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This is Africa

February 19, 2012 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

This-is-Africa

We left Cape Town in the afternoon and started our journey up towards northern Namibia and the hunting farm outside of Kamanjab, a journey of about 2 200 km, with an estimated time of 27 hours. We didn’t go alone, as we carried an old land rover on a trailer. An extra load of three or four tons. The aim was to reach the farm in the late evening the day after. Dragging that old and heavy bastard restricted us to a top speed of 80 km/h, so of course things didn’t move at the pace we’d wished for.

 

African bureaucracy

With the sun slowly making its way towards the horizon on our left we drove north towards the border, where we didn’t arrive until four in the morning. After going through customs and passport control in South Africa we drove into Namibia and started the same procedure there. The eagerness to work and the level of service at that time of the day, isn’t exactly topnotch. It’s the exact opposite.

We did make it through all the departments and got back into the car to continue our ride, when a customs official woke out of her slumber and made her way over to us in a zombie state mind. “What’s this?”, was all she said and pointed to the old land rover on the trailer and this sparked the beginning of a three hour parody of the always so impressive African bureaucracy, with close inspection of documents, the important stamps and everlasting waiting for the right person to show up to sign it all off…Africa wins again!

 

28 hours on the road

We were now many hours after our intended schedule as we headed into Namibia just after seven in the morning. With no sleep at all so far, and with the recent annoying three hour drama at the border we sat quietly in the moving car, taking in the vast and barren landscape around us. The saying goes that God created The Namibian land in anger, and after taking it in at first glance, you could do no more than agree. It is barren and uninviting, and your thoughts wander off to old movies about outer space and Mars. It looks like you’re on another planet. Sand, really dark sand runs all the way to the horizon, where ranges of rocky formations take over, with the occasional shrubs here and there.

The plan was to reach Kamanjab by sunset, but that wasn’t going to happen. We approached Windhoek surrounded by rain and thunderstorms in every direction, and as we pulled into the capital of Namibia around eight that night, the rain was coming down hard with lightning and crashes going off at an incredible rate. It is the rainy season after all. We arrived into Windhoek after 28 hours on the road and stopped for a few hours of sleep.


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Namibia, South Africa, Windhoek

We want your garbage!

February 17, 2012 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

We-want-your-waste

I touched down in Cape Town in the late afternoon. I’d been invited by the new enterprise Green Guerrillas, who work out of Cape Town. They describe themselves as “Non-political, all colours, tolerating all religions and non-stupid. The Green Guerrillas are governed by logic, constantly seeking alternative solutions, and understanding the present chaos the earth finds itself. Return to nature, explore South Africa, travel the Green Guerrilla way…”. I was approached by the Green Guerrillas a long time ago and after several talks they’d finally got me down here to check out their operations and projects, while they are also to have me try hunting for the first time ever in my life.

 

The Green Guerrillas

I was picked up at the airport and as we drove up along the west coast, the owner Akim, told me about their latest project, a waste harvesting project. The Green Guerrillas has teamed up with a hotel chain, Leisure Hotels, who run four hotels in central Cape Town, and agreed to take care of all their waste while also providing them with organic produce for their guests. As Akim told me during the drive up the coast, ”Why do we point a finger at the airlines and all transport companies in this industry? Why are they claimed to be the bad guys? Waste is the big problem and when it is put in landfills, it creates methane, a chemical compound that is four times heavier than carbon. If we are to fight climate change, we need to start with taking care of our waste.”

After a one hour drive we pulled into a big farm on the very rugged and sandy west coast. Leisure Hotels own a piece of land here of 10 hectares, where they run an operation, and in conjunction to this, they’ve allotted one hectare of land, where GG will make sandy and pretty lifeless soil into an organic farm, by using worms and organic waste to grow organic food.

 

Grow organic food in the desert?

Looking at the sandy and dry area I was a bit skeptical. The west coast which is ploughed with alien vegetation, located in a sandy dust bowl with constant winds blowing, hot sun and with very little rainfall, is a harsh place to grow thing. Yet there’s water lurking underground and Akim knows how to work with these conditions, using old school farming and science of nature to make it grow. GG presents their project like this:

“We live in an age of stupidity with all the answers in front of our nose, yet we pass at grabbing the opportunity-the world is faced with 2 problems this present day, our agriculture soil is dead, and we do not recycle our ORGANIC waste-nature offers solutions, but they fall on deaf greedy ears. The Green Guerrillas have developed a concept that is not ours to own but the universe, as its from the universe- a world around us that we do not see, yet it co-exists with us-Bacteria, anaerobic bacteria to break down waste and other creative solutions offered by nature, maggots and earthworms offer massive organic returns. The Green Guerrillas believe the tourism industry is not being accountable for its waste and should begin to look more closer at alternative solutions-methane gas is a heavy gas-landfills, as used in South Africa at present is not the solution.”

