Sommaire pour Oct/Nov 2022 de go!

Your road trip is planned and booked, but then you remember: the car licence is about to expire! A new platform called ChatBack allows South Africans to renew their vehicle licences on WhatsApp. Here's how it works: Go to Save their number (+27 66 202 6685) and message them as you would a normal WhatsApp contact. Or visit the site on a computer and point your phone camera at the QR code, which will start a chat on WhatsApp. Follow the question prompts and you'll be sent a quote, which you can pay securely using your credit card. Once you've paid, you'll need to send a message with your delivery address as well as a photo of your ID and proof of residence. You can check the status of your…

It's Gonna Be Fine by Shotgun Tori US$6 from shotguntori.bandcamp.com When Joburg-based singer-songwriter Shotgun Tori received funding from SAMRO (Southern African Music Rights Organisation) to record an EP, she reached for the songs that had sprung from her life at the time. These six songs also very much reflect what many of us have gone through recently. On the upbeat title track, she sings: “If we weren't in lockdown and there was no curfew, I'd drive to the coast to take in a sea view / Instead I'll count steps in the driveway, to counter the carrying / of the weight of banana bread tests on my hips…” “Driven To Drink” is moodier (“leave me be, I just need a moment to think”), but the overall vibe is positive, ranging…

WHY? We publish a selection of reader pictures in every issue. Don't be shy, haul out those shots you've been hoarding on your computer and send them to us! We like just about anything: wildlife, landscapes, portraits, holiday snaps or bugs in your garden. HOW? Send your photos to takeyourpic@gomag.co.za Submit only your three best shots each month. Don't send files bigger than 4 MB – if we need a bigger version, we'll ask for it. Give the name, surname, home town and contact number of the photographer. Also include info about where and how the shot was taken, and what equipment was used. If you manipulated your photo in any way, tell us what you did. THE FINE PRINT we reserve the right to use your photos elsewhere in…

There are some non-negotiables when you climb into a luxury SUV like the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. The seat must be comfortable, and it should feel as if everything – from the gear shift lever to the indicator paddle – was designed with you in mind. So far, so good. The stitching of the Pajero Sport's leather steering wheel feels good under my hands, and the big touch screen is sunk into the control panel – it doesn't look like it was slapped on later. My phone connects without a hiccup. The Pajero Sport gets all these details right and it gives you enough oomph on the highway. The 2.4-litre diesel engine accelerates with confidence (but without fanfare) when you put your foot down. Earlier this year, I drove the Pajero…

Get some country air into your lungs on a 300-year-old farm near Wellington. On the slopes of Groenberg outside Wellington, beneath some even more imposing peaks, is a farm called Welvanpas, which has been in the same family since 1704. The lay of land is as intricate as its history: There's indigenous forest, a river, a waterfall, flurries of fynbos, hills bristling with vines, and a coffee shop with the best carrot cake in the Boland. If you're into genealogy, history, photography, mushroom foraging, cycling, tasting wine, birding… or if you're just in the mood for a walk, then Welvanpas is the place for you. The farm was originally owned by Pierre Mouji, a French Huguenot from Calais, whose eldest daughter Marie married Francois Retief in 1700. Francois and Marie…

AFRICA PART 4 TRAVEL JOURNAL The traffic was insane. Whenever it ground to a standstill, I amused myself by chatting to the hawkers who wove up and down the lanes trying to sell their wares. I decided to enter Nigeria in convoy with my American friends Laurie and Bruce Heimbigner. Our vehicles made an odd couple: my blue Ford Transit panel van, aka BlueBelle, and their huge Ford F-550 camper called Livingstone. It was April 2019 and we'd spent most of our energy in the preceding week trying to get Nigerian visas. In the end, I managed to get a Visa on Arrival (VOA), which is really meant for passengers arriving by air; it would not be valid until it was endorsed by immigration at the airport in Lagos. We…

