Latest News - August 2020
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Wow! We are now almost two thirds through 2020, a year which, so far, has been both strange and surreal. When we were celebrating the start of the new year in January, there were not many people that could have foreseen the disaster that was about to befall us. The world has changed, is still changing, and it is unlikely that it will ever go back to being the way it was before. Most of us have had to adapt to a new lifestyle and new methods of doing business; but people are positive and resilient, and all of us are finding ways to make it work.
The effect of the coronavirus on the tourism industry has been devastating, perhaps more so than on any other industry. One way or another, many countries are dependent on tourism to earn foreign income, and the loss in terms of human livelihood is probably incalculable. Think about all of the different sectors that have been affected; airlines, hotels, accommodation establishments, restaurants, tourist attractions, game lodges, hunting lodges, car hire companies, and guides, to name but a few. Many of these businesses will not be able to survive a total loss of income for a period which could last for twelve months or more. Now think about the millions of workers employed by these companies, and their dependents – it is a heartbreaking scenario, to say the least. We can only hope that the industry will be opened up again as soon as is possible. |
Unfortunately, there are also many conservation organizations that have been affected as well. Most of these organizations depend on tourist dollars and/or donations to survive, and without their help, the effect on some species of wildlife will be catastrophic. Once an animal disappears from this earth, it is gone forever. We often post appeals for help from worthy organizations on our Facebook page; please read these carefully, and give them your support if you are in a position to do so.
July 31st was World Ranger Day, a date which is used to commemorate rangers killed or injured in the line of duty, and to celebrate the work that they do to protect the world's natural and cultural heritage. These selfless individuals carry out their duties because they care about the environment and the wildlife around them, often in very difficult, uncomfortable and dangerous conditions. Next time you meet up with a ranger, give him or her a hug and tell them that you appreciate the work that they do!
We hope that you will enjoy this month’s newsletter. The section about King Shaka is a little long, but we are sure that you will find it interesting. Other than Nelson Mandela, he is probably the most famous and influential person ever to have been born in South Africa! Stay safe, and we will catch up with you again at the beginning of September.
Mike Leicester
Editor
July 31st was World Ranger Day, a date which is used to commemorate rangers killed or injured in the line of duty, and to celebrate the work that they do to protect the world's natural and cultural heritage. These selfless individuals carry out their duties because they care about the environment and the wildlife around them, often in very difficult, uncomfortable and dangerous conditions. Next time you meet up with a ranger, give him or her a hug and tell them that you appreciate the work that they do!
We hope that you will enjoy this month’s newsletter. The section about King Shaka is a little long, but we are sure that you will find it interesting. Other than Nelson Mandela, he is probably the most famous and influential person ever to have been born in South Africa! Stay safe, and we will catch up with you again at the beginning of September.
Mike Leicester
Editor
Upcoming tours
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South African Soul
July 18 - August 1 2021 (14 nights) Only 6 spots open! The trip starts off with a tour to Soweto, then moves on to the incredible Walkers River Camp in the Timbavati, where the group will spend 5 nights at this game viewing paradise. This is followed by 3 days of fun and adventure on the Panorama Route, a stopover in Dullstroom, and then 3 more days among the spectacular sandstone cliffs, caves and buttresses of Clarens and the Golden Gate Highlands National Park. Grab this opportunity to get one of the spots before they are all taken. You will not be disappointed! Click here to get more information. |
Focus on conservation
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Conservationists welcome China’s wildlife trade ban
Conservationists are welcoming news that the Chinese Government has temporarily banned the sale of wildlife in markets, restaurants and over e-commerce as part of an effort to contain the Coronavirus outbreak, which has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Defined as a zoonotic disease since it’s normally relegated to wildlife, it probably originated from an animal and has been traced to a market in the city of Wuhan known for selling wild animals for consumption, including turtles, rats, snakes, hedgehogs and marmots. “China is to be congratulated for taking such a bold move to ban the wildlife trade and we should encourage China to keep this ban in place permanently,” Steven Galster, founder of the anti-wildlife-trafficking group Freeland, said in a statement. “A sustained ban will save human lives, and contribute to a recovery of wildlife populations worldwide.” |
Christian Walzer, chief global veterinarian for the Wildlife Conservation Society, concurred.
“The Chinese government’s announcement to temporarily ban the sale of wildlife in markets, restaurants and over e-commerce needs to be permanent,” Walzer said in a press release. “The banning of such sales will help end the possibility of future outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, such as the Wuhan coronavirus. We learned this lesson with the outbreak of another zoonotic disease, SARS, in 2002. The pattern will keep repeating itself until we ban, not only in China, but in other countries, the sale of wildlife, specifically for food and in food markets.”
