Karkloof Spa Wellness and Wildlife Retreat

It has been nearly a year since we visited the Karkloof Spa Wellness and Wildlife Retreat and I wrote a couple of stories, including this one for The Witness

The Kniepp Pools at Karkloof Spa

Accommodation at Karkloof Spa

We spent a night in luxurious accommodation and enjoyed magnificent food; we experienced a full body massage and a meandering nature walk to view the Karkloof Falls.

Nyala and other game graze on the grass rooftops at Karkloof Spa

Pictures by Maryann Rivers-Moore

Environment Magazine Article: Community Conservation Areas

I wrote this article for The Wildlands Conservation Trust which appeared in the Spring 2010 issue of Environment Magazine, produced by the grouping of environmental NGOs: Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), Wildlands Conservation Trust (WCT) The Cape Leopard Trust, Wilderness Foundation South Africa, The Game Rangers Association of South Africa, SANCCOB, and WESSA (Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa). Community Conservation Areas play an important role in the creation of larger conservation corridors in Southern Africa.

Poor rural communities need to see the value of placing their land in the hands of conservationists, and should derive real benefits in order to do so. By proactively involving communities in conservation planning initiatives, existing protected areas can hopefully be respected and remain under conservation, and further tracts of land can be included and protected areas expanded.

Click on the below picture to see image at readable size, or e-mail me for a pdf of the story at maryann@maryannshaw.co.za

Maryann Shaw (Maryann Rivers-Moore)

More tree-preneurs, now "at home" in Hilton area

This story I did a little while ago, highlights the Wildlands Conservation Trust's new Indigenous Trees for Life Programme, started in the Hilton area where the NGO is based, and where I live. ITFL was started five years ago in northern Zululand, and has spread to over 23 communities in KwaZulu Natal, as well as pilot projects in Gauteng (Vosloorus) and Mpumalanga (Luphisi near Nelspruit)

Click on image below to view story at readable size:

Maryann Shaw (Maryann Rivers-Moore)

The plight of the Vultures in Southern Africa

I spoke to Sonja Kruger who runs the Maloti-Drakensberg Vulture Project

Helping out Wild Dogs

The KZN Wild Dog Project run by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) seeks to facilitate the expansion of the range for wild dogs in order to protect them as they move across KwaZulu Natal... click on the image below to view in readable size

Umgeni Valley Reserve

Article published in The Witness 14 October 2009

30kms from Pietermaritzburg there is a place you can run or walk with zebra, wildebeest and other wild animals, and then head off for breakfast at the nearby farmers' market

Click on image to view image at readable size

Maryann Shaw

Article from Montage, Autumn 2007

I wrote this article my capacity as photo editor at Images24, the syndication unit for Media24. The theme was social issues, and I highlighted some of the issues facing South Africa and the images we had in the collection that reflected these issues. Since those days, Gallo Images started distributing the Images24 content, so the images featured here can be found at their website

Click on the image of the article to see it in a readable size.

Maryann Shaw

Kingsley Holgate Boundless Southern Africa

Story for www.gotravel24.com by Maryann Shaw

Tembe Elephant Park in KwaZulu Natal is home to 220 of the largest elephants in the world; a big five reserve, it shares a border with Mozambique in the north Photos Maryann Shaw

Kingsley Holgate is on the road again. The large man with huge grey beard, something of an icon in South Africa, constantly stops to engage, inform and give of himself; I was pleasantly surprised not to meet a macho “camel man” guy – but a true professional, an adventurer who uses the brand he has built of himself as modern-day explorer heading into Africa…to do good.

From Tembe Elephant Park in Northern KwaZulu Natal, across the border to the beautiful Ponta Mamoli in Mozambique, Maryann Shaw tagged along for five days of Kingsley Holgate's latest expedition for Boundless Southern Africa.

