Sommaire pour June/July 2024 de go!

DON'T MISS OUR NEXT ISSUE! The August/September magazine will be on sale at your retailer from 26 July 2024. I can't sing “My Way” like Frank Sinatra did, but I also don't have many regrets. Too few to mention. Actually, I'll mention one: I should have bought volumes I and II of Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa by William Burchell years ago, in The Littlest Bookshop in Molteno. Have you been to The Littlest Bookshop in Molteno? Have you been to Molteno? If you ever pass through this tiny town in the Eastern Cape, please pop in and say hi to the writer Nadine Rose Larter. Her collection of second-hand books in her tiny shop in the village is outstanding. Buy some of her handmade beaded bookmarks, too. She…

Every month our experts answer your questions about birds, bugs and beasts. Send your photos and queries to editor@gomag.co.za Which itsy-bitsy spider? DENISCHKA UYS from Durbanville writes: I found this spider in our garden. It sat in the same place for a few days and there were baby spiders in small webs around it. What kind of spider is it? Entomologist DUNCAN MACFADYEN says: What a beauty! This a common garden orb-web spider (Argiope australis) – identified by the distinct yellow and grey stripes on the abdomen and banded legs. Like most spiders, garden orbs are harmless to humans and are important in controlling pests in the garden. They eat insects and are capable of consuming prey up to twice their size. They attach their drum-shaped egg sacs to surrounding vegetation. The…

ANTARES 17 July 2024 The moon and the scorpion An“occultation”is when one celestial body passes in front of another. The most obvious example is a solar eclipse seen from earth, when the moon passes in front of the sun. The moon passes in front of other stars too, though not as frequently as you might assume, especially when it comes to bright stars. In fact, there are only four occultations of bright stars that are visible from South Africa in 2024. On the evening of 17 July 2024, an occultation occurs with a red giant star called Antares, also known as“the heart of the scorpion” because of its colour. The time at which Antares will disappear behind the moon varies slightly depending on where you are, but if you start…

takeyourpic@gomag.co.za WINNING PHOTO DENISE ZEEMAN Canon EOS R7 Sigma 150–600mm lens DENISE WRITES: This southern double-collared sunbird is a regular visitor to our garden in Worcester, but it's just too fast for me to photograph. I've taken more than a hundred photos and it's almost never in the right place in the frame, especially when it's zooming around this Salvia shrub looking for nectar. My 10-year-old son Johan likes to sit with me as I wait for a photo. “Ai, mamma, die voëltjie is so vinnig!” he'll say. I recently grabbed my camera and decided,“Today is the day.” I sat in the garden for two hours. Patience and luck are the two important keywords here, but so are anticipation and determination. And I got it! Taking a photo of this…

FOOD Red wine chicken pot Serves 4 Preparation time 50 minutes Cooking time 1 hour You need • 1 tablespoon each oil and butter • 200g bacon, sliced into pieces • 4 each chicken drumsticks and thighs • 2 tablespoons cake flour • salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste • 8 shallots or small red onions, peeled and halved • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled • 2 bay leaves • sprig of thyme • 1 cup red wine • 1 cup chicken stock • 2 tablespoons butter • 300 g mixed mushrooms, chopped • 12 sage leaves Here's how 1 Heat the oil and butter in a pot and fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside, but retain the fat. Dust the…

TOWN 1 See owls in action Established in 1997, the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre aims to create awareness about the plight of birds of prey, and also dispel myths that lead to fears and mistreatment. Birds that can be rehabilitated are released back into the wild; the birds on display at the centre are not releasable for one of various reasons, including severity of injury and human imprinting. The flight demonstrations, facilitated by experienced staff, give visitors an exciting opportunity to see some of these magnificent creatures up close. I got to see Chewy the African harrier-hawk, Daffy the spotted eagle-owl, Jester the Harris's hawk, and Ashanti the Verreaux's eagle. Entrance fee: R80 for adults; R70 for pensioners; R50 for kids under 12; free for kids under…

