south africa

He saw how bad things can be, so perhaps it’s karma that he just got to enjoy a fantastic hunting trip in South Africa, expenses paid by the Disabled American Veterans organization.

He was able to help stalk a white rhinoceros, which was then tranquilized, and he successfully bagged a half-dozen or so venison-type animals during his eight-day stay near Cradock.

Even though his Toyota truck was chased and nearly speared by a black rhino at one point, “it was the trip of a lifetime, and then some,” Baker said.

He and another veteran, a Green Beret who lost an arm in the Afghanistan war, were guests at Tam Safaris, with over 60,000 fenced-in acres and 40 species of game animals. Baker, 43, is in management at a Fargo hotel, and was impressed with the first-class hospitality at Tams. “It’s second to none,” he said. He left on his trip Feb. 12 and returned Feb. 22.

The eastern cape area of South Africa is usually dry and the savannah grasses brown, but it rained every day that Baker was there, so the grass was green and the animals were all “fat and sassy and enjoying life,” he said with a grin. The two veterans and their guides were busy every day.

The most intriguing thing was the rhinos, he said. The heavy beasts compensate for their poor eyesight with extraordinary senses of smell and hearing, making them a challenge to track.

“Nothing will top the three days that we had rhino involvement,” he said.

There’s a big difference between aggressive black rhinos and more docile white rhinos, he said. “They say if it’s running away from you, it’s a white rhino, if it’s running towards you, it’s a black rhino,” he said. The black rhino that charged their jeep got too close for comfort. “Our professional hunter was yelling at our driver to go faster—it was from here to the wall away,” Baker said, pointing to a wall about five feet away. “It would have flipped the jeep.”

Another time, “we got within 20 yards of them, a herd of white rhino went by about 20 yards away,” he said, still a little in awe over the experience.

After Baker and his crew stalked his white rhino, a veterinarian used a tranquilizer gun to subdue it, and then implanted a GPS chip in the pregnant beast. All the rhinos are tracked in real time, especially at night, to protect them against poachers, since their horns can fetch a lot of money in Asia. To help keep them healthy, rhinos at Tam Safaris are also given vitamin shots by helicopter-riding vets using tranquilizer guns.

Baker did well on his hunting trip, bagging a black wildebeest, a red hartebeest, a blesbok, a zebra, an impala, a gemsbok and a white springbok. None of them endangered species, of course.

Nothing goes to waste there—all the meat is consumed, and as part of the trip Baker gets to have mounts of his trophy animals done by a taxidermist so he can display them.

Hunting and fishing trips sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans organization are a lot of fun, obviously. But they are also intended to be therapeutic for veterans, said Becker County Veterans Service Officer Lauri Brooke.

“Putting veterans together is a key part of recovery, because they understand each other,” she said. “Part of it is trying to get them back to what they enjoyed before (combat) … it’s been proven to work—there’s a recreational therapy to it,” she said.

“It puts things into perspective,” Baker agreed. He got a lot out of talking to his Green Beret companion, the first American amputee in the Afghanistan war, and Baker was inspired by the way the man didn’t let his disability get in the way of enjoying the hunt. “He’s just a stand-up guy,” Baker said. “To watch him with one arm, and vision loss in one eye, it’s interesting to watch him get behind a weapon and be a success at shooting.”

Safaris may not be so politically correct these days, but that’s because people don’t always understand how much hunting contributes much-needed cash to the African economy, and toward helping preserve exotic animals and their environment. It’s kind of like how groups like Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever help preserve wetlands and other habitat needed for the game birds to thrive in Minnesota.

“The hunting and conservation efforts over there helps villagers, and helps the animals—it’s amazing how poor they are over there—South Africans can’t afford to put vitamins into rhinos,” Baker said.

He said he’s grateful to the Disabled American Veterans group for everything they do.

“Veterans used to come home and sit in the house and go on and never talk about it (combat) with anybody,” he said.

As time and mental health has evolved, so has the way veterans deal with their experiences, he added. “When you are around people that have been through what you have, they get it,” he said. “It was truly the trip of a lifetime.”

If people want to get involved in helping pay for hunting and fishing trips for veterans (most are less expensive and much closer to home) they can talk to Brooke at the veterans’ service office.

IN APRIL 1876 Dinkwanyane, the youngest son of the Pedi chief, Sekwati, sent a defiant letter to the landdrost of Lydenburg in present-day Mpumalanga, via Albert Nachtigal, a German missionary.

His anger revolved around a matter that up to today has never been resolved in similar scenarios over decades across the country – land theft.

“I will address you Boers, you men who know God,” Dinkwanyane wrote. “Do you think there is a God who will punish lying, theft and deceit?

“I ask you now for the truth, I pray for the truth because I also speak my whole truth.

“I say: the land belongs to us.”