China is the world’s largest market for wildlife products. Consumption of several rare and endangered species — for example, pangolins, rhinos, elephants, and totoaba — are considered among the biggest threats to their survival in the wild.
But while China’s temporary wildlife ban is seen as a positive for wildlife, it’s not certain that its overall response won’t result in a lot of dead animals, if the SARS outbreak is any indication, said Freeland.
“China must avoid certain measures it took under SARS when it killed thousands of animals to prevent further outbreaks,” added Onkuri Majumdar, Managing Director at Freeland-Asia. “This is not the animals’ fault. If we leave them alone, leave them in the wild, such outbreaks won’t occur. This problem is caused by human consumption, lack of enforcement, and human greed.”
“Keep the ban in place, enforce it, and watch the world’s biodiversity recover,” said Freeland’s founder Galster.
“China can become the world’s new wildlife conservation leader,” added Kraisak. “We need one.”
“The Chinese government’s announcement to temporarily ban the sale of wildlife in markets, restaurants and over e-commerce needs to be permanent,” Walzer said in a press release. “The banning of such sales will help end the possibility of future outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, such as the Wuhan coronavirus. We learned this lesson with the outbreak of another zoonotic disease, SARS, in 2002. The pattern will keep repeating itself until we ban, not only in China, but in other countries, the sale of wildlife, specifically for food and in food markets.”
China is the world’s largest market for wildlife products. Consumption of several rare and endangered species — for example, pangolins, rhinos, elephants, and totoaba — are considered among the biggest threats to their survival in the wild.
But while China’s temporary wildlife ban is seen as a positive for wildlife, it’s not certain that its overall response won’t result in a lot of dead animals, if the SARS outbreak is any indication, said Freeland.
“China must avoid certain measures it took under SARS when it killed thousands of animals to prevent further outbreaks,” added Onkuri Majumdar, Managing Director at Freeland-Asia. “This is not the animals’ fault. If we leave them alone, leave them in the wild, such outbreaks won’t occur. This problem is caused by human consumption, lack of enforcement, and human greed.”
“Keep the ban in place, enforce it, and watch the world’s biodiversity recover,” said Freeland’s founder Galster.
“China can become the world’s new wildlife conservation leader,” added Kraisak. “We need one.”
Significant historical events
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Shaka - warrior king of the Zulus
Sigidi kaSenzangakhona was born in July 1787, the illegitimate son of the chief of a small clan called the Zulus. When the elders of the tribe discovered that his mother was pregnant, his parents tried to deny it, and claimed that her bloated belly was a symptom of iShaka, an intestinal and parasitic beetle. This is how the boy acquired the nickname by which he would later become so famous. When he was six years old, Shaka and his mother were exiled from his father’s kraal and they later joined a different tribe, the Mthethwa. In his late teens, Shaka was assigned to an amabutho, a military regiment of young men based on age group. During this time, he caught the attention of the premier chieftain, Dingiswayo. Shaka displayed great valor, skill, and strength, and an impressed Dingiswayo became his mentor. After the young warrior had led his troops to victory in a number of skirmishes, Dingiswayo made Shaka his commander-in-chief, and helped to organize a reconciliation between Shaka and his estranged father. But as he was illegitimate, Shaka had no valid claim to succession. After his father died in 1816, he killed his half-brother Sigujana and took over as chief of the Zulus. At this stage, his army consisted of just 1,500 warriors. |
Inter-tribal battles at this time consisted of a show of strength with very little bloodshed. The opposing forces would line up in two long lines facing one another just more than a spear-throw apart. They would begin by hurling insults, then warriors from either side would run forward and throw a spear at their opponents. Many could be warded off with a shield or dodged. If one side received more casualties than the other, this would be seen as a sign that it was not a very auspicious day and they would usually retreat, with the resolve to seek a return engagement on a more favorable occasion.
But Shaka set about to revolutionize traditional weaponry and tactics, with far more deadly intentions. Rather than using long assegais that were thrown at an enemy, Shaka adapted the spear into a close-quarters weapon with a short, thick handle and a massive blade known as the iklwa, so called because of the sound it made when it was thrust and pulled out of an enemy’s body. Shaka also introduced a larger, heavier version of the Nguni shield, and he taught his warriors how to use the shield's left side to hook an enemy's shield to the right, exposing his ribs for a fatal spear stab. Instead of all-out frontal charges, Shaka developed the famous “bull horn" attack formation, composed of three elements; the “chest”, a main frontal force normally comprised of senior veterans; the “horns”, which would flank the enemy from both sides and encircle them; and the “loins”, a reserve force hidden behind the “chest”.
