Everyone knows that summer is the best time for birds. Migrants come from all over the world to join the hardy residents. Winter, by comparison, seems almost birdless, especially as the residents have given up singing. Its dry cold may seem daunting, but it actually brings in birds from other areas where winters are worse. […]
As Summer slowly quietens into Autumn, so the birds too slide gently from the frantic frenzy of being a parent to the more decorous state of grandparent-hood. The season’s young have been packed off to fend for themselves as best they can, and the parents can now potter about satisfying only their own simple needs.
Many animals scarcely show themselves at all, and when they do it is at night. Incidentally, long ago, when all mammals were small, they had to be nocturnal to avoid dinosaurs. Our warm-blooded condition today has its origins then, when mammals had to withstand the cold of night. One of the best ways to detect
The month of June seems filled with shivery winter days – I am so glad that mid-winter has now passed by and there in the not too distant future lurks that wonderful season called spring! I wonder if the birds feel the bite of cold as they hop about on frozen spindly legs, searching for
The spectacular Drakensberg Mountains took their place on the international stage with the proclaiming of the 243 000 hectare Drakensberg Park in December 2002 as a World Heritage Site, significantly meeting the criteria for both cultural and natural properties. This makes it one of 22 sites in the entire world – a truly great achievement.
A week or so ago I wrote about the Longcrested Eagle expanding its range, so it was particularly exciting to find one of these “expanded” eagles last week. Some of you may have noticed that we have become “frequent flyers” to the Cavern and it was there that we saw a Longcrested Eagle last week,
SEVEN naughty children once ran around this farm, playing, fighting and growing. Now we are old, we can look back with fondness and gratitude to God who placed us in this family in this valley. The seven kids were the progeny of Ruth Carte and Judy Carr, two sisters whose husbands toiled to eke out
The Drakensberg, which forms a natural border between the garden province of KwaZulu-Natal and the Kingdom of Lesotho enclave, boasts a fascinating history dating back to a time when nomadic San tribes traversed the area hunting wild game and creating remarkable collections of rock paintings in shadowy caves and on jagged cliff overhangs and hidden
In 1836, while exploring Basutoland, two French missionaries, Mons. Arbrousset and Daumas first discovered Mont-Aux-Sources, the sources of the Rivers. In 1908 the idea of establishing a National Park in this area was conceived, and the territory was explored by Senator Frank Churchill, General Wylie, Colonel Dick and Mr. W. O. Conventry. Recommendation were put
Students of the Bible will have come across a creature called a coney. Biological details are few, but we know it lived in the rocky hills. Around here we call it a dassie, or hyrax. It looks a bit like a large, elastic rat, but it’s not related to rodents. Among many differences it lacks