But the landdrost wasn’t interested. Three months later, Dinkwanyane, who had converted to Christianity in 1864, was dead – of wounds sustained in a battle with the Boers and their Swazi allies at his headquarters of Mafolofolo.

Thus, the land inhabited by Pedi, Sotho and numerous other groups, like the land settled by the Khoikhoi and San people at the southernmost tip of Africa, and like the land in the eastern and south-eastern parts of the continent, inhabited by the Zulu and the Xhosa, was forcibly taken by Dutch and English colonisers.

South Africa has a sad history of land dispossession. It is a narrative in which the adults of many indigenous communities were hunted down and killed, where their children were kidnapped and turned into inboekselings (slave labourers) and where land, crops and livestock were claimed as trophies of war.

The experience of Dinkwanyane and his people was therefore not new. Land theft started shortly after Jan van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 to start a refreshment station for Dutch ships sailing to and from the East.

Matters worsened when the first group of colonists – the so-called “free burgers” – were allowed to farm for their own profit.

Soon, clashes over land increased in intensity

After the Khoikhoi and San were declared vermin by the Dutch authorities, they were systematically hunted down by armed burgers with orders to shoot to kill on sight.

It drove many of the indigenous inhabitants into the interior.

Meanwhile, the arrival of groups of British settlers in the Eastern Cape intensified an already tense relationship between European settlers and Xhosa communities, culminating in a series of frontier wars. The first of these wars broke out in 1779, with another eight wars following over the next 100 years.

The chief cause of these hostilities was contestation over land – in effect ongoing invasion and confiscation of land belonging to the Xhosa by the colonialists.

Probably the most brutal of the frontier wars was launched on Christmas Day, 1811, when troops under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Graham (after whom Grahamstown is named) marched into Xhosa territory.

On January 1, 1812 they reached the hideout of Xhosa chiefs Chungwa and Ndlambe, and Graham chillingly set out his plan of action: “My intention is to attack the savages in such a way I confidently hope will leave a lasting impression on their memories and show them our vast superiority in all situations. I have ordered 500 men to enter the wood on foot with orders to stay there as long as a kaffir remains alive.”

His orders were followed to the letter, with his adjutant, Robert Hart, writing that Xhosa men and women were shot indiscriminately, whether they offered resistance or not.

The governor of the Cape, Sir John Cradock, was ecstatic over the outcome – so much so that he decreed that the headquarters of the troops be renamed “Graham’s Town in respect for the services of Lieutenant-Colonel Graham, through whose spirited exertions the kaffir hordes have been driven from that valuable district.”

Policies adopted by the authorities in the Eastern Cape turned out to be a dry run for the land strategies of the apartheid National Party when it came into power in 1948.

The Glen Grey Act of 1894, inspired by Cecil John Rhodes, was aimed at driving black people off the land and to wage labour. In introducing the act, Rhodes had complained: “We do not teach them the dignity of labour, and they simply loaf about in sloth and laziness. They never go out and work. This is what we have failed to consider with reference to our native population.”

In Natal, defeat at the battle of Blood River on December 16,1838 against the Boers and later against the British (after they had initially triumphed at the Battle of Isandlwana), saw the kingdom of Zululand dismembered and annexed by the white colonial authorities in 1879.

In the interior of Southern Africa, the Boers rode roughshod over African communities.

In most cases, they claimed land with guns in hand. And on the few occasions they did enter into negotiations with African chiefs, they ignored the fact that there was no concept of private property ownership among African communities. Land was communally owned.

Moreover, some “contracts” were concluded with chiefs who had no jurisdiction over the land being handed over. And even then, the payment the Boers made bordered on the ridiculous.

For example, land between the Vet and Vaal rivers – about 60000 square kilometres – exchanged hands for 30 cattle. In other words one cow got them 2000 square kilometres of land.

Following the formation of the whites-only Union of South Africa in 1910, the new government formalised land ownership via the Natives’ Land Act of 1913, in terms of which whites took 93% of the land while blacks were given 7%.

After the promulgation of the act, Sol T Plaatje, the first secretary of the SA Native National Congress, which later became the ANC, was moved to write in his book, Native Life in South Africa: “Awakening on Friday morning, June 20, 1913 the South African native found himself not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth.”

Soon after the National Party came to power in the elections of 1948, it declared its intention of creating a South Africa for whites only. Blacks would be confined to homelands for their particular tribal group.

There would be no more black South Africans, NP cabinet minister Connie Mulder confidently predicted.

This meant that black people living in what the new apartheid authorities saw as white South Africa – in hundreds of so-called blackspots – had to be moved.

A number of laws were promulgated to bring this about. These included the Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act, the National States Constitution Act (which allowed the government to move boundaries of homelands at will), the Black Prohibition of Interdicts Act (which barred the victims of forced removals to petition the courts) and the Group Areas Act.

