Roxanne Reid's Blog, page 36

Kruger National Park to get new restaurant services

By Roxanne Reid
South African National Parks (SANParks) hasannounced that Wimpy and otherfranchises will soon be providing new restaurant services at the KrugerNational Park (and also Addo and Tsitsikamma). The restaurant at Kruger National Park's Letaba camp From March 2014, Kruger Park’s Lower Sabie, Olifants and Letabacamps’ restaurants will be run by Mugg and Bean, with the Pretoriuskop andSatara restaurants in the hands of Wimpy. From December 2013, Ciao!will operatethe Skukuza Se...

The Tankwa Padstal in the Karoo

Tankwa Padstal's pub We pulled up at the Tankwa Padstal in the Karoo. Officially,it’s on the R355 about 70km from Ceres, on the way to Calvinia or the TankwaKaroo National Park. Unofficially, it’s somewhere between nothing and nowhere.Two bikers were switching off their engines and taking off their helmets. Wegreeted them in Afrikaans and asked how their ride had been. They looked at usas if we were from outer space. We discovered it was because they spoke Portuguese, but noAfrikaans. Thei...

Wildebeest mum saves her calf from a leopard in Kenya

Leopards have to eat, right? But sometimes you can't help rooting for the underdog when predator meets prey. Watch how a wildebeest mum saves her calf from a grisly death at the jaws of a leopard in Kenya. The footage wascaptured by Brit Kathy Farrell while on holiday in Kenya's Mara NorthConservancy. She paid tribute to guideBenjamin Kaluena, who spotted the leopard and thought it might try to take downthe young calf: ‘Benjamin put us in the right place at the right time.’

Small calve...

Cheetahs in Etosha National Park, Namibia

By Roxanne Reid
IfI had to choose just one game park to visit for the rest of my life, it would have to be Etosha National Parkin northern Namibia, because it hits you between the eyes every day withfabulous sightings of animals, as if they're still roaming everywhere like theydid 150 years ago.Take the 'Day of the Cheetahs' as an example. Wewere driving east from Halali camp towards Namutoni, and we’d seen so many elephants, lions and zebras in the past few days that we could have been bo...

Human interaction with wild animals: what's your view?

By Roxanne Reid
What's your view of human interaction with wild animals?Are walking with lions, elephant-back safaris, cuddling cheetah cubs and so on a good thing or not? Watch this video and tell us: what's your view? In this video, the Lion Whisperer, otherwise known as Kevin Richardson,has a bit of a romp with hischums, a pair of lions. Even if I put the annoyingly repetitive and inane indignities of the sound track aside, I'm left conflicted.

On the one hand I'm in awe of his obvio...

Fossil Ridge eco-lodge in the Gamkaberg: a perfect spot

Tents surrounded by natural bush By Roxanne Reid
Sprawled in a canvas chair at our private lapa, glass of wine inhand, I watched a spotted eagle owl perch on a rocky koppie where it wassilhouetted against the darkening sky. We were at FossilRidge eco-lodge in the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve nearOudtshoorn and the heat of the day was fading at last. Whoever chose the site for the lapa was a genius Fossil Ridge (like its sisters Sweet-thorn and Tierkloof) encourages an eco-friendly and sus...

The Lowveld: it's in our nature

By Roxanne Reid
Are you a fan of the Kruger National Park? On your next trip, why not venture a little further afield and take in the wonders of the wholeLowveld region, showcased in this promo video called 'The Lowveld: it's in our nature'. The video was shot by the Southern African Natural History Unitandshows some of the highlights of the Lowveld province ofMpumalanga. You'll get a sense of what thePanorama Route holds, with spectacles like the three rondavels, God's Window and the B...

Rare elephant behaviour at Etosha National Park, Namibia

By Roxanne Reid
Elephants are endlessly fascinating. But in Etosha National Parkthis winter,we were privileged to see a rare elephantbehaviour, so rare that not even elephantscientists have often witnessed it in the wild. Elephants are an essential part of the magic that is Namibia's Etosha National Park Therains had been really poor, so there wasn’t a drop of water in the famous EtoshaPan, which meant no water-birds, waders, and most disappointingly no flamboyance of flamingos. But i...

My top 4 highlights of the Darling Voorkamerfest

Dizu Plaatjies We experienced our first DarlingVoorkamerfest at the beginning of September. Over the three days of the festival in this small rural town on the Cape West Coast, we saw nine shows. Here are my top 4highlights. 4. MissMolly and Me
We couldn’t believe it. Our expectations weren’t particularlyhigh, so our very first show of the weekend, Miss Molly and Me,presented in the voorkamer of a tiny house in Darling East, was a pleasantsurprise.

The singing, guitar-playing duo from the N...

March to say NO to elephant poaching

Up to 36 000 elephants were killed for their ivory in 2012. That equates to onelife lost every 15minutes.
At the current rate of poaching African elephants could faceextinction in the wild by 2025.Join the march to say NO to elephant poaching. The International March for Elephants on Friday 4 October 2013has been organised by The David Sheldrick WildlifeTrust (DSWT) through theiriworry campaign, which exists to raise global awareness of the devastating impact the illegal ivory trade...