SA Rocks

I made the fatal error of waking up at the crack of dawn (literally) to play a round of golf yesterday. It might have been 6am and the tee off time might have been 7:15am but it was an amazing feeling to get on the course that early.

Let me explain why. I have heard from many people that winter golf in many places in the world is almost impossible. Not in SA let me tell you. Today was a beautiful day with mixed weather all in one day.

The day began with frosted fairways and a chill in the air. As things progressed the frost on the grass melted and the sun started to shine. By midday the course was magnificent and the weather was perfect. In the middle of winter we were playing a game of golf in T-shirts. What a pleasure. That is why SA Rocked for me yesterday. Joy.

THIS IS WINTER!!!

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This was emailed to me but it seems to come from southafrica.net.

There are many surprising and unknown things about South Africa. Facts about the country that are often overlooked or simply not known. Here are some of the little known SA facts.

Strange Nature and history

• South Africa has the oldest meteor scar in the world, just across the Vaal River near Parys, called the Vredefort Dome. The meteor plummeted to Earth nearly two billion years ago (Earth is said to be 4,5 billion years old), predating the heady days of oxygen and multi-celled life.
• The rocks around Barberton in Mpumalanga are some of the most ancient in the world – over three billion years old. Because they are also the most accessible such formations, NASA scientists come here to gain an idea of how life might form on distant planets.
• The Tugela Falls is the second highest waterfall in the world, where the water tumbles down 850 metres. First place goes to the Angel Falls in Venezuela at 979 metres.
• There are 18 000 indigenous vascular plant species in South Africa of which 80% are uniquely South African.
• Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world – and the largest green one. The Grand Canyon in the US is the biggest, and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia the second, but both are dry as bones.
• South African grasslands have 30 species per square kilometre, greater than the biodiversity of rainforests.
• Can mountains be folded? Yes they can, and you can see such wonders in the Western Cape at the Cederberg and the Swartberg mountains.
• South Africa and its neighbours are some of the most generously endowed geographic solar hotspots in the world, soaking up just over half of the world’s highest category of solar wattage per square metre of land.
• Therapsids are the true ancestors of mammals, and lived over 200 million years ago, long before the upstart dinosaurs of the Jurassic Age (which ended abruptly 65 million years ago). Most of the world’s proto-mammalian fossils are found in the Karoo – along with a 280 million year old fossilized shark.
• According to recent studies, the star-watching town of Sutherland in the Northern Cape is one of the most geologically stable places on Earth, yet it has a 66-million year old volcano, not yet officially extinct.
• Kimberley may have the biggest man-made hole in the world, but did you know that the southern Free State town of Jagersfontein has the deepest vertical man-made hole (and that a pair of Verreaux’s Eagles breed in it?
• South Africa is home to the world’s smallest succulent plants (less than 10 mm) and the largest (the baobab).
• Lake Fundudzi in Venda is possibly the world’s only inland freshwater lake formed by a landslide.
• The only street in the world to house two Nobel Peace prize winners is in Soweto. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both have houses in Vilakazi Street in Soweto.

Food and Wine

• Walt Disney serves South African wine exclusively at its 73-acre Animal Kingdom Lodge in the United States.
• South Africa has the longest wine route in the world, the R62 wine route
• South Africa is the world’s largest producer of macadamia nuts and the nuts and oils are exported to countries across the world.
• South Africa is the only country in the world where you can order something called monkey gland steak at a restaurant without the risk of a real internal organ being placed before you. It was invented many decades ago by overseas chefs as a pointed insult, aimed at the brash inhabitants of Johannesburg who poured Worcestershire and tomato sauce over everything.
• No other country eats as much kingklip as South Africans do (also known as Congrio, Ling and Rockling in other parts of the southern hemisphere).

Medicine and Science

• The world’s first heart transplant was done in South Africa in 1967 by South African Dr Chris Barnard.
• South Africa’s Dr Percy Amolis invented the Retinal Cryoprobe used successfully on former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to repair a detached retina. He also removed a cataract from Nelson Mandela’s eye that enabled the former president to, for the first time, read a speech without glasses.
• Where else is an entirely new species being recreated from scratch? The quagga vanished in a frenzy of hunting in the 1800s, but after finding that the DNA is almost identical to the common Burchell’s zebra, the species is being brought back from beyond the brink by careful breeding of stripe-challenged zebras.

Water and conservation

• There are only 12 countries in the world that supply tap water that is fit to drink, and South Africa is one of them. Our tap water quality is third best overall in the world.
• South Africa also has the world’s most progressive and admired water legislation, and it is making a real difference on the ground. Since 1998 when the so-called “Blue Revolution” began, four million more poor people have access to clean water.
• South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique are tearing down fences between the countries’ game parks to create a 35 000km2 game park which will become the largest conservation area in the world. It will be bigger than Switzerland, Belgium or Taiwan.
• South Africa is ranked number one in the world for its floral kingdom
• South Africa’s Coastal Management policy is one of the best in the world with the country being the first outside Europe to gain Blue Flag status for its coastal management.
• South Africa has the third highest level of biodiversity in the world

Innovation and Industry

• South Africa is the sole producer of the Mercedes Benz, C Class, right hand drive vehicles
• General Motors South Africa will be the only manufacturing site outside of the United States to build the Hummer H3 vehicle.
• South Africans are natural inventors, giving the world those breakwater dolosse and the automatic pool cleaner.
• We also came up with the first, largest and most viable oil-from-coal refinery (which supplies 40% of our petrol). And did you know that a South African physicist co-developed the CAT-scan, that South Africa makes the seats for Concorde, and also designs and creates flight control technology for Britain’s fighter jets.