Millions of African and coloured people in rural and urban areas were forcibly removed in terms of these pieces of legislation. Thousands were simply dumped in the veld, many kilometres from their places of work, or – as was the case with mainly coloured people in the Western Cape – moved to tiny, box-shaped houses on the Cape Flats.

These were the real victims of expropriation without compensation.

These are the forgotten people for which the proposed expropriation without compensation seeks to compensate.

* Dougie Oakes is Independent Media’s features and op-ed editor.

Cape Argus

He saw how bad things can be, so perhaps it’s karma that he just got to enjoy a fantastic hunting trip in South Africa, expenses paid by the Disabled American Veterans organization.

He was able to help stalk a white rhinoceros, which was then tranquilized, and he successfully bagged a half-dozen or so venison-type animals during his eight-day stay near Cradock.

Even though his Toyota truck was chased and nearly speared by a black rhino at one point, “it was the trip of a lifetime, and then some,” Baker said.

He and another veteran, a Green Beret who lost an arm in the Afghanistan war, were guests at Tam Safaris, with over 60,000 fenced-in acres and 40 species of game animals. Baker, 43, is in management at a Fargo hotel, and was impressed with the first-class hospitality at Tams. “It’s second to none,” he said. He left on his trip Feb. 12 and returned Feb. 22.

The eastern cape area of South Africa is usually dry and the savannah grasses brown, but it rained every day that Baker was there, so the grass was green and the animals were all “fat and sassy and enjoying life,” he said with a grin. The two veterans and their guides were busy every day.

The most intriguing thing was the rhinos, he said. The heavy beasts compensate for their poor eyesight with extraordinary senses of smelling and hearing, making them a challenge to track.

“Nothing will top the three days that we had rhino involvement,” he said.

There’s a big difference between aggressive black rhinos and more docile white rhinos, he said. “They say if it’s running away from you, it’s a white rhino, if it’s running towards you, it’s a black rhino,” he said. The black rhino that charged their jeep got too close for comfort. “Our professional hunter was yelling at our driver to go faster—it was from here to the wall away,” Baker said, pointing to a wall about five feet away. “It would have flipped the jeep.”

Another time, “we got within 20 yards of them, a herd of white rhino went by about 20 yards away,” he said, still a little in awe over the experience.

After Baker and his crew stalked his white rhino, a veterinarian used a tranquilizer gun to subdue it, and then implanted a GPS chip in the pregnant beast. All the rhinos are tracked in real time, especially at night, to protect them against poachers, since their horns can fetch a lot of money in Asia. To help keep them healthy, rhinos at Tam Safaris are also given vitamin shots by helicopter-riding vets using tranquilizer guns.

Baker did well on his hunting trip, bagging a black wildebeest, a red hartebeest, a blesbok, a zebra, an impala, a gemsbok and a white springbok. None of them endangered species, of course.

Nothing goes to waste there—all the meat is consumed, and as part of the trip Baker gets to have mounts of his trophy animals done by a taxidermist so he can display them.

Hunting and fishing trips sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans organization are a lot of fun, obviously. But they are also intended to be therapeutic for veterans, said Becker County Veterans Service Officer Lauri Brooke.

“Putting veterans together is a key part of recovery, because they understand each other,” she said. “Part of it is trying to get them back to what they enjoyed before (combat) … it’s been proven to work—there’s a recreational therapy to it,” she said.

“It puts things into perspective,” Baker agreed. He got a lot out of talking to his Green Beret companion, the first American amputee in the Afghanistan war, and Baker was inspired by the way the man didn’t let his disability get in the way of enjoying the hunt. “He’s just a stand-up guy,” Baker said. “To watch him with one arm, and vision loss in one eye, it’s interesting to watch him get behind a weapon and be a success at shooting.”

Safaris may not be so politically correct these days, but that’s because people don’t always understand how much hunting contributes much-needed cash to the African economy, and towards helping preserve exotic animals and their environment. It’s kind of like how groups like Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever help preserve wetlands and other habitat needed for the game birds to thrive in Minnesota.

“The hunting and conservation efforts over there helps villagers, and helps the animals—it’s amazing how poor they are over there—South Africans can’t afford to put vitamins into rhinos,” Baker said.

He said he’s grateful to the Disabled American Veterans group for everything they do.

“Veterans used to come home and sit in the house and go on and never talk about it (combat) with anybody,” he said.

As time and mental health has evolved, so has the way veterans deal with their experiences, he added. “When you are around people that have been through what you have, they get it,” he said. “It was truly the trip of a lifetime.”

If people want to get involved in helping pay for hunting and fishing trips for veterans (most are less expensive and much closer to home) they can talk to Brooke at the veterans’ service office.

Mountain Zebra National Park, Eastern Cape

The Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock in the Eastern Cape, has played an important role in saving the Cape mountain zebra from extinction.

Today, you are almost guaranteed to spot them in this park, along with a whole range of other wildlife such as buffalo, lion, cheetah and many antelope species.

