We have just returned from a week at Ekuthuleni, click here for my report and some pictures.
You can also see some more photos here

Since Ekuthuleni we have also been to Hazyview Cabanas, for my write-up and pictures click here

We are just back from a really nice trip to Mozambique - Morrumbene Beach Resort

We have just returned from a glorious week at Mnarani Club, Kilifi, Kenya

We also had a really nice stay at Hole in the Wall and Caribbean Estates

  NEW    Beacon Wharf in Mossel Bay, Eagles Nest in Sedgefield, and Ocean 11 in Mossel Bay

The Hamerkop must be one of Africa's best known water birds. Its comically wise appearance, hammerlike head and weird cries immediately set it apart from any other bird.

For centuries some rural black communities in Africa have regarded it with superstition–a fact which has guaranteed it some protection from persecution. However, apart from a vague reputation for being rather clever, the hamerkop does not seem to be a major object of fear.

A foraging hamerkop wades about in water, rapidly darting to and fro to catch tadpoles and small fishes, or it will stir the bottom mud with a foot to disturb water animals. If the water is too deep for wading, and the shoreline to steep for walking on, the hamerkop will hunt on the wing, catching frogs (especially platannas) as they come to the surface to take a floating insect or a gulp of air.

The hamerkop's nest is legendary–a huge, domed structure of sticks, grass and other plant material up to 2 metres diameter and weighing anything from 25-50kg. An entrance hole low down on one side, about 13-18cm in diameter, leads through a mud lined passage into a larger chamber, also lined with mud. The walls and roof of the nest can support the weight of a full grown man. The nest, which can take from as little as 3 weeks to 6 months to build, is sometimes usurped by other birds, mammals, snakes or bees. The 1-7 white eggs are incubated for about 30 days and the nestlings are able to leave the nest after about 7 weeks.
 

Words and photo by Anna Eksteen, click here to see more photos on her TrekNature page.

For the latest on happenings in Zimbabwe, go to:  http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/  and subscribe to their newsletter, a really good source of current information

Cathy Buckle has started writing again from Zimbabwe, her letter is below.

Here is Cathy's letter:

Dear Family and Friends,

Anyone who has had the great privilege of seeing elephants in the wild will know of the very close bonds that exist in their herds.
Mothers are extremely protective of their calves, always shielding them from danger, suckling them until they are four years old. Other females in the herd are equally watchful of the youngsters, lifting them up with a trunk when they get stuck, giving them a push from behind when needed, waiting for them if they trail behind the herd.
If you've ever been fortunate enough to go on a game drive, you will know that one of the most dangerous things to do is to get between a mother elephant and her calf.

In the mid 1980's I witnessed the splitting up of two young elephant calves that had been orphaned as a result of culling operations and were being hand reared in an Harare game park. Without notice or warning a capture team arrived one morning. At government level an elephant calf had been promised to a zoo in Korea and there was nothing that could be done to stop the export. The young male elephant calf, less than a year old, was darted, loaded into a crate and taken away just one month after he and the young female had
arrived.

The female elephant calf left behind was distraught, running backwards and forwards along the fence, trumpeting, screeching and calling repeatedly for her companion. Again and again she lifted her trunk, scenting the air in all directions trying to catch his smell, rumbling and listening for his sound, charging anyone that tried to calm her. Some time later the sad news came that the little male elephant sent to Korea had not survived even a tenth of his expected 60 year life span

With this memory still fresh in my mind it has come as shocking news that a pair of eighteen month old elephant babies are about to be sent to North Korea. The elephants are amongst a group of animals being captured in Hwange National Park and are to be taken to a zoo in Pyongyang. In an arrangement between Zimbabwe's President and North Korea, other wild animals being exported include zebra, warthog and spotted hyaenas. Zimbabwe's director of the Department of National
Parks has described the export as a business arrangement.

As I write, protests and international appeals are going on to try and stop the export of the two baby elephants. Amongst those totally against the export is a new organization that is starting to
revolutionize animal welfare in Zimbabwe. Known as VAWZ, or Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Zimbabwe, this private Trust organization can't have started up at a better time. Among other
things so desperately needed in Zimbabwe they are going to be investigating wildlife poaching, leopard hunting with dogs, animal imports and exports. They are going to inspect abattoirs and research laboratories and check on conditions for guard dogs and Police horses.
And perhaps most important of all VAWZ will be involved in training and education, working with private and government departments and with animal health personnel in their endeavour to put animal welfare back on Zimbabwe's moral compass.It is long overdue and Zimbabwe's bravest of the brave,
Meryl Harrison, has come home to lead investigations for VAWZ. They need as much help and support as they can get and can be contacted at kamvet@zol.co.zw

I end this letter with an appeal to anyone who has a voice to speak out for Zimbabwe's elephants: let them stay where they belong, with their family groups and herds in our hot, dusty, African bush, not in a zoo in North Korea.

Until next time,
thanks for reading,
love cathy.

www.cathybuckle.com
. For information on my new book: "INNOCENT VICTIMS" or my previous
books, "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears," or to
subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter, please write to: cbuckle@mango.zw
 

This South Africa - news headlines

Source: SouthAfrica.info
The all-in-one official guide
and web portal to South Africa.  
 

Recipe Requests

Looking for a specific South African recipe? Email me and I will do my best to find it for you! 
 

