture and building is a must!

The awe-inspiring five-storey wooden house in Phinzi Street in Mbekweni, Paarl has been a labour of love for the past 20 years for owner and builder, Ras Juda Ngqoshela.

The former police officer says he started building in 1996, adding piece by piece over the years, and he hasn’t finished yet. The house has five open-plan rooms and no toilets, and he plans to add two more stories which he hopes will make his house a tourist attraction in the Boland town.

Every floor has its own function — the living room is on the ground floor, the kitchen is on the second floor, and the bedrooms are on the third and fourth floors. The fifth floor of the house is a church for the local Rastafarian community.

For a tour of Mbekweni with a knowledgeable local guide, including a visit to the Rasta House contact Nancy Cowie on 021 764 3442 or Mariette van Velden on 021 873 2967.

Stroll Through the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden in Worcester 

Set against the breathtaking backdrop of soaring mountains is the only succulent botanical garden in the southern hemisphere and on the African continent.

Originally established in 1921 near Matjiesfontein, the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden was moved to Worcester in 1945.

The garden is home to over 400 indigenous plants from the arid and semi-arid regions of southern Africa, as well as 70 different bird species and many small mammals. The Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden is open all year round and well worth a visit to see some usual succulents.

For more information, visit www.sanbi.org/gardens/karoo-desert/

Try Locally Produced Gin at the Six Dogs Distillery

Nestled between the Breede and Hex River valleys, Six Dogs Distillery is a great little spot that produces three gins infused with hand-picked botanicals from the makers’ farm and the surrounding areas.

Located near Worcester, where South Africa’s signature pinotage grape variety is grown, the distillery uses the signature grapes to produce the three gins and celebrates a truly South African cultivar.

The three gins produced at Six Dogs Distillery on the Boschkloof Farm are Six Dogs Karoo, Six Dogs Blue, and Six Dogs Pinotage Stained.

For more information, visit www.sixdogs.co.za

Take a Tractor Trip Around Protea Farm Near Montagu

Situated in the famous Koo valley, just outside Montagu in the heart of the scenic Route 62, Protea Farm is a fantastic place to visit with the family. The working farm produces apples and pears, and proteas grow wild on the surrounding mountains, but there is so much more to this beautiful farm than its delicious fresh produce and scenic splendour.

Protea Farm is famous for legendary tractor trips up the Langeberg Mountains, where you can soak up spectacular sweeping views of the Koo and Robertson valleys. After your tractor ride, you can tuck into traditional potjiekos around a roaring fire.

If you want to linger longer and enjoy hiking and mountain biking in the mountains, swimming in the lake, and relaxing in front of a crackling fire, the farm has four self-catering cottages that can be rented for overnight stays.

For more information, visit www.proteafarm.co.za

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), the country’s oldest scientific site, celebrates two centuries of excellence in astronomy on Tuesday, October 20.

The Cape Town Observatory, now part of the SAAO, is 200 years old this year. As the oldest permanent observatory in the Southern Hemisphere, it has played a significant scientific role over time and was declared a national heritage site in 2018.

The Royal Observatory Cape of Good Hope was founded on October 20, 1820 and is the oldest scientific institution in the country. Formally, it was controlled by the British Admiralty and was intended for the improvement of navigation. Its main duty was to chart the southern skies and provide a time service for passing ships in Cape Town harbour.

SAAO was formed in 1972, combining the Cape Town and Johannesburg Observatories. Its main research telescopes are located a site 15 km from the small Karoo town of Sutherland in the Northern Cape.  This site, 1 800 metres above sea level, hosts 24 telescopes of various sizes and forms, some owned by SAAO and some hosted for international research institutes.

SAAO, a research facility of the National Research Foundation, which is an entity of the Department of Science and Innovation, is responsible for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa and provides local and international scientists with world-class facilities and access to our country’s exceptionally dark skies.

For much of its history, it was the major contributor to positional astronomy in the southern hemisphere. Observations made by the Cape astronomers include:

– The first measurement of the distance to a star,

– The first photographic sky survey,

– The accurate measurement of the distance to the Sun,

– Developments in stellar spectroscopy (which allow us to determine the motions, temperatures and chemical compositions of the stars),

– The determination of the shape of the Earth in the southern hemisphere and

– The first accurate geodetic surveys of southern Africa.