The park is big enough for plenty of self-guided drives if you prefer these to guided tours, or for a completely different wildlife experience, track a cheetah with a qualified guide.
Pack a picnic basket and enjoy your lunch at one of the picnic sites, or enjoy a meal at the restaurant.

The perfect way to end the day is a hike on one of the hiking trails within the rest camp. The sunsets from the top of the little koppie can be quite spectacular, so pack some sundowners to celebrate the end of a beautiful day.

Rates: A cottage for two costs between R1 260 and R1 340, while a family unit costs from R1 150 to R1 235 for the first two people, plus R260 per additional adult. Rates exclude daily conservation fees.

AUTUMN

Marakele National Park, Limpopo

The Marakele National Park, where bushveld meets fynbos, is located a few kilometres outside Thabazimbi, and offers a quick escape from city life in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
In autumn, the bushveld, made famous in the literature of Eugene Marais, is at its most lush and beautiful.

At this time of year, Marakele’s dense thickets are populated with dozens of elephant. The many biomes in the park make it a haven for a large diversity of bird and vegetation species. Some lucky visitors have even been able to mark the Big Five off their lists here.

Head up to Lenong Viewing Point, high up in the mountains, where you can experience misty views of the rolling Waterberg below. Here, you may even spot some of the Cape vulture breeding colony. You could also view elephant at the various dams, or head out on one of the 4×4 routes.

Rates: Self-catering safari tents at the Tlopi tented camp is R1 365 for two people, with R260 per adult or R130 per child for a third person. Camping facilities are also available.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Northern Cape

There is never a bad time to visit the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana and South Africa, which also borders Namibia. However, in winter the weather is clear with exceptionally starry skies, and great sightings throughout the day.

Spending time at the waterholes in this park will ensure that you experience wonderful sightings of a wide range of wildlife. Both Nossob and Mata-Mata rest camps have waterholes where there is plenty to see, from birds of prey, cheetah, leopard and bat-eared foxes, to smaller specimens such as snakes, meerkat, whistling rats and barking geckos.

Sightings of herds of springbok and blue wildebeest will also delight visitors.

It is advisable to use a 4×4 or high clearance vehicle to traverse the sandy roads between camps.

Camping is a good option, but wrap up warmly in winter as temperatures can plummet to below zero.

Rates: River-front chalets at the Mata-Mata rest camp on the banks of the Auob River range from R1 845 for two people, to R2 805 for four. Rates for chalets in the interior of the camp start at R1 015 for two, and for camping sites start at R330.

WINTER 

Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Free State

The Golden Gate Highlands National Park near Clarens in the Free State derives its name from the golden hues visible as the light hits the sandstone cliffs of the Brandwag Rock at sunset.

In this part of the world cold weather and snow is not uncommon, but if the weather allows, explore the park on foot on one of the hiking trials. These range from short walks to longer overnight hikes.

You can also head out on a drive along the Oribi or Blesbok Loops for some game viewing.

Learn more about the Basotho people at the Basotho Cultural Village, an open air museum where Basotho heritage from the 16th century to the present day is on display.

Visitors can also stop at the vulture hide to see whether their patience pays off and they can spot the rare bearded vultures.

Rates: An overnight stay in wooden chalets with views of the Maluti Mountains at the Highlands Mountain Retreat start at R1 500 for two people, while a family log cabin for four is available from R2 415. Basotho Cultural Village tours are R60 per person.

Namaqua National Park, Northern Cape

Spring arrives early in the Namaqua National Park near Kamieskroon in the Northern Cape. Therefore, in years with good rainfall, August is the best time to visit, as Namaqualand transforms into fields of colour.

Visit the Skilpad Walking Trail for short nature hikes, cycling, picnics and some game viewing.

Moist sea air in the coastal section of the park between Groen River and Spoeg River almost guarantees that visitors will see flowers in bloom. Here they may be in full bloom a bit later than those in the Skilpad Walking Trail section. However, you will need a 4×4 vehicle to explore the coastal section.

On the Caracal Eco Route, visitors can explore the seal colony and the Spoeg River caves, among other sights.

There are four accommodation units at the start of the Skilpad Walking Trail, and rustic campsites scattered along the coast. The Flowers Beach Camp is set up every year from around mid-August to early September and consists of serviced dome tents with beds.

Rates: Rates for 2018 are R1 075 per child (between 12 and 16 years) and R2 250 per adult sharing per night.

Spring

West Coast National Park, Western Cape

Visit the West Coast National Park near Langebaan in the Western Cape to witness the azure waters of Langebaan Lagoon and breathtaking fields of flowers.

The flower season starts in early spring, and the Postberg section is open to the public in August and September.

Here you will be able to see daisies and other species of flowers such as the candelabra flower (Brunsvigia orientalis), rooinaeltjie (Lachenalia bulbifera), chinkerinchee (Ornithogalum thyrsoides), bruinsalie/ strandsalie (Salvia Africana-lutea), rooimalva (Pelargonium fulgidum), and lion’s tail or wild dagga (Leonotis leonurus). Herds of springbok, eland and zebra can also be viewed throughout the park.