The moons of Jupiter At this time of year, Venus is hidden in the glow of the sun and Mars doesn't rise until the morning hours. So, when you look to the night sky, it's Saturn and Jupiter that dominate the planetary scene. Jupiter is in opposition during the month of October, which means it rises in the east at sunset and is visible all night long. It will be easy to spot as it's currently the brightest “star” in the night sky, giving us a great opportunity to reflect on its many moons. Galileo Galilei was the first person to aim a telescope at Jupiter, about 400 years ago. He discovered four bright moons orbiting the planet – we still refer to them as the Galilean moons. The moons…

It's not difficult to figure out that Warwick and Michèle Tarboton are into birds. On this particular summer afternoon, Michèle is wearing a shirt with six embroidered birds on it: hoopoe, Knysna turaco, guineafowl, white-fronted bee-eater, malachite kingfisher and what looks like a greater double-collared sunbird. We're sitting on the veranda of their home in Kokanje, a retirement village outside Modimolle in Limpopo. Throughout our chat, birds can be heard in the background as they forage around the garden – half bushveld, half manicured. On the wall, a laminated poster depicts all the bird species one can see in Kokanje; two other posters show the grasses and butterflies. To entertain themselves, the Tarbotons have an ongoing competition of “veranda birding” to see who can spot the most species from the…

Photography has changed completely in the past decade. You can now take a photo using your cellphone that trumps anything the best compact camera could manage in 2012. DSLRs – you know, real cameras that go “click” when you press the shutter – are also on their way out, being replaced by smaller, lighter cameras with mirrorless shutters and digital viewfinders. Editing and sharing has also changed. You can take a photo of a purple-crested turaco at the Pafuri picnic site, transfer it from your camera to your phone, touch up the colours and contrast and send it into the world while the bird is still perched in the tree. Unsurprisingly, choosing which camera to buy has also become extremely complicated, so we've put together a short guide to help…

Taita falcon Weight: 315 g* | Length: 27 cm The taita falcon occurs in several African countries. Locally, it's a critically endangered species: Scientists know of only about 50 sites in Mpumalanga and Limpopo where this falcon breeds – usually against a high cliff in riverine forest. The falcon is named after the Taita Hills in Kenya, where researchers first recorded it. It usually hunts at sunrise and sunset and prefers smaller birds – it catches them in the air! *The weight of a can of Coke after you've taken a sip. Blackshouldered kite Weight: 248 g | Length: 30 cm Black-shouldered kites often gather in big flocks and they nest in trees or in reedbeds. When it sits on a branch or a telephone pole, it wags its tail…

WINNING LETTER Don't move! My wife Anesca and I and our kids camped at Xakanaxa in Moremi with our friends Bertus and Inalene Nel and their children. It was our first visit to Botswana, and also our first time in an unfenced campsite. We explained to the kids that they might encounter wild animals and they shouldn't be afraid. They must stay close and stand very still if something were to happen. This elephant came past our camp one day. Only after I'd taken the photo did I notice the kids – Emma Nel (6), Anneke Nel (10) and Leanke Loots (8) – quietly sitting under the camping table. The elephant was calm and browsed for a while. It rubbed against a tree and took a dust bath – our…

(PIT STOP) A new sign has appeared since the last time I drove past A Little Sossus Campsite… “Sossusvlei Farmstall”. I find it very difficult to ignore signs like these, especially in Namibia, where farm stalls are few and far between. There will be droewors, of that I'm certain. I pull over and meet Polla and Dalene Swanepoel (pictured above). “What are you selling?” I ask as my eyes roam the goodies on the shelves. “We stock things that campers might have forgotten at home, or forgot to buy in town,” says Polla. They have everything from tin cups and braai grids, to hats, cloth bags and even crocheted blankets (R300), handmade by Dalene's mother. There's also the Namibian holy trinity of ice (R15 per bag), wood (camel thorn, R55)…