While attending a press junket for the opening of a new exhibition at De Hoop Nature Reserve (p 129), freelance writer Biénne Huisman jumped onto a lead and ended up having a chat with Glenda Kemp… Growing up around CapeTown, did De Hoop feature in your childhood? Yes, I have fond memories of holidays there before its facelift by the De Hoop Collection in 2007. It was basic and rugged; I remember collecting ostrich feathers, patting horses and savouring the freedoms of nature. I suspect you were the only journalist attending the exhibition opening who ended up calling Glenda Kemp – the infamous snake dancer from the 1970s – to do some fact-checking? Yes, I think so. I was amused by this incidental angle to the exhibition. Given Glenda's legendary…

What does your job involve? I manage a nursery where we grow trees that the Cape parrot needs to thrive in its environment. We propagate and tend to young saplings – lemonwoods, Cape chestnuts and white stinkwoods, to name a few – until they're ready to be planted in the forest. How many trees have grown in your life? Hmmm, if I had to guess I'd say between 5000 and 6000… Do you have a favourite? I like Halleria lucida – the tree fuchsia. The seeds are easy to find and the tree grows quickly. It'san evergreen tree, known to attract many birds including parrots. How does your work help the Cape parrot? Many people don't know that cutting down trees in the forest puts the parrots under pressure. The…

TAKE YOUR PIC CANON EOS R8 AND CANON 24–50MM F4.5 LENS What do we have here? Canon is systematically expanding its EOS R series (mirrorless cameras). There's now a good range of models at various price points. Their latest release, the EOS R8, falls somewhere in the middle because it offers some of the best qualities of Canon's more affordable and more expensive cameras. If you're used to a bigger, heavier D-SLR camera, the R8 feels small and light in your hand. Even with the standard 24–50mm F4.5 IS STM lens, it weighs only 671g – about as much as three smartphones. As long as you stick to compact lenses, this is an excellent camera for travelling. Give me the numbers… The R8 is no lightweight when it comes to…

GEAR HI-TEC STORM JACKET A puffer jacket is a fantastic invention. It's light and warm and it packs away small in your backpack. But what if you get caught far away from shelter in a heavy downpour? If those down feathers get wet, you're in a world of trouble… Most puffers are water-resistant (fog and maybe a drizzle), but not always waterproof. That's why you need a decent rain jacket made from synthetic material to act as an outer shell. This one from Hi-Tec has a waterproof rating of 3000mm, which means it can withstand the pressure of a three-metre water column. It's not going to keep you dry in the middle of a storm on an oil rig in the North Sea (think 15000mm in that scenario…), but it…

WITH MY OWN EYES One morning, just after 6am, our big group was split between two game viewers and we set off on a drive with guides and trackers. About an hour into the drive, our guide received notification over the radio that a pride of nine lions had just taken down a buffalo calf. We headed there quickly. On arrival, we found the pride (three males, five females and a cub) under a tree where they had apparently just started to feed on the calf. 1 The rest of the buffaloes were still around and they were slowly advancing towards the lions. 2 Three of the buffaloes suddenly broke away and charged the lions. 3 The buffaloes succeeded in chasing them off the calf which, miraculously, was still alive.…

RECYCLABLE These plastic products can only be used once. When recycled, PET can be turned into polyester to make carpets, pillows and duvets. Milk bottles, ice-cream containers, buckets and toys are made from this plastic. Once recycled, it's used for garden furniture, rubbish bins and fences. Cling wrap, shopping bags and irrigation pipes. These can be used to make the black bags for our rubbish bins. Disposable nappies, chips packets, straws and rope. They can be used to make brooms, containers and trays. These items aren't recycled everywhere – check with your nearest recycling depot. These are mostly polystyrene containers and cups used for takeaways or as packaging for meat and fish in supermarkets. This type of plastic can be mixed with cement and used in construction. It's not yet…

A bird of prey hangs suspended over the vlei and the sing-song of cicadas permeates the heat. My cellphone is clammy, pressed against my ear. On the other end, Glenda Kemp laughs joyfully. Butterflies flit in my stomach – I mean, Glenda Kemp, the apartheid-era python stripper! Her name is on a 30 Seconds card. Now aged 74, she's busy relaying a memory from 1979 when she was travelling to London with her python aboard an SAA flight. At Heathrow, the snake arrived on a conveyer belt amid all the passenger suitcases. “And there was my snake,” Kemp shrieks. “In its basket, which was sommer upside down!” That day she was picked up in a limousine. Here at De Hoop Nature Reserve, traffic is sparse. There are no tar roads.…

