Table of contents for December 2021 - January 2022 in go!

Friends of mine recently hiked one of the six legs of the Kruger Trail. Each leg is roughly 100km in length – an unsupported, week-long walk through a truly primitive wilderness. It’s just you and your companions, surrounded by wild animals, making your way (carefully!) through the veld day by day. This remarkable trail, which now looms large on my to-do list, made me think of how humans managed to become the dominant species on earth. We’re not as strong as a lion, fast as a cheetah or big as an elephant, and our ability to work together is not unique: ants, bees, wild dogs and even baboons do this quite effectively. Many good books have been written on the topic, and the consensus is that it was our unique…

De Waal Park in Oranjezicht is beloved by Capetonians for the natural oasis it provides in an otherwise bustling city. Part of its attraction lies in the 630 trees planted over the years, many of which are indigenous additions donated by the Friends of De Waal Park association. Now, thanks to an initiative by plant enthusiast Tielman Haumann (pictured, top), you can pick up a tree route map (R10) at the Bandstand on your way in and take yourself on a tour of the park’s most impressive trees. The map is numbered (1 – 38) and each tree has a corresponding black plaque. Green story tags and QR codes provide interesting facts about the tree. For example, the seeds of the carob tree are so consistent in mass (200 mg…

Veldskoen Padstal in De Doorns is one of those farm stalls that has thrown away the training wheels and embraced “institution”status. If you’re heading into the Karoo from the Worcester side, or if you’re coming from the other direction after many hours of hard driving on the N1, Veldskoen should be a mandatory stop. If the cheerfully painted façade, shady picnic spots and fragrant rose garden don’t draw you in, the tasty treats and preserves certainly will. Unusual items on the shelves include pickled quail’s eggs (R119,50), fruit rolls of all shapes and sizes (from R36,50), blackberry compote (R79,50), dried apple rings (R24,50) – when last? – and beautiful tubs of Rio Largo olive oil (R189,50). That’s your pantry sorted. Next, you might like to move on to the small…

GERRIE BOTHA Canon EOS 7D Mark II Tamron 150 – 600 mm lens GERRIE WRITES: We live in a retirement village about 10 km outside Rustenburg, at the foot of the Magaliesberg. Some pearl-spotted owlets made a nest in a tree on the premises, and I watched them breed. I wanted to show a friend the nest when this owlet suddenly burst from a mulberry tree and landed on the ground in front of us – with a young African green-pigeon in its talons! The owlet was about 10 m from us – we watched as it strangled its prey. I lay down on the ground to take photos in an attempt to get a neutral background. After about 10 minutes, the owlet flew off with the pigeon and disappeared…

SOPHIA VAN TAAK BARRYDALE HAND WEAVERS CUSHION COVERS When you buy something from this weaving mill in the Little Karoo, you’re supporting a community where employment is scarce. You can even go onto their website and find out more about the specific weaver who made the creation you just bought. There’s a lot to buy! Everything from serviettes to placemats and blankets, all made from locally grown cotton and woven by hand. These cushion covers (50 x 50 cm) are available in red, light blue, dark blue, white, charcoal or grey stripes. R340 barrydaleweavers.co.za FEAT. SOCKS A pair of socks is no longer a boring gift – especially not these! Feat. has a huge range of designs: Choose traditional stripes or classic South African themes like whales, elephants, rhinos, the…

Our northern Botswana tour begins at the community-based Khama Rhino Sanctuary in central Botswana, where we spend our first night before moving on to the spectacular Kubu Island, a granite rock outcrop on the Makgadikgadi Pans, for a night under the stars. The next morning, after enjoying coffee and rusks against the backdrop of the iconic baobabs, we head north along the edge of the empty salt pans, testing our 4x4 driving on the sandy terrain. We have a light picnic lunch en route to our next campsite. We spend two days on the banks of the Boteti River, 30 km from Maun. There will be an opportunity to do a flight over the Okavango Delta (own expense), explore the local markets or simply chill in camp before a late…