In addition, there is no shortage of beaches in this park, such as the beach at Preekstoel on Langebaan Lagoon. Plenty of picnic sites are available along the coast, such as Tsaarbank and Plankiesbaai where visitors can view whales in spring.

At Geelbek, a boardwalk leads to a hide where water birds can be viewed, while Geelbek restaurant is popular for its views of the lagoon and traditional fare.

Rates: Self-catering accommodation is available at Joanne’s B Cottage, which is walking distance from the lagoon. The rate for this gas- and solar-operated cottage is R1 850 for four people.

Table Mountain National Park, Western Cape

A variety of beaches, marine and terrestrial wildlife, hiking routes, iconic landmarks and more, make Table Mountain National Park, located in in the Cape Peninsula, ideal for a summer holiday.

The park contains two well-known landmarks: Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope, and forms part of Unesco’s Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site. Easy access to the top of Table Mountain is provided by the aerial cableway, but there are also trails for all levels of walkers.

The Cape of Good Hope encompasses the rocky outcrops of Cape Point, the Flying Dutchman funicular railway, and surrounding beaches. The many hiking trails will take visitors close to wildlife, or they can take advantage of the opportunities for angling, surfing, picnicking and cycling.

In addition, a visit to the Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town offers the opportunity to witness this endangered species up close. Nearby Kommetjie offers great sunset views and a tented camp.

Rates: Rates for the self-catering Eland and Duiker family cottages in the Cape of Good Hope section are R1 275 for four people, with R260 per additional adult and R130 per additional child.

Flying Dutchman Funicular return tickets are R30 for children and R70 for adults.

Table Mountain cableway return tickets are about R135 for children and R275 for adults.
Boulders Penguin Colony tickets are about R40 for children and R75 for adults. The Cape of Good Hope is about R75 for children and R145 for adults. Conservation fees apply.

Summer

Garden Route National Park, Eastern and Western Cape

Made up of the Tsitsikamma, Knysna and Wilderness sections in the Western and Eastern Cape, the Garden Route National Park offers many attractions and activities.

These range from lazing around on pristine beaches and exploring the rugged coastline, to stepping back in time in the lush, indigenous forest, or birdwatching.

The Tsitsikamma section is home to the oldest marine protected area in Africa, as well as the renowned Otter Hiking Trail. But there are also many day trails and short walks throughout the Garden Route.

Remember to visit one of the giant Outeniqua yellowwood trees towering over the forest floor. There are also many guided forest and water-bound activities, such as scooter tours and sunset boat cruises.

Rates: The rate for a two-bed chalet in Tsitsikamma is R1 485. The rate for two people at the 4-star Harkerville Forest Treetop Chalet in Knysna is R1 600, and up to four can be accommodated.

The first tennis team of the University of the Free State (UFS) obtained a respectable fourth place at the Top Guns Club event that finished at Sun City on Monday 19 February 2018.

It was the first time the tournament was held where all the provincial tennis champs competed for the honours as national club champions.

The Kovsie team was represented by Cornelius Rall, Lienke de Kock, Reze Opperman and Arne Nel. Arne a veteran who has played for the first team for six years, led the team. They played as men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles with optional rotation at the end of each set.

The round robin matches consisted out of three full short sets. Thus, the first team to four games, by a margin of two would win the set.

Student crown to defend

The Free State students topped their pool with three wins from three encounters.

Victories came against Lapésa Tennis Club of the Northern Cape, Wesbank from Eden and Cradock from Eastern Province, all by 3-0.

It set up an encounter with Camps Bay from the Western Cape in the semi-finals which the Kovsies lost by 1-2.

In the play-off for third and fourth place the students came unstuck against Marks Park Tennis Club from Gauteng Central.

The Kovsies will next be in action from 13 to 16 April 2018 again in Sun City in a university challenge tournament which they have won for the previous two years.

They boast an outstanding record in student competitions, having won the University Sport South Africa (Ussa) the last eight years consecutively.

Source University of the Free State

Eastern Cape is filled with gorgeous landscapes and is home to some of the provinces biggest adventure spots. Here are some of the activities:

Bayworld

Address: Beach Road, Humewood, Port Elizabeth   

Price: R45 for adults, R35 for children from 3-17 years and R40 for pensioners and students. 

Contact Details: 041 584 0650 / 086 500 6854 or e-mail: [email protected]

 Bayworld consists of the PE Museum, Oceanarium and Snake Park. There are  displays of prehistoric dinosaurs to the 15 metre skeleton of the last Southern Right whale harpooned in Algoa Bay. The Reptile Park houses lizards, tortoises, snakes and crocodiles.

