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The Heartland Issue
The Eastern Cape, a journey into my 333 year family history in South Africa. Last month we took a family holiday to the Eastern Cape. We had planned it at the beginning of last year, and wanted it to include some time relaxing at the beach and some time exploring the Karoo heartland. It unexpectedlyContinue…
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Goodbye 2020
Let the old year end and the New Year begin with the warmest of aspirations. As this year comes to a close, and I reflect on the year that was, or more accurately, the year that wasn’t, I find that I have very little to say. In my newsletters through lockdown, I shared my thoughtsContinue…
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The Welwitschia Issue
An ancient and truly remarkable plant. Welwitschia mirabilis is endemic to the Namib Desert, one of the world’s oldest and driest deserts. The plant has only two strap like leaves which grow throughout its lifetime. These leaves split and fray in the wind and heat, making it seem as though the plant has multiple leaves.Continue…
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The Rhino Conservation Issue
How the white rhinoceros was saved from the brink of extinction. But their fight for survival is not over yet. The famous hunter F.C. Selous said, in 1892, “Therefore the two white rhinoceros which I shot in 1882 are the last of their species that I have ever seen alive, or am ever likely toContinue…
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The Birdwatching Issue
Of Shoebills, wetlands and walking safaris. In 2000, I briefly joined my parents as an employee on their overland safaris in Southern Africa. My father had started his company in 1992 and with it, he wanted to take people into the wilderness areas of Africa. The company had evolved by 2000 into a specialist birdwatchingContinue…
