An essential birding skill is the ability to climb a farm fence – with permission of course. Get your friend to pull open two strands, make your back horizontal, watch your clothes on the sharp bits, and you’re through. On a few occasions – where I was being chased or chasing something – I’ve even leapt straight over with a running start. But this morning I found myself pausing to consider the best strategy. I’ll admit it took a bit longer: My knees groaned in agony and something clicked in my spine…
Getting older is an unavoidable fact of life. But growing up is optional. As I strolled through the grass, my jeans getting wetter with every step, I reflected on three decades of birding.
When I was a fledgling birder in the late 1980s, there was a magical number: 800. If you’d seen 800 different species, you were immortalised in birding lore. Only a handful of folks ever reached that milestone and I knew all their names, because seeing 800 birds south of the Zambezi meant travelling countless kilometres, close calls with dangerous wildlife, a few bouts of malaria and perhaps an arrest or two.
Now, the number is 900. How did the threshold jump by 100, you ask, especially since birds are generally becoming rarer?
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August/September 2023-Ausgabe von go! - South Africa.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August/September 2023-Ausgabe von go! - South Africa.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
The wilder shore
The final leg of a 30-day trek across East Africa sees lan Tyrer and the Africa - Wild & Untamed crew explore both shores of Lake Malawi. Get ready for an overloaded ferry, a croc attack and being surrounded by elephants...
A river runs through it
Sabie is onthe Drakensberg escaromentialongMpumalanga’s famous Panorama Route. Want a weekend away surrounded by forests and waterfalls? Here's wnat you need to know.
TAKE A HIKE
Harkerville's mini Otter
Sweet & juicy!
This issue's recipes all include lush seasonal fruit like nectarines, plums and apricots. Enjoy!
Big mountain magic
On a clear day, as you approach the Cathedral Peak Hotel, it happens involuntarily: You start to grin. You'll be standing up there soon, gazing over this valley, and the scuttling of ground-level life will seem irrelevant. Join us on a five-day adventure into the heart of the high Drakensberg
Your next weekend away
A self-catering house in the Tankwa, a campsite next to the Orange River, a guest farm near the Drakensberg... Toast Coetzer travelled a lot last year: Here are six of his favourite places to stay if you're planning a road trip or weekend escape.
A life through binoculars
If the name Hugh Chittenden sounds familiar, it's probably because you see it every time you use your Roberts Bird Guide he's one of the co-authors. He lives in Mtunzini on the KZN coast and birding is as much part of his day as a cup of coffee.
Wanderlust in the park
All great cities have great parks, writes Dara Kell: spaces where you can exhale and slough off the stress and grime of urban life.
The Kalahari remembers
The Kalahari is a place of magic and heartache, where drought is an ever-present threat. Drive a loop from Upington to the Kuruman River and discover soulful landscapes, brilliant skies and resilient people who never give up.
Take a Hike
Hug a baobab in the Bushveld