Areena Riverside Resort

Address: East Coast Resorts Rd, Kwelera, East London, 5259

Price: R150pp for a 20 minute quad bike drive, R70pp for pellet gun shooting, R75pp for hike. 

Contact: 043 734 3055

Areena Riverside Resort  in East London is one of those places you go to bond with your family. With an array of action packed activities to suit the pocket, families are spoilt for choice when it comes to a fun day out.  Activities include quad biking, hikes, canoe hires and pellet gun shooting. Make sure you see Abby the giraffe, his super friendly.

Mountain Zebra National Park

Where: R51, Cradock, 5880

Price: R48 for South African adults, R24 for children aged 2-11. International tourists pay R192 for adults and R96 for for children aged 2-11.

Contact: 048 801 5700

The national park, situated  near Cradock in the Eastern Cape, celebrated their 80th anniversary this year and have successfully got the mountain zebra off the endangered species list. Travellers will get to see the Mountain Zebra,  lion, buffalo, cheetah and various antelope. The picturesque landscapes and wildlife make for great photographs.  Activities include cheetah tracking, game drives and walks.

The Edge, Hogsback.

Address: Bluff End, Hogsback, 5721

Price: Free.

Contact: 045 962 1159

Now, here is a place you can have hours of fun. At the Edge in Hogsback, people can walk through the maze for free. The labyrinth is an eleven-circuit labyrinth and the pattern is similar to the labyrinth in the Cathedral in Chartres in  France. It is one of the most intricate labyrinth designs. The Edge has a diameter of 29 meters and a circumference of 91m. The length of the pathway is 700 meters, and the total distance of the walk to the center and out is 1.4 kilometers, making it one of the largest labyrinths in the world.

Addo Elephant National Park

Where: R335 Paterson Road, Addo, 6105

Price: R68 for South African adults, R34 for children aged 2-11. International tourists pay R272for adults and R136 for for children aged 2-11.

Contact: 012 428 9111

Addo Elephant National Park conserves the Big 7. It stretches from the rugged plains of the Karoo to the untamed coastline.Conveniently located only 40km from Port Elizabeth, Addo offers the best elephant viewing in the country. Experience a guided tour on safari vehicle or horseback, or set your own pace on a self-drive or 4×4 tour.

HESTON, Gordon, Matt, Marco, Raymond, Michel, Jamie…the concept of the TV celebrity chef lifting the curtain and revealing the mysteries of their craft is relatively new.

But there’s a pattern here, with a few exceptions, including the brilliant Angela Hartnett and Emily Watkins, they are virtually all men.

Lest we forget though, historically it has been women at the vanguard of cooking. The first major author to influence the cooking of the nation was the original ‘domestic goddess’ Isabella Beeton. Her book, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, was first published in 1861.

An instant bestseller, the 76 chapter volume was a compendium of household tips and duties for the staff with a substantial cookery section. She exalted the merits of cooking seasonal and local food, a message that resonates today and particularly is a mantra for me and my business Room Forty. Incredibly, 150 odd years later, the book remains in print.

Fast forward 60 years and although ‘king of chefs’, Auguste Escoffier was undoubtedly a culinary genius, King Edward VII, preferred the ‘queen of cooks’, Rosa Lewis. The brilliant Rosa cooked in the French style. Lighter and less stodgy fayre than the Victorian cooking of Isabella Beeton. She was appointed as Edward’s personal chef, a role she looked after for 20 years. Rosa was formerly the chef to the Churchill family and a favourite of Kaiser Wilhelm II too.

1939 saw the start of the Second World War and the necessity for frugality. Marguerite Patten was appointed by the Ministry of Food to guide the nation through rationing. She wrote recipes and hosted a radio broadcast called The Kitchen Front designed to make the most of what was available. By 1947 she had become Britain’s first TV cook. Still revered by contemporary chefs, it was Marguerite to whom Jamie Oliver turned for advice when working on his school dinner campaign as to how to make meals on a budget. In her remarkable 99 year lifetime she wrote 170 cookery books.

The slightly bonkers Fanny Cradock hit British TV screens in 1955. The advent of colour TV in the late 1960s brought technicolour to her odd make up and bizarre culinary creations such as garishly colour dyed piped mashed potato and odd things suspended in bowls of yellow aspic. While she may have reigned on TV and been of huge entertainment value her legacy has not stood the test of time.

Meanwhile Elizabeth David was as enthralled and excited as she was by the Mediterranean diet she was as equally appalled with the bland, grey, boring British diet that greeted her on her return to live in austerity London in 1946.

Her Book of Mediterranean Food, published in 1950, was transformational. It introduced austerity Britain to the vibrancy and colour of the Med diet: garlic, pasta, lemons, fresh herbs, brie, cous cous, peppers, olive oil.

Her friend and contemporary was fellow journalist Jane Grigson who also wrote classics about British and French food. An early critic of battery farming, she cared passionately about such things as provenance too.