Where have you been? What have you seen? Write to editor@gomag.co.za WINNING LETTER Rhino celebration post When I was in the Kruger Park recently, I watched these four white rhinos basking in the early morning sun. What a privilege. They looked so beautiful with the sunlight catching the tops of their ears (and the little oxpecker for added interest). I love photographing rhinos. Their size is always impressive, they have a unique appearance and white rhinos normally have a serene demeanour. I love their textured skin and their funny faces! NATALIE NAIDOO, Hilton WRITE TO US &WIN! Natalie wins a Zartek ZA-476 LED spotlight worth R2 350. This rechargeable spotlight delivers an impressive 6300-lumen beam over a distance of up to 1100m. It has a run time of 2,5–40 hours…

The African Baobab by Rupert Watson, Struik Nature R300 in bookstores “Baobab trees are living monuments, the oldest natural things in Africa, outlasting every plant and animal around them. These trees have evolved formidable resilience in order to survive in some of the driest, rockiest areas of this continent. Yet, for all the hostility of much of their habitat, African baobabs live longer and grow larger than most other trees in the world. That is the great paradox of their existence,”writes Rupert Watson in this revised edition of The African Baobab, first published in 2007. In his detailed study of the famous“upside-down tree”,Watson explores not only where baobabs grow and how they function in an ecosystem, but also why we find iconic baobabs like Baines'Baobabs in Botswana, the Dorsland Tree…

SUTHERLAND Sutherland is on a high plateau in the Northern Cape and routinely records the coldest temperatures in South Africa. Pack your warmest clothes (and socks!) and make a weekend of it. If the snow stays away and the skies are clear, at least you'll have incredible stars to console yourself with. It's no accident that the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is nearby. salt.ac.za; discoversutherland.co.za visitsutherland.co.za NOTTINGHAM ROAD This village in the KZN Midlands has been known to experience its fair share of snowfall. The Nottingham Road Hotel nottieshotel.co.za) and the Bierfassl restaurant and pub bierfassl.co.za) serve mulled wine when it gets extra chilly – the perfect accompaniment to a snow day. DULLSTROOM Often likened to the Scottish Highlands, Dullstroom on the Mpumalanga highveld is a magical winter escape.…

In the last few issues, we've explored several fascinating topics about leopards: why they're important, how they communicate, what they eat and how we study them, to name a few. Unfortunately, the list wouldn't be complete unless we also looked at the threats facing these amazing animals. Leopards are classified as“vulnerable”by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and the population trend is decreasing. Leopards worldwide have already lost 75% of their historical distribution. As is the case for most wildlife on earth, the destruction and fragmentation of suitable habitat is the biggest threat leopards face. Other major threats vary from region to region, but common ones include the depletion of their prey base, direct conflict with people, unsustainable trophy hunting and poaching for…

WHEELS There was a time when you could add a caveat when discussing a new Chinese car: “Not bad but remember where it's built. ”That time has gone, and that caveat deserves to disappear too, much the same way “Jap scrap” or “Korean junk” did decades ago. If you're still a sceptic, do yourself a favour and test-drive one of the new models from Chinese brands like Haval, Chery or GWM. The value-for-money proposition and warranties are not only best-in-class, but the cars themselves are well built with all the quality trimmings of more traditional high-end brands. Enter the GWM Tank, a retro-looking, proper 4×4 built on a ladder-frame chassis, with multi-link rear suspension and double-wishbone front suspension. With low range, 224mm of ground clearance and an electronically lockable rear…

HAVE YOU SEEN SOMETHING AMAZING? Send your series of photos and a short description of the sighting to toast@gomag.co.za.You could win a Thule Subterra PowerShuttle bag! The Thule Subterra PowerShuttle bag is perfect for people who travel with a lot of tech. It's a sturdy carrier made from durable materials and is perfectly sized (21 × 7 × 14,5cm) to organise everything from cables, earphones and adaptors to power banks and compact external hard drives. There's also an easily accessible pass-through slot that allows you to charge your device in the exterior slip pocket from a power bank inside the bag. With the Subterra PowerShuttle, you'll never have to search for a single cord again! For more information about this and other great gear for your active lifestyle, visit thulestore.co.za.…