Click here to view the story


Ponta Mamoli cabins in the casuarina trees, a minute's walk from the beach Photos Maryann Shaw

Comrades and Ballito for www.gotravel24.com

Have a look on www.gotravel24.com to see my latest story, a survival guide for those coming to Comrades next weekend.

my story

the gallery of images

I am off to Ballito now to do another story: after doing www.liquidyoga.co.za there a couple of months ago, I thought it would make a good story, so am off to see what else Balllito has to offer and take some pictures of the yoga on Monday morning.

Have a good weekend
Maryann

Umlani Bushcamp awarded Green Leaf

Umlani Bushcamp in Timbivati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa has been awarded the prestigious Green Leaf by the Wilderness Foundation, in recognition of its environmental consciousness, at an award ceremony held at the Travel Indaba in Durban.

See my story from my visit to Umlani a year ago at gotravel24.com

Click here to view the gallery of images on gotravel24 website

Umlani Bushcamp, Timbavati Game Reserve

Originally published on www.gotravel24.com

Expect surprise visitors when staying at Umlani Bushcamp in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve...
Within half an hour of my arrival at Umlani Bushcamp, part of the greater Kruger National Park, I had a visitor. A loud rustling had me nervously peering out at a large grey trunk pulling leaves from a marula tree overhanging the pool I had dipped in moments before. Elephants drinking from the rock pool built for human guests are not uncommon. The camp is not fenced.

With only 16 in the camp at a time, Umlani offers personal VIP attention to the needs of guests.

On my first afternoon drive, our ranger Ginger and tracker Shadrack received a radio call that lions were nearby at an elephant carcass. We soon spotted vultures circling - and the surrounding trees were filled with them. Quite a sight, set against the pink sky and setting, red sun. This elephant had been dead for days, but Ginger told us lions had no qualms about eating carrion. Click here to view the gallery of images on gotravel24 website

Call of the drum

We stopped at a hyena den where month-old pups came out to greet us. We returned to camp for a drink in the boma with roaring fire, and were soon called to a delicious dinner by a beating drum.

The food was given rave reviews by guests from Australia, Holland, Canada and the United States. The Australian in our group continued to praise the Tiramisu the following night, saying it was better than that offered by Italian restaurants boasting the best Tiramisu in the world.

We had an Oxtail stew with fluffy mash potato one night, with the tomato based sauce just melting in the mouth. Lemon chicken and basmati rice, pork fillet with a cheese sauce, and always the crunchiest steamed or roast veg accompanying.

Keeping track the green way

The very comfortable accommodation at Umlani is in reed and thatch huts, blending in with the surroundings with the least possible impact to the environment. With no fencing around the camp and paths raked daily by staff, one can pick up tracks in the morning from buffalo, hyena and even lion that traipse through camp as guests sleep.

Bathroom facilities are en-suite, with an open air shower fuelled by wood fires.

The atmosphere in camp, the lantern-lit paths and rooms, showering by moonlight and excellent cuisine are an indulgence - but it is the real bush experience which is the attraction of Umlani, heightened by the au natural and electricity-free.

Bright and crispy start

I suggest laying out your clothes the night before - your wake-up call for the morning drive is early, and you need to dress quickly and get to the bar area for a coffee and rusk before leaving at 6.30 am.

This was the only time I felt the cold, the air of the crisp mornings can be biting, so wrap up in layers that can be peeled off as the sun thaws you out. There was no shortage of lions.

We saw them every day of my four days there. We had an exciting encounter on one evening drive with a male lion getting aggressive with us at a leopard’s impala kill which he had appropriated.

As Formen, our ranger, reversed to get away, the American family that was now only metres from this fearsome growling beast was getting very nervous. But they loved it.

At no point were we in any real danger. The rangers know the bush and have the utmost respect for the wildlife. They do not take risks.

When we came across a rhino with a baby, Ginger said he would not follow her into the bush, and he was also cautious when two male elephants we encountered were in must and challenging each other.