Do you remember learning about a trapezium at school? It’s like a rectangle crossed with a triangle: the top and bottom sides are parallel; the left and right sides aren’t. That’s what the elevation profile of the Oudebosch-Harold Porter hike looks like – a slope on either side, with a level bit at the top in the middle. Most people start in Kogelberg Nature Reserve, a spectacular patch of mountain wilderness between Betty’s Bay and Kleinmond on the Overberg coast. The trail goes left off the jeep track that runs behind the CapeNature reception office and skirts the Oudebosch Eco Cabins. Now you’re on a gentle slope and already there’s a king protea to greet you. The trail connects the 180 km² Kogelberg with the 2 km² Harold Porter National…

• Most fish species have a skeleton made of bone, like ours. But a shark’s skeleton consists of cartilage (like your nose and ears). It can bend more and is lighter than bone, which helps the shark move faster through the water. • Most fish have a swim bladder full of air that helps them maintain their buoyancy. In other words, they don’t float upward or sink to the bottom. Sharks don’t have this bladder – they start to sink as soon as they stop swimming. • Fish usually have flaps over their gills. A shark has exposed gills – they’re like long slits on both sides of the head. • The tail fin of a fish has two equally long parts, but if you look at a shark’s tail,…

“The behaviour Simon observed is called interspecific competition, in other words, the competition between individuals of different species – often for territory or resources. This is not to be confused with intraspecific competition, which is the competition between individuals of the same species. “Interspecific competition is common between predators and can account for up to 68% of known mortalities in some species. The average African predator may be vulnerable to predation by up to 15 other species, although it is unlikely to be eaten by other predators (unless there is a food scarcity). “Interspecific killing can lead to population reduction or even extinction, as well as the reduction and/or enhancement of prey populations. “This could have important implications for both the conservation and management of predators and their prey.”…

Plop! A big raindrop hits my forehead. But what did I expect? If you throw your head back and stare at the canopy in a downpour, you’re asking for it. It has been raining for two days straight. The forest floor has been taken over by streams and fat rain frogs. I’m covered in mud, soaked from head to toe, and my shins are scratched and bloody. I’m carrying two humps covered by a no-good rain jacket: a backpack with snacks and field guides on my back, and a bag full of electronic and optical gear in front. In my left hand I have a microphone dish the size of a Weber braai lid, and in my right hand a pair of binoculars that costs more than my car. If…

I was driving in the Skukuza region of the Kruger Park when I noticed a few cars parked on the side of the road. One of the people explained that they’d seen a leopard in a Cape ash tree, but all I could see was the tail hanging down through the foliage. I parked and waited. The sun was setting and it was almost gate-closing time. The cars started to leave to return to camp. I chose to wait five more minutes… Suddenly the leopard jumped out of the Cape ash and climbed into another tree – almost as if it wanted to appreciate the sunset from a better angle. My heart was pounding. It was the dream image I had been waiting for. I managed to take a few…

What’s your tally? Off the top of my head, I can think of 13 incidents, ranging from getting stuck on a muddy road in the Kruger Park for two hours, surrounded by elephants, to filling a diesel car with petrol in Bitterfontein. Scariest incident? In 2011, I was driving a Suzuki Jimny on a farm near Patensie in the Eastern Cape after heavy rain. At one point, the road simply gave way beneath me, causing the vehicle to roll and end up on its roof. Luckily I wasn’t going very fast – the farmers don’t like it when you drive more than 20 km/h near their orange orchards – and I escaped without serious injury. And the funniest? It’s never funny while it’s happening, but afterwards I can usually find…

Although snakes have good eyesight, their eyes are most adept at detecting movement. Hence the old warning: Stand perfectly still when you encounter a snake. It’s good advice. Even better advice is backing off as quickly as possible! Once you’re 5 m or more away from any snake, you are relatively safe and unlikely to get bitten. Snakes are unlikely to strike at stationary objects or at people, unless they resemble or smell like prey. Only two snakes in South Africa are believed to have superior vision and are capable of seeing stationary prey: The boomslang and the twig or vine snake. These snakes have binocular vision like humans; most other snakes have monocular vision, which means the eyes don’t register images in co-ordination with each another. Snakes do not…