Shaka imposed a rigorous system of discipline on his troops, and drilled them without mercy. He organised various grades into regiments, and quartered them in special military kraals, with each regiment having its own distinctive name and insignia. He forced them to practice his encirclement tactics, and to undertake marches that sometimes covered more than 50 miles a day in a fast trot over hot, rocky terrain, usually without any footwear. Any warriors that could not keep up or that objected were killed.
In 1818, Shaka began a massive program to expand his kingdom. He used various methods, including forging alliances, negotiation, diplomatic pressure, patronage and reward, but if none of these was successful, he killed, enslaved or assimilated any tribes that resisted his forces. As more and more tribes and territories became incorporated into Shaka's empire, others moved away to be out of the range of his impis, becoming in turn aggressors against their neighbors. The ripple effect caused by these mass migrations would become known as the Mfecane (“the crushing”).
Within ten years, the Zulu nation had ballooned to a total of about 250,000 people covering a vast territory, and the warrior king ruled over his lands with an iron fist. He could assemble more than 50,000 warriors at any given time, and he would ruthlessly crush any uprising or resistance amongst his subjects. Shaka was known for his cruelty, and it is estimated that he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, although this figure is sometimes hotly disputed.
As there were only a few white hunters and traders living in his kingdom during this period, Shaka never came into conflict with any of them. Indeed, he accorded them favored treatment, ceded them land, and permitted them to build a settlement at Port Natal. He was curious about their technological developments, was anxious to learn more about European military methods, and he was especially interested in the culture that they represented. Moreover, he was alert to the advantages that their trade might bring.
Shaka was an undisputed ruler and a cruel tyrant, but he had always maintained very close ties with his mother, Nandi. When she died from dysentery in October 1827, he proclaimed a period of national mourning which would last for 12 months. He ordered that no crops should be planted during the following year, no milk should be consumed, and that any woman who became pregnant was to be killed along with her husband. At least 7,000 people that were deemed to be insufficiently grief-stricken were executed. The killing was not restricted to humans; even some of his cows were slaughtered so that their calves would know what it was like to lose a mother.
On 24 September 1828, Shaka was assassinated by his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana. His corpse was dumped in an empty grain pit, which was then filled with stones and mud. The exact location of his final resting place is unknown, although a monument was built at one alleged site.
Much of the legend and mystique around the figure of Shaka has been garnered from African oral history and praise poetry, and from the few written accounts of his interactions with European settlers. There is some dispute amongst modern scholars as to the veracity of the stories, but there is no doubt that he was a both a brilliant military tactician and a brutal despot. Despite his violent methodology, Shaka created a large and powerful nation that would forever leave its mark on the history of South Africa.
But Shaka set about to revolutionize traditional weaponry and tactics, with far more deadly intentions. Rather than using long assegais that were thrown at an enemy, Shaka adapted the spear into a close-quarters weapon with a short, thick handle and a massive blade known as the iklwa, so called because of the sound it made when it was thrust and pulled out of an enemy’s body. Shaka also introduced a larger, heavier version of the Nguni shield, and he taught his warriors how to use the shield's left side to hook an enemy's shield to the right, exposing his ribs for a fatal spear stab. Instead of all-out frontal charges, Shaka developed the famous “bull horn" attack formation, composed of three elements; the “chest”, a main frontal force normally comprised of senior veterans; the “horns”, which would flank the enemy from both sides and encircle them; and the “loins”, a reserve force hidden behind the “chest”.
Shaka imposed a rigorous system of discipline on his troops, and drilled them without mercy. He organised various grades into regiments, and quartered them in special military kraals, with each regiment having its own distinctive name and insignia. He forced them to practice his encirclement tactics, and to undertake marches that sometimes covered more than 50 miles a day in a fast trot over hot, rocky terrain, usually without any footwear. Any warriors that could not keep up or that objected were killed.
In 1818, Shaka began a massive program to expand his kingdom. He used various methods, including forging alliances, negotiation, diplomatic pressure, patronage and reward, but if none of these was successful, he killed, enslaved or assimilated any tribes that resisted his forces. As more and more tribes and territories became incorporated into Shaka's empire, others moved away to be out of the range of his impis, becoming in turn aggressors against their neighbors. The ripple effect caused by these mass migrations would become known as the Mfecane (“the crushing”).
