by Amanda on Feb 23rd, 2012
Namibiana Buchdepot invites you to read the introduction and foreword to Thorsten Milse’s photographic collection, Skeleton Coast: Africa’s Last Wilderness. The foreword is written by Rod Braby, former manager of the Skeleton Coast Park and coordinator of the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management Project (NACOMA):
I worked as a park ranger along the Namibian coastline for over 20 years, and I regard it as a special honour, and of the utmost importance, to contribute the foreword to this truly exceptional book. I hope that these photographs will enable those indigenous to the region, as well as visitors to Namibia, to realise the true value of the Namib Desert. Hopefully, it will not only shake up the Namibians themselves, but also draw global attention to Africa’s rugged paradise – the Skeleton Coast. Generally speaking, the Skeleton Coast refers to the stretch of coastal land, approximately 600 kilometres in length, that extends from Cape Cross to the mouth of the Kunene River. It forms the northwestern section of the proposed Namib-Skeleton Coast National Park. To the east of this proposed park lies the Etosha National Park, and in the south and north it adjoins national park areas in both South Africa and Angola: the Richtersveld National Park and Parque Nacional do lona, respectively. This vast area represents the largest contiguous, transfrontier nature-conservation area in Africa, and the sixth largest worldwide. Another distinctive feature is that Namibia is the only country in the world whose entire coastline – with the exception of its coastal settlements – is protected. Before Western civilisation reached this coast, it was populated by nomadic peoples who lived off seafood, stranded sea mammals and fresh water from the mouths of rivers that supply water intermittently. These nomads followed the transient courses of rivers and dared to venture inland in search of a more diversified food supply and to escape the raw coastal winds.
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by Amanda on Feb 20th, 2012
Coming this March from Struik Travel & Heritage:
South Africa’s wide range of habitats sustains a richly diverse fauna and flora, most of it preserved by an intricate network of conservation areas that covers approximately 7.5% of the country’s total land area.
National Parks and Nature Reserves: A South African Field Guide is a unique and indispensable guide that offers a comprehensive overview of 43 of the country’s best and most accessible parks, reserves and wilderness areas. Organised by province, each site is presented in detail: history, location, landscape, geology, vegetation and wildlife, most notably mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects, are described, and the most important species in each category profiled.
Engaging information panels list the highlights of each park or reserve, and provide key facts about its wildlife, climate, facilities and activities, as well as critical warnings for visitors. More than 900 colour photographs, 139 park, vegetation and locator maps, and a 31-page photographic identification guide representing 323 mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, tree and flower species bring the content vividly to life. In addition, 195 free species checklists covering mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish encountered in each location are available online from March 2012.
About the authors
Founders of the African-Arabian Wildlife Research Centre, Chris and Mathilde Stuart, field ecologist and medical doctor respectively, work in the fields of biodiversity surveying, travel, photography and filming. They have written numerous books, including Field Guide to the Mammals of Southern Africa, Pocket Guide to Mammals of East Africa and Dangerous Creatures of Africa, all published by Random House Struik, as well as scientific papers and popular articles on a wide range of topics.
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by Amanda on Feb 16th, 2012
In October last year, Kingsley Holgate, “the most travelled man in Africa”, set off on his latest adventure – The Great African Rift Valley Expedition. In an interview with the Argus, Holgate argues that a willingness to take unknown risks is what separates the adventurer from the traveller:
As a small boy, I would sit on my father’s knee listening to stories about explorers Henri Morton Stanley and David Livingstone. He’d tell me the story of Livingstone’s faithful servants, Chuma and Susi, who, on his death, carried his body, minus his heart, which they insisted must stay in Africa, for more than 1 600km. Who knew then that I would not only walk in these great men’s footsteps but experience even more?
There’s always another, more exciting adventure waiting. At the end of our last trip, we travelled 600km down the Nile to Juba in Southern Sudan just in time to join 300 000 people celebrating their independence. Some people, however, might find staring down the sawn-off shotgun of rebels in Sahel, Central African Republic, a little disconcerting ¬– But hey, I did what I know best, just gave him a big friendly hug and he gave us a letter of safe passage through 15 more rebel road blocks.
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by Amanda on Feb 15th, 2012
In her latest blog post for Sanlam’s Reality, Catherine Lanz, author of Travels with a Roadkill Rabbit, talks about camping trips that turned frosty, and how to make the best of an unexpected change in the weather:
Well, it’s still pretty damn hot out there so ‘tis the season to go camping. Why waste electricity on an air conditioner if you can use nature to waft a cool breeze through your tent. But don’t delay because you’ll scarcely have blown up the inflatable mattress when the weather will be turning chilly.
Talking of chilly reminds me of one of our camping expeditions to the Blyde River Canyon some time near the turn of the seasons. The Forever Resort Blyde Canyon is a great spot from which to explore the winding Panorama Route with it’s tantalising turnoffs to waterfalls, lookouts and God’s Window.
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by Amanda on Feb 7th, 2012
On Saturday, 18 February, renowned palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger will launch the brand new exhibition “Australopithecus sediba” at Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town.
Berger, who, together with his son Matthew, discovered the first fossils of Australopithecus sediba, will deliver a public lecture at 11 AM. This event forms part of Iziko’s 2012 Summer School programme.
