A colourful little messiah in the fynbos
Everyone loves a ladybird and many cultures attribute them with various powers and associations. The Turks for instance believe that they bring luck. The Turks are going to need a lot of Ladybirds in order to get into the EU!!!!!
Historically ladybirds were also associated with the Goddess of fertility but more recently various European cultures associate them more frequently with the virgin Mary – which figures, since you can’t get much more fertile than to become pregnant without even having sex!!
Making the most of climate change
During the past month I have done a lot of walking and guiding around Cape Town and the weather has been (scarily) spectacular.
A beautiful late autumn walk
Today I had a wonderful walk with a lovely family from the USA & Malawi. The weather was absolutely perfect and the walk was exhilarating. We took a slightly more challenging route and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Arriving at the top was rewarding.
My Prince Of The Mountain is gone.
About 10 years ago a Belgian Shepherd lover by the name of Jenni Allen rescued three Belgian Tervurens from an abusive owner. The three were a father and two daughters. I was considering getting a dog and took my (then) very young boys to look at this rescued family, where they were being kept at a kennel. I had decided to take one of the daughters who were then young pups. I really didn’t want to deal with the psychological baggage that comes with an adult rescue dog. On our...
White lions
Last week, after working sporadically in The Timbavati area of The greater Kruger for about 28 years (since long before the fence with The Kruger National Park came down!) I had my first sighting of the famous white lions of The Timbavati. As you can see from the white lioness asleep alongside a normal coloured male lion, the colour difference is obvious. Although their coat colour suggests that these are albinos, they are in fact leucistic. This is a colour mutation related to albinism but not as extreme and while their...
The adventures of Bill and the birders ( or patterns in nature)
It's already February and I haven't written a newsletter for months. I apologise, but life has just been too exciting.Tonight as I was looking back on my adventures in order to choose a theme for a newsletter, I was flooded with wonderful recollections of times with friends and clients in Victoria Falls, Hwange, Cape Town, Uganda, Belgium, Singita, Table Mountain, Timbavati, The Succulent Karoo, Namibia, The winelands, The Cederberg . . . I hope to share all of these adventures with you but the one that is demanding to be heard...
My most meaningful safari
Regular readers of my newsletter have been asking why I have been so quiet - and they are correct, I have not posted a newsletter for almost 3 months. The truth of the matter is that I have been extremely busy and so I apologise for letting this slip. This year has been incredible in terms of the safaris that I have guided, but one safari stands-out for me. Many cultures have a coming-of-age ritual for adolescents and I wanted to offer such an experience to my boys. They were raised...
Magical Kidepo
It just occurred to me that my malaria-pneumonia episode prevented me from relating more of my Uganda adventures. On this adventure we travelled by light aircraft to The Kidepo Valley National Park in the far north-east of Uganda. The National Park lies on the border with South Sudan and just a few kilometres from the border with Kenya. It is one of the most remote National Parks in Uganda and consists of two wide river valleys that create vast swathes of savannah between impressive mountains. This is a photo of...
Congratulations
Walk In Africa would like to congratulate our director, Steve Bolnick, on receiving the Lilizela award for the best nature-guide in the Western Cape. The Lilizela awards " recognise & reward tourism excellence. Setting the standard for global excellence & rewarding those who strive for perfection." That description certainly describes the aims of our company and our team. ...
Murchison Falls and the cost of oil
At 6,853 km the Nile is considered to be the longest river in the world. No doubt in times past it provided life-giving water for wildlife along its entire length, but sadly this is no longer the case. I have seen the Nile in Egypt, and was shocked by the paucity of birdlife along its shores - even in remote rural areas. In fact the Sacred Ibis that obtained its name from the ancient egyptians' belief that it represented their god Thoth, is no longer found anywhere in Egypt, not...