About this time Nigella Lawson’s mentor Anna Del Conte was making her mark. Having moved to the UK from Italy after the war she too found the British diet dull and wrote the classics like The Gastronomy of Italy. In 1960, the amazing Prue Leith moved to London from South Africa, attended the Cordon Bleu Cookery School and soon set up Leith’s Good Food, a party and event catering business.

In 1969, she opened Leith’s Restaurant which won her a Michelin star. By 1975, she had founded Leith’s School of Food and Wine which became the UK equivalent of the Cordon Bleu, training professional chefs and amateur cooks. In 1993 she sold the school which by then had grown to have a turnover of £15 million. As a business woman and cook Pru is incredible.

The fabulous Mary Berry mustn’t be left out of this list. She has published more than 70 since 1970 and is an inspiration to millions with her foolproof recipe’s with clear instructions and a regular on TV.

The names Delia and Nigella have become ‘mononymous’ – Delia Smith and Nigella Lawson have both become so successful that you don’t even need to mention their second name.

Delia’s recipes are to this day, delicious, failsafe classics. Delia was omnipresent in magazines, through her books and on our TV screens from the late 70s up until her last book in 2009. And the ‘Delia Effect’ was so powerful that when her BBC How to Cook programme was first aired in 1998, supermarkets recorded an increase in sales of 1.3 million eggs the next day.

Nigella took over Delia’s culinary mantle, first appearing on TV in 1998. Her vampish profile belies her phenomenal, achievable recipes and she currently still reigns supreme. Think the vogue for spiced baked cauliflower is new? Check out Nigella Bites, she was championing it back in 1991. In this celebratory, centenary year of women having won the right to vote I would argue that rather than being enslaved by the kitchen it has been a forum in which women have for more than 160 years, shown themselves to lead, enlighten, inspire and excel.

Ask most male chefs who was their cooking inspiration and, certainly in the case of Raymond Blanc, James Martin and Marco Pierre White, it was their mother or grandmother. For me, I am delighted to say it was my mum as she always cooked amazing food and taught me the basics to build from. Who feeds your inspiration?

HESTON, Gordon, Matt, Marco, Raymond, Michel, Jamie…the concept of the TV celebrity chef lifting the curtain and revealing the mysteries of their craft is relatively new.

But there’s a pattern here, with a few exceptions, including the brilliant Angela Hartnett and Emily Watkins, they are virtually all men.

Lest we forget though, historically it has been women at the vanguard of cooking. The first major author to influence the cooking of the nation was the original ‘domestic goddess’ Isabella Beeton. Her book, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, was first published in 1861.

An instant bestseller, the 76 chapter volume was a compendium of household tips and duties for the staff with a substantial cookery section. She exalted the merits of cooking seasonal and local food, a message that resonates today and particularly is a mantra for me and my business Room Forty. Incredibly, 150 odd years later, the book remains in print.

Fast forward 60 years and although ‘king of chefs’, Auguste Escoffier was undoubtedly a culinary genius, King Edward VII, preferred the ‘queen of cooks’, Rosa Lewis. The brilliant Rosa cooked in the French style. Lighter and less stodgy fayre than the Victorian cooking of Isabella Beeton. She was appointed as Edward’s personal chef, a role she looked after for 20 years. Rosa was formerly the chef to the Churchill family and a favourite of Kaiser Wilhelm II too.

1939 saw the start of the Second World War and the necessity for frugality. Marguerite Patten was appointed by the Ministry of Food to guide the nation through rationing. She wrote recipes and hosted a radio broadcast called The Kitchen Front designed to make the most of what was available. By 1947 she had become Britain’s first TV cook. Still revered by contemporary chefs, it was Marguerite to whom Jamie Oliver turned for advice when working on his school dinner campaign as to how to make meals on a budget. In her remarkable 99 year lifetime she wrote 170 cookery books.

The slightly bonkers Fanny Cradock hit British TV screens in 1955. The advent of colour TV in the late 1960s brought technicolour to her odd make up and bizarre culinary creations such as garishly colour dyed piped mashed potato and odd things suspended in bowls of yellow aspic. While she may have reigned on TV and been of huge entertainment value her legacy has not stood the test of time.

Meanwhile Elizabeth David was as enthralled and excited as she was by the Mediterranean diet she was as equally appalled with the bland, grey, boring British diet that greeted her on her return to live in austerity London in 1946.

Her Book of Mediterranean Food, published in 1950, was transformational. It introduced austerity Britain to the vibrancy and colour of the Med diet: garlic, pasta, lemons, fresh herbs, brie, cous cous, peppers, olive oil.

Her friend and contemporary was fellow journalist Jane Grigson who also wrote classics about British and French food. An early critic of battery farming, she cared passionately about such things as provenance too.