Walking in the bush

You certainly should do a bush walk. Experiencing the bush on foot is very special. Walking single file with Formen carrying a loaded gun, we stopped regularly to learn about the flora and have things pointed out to us we would have otherwise missed.

A hole in the ground we were shown was an antlion’s hunting ground. Formen took a stick and gently touched the side of the hole and up popped a small beetle.

The antlion is one of the “little five”. The others are the buffalo weaver, the elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, and the rhino beetle.

I left Umlani after a few days with a new respect for our environment. The smells and sounds of the bush stay with you for a good few days before city life takes over again and you have to dream of when next you can indulge in a bush adventure.

Walking with Baboons in the South Peninsula

Originally published on www.gotravel24.com

The mother and tiny baby emerged from the bushes and walked passed us, less than five meters away. It's such a cliche, but there really is something so adorable about newborn wild animals
She clung to her mother’s back, her pink little ears protruding, and the group of us quietly standing staring, was of equal fascination to this baby baboon.
We were otherwise of little interest to the rest of the troop we walked alongside for a couple of hours, on a lovely sunny winter Cape morning above Ocean View near Kommetjie on the South Peninsula
Click here to check out the gallery on www.gotravel24.com
No food policy
The morning started in the Glencairn office of Baboon Matters, with some history and information about the plight of the Chacma Baboon population in the Cape.
Our guide Jenni Trethowan has a very strict no foodstuff policy, so the baboons she encounters know they get no rewards from the groups coming to observe them on these guided tours.
This meant they were completely uninterested in us and went about their morning business of eating, grooming and then play-fighting - allowing us to get very close and really see their interaction.
And as someone who has only seen baboons at Cape Point who are aggressive towards tourists whom they associate with food - these relaxed, seemingly carefree animals are a delight to observe.
Primate patterns
We were not constantly on the move; at first the baboons hung out in one spot while eating. Their preferred snacks included pine nuts and uprooted bulbs. Extracting the nuts from the pine cones appears to be a lot of hard work.
The creatures then moved towards the river after we had observed them for a good hour or so.
When they reached the river, they drank, but also started play fighting and tumbling down the hill as they did so, which was very entertaining to watch.
The dynamics between the “teenagers” and young ones was fun to see, and a protective female intervened when one male “teen”seemed to be bullying the others a bit.
Regarded as pesky
Jenni founded Baboon matters in 1990 and is passionate about helping the struggling population of Chacma Baboons on the South Peninsula in the Western Cape.
Due to their close proximity to the suburban areas of Cape Town, the baboons have learned bad behavior. Easily rewarded by foodstuffs, they are now regarded as pests by most of the community as they enter peoples’ homes 'in search of their reward'.
Residents in some areas feel like prisoners in their homes as the baboons can be aggressive and very scary.
Keeping foodstuff under lock and key
The idea of getting your keys out to get some milk from the fridge for your morning cup of tea is hardly appealing and may seem extreme but it’s the success formula of one Cape resident. He has again been able to leave his doors and windows open, by literally putting locks on his fridge and kitchen cupboards.
Baboon lookout duty
Jenni also works closely with the Baboon Monitoring Project. This organization began 1999 and now employs twenty men from the nearby community of Masiphumelele as baboon monitors.
Their lookout duty involves herding the troops back into their natural habitats to ensure that baboons are kept out of the villages for 85% of the time.
The Baboon Monitors are solely paid via funding and they work incredibly long hours, especially in summer from 6am to 6pm.
Twenty-five percent of Baboon Matter's net proceeds are given to the monitoring project, which goes a long way towards keeping the baboons out of trouble and thus changing the perception that baboons are nothing more than pests.
Walking with these animals allows you to see them as they should be, a playful group of primates, eating from the Fynbos and wandering free.
The guides take no more than 8 people on the walks, but will take a group as small as two. The fee for adults is R 250, with children under 12 costing R 125.