Within ten years, the Zulu nation had ballooned to a total of about 250,000 people covering a vast territory, and the warrior king ruled over his lands with an iron fist. He could assemble more than 50,000 warriors at any given time, and he would ruthlessly crush any uprising or resistance amongst his subjects. Shaka was known for his cruelty, and it is estimated that he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, although this figure is sometimes hotly disputed.
As there were only a few white hunters and traders living in his kingdom during this period, Shaka never came into conflict with any of them. Indeed, he accorded them favored treatment, ceded them land, and permitted them to build a settlement at Port Natal. He was curious about their technological developments, was anxious to learn more about European military methods, and he was especially interested in the culture that they represented. Moreover, he was alert to the advantages that their trade might bring.
Shaka was an undisputed ruler and a cruel tyrant, but he had always maintained very close ties with his mother, Nandi. When she died from dysentery in October 1827, he proclaimed a period of national mourning which would last for 12 months. He ordered that no crops should be planted during the following year, no milk should be consumed, and that any woman who became pregnant was to be killed along with her husband. At least 7,000 people that were deemed to be insufficiently grief-stricken were executed. The killing was not restricted to humans; even some of his cows were slaughtered so that their calves would know what it was like to lose a mother.
On 24 September 1828, Shaka was assassinated by his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana. His corpse was dumped in an empty grain pit, which was then filled with stones and mud. The exact location of his final resting place is unknown, although a monument was built at one alleged site.
Much of the legend and mystique around the figure of Shaka has been garnered from African oral history and praise poetry, and from the few written accounts of his interactions with European settlers. There is some dispute amongst modern scholars as to the veracity of the stories, but there is no doubt that he was a both a brilliant military tactician and a brutal despot. Despite his violent methodology, Shaka created a large and powerful nation that would forever leave its mark on the history of South Africa.
Folklore & legends
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Hole In The Wall
About 8 kilometres south of Coffee Bay, and just offshore, lies one of South Africa’s most interesting natural formations – a massive, free-standing dolerite outcrop, with a portal carved through its center. In 1823, Captain Alexander Vidal of HMS Barracouta, a Royal Navy survey ship that charted this region, named the impressive arch “Hole in the Wall”. Its Xhosa name is iziKhaleni, meaning “place of thunder”, derived from the sound of the waves crashing through the hole. |
The hole was created by erosion, but Xhosa mythology gives a much more romantic account of its formation. According to the legend, semi-deities called sea people – creatures with supple ankles and wrists and with feet and hands like flippers – lived in the sea. One of the sea people fell deeply in love with a beautiful girl who lived in a village near a landlocked lagoon. But the girl’s people were afraid of the sea, believing that it was cruel and dangerous, and they warned her never to go there. Her father forbade her from seeing her lover or leaving the village, but nothing could deter the lovesick maiden. She slipped away to meet her sea lover and told him of her father’s disapproval, and he promised to find a solution.
One night, at high tide, the sea people came to the mighty cliff that separated the lagoon from the sea. They brought a huge fish, which rammed through the base of the cliff. Singing and shouting, the sea people rode the wave that gushed through the breach, and at the front was the girl’s lover. She rushed into his arms while the villagers hid in fear. As the wave retreated, she went with the sea people, back through the hole in the rock, and was never seen again.
One night, at high tide, the sea people came to the mighty cliff that separated the lagoon from the sea. They brought a huge fish, which rammed through the base of the cliff. Singing and shouting, the sea people rode the wave that gushed through the breach, and at the front was the girl’s lover. She rushed into his arms while the villagers hid in fear. As the wave retreated, she went with the sea people, back through the hole in the rock, and was never seen again.
Creature corner
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Springhares are neither hares nor rabbits, but are in fact rodents. They are endemic to southern Africa, and resemble a small kangaroo (although they are completely unrelated) with well-developed hind legs and the ability to leap prodigious distances. Springhares are mostly nocturnal, but are occasionally active during the day.
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Feather feature
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Common Name: African Spoonbill
Binomial Name: Platalea alba Status: Common resident Red List Status: Least Concern The African Spoonbill is a long-legged wader which has a widespread distribution across all southern African countries. It lives in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water, and nests in colonies in trees or reedbeds. It uses its unusually-shaped bill to catch food items such as fish, molluscs, amphibians, crustaceans, insects and larvae by swinging them from side-to-side in the water. |
Did you know?
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One of the world’s best known authors, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (J.R.R. Tolkien), was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on 3 January 1892. He moved to England when he was three years old, and later went on to pen many famous books, including “The Hobbit”, “The Lord of the Rings”, and “The Silmarillion”.
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Words of wisdom
"The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa - for he has so much to look forward to."
Richard Mullin
Richard Mullin