The Cape Town site is not only of scientific significance but international cultural significance too. For instance, the McClean Building, which houses the McClean Telescope erected in 1896, was designed by the renowned architect Herbert Baker.  The observatory also has many artefacts of historical significance, such a speculum mirror and six chronometers manufactured in the 1800s.

Today, the SAAO, a National Facility of the National Research Foundation, is a vibrant modern astrophysical institute undertaking research to understand fundamental questions about the Universe. These include tracking the flow of natural elements from stars in galaxies to eventually enabling life, the prevalence of planets around other stars, small bodies in our solar system, and high energy cosmic events.

The Cape Town site hosts state-of-the-art workshops for technological development, while SAAO operates the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere, the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) at Sutherland, along with two dozen smaller telescopes.

Also read: Sir Thomas Maclear’s beacon: A history

Picture: Facebook / South African Astronomical Observatory

Like other countries, South Africa is increasingly offering a range of different tourist experiences. Exploring a region by bike may sound like a workout, but cycle holidays are popular in several countries throughout the world.

France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and several other countries are well known for cycling holidays, where visitors explore outlying areas and lesser-known tourist destinations on multi-day cycling trips. Riding from town to town, through beautiful open spaces appeals to many people.

Adventure tourists often recount inspiring and entertaining stories about cycling trips they have taken, where they cycled through beautiful landscapes and were able to get a great sense of the places visited, by interacting with local communities en route.

South Africa’s terrain and diverse landscapes lend themselves to being explored on a bike. Cycling is also a favourite pastime for a number of South Africans.

THE KAROO CROSSING CYLE ROUTE

The Karoo Crossing is the latest in a number of cycle routes in the Western Cape. This brings the total number of routes in the Cape Cycle Routes network to five.

The Karoo Crossing Cycle Route starts from Knysna and continues inland, to the Karoo town of Calitzdorp. The route can be started in either of the two towns and can be ridden in either direction. It stretches over a distance of 358 kilometres.  

EXPLORING SMALL KAROO TOWNS EN ROUTE

The Cape Cycle Routes have been thoughtfully designed so that they attract visitors to venture off the beaten track, and explore smaller towns and lesser-known tourist attractions which are scattered throughout the Western Cape.

The route was opened on 23 September, by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier.

“It is wonderful to be here today at the opening of the Karoo Crossing which is the fifth leg of the Cape Cycle Routes tour in the Western Cape. And our aim here is not only to attract more adventure tourists but also to showcase the great attractions and experiences in small towns and rural communities across the Western Cape,” David Maynier said at the launch.

ADVENTURE SEEKERS ARE INVITED TO ENJOY THE CYCLE ROUTE

At the launch of this new cycle route, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde encouraged South Africans to come out and enjoy the province’s nature and hospitality along the route, while supporting the tourism and hospitality sector.

“With the summer season approaching, we encourage people to get out and explore the province by venturing off the beaten track and to stop along the way and enjoy some of the best of small-town hospitality. This will help support the tourism and hospitality sector which is a significant job creator, especially in our non-rural areas, and help us to save jobs in the province,” Alan Winde said.

Klipplaat was characterised by low population density, high levels of poverty and problems with the supply and quality of its water. (Photo: Donna van der Watt)

The residents of Klipplaat in the Eastern Cape Karoo are losing the battle against hunger and thirst. The provincial Department of Social Development’s soup kitchen has been feeding twice the number of people for which it was originally funded. Hundreds of food parcels are being handed out and several private donors are also trying to help, but Klipplaat is losing the battle. The town’s taps are also dry.

First published in Daily Maverick 168

This week the Eastern Cape government published shocking statistics showing that the plight of Klipplaat is repeated throughout the province, with children bearing the brunt of worsening food shortages.

Health workers said last week adult malnutrition is increasing in the small town about 80km south of Aberdeen, and patients are skipping medication for chronic conditions because they do not have food to eat at home.

“But it is also about dignity. You can see how long it takes for patients to admit that they have no food in the house. Being hungry is not just about not having enough to eat,” said one health worker, who asked not to be named.

The MEC for Social Development, Siphokazi Lusithi, reported an increase in infant mortality across the province due to child malnutrition.

And her colleague Nomakhosazana Meth, MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, has painted a dire picture of food security throughout the province.

 She said 78.7% of children were victims of poverty on several levels, including nutrition, education, water and sanitation, information, housing and health. Of these, about half were exposed to food insecurity.

According to statistics released by Lusithi, the province is plagued by “persistent high levels of poverty” with an increase in the number of households for which basic needs are not being met.

