Roxanne Reid's Blog, page 35

Remembering Nelson Mandela

By Roxanne Reid
This is an African travel and wildlife blog, where content about anything else is out of place. But given that South Africa is halfway through 10 days of national mourning, it would be strange if I didn’t note the passing of former South African President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela on the evening of 5 December 2013. Here’s a short tribute to Mandela, in words and pictures. Mandela may not have been a saint, as some people would have us believe, but he was certainly a man...

8 things to do and see in Sutherland in the Karoo

By Roxanne Reid
You might come to Sutherland in the Karoo for the stars or the snow, but there are lots of other things to do and see in the little town that’s 110km north of Matjiesfontein on the R354. We found ourselves enjoying it more for the history and people than for the clear night skies that make it famous. Here’s my pick of 8 things to do and see in Sutherland. 1. Ouberg Pass
If you approach Sutherland from Calvinia or the Tankwa Karoo National Park, as we did, it’s well worth dr...

Speed kills: why you can't outrun a cheetah

By Roxanne Reid
With a flexible spine and feet that grip like BF Goodrich tyres, the cheetah is built for speed and amazing acceleration. Ferrari, eat your heart out. No wonder you can't outrun a cheetah. But what physical adaptations make it so fast? According to Dr Luke Hunter in his book Cheetah,the cheetah's lightly-built legs are the longest of any large cat, giving it a longer stride. But there's an even more amazing adaptation: their spine is the longest and most flexible of any...

Why I’m grateful to Melissa Bachman - and you should be too

By Roxanne Reid
If you haven’t already read aboutMelissa Bachmanand the furorecaused by hershooting a lionin South Africa recently – and braggingabout it on social media – then you’re living under a rock and you really shouldget out more. Let me explainwhy I'm grateful to Melissa Bachman–and youshould be too. First, some quick background for any rock dwellers. Melissa Bachman, an American TV presenter and avid trophy hunter, came to South Africa and shot a lion. Bad enough. Then she tweete...

Top 6 reasons to visit the Richtersveld

Unusual plants grow in the Richtersveld By Roxanne Reid
The Richtersveld inthe far north-west of the Northern Cape is mountain desert, a place that mightseem barren at first sight, but reveals its richness if you look moreclosely. There are many reasons to add this destination to your bucket list;I’ve condensed them into the top 6reasons to visit the Richtersveld –at least once in your lifetime. Find out what these top 6 reasons to visit the Richtersveld areby reading a blog post I wrote fo...

Williston Mall in the Karoo

By Roxanne Reid
Travelling from Sutherland to Carnarvon in the Karoo,we drove into Williston simply because it was a point on the map we’d never been to before. We discovered it’snot the most promising destination overall, but well worth it just to visit theWilliston Mall. Weird and wacky are two words that instantly spring to mind. Andof course ‘mall’ is a misnomer here in a dusty town where one of the majorattractions is a tombstone route. Its other name is ‘Die Ark B&B en Vlieënde Pieri...

5 favourite African travel and wildlife blog posts this week

As a travel and wildlife blogger, I love it when I find other bloggers doing work I enjoy. Here are my 5 favourite African travel and wildlife blog posts thisweek. How could you not love this little baby hyena? 1. Adorable animals
There’snothing quite like a collection of baby animals to tug at your heart strings.Wild magazine’s blogtrotted out acollection of them, from giraffe and zebra that look like stuffed toys, to anelephant attempting a hand stand and a wild dog pup who hasn’t gro...

Flowers in the Tankwa Karoo National Park

We’ve visited the Tankwa Karoo NationalPark before and have succumbed to its charmswhether camping rough or staying in the charmingold-style Elandsbergchalets. But this time, in early October, the park treated us toacolourful display of wild flowers in theTankwa Karoo that topped all ourprevious visits. Although August and September are peak season for spring flowers here, there were still lots of them to admire when we visited in October.

‘No, no,’ laughed Juliana de Vries, Tankwa Karoo N...

Leopards of the Kgalagadi

As you may remember from a previous blog,there’s an exciting project afoot to identify leopards of the KgalagadiTransfrontier Park. Dr Matthew Schurch will be giving a talk about the interesting lives of the leopards ofthe Kgalagadi this week, so why not come along to find outmore. Discover what photographs are telling researchers about thebehaviour of leopards in the Kgalagadi and learn how to tell the differencebetween individual animals. Matthew will explain how the project came about an...

Breakdown on the way to Kaokoveld in Namibia

Brake trouble in Namibia By Roxanne Reid
I’mnot superstitious. I was born on 13th of the month, so the number 13holds no terrors. But on our way to an adventure inKaokoveldin Namibia'sfar northwest, the double dose of the13th day of the month in 2013 turned out to beunlucky and we had a breakdown. Itall started with a smell.

A hot terrible smell. We sniffed ourway liketracker dogs around the car and zoned in on the wheels of our Xplorer 4x4caravan. We suspected locked brakes. So we used the...