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by Amanda on Jan 31st, 2012
We are delighted to bring you an extract from Sean Fraser’s indispensable guide to the Mother City, Cape Town A-Z. The following passage, in which Fraser welcomes readers to “Africa’s front door”, is courtesy Namibiana Buchdepot:
Welcome to Cape Town: Cape Town is the front door to Africa. It may be small compared to world metropolises, but this remarkable city has an extraordinary number of attractions. Natural vistas include wild, open spaces at Cape Point, emerald-green vineyards in the Constantia Valley and pristine, white sand beaches alongthe Atlantic coast. These scenes, and others like them, combine to create the hauntingly beautiful Cape landscape. What’s more, the searing heat of its blissful summers and the chill of its wet and often icy winters add a plethora of tints and nuances to the land. Seen through these divergent lenses, Cape Town never fails to surprise and delight.There is also a bewildering array of wildlife, from the mammals and birds that have made their home in the Table Mountain National Park to the whales that converge annually in False Bay. There is plenty to do, be it enjoyingthe bustling nightlife in the heart of the CBD or strolling quietly through quaint museums and galleries in the suburbs.
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by Amanda on Jan 23rd, 2012
In his latest Getaway blog, intrepid traveller Kinglsey Holgate says he is ending the first chapter of his Great African Rift Valley Expedition. Holgate describes his journey across the Horn of Africa and the after-effects of honey wine:
Greetings again from the Horn of Africa – the fascinating area that contains the countries of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia. We’re still zigzagging down the Great African Rift Valley and feeling the pace, all of us a bit travel worn. But everybody’s strong in the knowledge that we’ve got just a short distance of this section of the Rift Valley still to complete before getting to Addis Ababa and the end of chapter one of our expedition.
Peace and Goodwill
On every expedition we carry a Scroll of Peace and Goodwill. These have been messaged by chiefs, ambassadors, government officials, governors, Nobel Peace Prize laureates Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and even on one occasion by a near naked Himba girl who endorsed the scroll with a simple red-ochered handprint. Today’s message is from an Afar tribe M.P. who scribbles… ‘Welcome to the land of Lucy…’ – he’s referring to the 1974 discovery of an almost complete 3.5 million years old hominid skeleton named ‘Lucy’ – the song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ was playing in the archeologists’ camp shortly after the find close to where our convoy of three expedition Land Rovers now travel in a cloud of dust along the floor of the Rift Valley’s Afar triangle. It’s close to sunset but Ali our guide warns us that it’s too dangerous to camp wild in this area. ‘There’s bad blood between the Issa and the Afar – it’s about livestock, available water and grazing rights.’ We push on into the night.
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by Amanda on Jan 18th, 2012
Karen Key hosted photographer Mia Feinstein, author of Cape Town Up Close & Personal, on a recent SAfm Travel show. In the podcast below, listen as Key speaks to Feinstein about her unique visual approach to the Mother City.
Feinstein describes how, after living in the UK for 16 years, she came back to South Africa with “fresh eyes”. Yet this period of absence did not hamper her personal connection to the country, something that, as Key notes, comes across strongly in the book.
Feinstein’s “insiders guide” to Cape Town explores the city through the eyes of a local, allowing the reader an experience different from that of the traditional travel book.
Podcast with Mia Feinstein [10:16m]:
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by Amanda on Jan 16th, 2012
As part of his humanitarian journey, the Great African Rift Valley Expedition, Kingsley Holgate traveled right to the rim of the lava lake Erta Ale in the Danakil Desert – officially the hottest place on earth. In his latest Rift Valley Dispatch for Getaway magazine, Holgate recounts their journey through “a surreal bubbling, multi-hued field of sulpherous hot springs studded with steaming conical vents, caramel coloured mushroom shapes and rippled rock formations”:
Welcome to the desert
We must cross the dangerous Danakil Desert. We check water, fuel and supplies. Our guide Ali Abdella has organised two men each with a Kalashnikov (AK 47). The Danakil’s climatic inhospitality is mirrored by the reputation of its nomadic Afar inhabitants, who as recently as the Italian occupation in 1937 had the somewhat discouraging custom of welcoming strangers by lopping of their testicles. Hope we keep ours!
Lost in the Danakil Desert
Flash floods in the distant highlands have made part of the Danakil track impassable and we are having to navigate by the seat of our pants – very difficult when Ross who is navigating has got dysentery and is being fed antibiotics and Rehidrate. With tyres down to 1 bar we grind through choking powder soft dust and then pump them hard again to bounce over ancient solidified lava flows. It is incredibly tough on man and machine. Get lost out here and that will be the last you hear from us.
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by Amanda on Jan 12th, 2012
The peak season for tourism in Cape Town seems to be going even better than usual at the moment, with more than 1 million people using the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, and 3 million people visiting the V&A Waterfront in December. Capetonians themselves are also starting to explore their city as tourists, reports say. Whether you are from Cape Town or further afield, get acquainted with the best that the city has to offer with the help of Sean Fraser’s Cape Town A-Z.
The Cape Town tourism sector recently reported a marked improvement in international and national tourists visiting the Mother City.
Cape Town Tourism’s Skye Grove yesterday said: “Tourism numbers seem to be improving beyond what was initially anticipated and there is every indication that we have seen the start of a very positive peak season.
The Cape Town tourism sector is reporting a marked improvement in traffic at restaurants, shops, and attractions for the month of December, and the accommodation sector is also reporting a positive holiday upswing.
Following a mid-December poll of Cape Town Tourism members, where over half of respondents expected a marginally better summer season this year (when compared with that of summer 2010-2011), tourism numbers seem to be improving beyond what was initially anticipated, and there is every indication that Cape Town has seen the start of a very positive peak season.
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