Rewilding Africa: Restoring the Wilderness on a War-ravaged Continent by Grant Fowlds & Graham Spence, Jonathan Ball Publishers R325 in bookstores Repairing damaged ecosystems and turning cultivated land into Wildlife reserves sounds like an idealistic endeavour, but only a few pages into this book you'll realise it's anything but. This is the second team effort by conservationist Grant Fowlds and writer Graham Spence – their first book together was Saving the Last Rhinos, published in 2019. Rewilding Africa is all about Fowlds's mission to establish wilderness areas and protect endangered species in places like South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, the DRC – even in Saudi Arabia. The authors don't shy away from the challenges they face in conservation, like poaching, politics, conflict with communities who live near wild places, and the…

TAKE YOUR PIC WINNING PHOTO ELEANOR HATTINGH Nikon D90 Sigma 105 mm f2.8 macro lens ELEANOR WRITES: This is Hyllus treleaveni – the biggest species of jumping spider in South Africa. I photographed this beautiful female specimen in Marloth Park, just outside the Kruger Park. She decided to jump onto my son who is terrified of spiders, so I relocated her to a protea flower and took her portrait. I used a macro lens with the aperture set to f8, shutter speed 1/320 second and ISO 400. TOAST SAYS: Eleanor's Sigma 105 mm f2.8 macro lens is a great addition to your camera kit. It doesn't cost a fortune (about R9 000) and it immediately opens up a whole new world. We're easily distracted by the bigger animals and we…

FOOD Peri-peri chicken kebabs with tzatziki Serves 6 Preparation time 30 minutes, plus time to marinate overnight Cooking time about 15 minutes You need For the marinade For the tzatziki Here's how 1 Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and rub the mixture into the chicken. Marinate the chicken in the fridge overnight. Soak four long skewers in water so they won't catch fire over the coals. 2 Use two skewers per kebab and thread six chicken thighs onto each set. Season with salt and pepper. Braai over medium-hot coals until nicely charred and cooked through. Let the kebabs cool down completely. 3 Prepare the tzatziki: Mix the cucumber with a teaspoon of…

INDWE FARMSTAY, VRYHEID, KZN In mid-summer, the landscape around Vryheid is green – up on the grass-covered mountain slopes and down in the shallow valleys where maize fields bask lazily in the sun. Gail and Dieter Muhl's farm is called Oldeani, a name that harks back to Dieter's maternal family who lived on a coffee plantation near Ngorongoro in Tanzania during the German colonial era. Dieter's paternal family came to South Africa from Germany in the late 1800s as missionaries, and by the 1920s his grandfather had started farming in the Vryheid district. Gail and Dieter opened their guest cottage to visitors midway through 2021, and in early 2022 they set up a campsite. The cottage is small and cosy, but it has everything you need for a comfy stay.…

IMPALA TAKEDOWN, KRUGER PARK On the morning of 2 December 2020, my son Pieter and I were travelling west from Lower Sabie along the S21 in the Kruger Park. Another visitor to the park pulled over and told us there were lions next to the S65 and wild dogs next to the S1 – both nearby. We decided to head for the S65, which connects the H1-1 with the S1 southwest of Skukuza. Pieter was behind the wheel and I was sitting in the back on the left. We're both keen wildlife photographers – he was using a Nikon D750 with a Sigma 60 – 600 mm lens and I had a Canon PowerShot SX60 HS. We were on the S65 when something burst from the bushes and crossed the…

Cape Peninsula? Tsitsikamma? Nope, this is the Orange River, late in the afternoon as it meanders past Geelkrans, a popular sunset spot near Vioolsdrif in the Northern Cape. The camps along this stretch of river – like The Growcery, Fiddlers Creek, Orange River Rafting Lodge and Oewerbos River Camp – are best known as starting points for river rafting trips, but they're also great overnight stops if you're travelling to Namibia. And if you're 4x4-ing into the deep wilderness of the Richtersveld World Heritage Site around Eksteenfontein, well, this is the perfect place to catch your breath.…