by Jacqui Thompson

Mention the words game lodge to most people and they often envisage zebra and wildebeest skins scattered across polished red cow dung floors, stuffed animal heads with glassy eyes staring blindly down on sunburnt tourists sipping G&Ts, beaded whatnots, heavy dark furniture, and thatched roofs.  Thank heavens that old quintessential décor item: the elephant foot ashtray has ceased to be desirable as we, the most violent species on the planet, agree it is no longer acceptable to hack off an elephant’s legs just so we can put our stompies out. (more…)

 Jacqui Thompson

Leaving Loxton behind we zipped along the excellent tar road and soon leaned into the left hand bend that led into Victoria West.  On our right was the Victoria West Dam where various species of antelope grazed on grass so green it hurt my eyes. The Seekoei River fed the dam and also ran skirted the Northern Cape town.

Our back roads bike trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg was almost at an end. Not because of distance but rather time. The punctures on the dirt road between Sutherland and Fraserburg were partly to blame; they cost us a few days, but a contributing factor was also the laid back pace of life in the Karoo. We had no desire to be on the road for eight hours a day, clinging to motorbike handlebars, eyes squinting in the wind as all that pesky scenery rushed by.  Our starts got later as we enjoyed leisurely brunches with the locals and other travelers rather than early bird breakfasts and when we eventually set off we traveled leisurely with frequent stops to admire afore-mentioned scenery. The daily distances we rode also got shorter, so on this particular slow, sunny Karoo day we covered the magnificent distance of 81 kilometres. We couldn’t help it … Victoria West was such an inviting little town.

We puttered down the main road past two imposing churches (the Dutch Reformed and Anglican we later found out) which made one believe God was a frequent visitor to this very street, and stopped our bikes outside the legendary Apollo Theatre. We’d heard about this 1950s art deco cinema – the only one left in SA – which was a heritage site. Perhaps it was late in the day and the staff were tired and bored but the lackadaisical attitude and lack of any visible decor (or deco) was disappointing. Although the town is the start of the Diamond Route there was little glittering when we visited. Perhaps the sparkle from the soft furnishings and hard staff only comes out for the annual film festival held at the cinema.

Snagging a few brochures from a nearby stand we read about the Mannetjies Roux rugby museum which pays homage to the tough little Springbok player who was born in the town. But I decided to pass on that after my husband sang me the song Hak Hom Blokkies inspired by Roux’s on field exploits and find somewhere to stay. Karoo Koelte, a conveniently located B&B, with a pretty garden and period rooms also offered secure parking for the motorbikes and hosts Pietie and Anna Vermeulen more than made up for the cool reception at the Apollo. 

We rode out to watch the sunset from Moonlight Hill which offered the most gorgeous views of the town after a relatively short clamber. The Karoo sunset was spectacular and we stayed to watch every ray and hue fade until the stars come out and the town’s lights came on. It was very romantic until we realised we hadn’t brought a torch. Curses followed as we bickered our way down in the dark. 

Over breakfast the Vermeulens filled us in on the local history. The town was originally founded in 1843 and was called Victoria (ja, after the rooinek queen), but because of a district in the Eastern Cape of the same name the ‘West’ was added in 1855. 

Seems diamonds were discovered in the region in the late 1800s and the town became an important transit/resting point for prospectors traveling from Cape Town to the diamond fields in and around Hopetown and Kimberly. I kept my eyes peeled as I headed off, head down scouring the ground for a dazzling gem someone might have missed in the last 130 odd years (no luck), to the nearby Victoria West Nature Reserve. I was still determined to see the rare and endangered Riverine Rabbit. It proved as elusive as the diamonds. On my way back I did see a pair of circling Black Eagles which was fantastic but I would have preferred seeing a Riverine Rabbit sitting on a large diamond bearing rock. Never mind, next time.

It was hard to leave the B&B where we now felt like family, even though they couldn’t believe I, a young woman – I loved that they thought I was young and immediately forgave them their sexist comment – could ride such a large motorbike.

http://www.karookoelte.co.za/

Victoria West Nature Reserve : Tel 053 621 0026

Aloes in the Kirstenbosch National Botanic Gardens.

Huge areas of semi-desert scrub and grassland might suggest a certain poverty of plant life to the untrained eye. In reality, a tract of pristine grassland can hold up to 60 grass species - so nothing could be further from the truth.

There are five major habitat types in South Africa: Fynbos, forest, Karoo, grassland, and savannah. The country can also be divided into seven biomes, or ecological life zones, with distinct environmental conditions and related sets of plant and animal life: Nama Karoo, succulent Karoo, fynbos, forest, thicket, savanna, and grassland.

Regardless of the classification used, some 10% of the world’s flowering species are found in South Africa, making it the only country in the world with an entire plant kingdom inside its borders. The Cape Floristic Kingdom contains 8 600 species, with 68% of them being endemic. The Cape Peninsula alone boasts more plant species than the whole of Great Britain. (more…)

Giraffe, Kruger National Park.

The reason so many visitors come from so many different countries is clear: There is nothing quite like the African bush. Visitors can experience its splendour in a variety of ways, too: Driving through one of the many provincial or national parks, or staying in a luxury private lodge where you will be treated like royalty

You could also join an overland excursion and concentrate on spotting the game and abundant bird life while someone else does the driving.

If you’re looking for a typical game experience, you should visit the lowveld of Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, North West or KwaZulu-Natal, where elephants lumber gracefully through the bush, and lions rest during the heat of the day after a long night of hunting. (more…)

Cities have sprung up on land that once belonged to the animals. Huge tracts of land have been given over to farming, hunting has wiped out entire herds, and the times when a herd of springbok would take days to pass through a Karoo town are long gone.

However, thanks to the foresight of conservationists past and present, South Africa remains blessed with abundant wildlife. (more…)

Lilac-breasted roller.

South Africa ranks as one of the top birding destinations in the world, offering an unbeatable combination of variety of birds, well developed transport systems, and a user-friendly and supportive birding tourism industry.

Birders from around the world come to experience both the great variety of typically African birds, migrants, and endemics - those birds found only in South Africa. These birders enjoy excellent birding, whether they are with an organised commercial birding tour or are touring independently.

Of the 850 or so species that have been recorded in South Africa, about 725, or 85%, are resident or annual visitors, and about 50 of these are endemic or near-endemic to South Africa, and can only be seen in the country. (more…)

A juvenile southern right whale (Image from a painting by Elisabeth Poulsom, Cape Gallery)

The annual migration of southern right whales from their icy feeding grounds off Antarctica to warmer climates sees the majestic beasts reaching South Africa in June. Our coastal waters teem with the giant animals, mating, calving and rearing their young, while giving whale-watchers magnificent displays of massive power and elegant water acrobatics.

The whale gets its name from the fact it was once regarded as the “right” whale to hunt - being slow-moving, rich in oil and baleen, they float when killed and provide an enormous yield to hunters.

It was this “rightness” brought the animals to the brink of extinction in the early 20th century, as whalers killed an estimated 20 000 of the animals. However, protected in South African waters since 1935, their numbers have slowly crept back to a global population of around4 000, most of which visit South Africa’s coastline every year - much to the delight of locals and visitors from around the world. (more…)