She said this had been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This stubborn and persistent deprivation of basic human needs includes food insecurity, malnutrition, unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation.”

Lusithi said this was made worse by low levels of education, high HIV rates and unemployment. Premier Oscar Mabuyane’s spokesperson, Mvusi Sicwetsha, said a new anti-poverty strategy for the province had been approved by the provincial government’s executive committee. “It will be implemented.”

Lusithi said that even before the Covid-19 pandemic erupted in South Africa, 60% of households in the Eastern Cape, which has a population of 6.7 million, were receiving at least one grant.

Of the 1.8 million households in the province, she said one-quarter suffered from  food insecurity due to poverty.  

When the station closed the town did too. We don’t have big shops here. We don’t have a bank. It makes life difficult. But the people here will always share what food they have.

In these households, 342,425 children were receiving child grants. Lusithi said her department had distributed 342,425 food parcels at a cost of R130-million in the province, and it would spend another R78-million to deliver more food parcels to where they were needed.

The chairperson of the governing body of  Brandovale Primary School in Klipplaat, Wayne Seekoei, said that in the heyday of rail transport the town was a vibrant place with many people employed at the station, because it was a major junction serving routes to and from bigger towns and cities such as Port Elizabeth, Oudtshoorn and Graaff-Reinet.

Seekoei said the school ran a nutrition programme for children, with parents recruited from the community to do the cooking.

“When the station closed the town did too,” he said. “We don’t have big shops here. We don’t have a bank. It makes life difficult. But the people here will always share what food they have.”

Seekoei said many of the town’s residents received grants but they had to pay R70 to travel to Jansenville to collect their money.

According to statistics provided by Lusithi, 31% of the town’s residents are younger than 14,  62% are of working age and the rest are older than 65; and of residents older than 20, 15.4% had no schooling.

Lusithi said that a soup kitchen had been established in the town with a budget to supply 240 people, but it had been feeding 469 people before it was closed in March due to the lockdown. She said in May, 312 food parcels were distributed to residents, and 10 in August and October. The MEC said the town was characterised by low population density, high levels of poverty and problems with the supply and quality of its water.

The most gruelling challenge is the shortage of food. We see malnutrition in adults and children.

Due to low reservoir levels, water must be transported to Klipplaat from Graaff-Reinet, 147km away. The mayor of the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality, Deon de Vos, said in a recent statement that water shortages remained a challenge in the Jansenville and Klipplaat areas.

A health worker at the clinic in Klipplaat said many of the town’s residents were poor, hungry and very frail, with drug addiction, alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy and chronic disease such as TB and HIV being rife.

“The most gruelling challenge is the shortage of food. We see malnutrition in adults and children,” she said.

The Gift of the Givers disaster-response NGO has announced a major intervention in the town.

“Nobody calls from Klipplaat without sobbing,” said  the organisation’s founder, Imtiaz Sooliman.

“Gift of the Givers assisted the area [a few months] ago with 400 food parcels and realised a far greater intervention was required,” he said.  The NGO then returned with another 1,000 food parcels, bottled water and nutritionally enriched porridge for children.

Gift of the Givers has also drilled several boreholes in the town.

Amid the gloom, however, a farmer’s wife, a retired teacher and two student teachers are providing children with hope for a better future. Fiona Hobson, who started the organisation Five Loaves Two Fish in Klipplaat, said she and her husband Rob did so after they discovered that many children were unable to read.

She said while the classroom where they used to provide remedial reading classes was now used as a regular classroom because of the Covid-19 regimen for schools, she believes her community project has made a big difference since starting in 2009.

“When we started, a lot of children in grade 3, 4 and 5 couldn’t read at all,” said Hobson, who is a retired high-school science teacher. “This isn’t so unusual, even in fee-paying schools. Schools would offer remedial teaching to some learners, but in a no-fee school like the one in Klipplaat there was no help for them.”

She said one of the teachers involved in the project is a 70-year-old retired foundation phase teacher.

“She is still teaching children from her home. In Klipplaat many parents are not educated and they can’t help their kids. I have helped out a bit at the local high school and many of the learners there can’t read either.

“Two of our teachers are studying to qualify. They are wonderful and full of enthusiasm,” she said.

 Hobson said her group has made  reading material available in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa on its website.

“My approach has always been that, whatever you do, if you can read life will be better for you,” she said. DM/DM168

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