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I am interested to know what people think about passing a law that bans smokers from smoking within 50 metres of anyone at all times. This would mean no smoking in or near a shopping centre, at work, in your car or anywhere else for that matter. The only place that smoking would be allowed would be in the privacy of your own home.

Below is a list of countries that have some major ban or another:

Do you think that smoking ban is realistic? We all know that it is a great law to be passed (I say this as a smoker) but will it happen in SA? Are there not more important things to consider?

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I have blogged about World Heritage Sites in SA before but now there is more to tell.

South Africa has received an 8th heritage site. The Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape is to be inscribed on the World Heritage List of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) as a place of “outstanding value to humanity”.

Outstanding value to humanity, that sounds like our country and the things we have to offer if you ask me, not that you did!

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This post comes to SA Rocks via the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog. This sort of thing could really only happen in SA and I think it is hilarious and unique:

Strangest Zebra crossing – only in Africa!

It was reported yesterday in the Volksblad newspaper that a zebra that escaped from a game farm near Langenhoven Park in Bloemfontein had the traffic on the N1 grind to a halt when he decided to use the freeway for his Sunday afternoon jog.

I managed to get hold of the photo taken at the scene and sent this to a few road safety friends outside South Africa. We are indeed a country that often succeeds in providing some extra and out of the ordinary excitement!

The first attempt to catch the zebra failed, because the animal pulled itself free of the ropes the officers were using, and hit the road in a southerly direction. Accodring to eyewitness reports the zebra was finally trapped by an unidentified motorist, who used his bakkie to push it into a corner, using a wall next to the N1. The animal was tied up until a man, presumably its owner, arrived to load it into a trailer.

I quite enjoyed the ending to the story stating that “As far as can be determined the zebra, which was merely doing what comes naturally, won’t be “charged”.

Read the full story…

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The photos below were apparently taken on the N1 in Johannesburg. I received them in an email and couldn’t help myself. This is when you know it is cold and maybe even freezing:

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South Africa has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and we don’t even need to go far to enjoy a bit of respite from our daily hustle and bustle. It turns out very few people know about the Groenkloof Nature Reserve, in the heart of Pretoria. Seems you need to know people who know mountain bikers who frequently engage in mountain biking activities to find out about this little peace of heaven.

Situated next to the Fountains Valley Resort just off Christina de Wit in Pretoria, GPS -25° 47′ 22.70″, +28° 11′ 45.40″ (view in Google Maps) lies the picturesque Groenkloof Nature Reserve, home to impala, kudu, blue wildebeest, ostrich, giraffe, red hartebeest and a flourishing bird life.

A little known fact is that the Groenkloof Nature Reserve became the oldest nature reserve in South Africa and the second oldest in the world when President Paul Kruger proclaimed the valley a game sanctuary in 1895.

The reserve has loads to offer for the family and nature enthusiast, with mountain biking, hiking and 4×4 trails, while the picknic area provides a haven for relaxing those tired muscles.

Our recent day hike provided ample opportunity for some nature photography and these pictures can be viewed at the SA Rocks Flickr Pool.

So next time you need to get away from it all, consider the Groenkloof Nature Reserve – just another reason why SA Rocks!

Sent in by Nico from Aquila Online

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Carbon emmission is a big deal and if you didn’t know that, Al Gore is after you so watch your back. People should be doing everything they can to lessen these emission. In fact big business and little business and business in between should also be doing all they can to correct the problems we have caused.

Well Backsberg is doing just that. Backsberg has become the first wine producer in South Africa and one of only three in the world to gain Carbon Neutral status by chilling out its carbon emissions. That really might sound like a load of hogwash but this is ground breaking stuff that is setting a president and a trend in the SA wine market (or so I can imagine).

From a press release I received today:

Backsberg has completed a comprehensive carbon audit initiated to understand the carbon emission consequences of its farming and wine making activities. The carbon audit reviewed all activities from overall energy consumption, to CO2 emitted during fermentation. The level of detail considered in the audit allows Backsberg to deliver a range of Carbon Neutral fruit and wine to clients, both domestically and internationally.

The carbon standard applied at Backsberg follows the Kyoto Protocol on Green House Gas emissions. The scientific nature of the carbon audit allows Backsberg to understand the magnitude of the sequestration solutions it needs to seek and develop, in order to reduce its carbon footprint and maintain a status of carbon neutrality going forward.

This truly is some impressive development for a wine farm in South Africa. Take not big business, small business and the people who like to make people pissed are coming after your reputations. This is the way to save our environment!

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