Table of contents for July 2017 in go!

Can a drought have a silver lining? In my dry corner of the Boland, where it’s officially winter even though the farm dams look like Dead Vlei, I find solace in the fact that I’ve got to know every flower and plant in my garden a lot better during the past few months. While the succulents, aloes, vygies and quiver trees proudly proclaim their independence and thrive, the vegetable garden, lime trees and agapanthus are surviving on grey water delivered in watering cans from the shower and kitchen. It’s the daily chore of keeping my garden alive that excites me about this month’s issue. We’ve noted the scientific names of all the flowers in our feature on page 32, but the Afrikaans names are much more evocative. Say them out…

Where was your love of nature born? There’s no particular moment that I can recount. I grew up in the Drakensberg at Cathedral Peak, where my father was a forester. We later moved to Idaho in the US for three years, and returned to live on a farm in the Eastern Cape. I have loved animals and wild places for as long as I can remember. What exactly do you do? The EWT works to conserve species and areas that are threatened by irresponsible actions and development, usually driven by greed or ignorance. In order to make people aware of the work that we do, we emphasize that people will suffer without the natural resources that we are trying to protect. Unfortunately, my current post sees me in the office…

Flasks HOW WE TESTED We filled each flask with 95° C water and laid it on its side. Every four hours we decanted 300 ml into a tin cup, resealed the flask and measured the temperature of the water in the cup. All the flasks had an equal 1 ℓ volume and none of them, or the cups, were preheated. The test was conducted at room temperature. Natural Instincts Flask It may be reasonably priced, but unfortunately this flask scored the lowest in our test. Immediately after filling it, I could feel the warmth radiating away. It’s not a terrible flask because it will keep your brew drinkable for up to eight hours, but come evening the coffee inside will have dropped to the temperature of bath water. Cup volume:…

TRANQUILLITY SAFARI LODGE & SPA There’s something about an infinity pool – even if you’re several provinces away from Clifton – that instantly makes you breathe out. Or is it just me? At this aptly named spot, the pool falls away into the Bushveld where there’s a small waterhole frequented by giraffe, kudu and other animals. The lodge caters to the whole family. Mom and daughter can get pampered while dad and the boys head out into the bush (and vice versa!). Spa treatments take place in a safari tent with roll-up sides so you feel surrounded by nature (massages start at R495; book in advance). A game drive costs R220 – you’ll go into neighbouring Welgedacht Private Game Reserve, which is home to the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary. Facilities:There…

Chapman’s Peak (593 m) separates Hout Bay from Noordhoek on the Cape Peninsula. Most people are content to drive between the two suburbs via Chapman’s Peak Drive at the mountain’s base, but it’s also possible to scramble to the top – the 3 km trail should take you about 90 minutes. Adventure tour guide Justin Hawthorne had the day off and he didn’t want to waste it. The weather was perfect and he was greeted by this scene at the summit: Noordhoek Beach curling around to Kommetjie, with the Slangkop lighthouse in the distance. It’s unfortunate that a photograph has no smell because Justin says the sweet nutmeg-like scent of buchu made the moment even more rewarding.…

Spekboom visitor QJAN STRYDOM from Cape Town writes: What kind of insect is this? It looks like a cross between a stick insect and a praying mantis. A Entomologist DUNCAN MACFADYEN says: You’re right, it’s a stick mantid! This medium-sized mantid is a great stick mimic, as its name implies. It’s an ambush predator that uses its camouflage to catch other insects. The individual in the photo is hunting an ensign wasp: common around households as they parasitize cockroaches. Can it sting? QDEBORA HAMMANN from Centurion writes: I saw this worm on a hike in the Dinokeng Game Reserve near Pretoria. Do you know what it is? And can it sting? A Entomologist DUNCAN MACFADYEN says: This is the larva of the guineafowl butterfly – a relatively large butterfly in…

Why ants, and why now? I’ve been interested in ants since my childhood; the logo I use on all my maps is an ant. For years I was frustrated by the absence of an easy ant guide. There are websites with plenty of pics of shrivelled, dead ants and descriptions full of jargon, but nothing to help an amateur, an educator or even a “puzzled professional” get quick guidance. Why are ants so often misunderstood by humans? I think there are quite a few humans who would prefer a world in which there were only humans. Or maybe humans plus a few dogs, cats and other domestic animals, with the more spectacular creatures locked up in a zoo. People don’t understand that the web of life on earth is vast…

When you’re in Vivo, you’re in the Bushveld. Bakkies rule, thorn trees bloom and game fences reach for the sky. It’s also hunting country during the winter months. At Vivo Vleismark you can buy game biltong (R167/kg), beef biltong (R270/kg), beef droëwors (R210/kg) and their popular babelasdroëwors (cabanossi with a chilli kick; R210/kg). T-bone steak costs R129/kg. They also sell a variety of pork products and delicacies like oepsies, angels, wieletjies and bacon sosaties that will have your neighbour salivating over the fence. You can buy firewood, charcoal and braai tongs, plus Limpopo’s well-known Bergh sauces like Kranskop red chilli sauce and Wolkberg and Ysterberg chutneys. (Caution: Ysterberg is hot.) There are even more interesting finds on the shelves: walnut oil, marula jelly, guava jam, rusks, JanPap, wheat-free tagliolini… If…

