Weekly Picture Story
You may have heard that lions are under threat. With CITES COP 17 in Johannesburg now done ‘n dusted, these magnificent beasts, like this Zululand lioness ‘shot’ a couple years back, are no better off, largely because trade in lion parts is still permitted. And with tiger bones in short supply in the environmentally bankrupt markets of China because of intense poaching, lion bones are in demand; dodgy traders passing them off as those of the tiger. This feline was a pleasure to watch, irritated by flies on a late afternoon at one of South Africa’s better game reserves. A good memory considering that just last week a lion just on the Mozambican side of the Kruger National Partk was killed using cyanide, a poaching incident that also killed a multitude of vultures http://www.andbeyond.com/phinda-mountain-lodge/
After entering the Cape Point of Cape Town’s Table Mountain national park, follow the first turning to ‘Olifantsbos’ (elephant bush). A ten-minute drive will deliver you to a small carpark and the start of the Shipwreck hiking trail. I know not the name of this plant, tucked into a half-shaded part of a sand-dune, but I loved the texture. So, curled up into an awkward ball on the trail, with the rest of the group by now way ahead, I did what I could. The wrecked and scattered bits of old ships and the variety of sea-birds made for morning magic. http://www.capepointroute.co.za/liveit-capepoint.php
In the early days of the century I was hiking the Amadiba Trail on what is known as South Africa’s Wild Coast, in the eastern Cape province. It’s so named because it’s very different to the rest of the country; extremely tribal, where chiefs rule in the name of community and individuals essentially can’t own land. Unemployment is rife, clinics and schools are scattered far apart. This wasn’t holiday per se, I was commissioned to find what had happened to European Union money that was meant for tourism development. I found corruption and personal interest to be ugly spots on the lush landscape. Often I came across friendly faces, a feature of this continent. The ‘couches’ had seen better times as seats in a microbus / mini-van. Quite far to the south as the crow flies (they’re quite a few of them) is Bulungula, a stylish, rustic, environmentally and socially conscious holiday destination not too far from Umtata. Staring at the ocean. http://www.bulungula.com/
A little bit of love and dreaminess for you this morning, wherever you are in the world. From the Biedouw valley. https://www.facebook.com/EnjoNatureFarm/ I am available for photography and writing commissions, irrespective of location.
The Great Race is on. The Namakwaland flower season, one of the earth’s most spectacular natural phenomena, is now in fourth gear. Having started in late July in the arid northern Namakwaland, spring has bloomed and blossomed its way south – down through Nieuwoudtville, the bulb capital of the world, and the Cederberg mountain range. In the process creating a huge canvas of the northern and western Cape coastal belt. I can’t remember exactly where I took this – it must’ve been between Langebaan and Clanwilliam – or what these plants are called. But I do know that this pic would’ve been taken soon after midday, for that’s when these beauties open up wide, taking in every bit of the sun they can get. Before closing up with the going down of the sun, when the day’s engine switches off. https://www.lekkeslaap.co.za/akkommodasie/naries-namakwa-retreat
Cape Maclear, Malawi. This stunning location, devoid of tourist-crunch, speaks to typically colonial times in sub-Saharan Africa, when certain brave characters left their names attached to bridges, mountains and street names (even animals). One of them was Irishman Sir Thomas Maclear, who became her Majesty’s astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope in 1833. Wikipedia says he was “occupied in performing a geodesic survey for the purpose of recalculating the dimensions and shape of the Earth”. That would have been a helluva task back then, and speaks to things like glorious focus and not being distracted by a million devices. Maclear apparently became close friends with David Livingstone, obviously drawn together by their common interest in the exploration of Africa. The crater Maclear on the Moon is named after him, as is the so-named town in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. Malawi to the Moon, who would’ve thought. http://www.geckolounge.net Cape Maclear
Sometimes Africa goes east, on this occasion to India, and a tea-drinker at a market in the north-eastern town of Shillong. I was initially surprised to see only one tourist in my week in Assam state, but the further I travelled in, the more I accepted – and thrilled in – it’s remoteness. At the time security forces were fighting off separatists somewhere near the Burmese border. This is awesome travel in the real sense of the word. http://www.iwte.in/purequest-adventures
As spring rushes towards us on the back of northern breezes, snug warm days tiptoe in wet socks between sodden cold fronts. I’m counting down the petals to free-styling Namakwaland daisies and the short-lived season. http://www.melkboomsdrift.co.za
Like a cheetah on a tree-stump, or an elephant in Knysna forest, I enjoy seeing wildlife out of it’s traditional or expected environment. I came across this Swainson’s francolin, which usually scuttles around in the grass, in the southern Kruger Park, not far from Malelane Gate. I was producing a TV investigative story about the pressures on an iconic #KrugerNationalPark surrounded by poverty. Local lodge owners were opposing the proposed construction of a Radisson hotel at Malelane gate, with an all-night bar and 24/7 access into the park on the table. This in an area known for its dwindling rhino population. Lukimbi Lodge was where we stayed. http://www.lukimbi.com The programme produced can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKAphsjn2UU
Papkuilsfontein, in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province. On this 300 year-old Van Wyk family farm is arguably the best value accommodation and experience in the country. While bemoaning the ease with which farmers still shoot jackals, family patriarch Willem van Wyk states matter-of-factly while gazing over Oorlogskloof (‘battle gorge’) that it was probably his ancestors who shot the last bushmen in the area. ‘Ag no you can’t say that Willem’, says his wife, establishment hostess Mariette. Apart from boasting probably the highest bulb diversity on the planet, the country-cooking dished up is phenomenal. papkuilsfontein
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About Angus Begg
Angus is serious about his craft. A CNN award-winning television producer, he was the first South African broadcast journalist to report from the chaos of Somalia in 1992.
He went on to cover the Rwandan genocide of '94 and South Africa's first democratic elections the same year, for which he was nominated for the national public service radio awards.
It was these episodes in Somalia and Rwanda that took him the roundabout route to the fields of travel and environment, in which he now writes, produces and photographs.