It’s a Monday morning in April and I’m with Gustav Nortjé (81) on the stoep of his turquoise house in the Baviaanskloof. It’s overcast: The clouds are heavy but seem reluctant to release their burden. In the front garden, a wind tugs on the branches of a scrawny guava tree. From the roof of the stoep hangs a ploughshare and some succulent planters made from plastic bottle halves strung up with orange baling twine. A clump of ferns grows in a corner. Gustav looks like a farmer: leather boots, rugby shorts, two-tone shirt with a cellphone and a pen in the pocket. But he’s actually a shopkeeper. Well, he is now. The turquoise house borders his shop, which is right next to the only road through the kloof. A cat…

MELDENE ROBINSON Crayfish Wharf, Paternoster “A visit to the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve is a must. The lighthouse is beautiful.” HUGOLINA HICKMAN Timeless Treasures, Dwarskersbos “My love for Dwarskersbos began in the late 1950s, when my family would camp here during the holidays. The beaches are ideal for swimming – beautiful, clean and safe!” RASHID SAKAMA Fork West Farm “I moved here from Malawi in 2014. The West Coast is not only beautiful, but its people are warm and friendly.”…

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…

Prawns with tomato sauce and breadcrumbs Serves 4 Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 20 minutes You need • 1 ciabatta loaf • 4 tablespoons olive oil • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped • 1 medium-sized red onion, chopped • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • 3 big tomatoes, in small pieces • 1 red chilli, chopped • pinch of turmeric (optional) • 1 cup dry white wine • 800 g prawns in shells, deveined • butter • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste • 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped Here’s how 1 Cut two thick slices of ciabatta, then cut them into smaller cubes. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the bread until crisp. Crumb the bread and set aside. 2 Heat the rest of the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Fry the garlic and onion until…

The Garden Route is already one of South Africa’s best holiday spots. Now, with hundreds of kilometres of pristine trails for hiking and cycling, it is becoming an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. For adventure-seekers and lovers of fresh air, the Bitou Valley Eco Camp offers a unique camping experience. On the banks of the Bitou River, this 12-bed eco camp provides off-grid glamping and delicious local cuisine (potjies, braaivleis, roosterkoek…) enjoyed around the campfire each night. Stayovers at Bitou Valley include two meals a day, unlimited access to activities like kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding on the river, and amazing birding and swimming. For the 2021/22 holiday season, guests are also eligible for 50% off a guided self-drive exploration into the Diepwalle section of the Knysna Forest. * All Trail Lynx…

In September 2017, I went on a week-long holiday to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park with my friend Warrick Davey. One morning, we drove up the Nossob River road for a while, then turned back towards Twee Rivieren. Warrick was driving and I was in the back seat, so we could both position ourselves for photography without getting in each other’s way. At about 8.15 am, I spotted a caracal crouched low among some dead wood. It seemed to be looking up into the camel thorn tree above. It was in stalking mode and moving closer to the tree. Using my binoculars, I noticed an African wildcat 1 in the canopy: the source of the caracal’s interest. I grabbed my camera – a Nikon D500 with a Nikon 400 mm lens…

The ship was called Beryl. I boarded, along with 10 truck drivers, and we left Turkey for the Israeli port city of Haifa. I was on my own for this part of the trip – Marie had flown to South Africa for a quick business trip; she’d be joining me in a few days. Beryl was on her final journey before she was to be scrapped in Bangladesh. She looked every bit the part. It was noisy and hot inside and the cramped, four-berth cabin had little airflow and a large population of mosquitoes. I snored the loudest, apparently, so the truck drivers deserted the cabin and left me to face the mozzies alone. The voyage was supposed to take two days, but bad weather made it five before we…

I like winter. The colder and wetter it is, the deeper I huddle into my cocoon of warm beverages, broody Brontë novels and Harry Potter reruns. And in any case, since the “big C” struck and social activities wound down, my hermit party of one hasn’t felt out of place. I remember high school English lessons with our teacher, Mrs Crossman, as she taught us Shakespeare’s Macbeth – a tragedy about a power-hungry general, which is quite bleak from the outset. “The microcosm is reflected in the macrocosm!” she’d say, shaking the book at us for emphasis. Or, as I understood it, the miserable weather was an apt reflection of the turmoil unfolding in Macbeth’s heart and the world at large. Likewise, winter’s chill seemed to me an appropriate reflection…

