In the past the impala lily was as common as the impala, this has changed over time becoming very rare and highly sought after by humans. Animals tend to stay away from impala lilies due to its high toxic nature
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Blog
Mauritius – A tropical stop when in Africa
If you want to travel and visit tropical islands most people think of Hawaii, Jamaica, Tahiti, Seychelles and other similar places. Africa is often seen as a sunny destination but one where nature runs wild and the famous safari takes
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Gin and Tonic – Not just a drink
Though not my drink of choice by far, today G&T’s are coming back in fashion with Gin bars popping up everywhere with many flavours and twists. 19th century there were many movements travelling from England to India and later Africa,
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Yummy traditional foods – Malva pudding
With South Africa having very strong British history, some of our meals are based on British foods, often with a few extra twists over the years, making it not quite the same but with traces of the original. Malva pudding
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Guide books for South Africa
South Africa is an amazing country that is very diverse, appealing to so many different people with all the possible hobbies from sunbathing nude on beaches to skiing, there is definitely a full range of activities to experience. Coming from
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Natural Air conditioning
The first modern air-conditioner developed in 1902 allows us to have cooler summers, today we are spoilt with air-conditioning in our cars, shops and maybe in our own homes. Not many people can imagine how to survive in a hot
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Franschhoek motor museum – Over 100 years of motor history…
Transport has been an everyday necessity from the time we started to walk. Traveling by foot from Europe to South Africa would be almost impossible until other means of transport were developed. From the early ages of domesticating horses, camels
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For the twitchers – Blue crane (Grus paradisea)
An elegant species of bird, with pale blue-grey plumage becoming lighter at the forehead and darker at the wing tips. The wings resembling almost black plumage, are often mistaken for long tail feathers but on the contrary the tail feathers
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Wildlife treat – Black-Backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas)
Resembling man’s best friend, jackals are part of the canid family, the same as our domesticated dogs. They are not very large, weighing in around 5 – 15 kg, with the height of 35 – 50 cm tall and a
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Giraffe house – Awareness center
The giraffe house is a new establishment that has only been around for a few years, improving leaps and bounds from the muddy, rustic areas where some antelope used to roam and the famous Gerry the giraffe lives. I remember
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Camping basics, for the first timers or if you’r a little rusty…
So, you’re going camping for the first time, all excited and it’s time to pack. Depending on how you want to camp you can turn it into glamping or you can do the bare minimum. I think we will discuss
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Panama Jacks, a restaurant that’s all about seafood
My dad used to work as an engineer doing the odd call out jobs to the harbour in Cape Town, this was not a new area as he used to work on the dredging ships before this. During this time,
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Garden route game lodge in the heart of the garden route
Based in the heart of the garden route in Albertinia and less than 4 hours drive from Cape Town, this is a wildlife dream close to Cape Town. It has beautiful views of the big 5 and the Langeberg mountain range.
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Wildlife treat – Caracal (Caracal caracal)
There are many people who don’t know what a caracal is, but when you mention lynx often you will get the response “oh yes, the cat with the fluffy ears”. Well, that is correct, though the lynx is more American
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Butterfly world and a whole lot extra
On the occasion the weather isn’t playing ball it can be rather frustrating to think of things to do that are not out in the elements, we are usually so spoilt for choice outside. However, there are a few options,
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Stick insects, a name so simple
Sometimes names are tricky, I remember being at school in Afrikaans class and a question came up asking about “stokperdjies”. Being mainly English, I directly translated it to, stok = stick, perd = horse and jies is the plural form.
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Dusties (Dusty rebels and the bombshells) step back into the 1940’s and 1950’s
This is a rather new festival starting in 2013 and one with so much promise. It is based on the 40’s/50’s bringing a lovely flair to a day out with a funfair, music, modelling, dancing, cars and food all being
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Scotland trip (20.05 – 27.05.2018)
Scotland is known for its highlands, lochs and we can’t forget wet weather. To our surprise we had glorious sunshine our entire trip which was amazing. I had never been to Scotland and it had been on my list for
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Kragga Kamma – A little bit of peace between the hustle and bustle of a busy city
If you are from Port Elizabeth there is a reasonable game park only 20 minutes from the town center, it is still surrounded by residential houses and farms, though the place has been well laid out and nicely done, giving
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World of birds – A sanctuary for those in need
As the name suggested, it’s full of birds, with over 3,000 birds and over 400 species. The real name however is World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park, over the years it has been shortened to world of birds.
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For the twitchers – Blacksmith lapwing (Vanellus armatus)
A common bird around Southern Africa, with distinctive characteristics of bold black, white and grey plumage with striking red eyes and long legs. Often found in wetland areas, moist grassland or close to water, they have a diet of invertebrates.
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Walking with lions in Zimbabwe
Ever wanted to take a walk on the wild side, well this is the perfect activity. Walking with elephants is one thing, but to walk with something that might enjoy you for breakfast is another. Whilst there is huge debate
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Solifugae – Sun Spider or is it….
They are said to be spiders or scorpions in many of their common names, this is not true, but they are a part of the class Arachnida which includes, spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks. Though I would put them in
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Paarl – The spice route …
Today we make food and are spoilt for choice when it comes to seasoning to give it that extra flavour, it seems hard to think even the most basic of items like salt and pepper used to be worth so
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Zimbabwe – Victoria falls, the smoke that thunders
There are many waterfalls in the world, taking long walks along rivers and streams to reach them is something I enjoy. They are always inspiring to see and give you a feeling of tranquillity with the sound of water flowing
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Wildlife treat – Aardwolf (Proteles cristata)
Another strange creature of the night, not well known to many people the name directly translated in English is an ‘earth-wolf’. They are rare to see and although they widely distributed, occasionally seen roaming wildly in farmlands and conservation areas.
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Namibia – Sossusvlei and Sesriem Canyon…
I have travelled quite a bit over the years, and I am yet to find a place that is anything like Namibia. With its very boring first look of orange landscape and sand with a few odd trees, if you
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Twitchers – Gymnogene (Polyboroides typus)
Though the name has changed to African Harrier Hawk, I still prefer calling it a gymnogene (gym-no-gene), it’s an original and unusual name compared to the new one and rolls off the tongue. I have not seen many in the
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South African Christmas, how does it differ to UK
Living many years in South Africa and spending the festive season the last few years in the UK I have had the privilege to experience best of both worlds, though they are the same in most respects being based on
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Packing cubes – something so simple can be so useful…
Ever gone on a trip and scratch threw your bags and just upsets your whole suitcase and makes everything a mess, well recently I have discovered packing cubes. Packing cubes are material squares with a zip, handle and ra nging from
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