The Recipes

Asparagus and pea soup
Ingredients
400 g fresh green (young) asparagus spears
250 ml water
30 ml butter
10 ml sunflower oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
400 g frozen peas, defrosted
500 ml chicken or vegetable stock
salt and milled black pepper to taste
250 ml thick cream
Method:
Cut off asparagus tips and set aside. Chop stalks coarsely. Bring water to boil and steam stalks for 3 to 4 minutes (see tips).
Set aside. Using same water, cook tips until tender (2 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness). Reserve water for soup. Heat
butter and oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and sauté until glossy but not browned. Add potato and toss to coat with
butter mixture. Add reserved cooking liquor and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until potato is tender. Add peas, asparagus
stalks and a quarter of the tips. Add stock (use 2 cubes) and bring to boil, then reduce temperature and simmer for 10
minutes. Purée soup until smooth, then return to saucepan. Season with salt and pepper, reheat (but don't allow to boil)
and stir in cream and remaining asparagus tips. Serve in heated bowls, with crusty bread.


Bacon and bean soup
Preparation time: 15
Cooking time: 30
Ingredients
15 ml olive oil
1 onion, chopped
150 g rindless bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
400 g tinned mixed beans, rinsed and drained
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
1 small Savoy cabbage (about 90g), thinly sliced
2 pinches salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 handful Italian parsley, chopped
Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a moderate temperature. Fry the onion and bacon for 3-4 minutes or until the
onion is soft and begins to colour.
2. Stir in the garlic, carrot and celery and stir-fry for another few minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans, stock and cabbage and
bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup (with the lid on) for about 20 minutes.
3. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir in the parsley and serve.


Bacon and cabbage soup
Ingredients
125 g streaky bacon (rind removed), chopped into small pieces
Pg No: 5
1 onion, finely chopped
15 ml olive oil
500 ml potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
1 head of cabbage, shredded
2 litre chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
lemon juice
TO SERVE
100 g Brie cheese
few extra rashers bacon, grilled
Method:
Fry the bacon in a saucepan until done. Remove from the pan and set aside. Fry the onions in the remaining fat until glossy.
Add the olive oil and stir-fry the potato cubes until glossy. Add stock and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer
until the potato cubes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a dash of lemon juice. Remove the rind of the
Brie and cut the cheese into 1 cm cubes. Place the cheese cubes in the bottom of soup bowls and ladle the hot soup on
top. Garnish with grilled bacon and the remaining cheese cubes and serve. Serves 6-8.


Beef Soup
Preparation time: 30
Cooking time: 150
Ingredients
3 medium carrots, peeled
2 large celery stalks
3 large leeks
3 bay leaves
500 g stewing beef pieces (with bones)
250 ml celery leaves, chopped
20 ml butter
100 ml semolina
10 potato fritters and ready-made apple sauce, to serve
Method:
1. Pour 2½ litres of water into a large saucepan. Roughly chop one carrot, one celery stalk and one leek and add to the
saucepan along with the beef and bay leaves. Cover the saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer
for 2 to 2½ hours until the meat comes off the bone easily.
2. Remove the vegetables and bay leaves and discard. Take out the meat and remove the bones. Cut the meat into smaller
pieces and place back into the stock in the saucepan.
3. Chop the rest of the vegetables and add to the soup, along with the celery leaves. Return to the boil, then reduce the
heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan. Add the semolina and fry over a medium heat, stirring until golden. Remove
from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the semolina to the soup and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season well
with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with potato fritters and apple sauce


Beef and barley soup
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 1hr 45 min
Ingredients
2 litre beef stock
Pg No: 6
400 g beef shin, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
400 g chopped tomatoes
250 ml pearl barley
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
45 ml freshly chopped parsley
4 crusty rolls to serve
Method:
Heat the stock in a large saucepan.
Add the beef and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 1 hour.
Add all the remaining ingredients, except the parsley and allow to simmer for a further 45 minutes.
Remove the meat from the soup and discard the bones.
Dice the meat and return to the soup.
Stir in the parsley and serve with crusty rolls.


Bean soup
Cooking time: +/- 4 hours
Ingredients
500 g sugar beans
25 ml butter
1 onion, finely chopped
250 g streaky bacon, rind removed, finely chopped
few pieces beef shin
65 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 litre cold water
finely grated rind of lemon
45 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method:
Soak the beans overnight or according to the quick soaking method (see Tips). Drain and rinse. Heat the butter in a large
saucepan and fry the onion until glossy. Add the bacon and stir-fry until done. Add the drained beans, shin, parsley, bay
leaf and cold water and simmer slowly for about four hours until both the beans and meat are tender. Mash the beans
slightly and season with lemon rind, more parsley, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve hot with vetkoek.
Serves 5.

Bean and pasta soup
Ingredients
30 ml oil
1 onion
2 carrots
2 stick celery
2 litre chicken stock
3 ml garlic pepper
100 g fusilli noodles
410 g red kidney beans
Method:
Pg No: 7
Sauté the onion, carrots and celery in oil until soft.
Add chicken stock and seasoning, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the fusilli and cook for a further 10 minutes or until tender.
Purée half the kidney beans, add to the soup with the remaining whole beans and stir well.
Heat through for 2 minutes.