Blogs from Limpopo, South Africa, Africa - page 7

Südafrika ist das Land mit den meisten Feiertagen weltweit... Und diese Feiertage sind so heilig, sollten sie auf einen Samstag oder Sonntag fallen, ist der darauf folgende Montag gleich auch noch arbeitsfrei. Was nicht heißt, dass alle Geschäfte und Supermärkte geschlossen sind. Nein, nein.... Das heißt nur, dass ein Teil der Bevölkerung frei hat. Dazu gehöre auch ich. So hatte ich das Glück mitten im Schulquartal ein paar Tage frei zu haben. Schön, dass es diese Feiertage gibt ;-) Ich habe die vier Tage genutzt und bin mit ein paar Freunden in den Norden des Landes gefahren, um genau zu sein sein, bis an die Grenze zu Botswana, Simbabwe und Mosambik. Man fragt sich nun, was es da wohl zu sehen gibt... Afrika gibt es dort. Raus aus Pretoria und endlich wieder weite Landschaften sehen und ... read more

This happened at the PMC Mine in Phalaborwa South Africa. Where else in the world would one find one of Africa’s “Big Five” wondering around the mine premises. As the Mine manager commented, We have a new “Engineer” on site. As they say only in Africa ! For those of you who do not know, The World renowned “Kruger National Park” is only a few kilometres from the mine.... read more

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath awayI have had so many wonderful dreams come true in my life, it is hard to think that traveling to South Africa for a safari would be as high on the list as it was. But as a child I remember wanting to go to Africa for far different reasons thinking my trip would consist of missionary trips or volunteer medical work. However during my travels throughout the last few years, I have grown in ways unimaginable. Becoming aware of the environmental impact we as humans have on nature and our world has been overwhelming and my respect and reverence for nature has developed. This would be a true trip of a lifetime. Not only would it prove ... read more

Malembe is the Shangaane (local tribe) word for the Black Rhinoceros. One of the megafauna of Africa, they are territorial and shy. Smaller than the white rhino, they are also called the hook-lipped rhino, adapted to browsing rather than grazing. White rhinos are also larger and have a hump on their shoulders and rump, but more docile then the black rhino. I know each rhino by name now, Duchess, Zoli, Khuza, Thokamisa, Zulu, Buza, the list goes on. Released into the reserve three months ago, they are all young and still establishing their territories, which means their movement patterns are sparodic. Thokamisa has been the most reliable, almost always near the same lodge. Yesterday we had our first rhino siting, Deena watering near one of the damns. Francios spotted her through the trees, quite far off, ... read more

Rock picking has not been one of my favorite past times. I remembeer being dropped off on Yarrow Creek with a "Be back in an hour!!!" and left there for......eons. Many hours during my teenage years were spent building wire baskets and then filling them with rocks to replace fence posts in the rocky creek crossings. In Africa though, it is much harder to find rocks. We mine them out of washouts and ravines, prospecting for good ones, the big ones that will not sink into an oblivion of red sand after one pass with the land rover. There is a boundary fence on the west side of the reserve, whether it is protecting the big five or the villages on the other side I am not quite sure, but the animals will be shot if ... read more