Rarely does a country suffer and enjoy such striking contrasts as South Africa. On the surface it is barely recognizable as a developing country, with such iconic international cities as Cape Town, and with the mighty economic machine of Johannesburg and Gauteng. At the same time South Africa is burdened with poverty and underdevelopment on a grotesque scale, and with the forty-something generation of blacks dealing with the reality of living without educations that were sacrificed for the struggle, levels of crime and violence in the country are astronomical.
Developed World Standards
The layers do not end there. The preservation and conservation of nature and wildlife in South Africa is on a level that exceeds many countries in the west. The influence of this is widespread, effective, highly sophisticated and largely corruption free. South African standards of conservation affect the entire region, and it is thanks to efforts in South Africa that many vulnerable species, such as the Black Rhino, have survived at all. The South African parks system is extremely well maintained and serviced, and is accessible to locals and foreigners alike at very reasonable prices.
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Sodwana Shootout
You will be forgiven for thinking that the Shootout at Sodwana Bay is yet another cowboy style cash-in-transit heist gone wrong in this country with its voracious appetite for exotic crime. In fact it is nothing of the sort. The Shootout is an annual gathering of national and international SCUBA diver photographers and videographers at one of Southern Africa’s finest coral reef sites, Sodwana Bay in the Maputaland region. This beautiful, sweeping bay on the northern borders of the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Area, itself a World Heritage Site, is home to one of the most exquisite stretches of coastal waters north of the country’s shipping capital of Durban.
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Every Spring, tourists and local nature lovers come from all over to pay homage to one of the most spectacular flower shows in the world.
The West Coast of South Africa, is an acquired taste, compared to the lush garden route. It is rocky, dry and sometimes quite featureless. This makes a huge about face in the spring months when wildflowers carpet huge swathes of it in a massive display of colour. This is starting right now!
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I was reading some info on the 10 most dangerous animals in the world and it struck me that 8 of them were found mainly in Africa! That’s pretty good going.
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Brian Habana, South Africa’s fast running (11sec for 100m) sweetheart of Rugby, recently raced a cheetah for charity, you can see the video on CNN.
They had to bring in a Hollywood stunt team to stage the event, and posted animal wranglers armed with tranq guns, all along the course to prevent the cheetah nibbling on Habana’s throat.
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By Sean Ross
Nonkululeko, KwaZulu-Natal’s surfing hippo, has been shot dead by authorities this week.
The wandering hippo, whose curious behavior of taking to the surf was reported on earlier on SouthAfricaLogue, was apparently posing an increased risk to human life. Her death follows suspicions that she was responsible for the fatal attack this weekend past on 60-year old man, although wildlife authorities seem to think the wounds are not consistent with a hippo attack. Forensic authorities said the autopsy report on the man would only be available for inspection towards the end of the year.
Wandering Hippo
Nonkululeko meanwhile had been wandering freely for months, apparently starting her journey from the St Lucia wetlands in Maputaland some 250 kilometers north of Durban. It was only towards the end of June when she started nearing the populated coastal resort towns which lie about 50 kilometers north of Durban that Nonkululeko started attracting public and media attention. From then on her future lay in the balance, even although authorities repeatedly warned the public to keep clear of the animal.
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With South Africa’s rising popularity as a tourism destination, the government is quickly wising up to international fee structures for national parks. A conservation fee has replaced traditional admission fees as a way to relieve weary travellers of their burdensome cash.
If you are planning to stay for a reasonable amount of time and/or intend on seeing more than a couple of listed parks, it would be worth your while investing in a “Wild Card” which allows you free entry into the “cluster” of your choice (for SA residents only, international …
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For those of you looking forward to your Kruger Park trip, you may as well leave your camera’s at home since this footage below was taken.
It has all been done now and we might as well just give up 
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As I’m sure some of you have noticed this Logue is pretty one-sided, so to speak, in the favour of Cape Town. There is nothing wrong with that, but there are other beautiful parts of South Africa that are just as attractive.
Philip has asked me to help provide a balance and let the readers know what is hip, hot and happening in Durban or Durbs to the locals!
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Yesterday saw a rogue baboon wandering the streets of Claremont and darted for everyone protection, including it’s own. He apparently broke off from his troupe to find another, but strayed into some badlands populated by some far meaner beasts.
Before being darted, he was spotted in 3 Cape Town suburbs and even atop the Claremont police station. He had sustained a serious wound to his leg from either a dog or a car. I hope it was a car, because baboons have a reputation of making light work of dogs.
Where they live side by side with humans they become …
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