In go! #131 we interviewed Annetjie Joubert, the last person born in Gamkaskloof to still spend time there. She spoke of how the kloof continues to tug at her heart and it’s true: Once you’ve been to this remote valley in the Swartberg, you’ll be lured back again and again. Die Hel – the valley’s other name – is not a hell at all. It offers respite from everyday life; you’ll discover a calmness that you might have forgotten about. You’ll feel that calmness washing over you as you crawl up the Swartberg Pass and feel it swell as you leave civilisation even further behind at the turn-off. The road to Gamkaskloof was opened in 1962 and it changed the valley forever. The insular farming community, in existence since the…

Naartjie pudding Serves 4 – 6 Preparation time 20 minutes Baking time 50 minutes This pudding is light like a soufflé, but with a sauce. If you prefer a tangier taste, replace half of the naartjie juice with lemon juice. You need Here’s how 1 Preheat the oven to 170° C. Grease a 22 x 22 cm dish. You’ll also need a bigger oven dish. Boil a kettle of water. 2 Cream the butter, sugar and naartjie peel until the mixture is pale yellow. Add the egg yolks one at a time. 3 Add the cream and the flour a tablespoon at a time. Add the naartjie juice and beat the batter until smooth. 4 Whisk the egg whites in a separate (clean…

I’m in Church Street, sitting on a red seesaw. All the restaurants and parking bays are full. A tour bus trundles up the street and some students amble past – away from the university campus… In my lap I have guidebooks, wine route brochures and a map of the town centre featuring info about national monuments, places to eat, shops and other attractions. I wish I was still one of those students. Making decisions was so much simpler back then. Go to class or take the day off? Go to the beach or head to Spur for the student special? Come nighttime 15 years ago, your options were Rustic (closed now), Tollies (closed), Finley’s (only for postgraduates) or De Akker. Thankfully, De Akker is still going strong – I plan…

Local is lekker In April we travelled to Cape Town for a holiday. We took it slow and toured through Mpumalanga, the Free State, the Northern Cape and the Western Cape. We read up on the history of each area we visited and it made our trip much more interesting. The journey made me realise that we live in one of the most scenic and hospitable countries in the world. We’re a diverse nation and we’re all just trying to survive – from those who sell roosterkoek in the Karoo to those who sell snoek in the harbours. We should appreciate and take care of what we have. RONEL AGENBAG,Mbombela Go see Cathedral Rock We recently visited Keurboomstrand near Plett on the Garden Route. Over the years I’ve seen many…

HOW TO IDENTIFY NDLOVANE • He keeps to the north of the Kruger • His right ear lobe has a hole the size of a 10 c coin towards the bottom middle, and two shallow, u-shaped indentations towards the top • His right tusk is straighter and longer than the left, which is curved forward giving the illusion of it being shorter • He has very little hair on his tail New tuskers in the Kruger Meet Ndlovane. This bull elephant (pictured) is one of 12 new tuskers in the Kruger Park. But what is a tusker? Kirsty Redman, co-ordinator of the Tuskers Project, explains. What are the criteria to qualify? Tuskers are identified in two stages. An elephant is identified as an emerging tusker when its ivory extends 1 – 1,5 m from…

Except for lions, which live in prides, and cheetahs, which form male coalitions of two or three brothers, most cats are solitary. Males and females each have distinct territories that they mark and defend. Leopards are a great example of this kind of system. Males generally have larger territories, which overlap those of the females. The only time you’ll see more than one leopard together is when a female is with her offspring or during a brief mating rendezvous. Once mating is done, the male departs and the raising of the litter is the sole responsibility of the female. After a gestation of around three months, one to three cubs are born. This is the most difficult time for the litter. Although the female leaves them in a well-concealed den…

Rwanda is a banana-and-a-half south of the equator. Crossing the border from Tanzania, the landscape immediately becomes greener. Workers in emerald rice paddies seek shade under colourful umbrellas and terraced fields go all the way up steep hillsides. Almost every square metre of soil seems to be devoted to agriculture. Rwanda is smaller than Lesotho and just as mountainous, which means that you’re forever traversing some kind of pass or winding road. It’s rare to find a straight, flat section of tar. However, it’s also about five times more populous than Lesotho so you’re always sharing the road with pedestrians and cyclists. Driving fast is out of the question. One of the first things you notice is how clean Rwanda is. Plastic shopping bags are illegal: Soldiers who searched our…

Bored with shiraz and fed up with merlot? Here are a few lesser-known but very yummy varietals to try this winter. Whenever new grapes are planted, there’s always room for a mistake. After all, one vine looks pretty much like another until the grapes start to grow! This is what happened in the Little Karoo in 1973: The Nel family at De Krans thought they were planting shiraz when they’d actually planted tinta barocca. The same thing happened in 2004, when they mistakenly planted tinta amarela instead of tinta roriz. Tinta barocca and tinta amarela are both port grapes, and award-winning port-style wines were subsequently made at De Krans from the harvest. So all was not lost. Now there’s also a 2015 blend of the two varietals called A Twist…

BOTSWANA HOW LONG IS THE TOUR? 11 days, 10 nights DATES? 1 – 11 September 2017 12 – 22 September 2017 1 – 11 June 2018 15 – 25 August 2018 1 – 11 September 2018 12 – 22 September 2018 DAY 1: We meet in the town of Letlhakane and refuel. Then we head out into the bush and onto the vast expanse of the Makgadikgadi Pans to spend our first night on Kubu Island. DAY 2: Early birds and keen photographers will relish watching the sunrise over the pans while enjoying coffee and rusks. After breakfast we walk around the island with its fascinating rock formations and iconic baobabs while the logistics team strikes camp. Then it’s time to head north to our overnight camp outside Maun. DAY…