About this time Nigella Lawson’s mentor Anna Del Conte was making her mark. Having moved to the UK from Italy after the war she too found the British diet dull and wrote the classics like The Gastronomy of Italy. In 1960, the amazing Prue Leith moved to London from South Africa, attended the Cordon Bleu Cookery School and soon set up Leith’s Good Food, a party and event catering business.

In 1969, she opened Leith’s Restaurant which won her a Michelin star. By 1975, she had founded Leith’s School of Food and Wine which became the UK equivalent of the Cordon Bleu, training professional chefs and amateur cooks. In 1993 she sold the school which by then had grown to have a turnover of £15 million. As a business woman and cook Pru is incredible.

The fabulous Mary Berry mustn’t be left out of this list. She has published more than 70 since 1970 and is an inspiration to millions with her foolproof recipe’s with clear instructions and a regular on TV.

The names Delia and Nigella have become ‘mononymous’ – Delia Smith and Nigella Lawson have both become so successful that you don’t even need to mention their second name.

Delia’s recipes are to this day, delicious, failsafe classics. Delia was omnipresent in magazines, through her books and on our TV screens from the late 70s up until her last book in 2009. And the ‘Delia Effect’ was so powerful that when her BBC How to Cook programme was first aired in 1998, supermarkets recorded an increase in sales of 1.3 million eggs the next day.

Nigella took over Delia’s culinary mantle, first appearing on TV in 1998. Her vampish profile belies her phenomenal, achievable recipes and she currently still reigns supreme. Think the vogue for spiced baked cauliflower is new? Check out Nigella Bites, she was championing it back in 1991. In this celebratory, centenary year of women having won the right to vote I would argue that rather than being enslaved by the kitchen it has been a forum in which women have for more than 160 years, shown themselves to lead, enlighten, inspire and excel.

Ask most male chefs who was their cooking inspiration and, certainly in the case of Raymond Blanc, James Martin and Marco Pierre White, it was their mother or grandmother. For me, I am delighted to say it was my mum as she always cooked amazing food and taught me the basics to build from. Who feeds your inspiration?

The weather service has issued the following precautions:

– “If outdoors seek shelter immediately but not under a tree‚ under telephone and/or powerlines‚ on hilltops‚ etc.”

– “Avoid being near metal objects such as: fences‚ golf carts‚ telephone or powerlines and steel structures such as pylons and windmills.”

– “Do not hold any metal object‚ use any electrical appliance‚ use the telephone‚ take a bath or shower. Do not play sport during thunderstorms. Golfers and fishermen are at high risk.”

– “If possible stay indoors and cover vehicles. Listen to the radio or TV for warnings and obey instructions from disaster management officers.”

Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga has strongly condemned the recent killing of a law enforcement officer in Centurion.

Constable Mendo Yanta was shot dead last week on Wednesday evening after walking in on an armed robbery.

Yanta entered the KFC fast food branch on the corner of Cantonments and Cradock streets in Lyttelton while three armed men were busy robbing the store.

He was shot dead and the suspects stole his duty pistol and fled the scene in a Hyundai i10 with about R7 000 in cash.

Msimanga said the metro was shocked by Yanta’s killing.

“I would like to extend my sincerest condolences to the family, friends and loved ones as well as his colleagues at the TMPD for their loss.”

The mayor said Yanta’s workday was almost done when he passed by the store.

Msimanga said during a drug and crime operation last week, he saw first-hand the “precarious and, sometimes, life-threatening situations law enforcement officers are often confronted with”.

“This officer’s death will not be in vain and we will intensify our day-to-day crime-fighting activities.”

Msimanga appealed to anyone with information on the incident to contact the police or the metro police on 012-358-7095/6 or 012-358-2124.

“We will work very hard with the police to apprehend the culprits and ensure that they are brought to book,” said Msimanga.

The metro police were unable to comment by the time of going to print.

KFC South Africa said it was shaken by the armed robbery.

“Armed robbers entered the restaurant and demanded cash and unfortunately fatally shot a customer as they exited, no one else was injured,” said KFC spokesperson Thabisa Mkhwanazi.

Mkhwanazi said the police were investigating.

“We can assure all our clients we are committed to supporting the police in their investigation and we will continue to provide them with any information they require.”

She said staff members had received trauma counselling and this would continue for as long as required.

“The safety of our clients and team members is of utmost importance to us and we are deeply saddened by this tragic incident. Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to the family of the deceased.”

Similar robberies were reported in the Pretoria CBD recently when two pizza fast food outlets were targeted in one weekend by robbers in a Toyota Quantum or Nissan minibus, according to police.

Police offered the following safety tips to fast food operators and store owners:

– CCTV cameras are an important deterrent to crime.

– If possible, hire security personnel and make sure they are visible.

– Keep access to tills limited; use a protective (preferably bulletproof) glass screen and lockable doors to ensure that nobody gains unauthorised access to tills.

The KFC store on the corner of Cantonments and Craddock Streets in Lyttelton. Photo: Jason Milford