Cat nap I photographed this leopard at the Bedinkt waterhole, north of Nossob in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. It was September 2021. My wife Lize was looking for birds in the trees and I was also scanning the branches when a movement caught my eye – a flick of a tail perhaps? I took a photo with my cellphone and zoomed in to get a better look. There it was: A leopard sound asleep and very well camouflaged! WILLIE TRAUT, Dwarskersbos Plan your own trip to the Kgalagadi with the new go! Kalahari guide (R112). It’s packed with travel plans both inside and outside the park. Find the guide in your local supermarket or order a copy from yumna.tofey@media24.com Did you lose a marble? We pulled over on the Letaba…

Blood Trail by Tony Park, Pan Macmillan R300 in bookstores Australian author Tony Park weaves another thrilling tale set on local shores, this time basing the action in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve next to the Kruger Park. When young girls and a tourist disappear from the reserve and adjacent land, captain Sannie van Rensburg of the South African police force teams up with tracker Mia Greenaway to try and find them. Along the way, they uncover a poaching ring targeting the reserve’s rhinos, but the poachers use witchcraft to disappear right before their eyes… Park pays close attention to detail; you can almost smell the bruised leaves of the Lowveld shrubs as the characters run through the veld in hot pursuit. The crime mystery is central to the story,…

Your day begins with a flask of boiling water dropped off outside your tent at 7 am. After reluctantly leaving your cosy bed (complete with an electric blanket) to retrieve it, you zip open the flap and take in the world outside. It’s glorious. Fresh and untamed, with flowers dusting the hillside in neon orange, fuchsia and gentle lilac. Morning sun plays off the ocean and your lungs breathe wild, salty air. Make no mistake. It’s chilly out there, but you don’t mind. After wrapping yourself in your warmest jacket, you pour a cup of plunger coffee and get comfortable in one of the camping chairs in front of your tent. It’s the start of another tough day in Africa… Each spring, Chiefs Tented Camps set up two seasonal flower…

The Kruger Park is a wonderful place, but sometimes it feels like you’re paying a lot for what is a fairly basic rondavel. You’re surrounded by wild animals, so you try to justify the price… Well, at Jackalberry Ridge you have a great place to stay, several animals will come by to visit, and you’re only 20 minutes from the Crocodile Bridge gate. Each safari tent is set in its own patch of mopane veld. The owners thought of everything when they designed the place: The safari-style decor inside the tents will make you feel like an explorer on an expedition; and outside, each tent has a splash pool, a braai, and a dining table and two deckchairs under an awning. Set your alarm so you’re on the deck on…

Some beaches have shark spotters who look for dangerous sharks in the water. The spotters use different flags to warn swimmers and surfers of potential danger. Here is what these flags mean: Green: The water is clear and there are no sharks in sight. Black: Spotting conditions are poor, but the shark spotter hasn’t seen a shark yet. Red: Be careful. A shark was recently spotted in the area. White: There’s a shark in the water – get out! (The shark spotter will also sound a siren.)…

“I’ve only been to the Kgalagadi once, but I’m dying to go back. I would recommend the park to anyone because it offers such a diverse array of flora and fauna. The desert is alive with everything from insects and mice to snakes, raptors and bigger mammals. “Besides the unique landscape and incredible biodiversity, the thing that stood out for me was the swing in temperatures. It would get close to zero at night and searing during the day. Once, while parked in the sun, the car temperature gauge measured 52° C! It got so hot that we couldn’t be in our tent. At midday, we would drive to a waterhole, find some shade under a tree, put down all the windows and sweat it out like the animals.”…

These prices are from 2018 and are meant to provide a rough idea of what the Gurneys spent on their trip. Prices would have gone up since then. HAIFA Haifa Hostel: R1 600 per night for two people. Falafel: R120 per pita (at HaZkenim). Entrance to Hanging Gardens of Haifa: Free. GALILEE & GOLAN HEIGHTS Entrance to Hippos: Free. Pelter Winery: R65 per person for a tasting of five wines; R300 for a cheese platter for two. JERUSALEM Hotel HaRova: R2 200 per night for two people. BETHLEHEM Walled Off Hotel: R2 400 per night for two people, breakfast included. RAMON CRATER Entrance: R100 per person. Camping: R300 per person per night. 4x4 trail: Free. SHIPPING RoRo (roll-on, roll-off ) shipping for the Hilux: R8 000 (Mersin in Turkey to…