 

The Buffalo Soldiers

I was introduced to two of his newly employed staff, or his “Buffalo Soldiers” as he likes to call them, who work on the farm. This project has created new jobs for 10 previously unemployed individuals from the townships who now can support their families financially while also being taught how to grow their own food in an organic way in their own homes. The key to this project is to take care of waste and also to spread the knowledge of waste recycling and organic farming. In my eyes a very tangible and transparent project anchored in the tourism and travel industry.

We spent the night at the farm in a tent, and it was hardly the way I thought I would be sleeping after the long overnight flight down here, but it was a great experience to share the starlit night with the guys around the fire. Though I was a bit skeptical about the project before coming here, I’ve become more and more convinced that this will happen and that it does work.

 

Organic breakfast

The morning after we took a tour around the farm where Akim presented his plan about what was to be grown and where it would be. The breakfast in front of the fire provided us with fresh eggs, straight from the coop, and I doubt that I’ve ever had such delicious eggs. Akim tells me that GG will supply the hotels with these eggs soon, and in time they will be able to provide fresh organic eggs to the guests for their breakfasts. No other hotel in South Africa will be able to say that they serve fresh organic eggs to their guests.

As we headed back down along the coast and back into Cape Town, Akim tells me that we now are to go to one of the hotels to pick up their organic waste. I helped out to pick up seven large containers of organic waste, which we loaded upon the truck.

 

Compete with sustainability

I got an opportunity to have a chat with the Managing Director of Leisure Hotels in South Africa and she’s very positive about the project. For them it’s very important to take care of the environment and take responsibility of their waste.
“Of course we also see the potential in marketing differentiation. With the competition between hotels in Cape Town, we must stay ahead of the competition and give our clients something extra. We get more and more clients with an interest in our social responsibility and it is important that we fulfill this growing and coming demand. Waste is a problem and by teaming up with Green Guerrillas we can synergize and also get organically grown products out of the deal”.

It is to my knowledge the first time ever that I’ve seen and heard of a similar project in the industry of today. In a Third world country like South Africa, you see an initiative like this? It provides hope and as GG claim, that they need more onboard and wants to share their capital intellect with others.

“Mobilize with the Green Guerrillas and join us in the revolution against our own complacency, the Green Guerrillas are supporting its close communities to grow organic produce by recycling their organic waste – The Green Guerrillas need YOU!”

​


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Cape Town, South Africa, Sustainability

Back where it all started

May 25, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Back-where-it-all-started-6

Back in Joburg again, at the same spot where I was exactly one month ago and where it all started. I’ve spent three wonderful days in Botswana, having an exceptional game experience in great numbers. Looking back at all the photos I can hardly believe they’re real.

 

Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana

I hitched a lift with one of the instructors in Selati for the seven hour drive north towards Botswana and crossing the border ending up in the Mashatu Game Reserve at the border to South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The Reserve is such a difference to Selati with a more open, rugged and varied landscape with new animals around each corner.

A dusty and dry area, but very impressive with mighty sandstone rock formations, creating ridges and canyons with majestic baobab and mashatu (nyala) trees.

The EcoTraining camp in Botswana is fairly new, only opened at the end of 2010, located next to a riverbed that currently was more or less dried out except for a waterhole which attracts its fair share of thirsty visitors throughout the day and night.

 

Best game drive ever?

During my time there, the visitors included such dignities as leopard, ellies, jackals, hyenas, impalas, steenboks and baboons. We had leopard, hyena and ellies wandering through the camp at night, and last night the leopard was really making its presence known. It’s not a bad way to fall asleep to the sounds of these animals.

We went on a long five hour gamedrive on Tuesday which proved to be one of my most remarkable drives ever.

There’s an abundance of game in this area and as we drove out of camp we could see tracks of elephants, really fresh ones in numbers you wouldn’t believe. I was told that this reserve has the highest density of elephants in the whole of southern Africa and if you’re lucky you can spot up to 600 in one day!

 

A fresh kill

We came across baboons, impalas, wildebeests, zebras and kudus in numbers with the addition of elands, klipspringers, steenboks, duikers, warthogs and giraffes but that wasn’t all of it.

Towards the end of the drive we suddenly drove upon a fresh kill lying in the grass under the midday sun. A big eland bull had been brought down and it didn’t take long to figure out that the killer must be close.

The killer was resting in the shade under a tree a few meters away, a big worn out lioness, together with three cubs. As if that wasn’t enough, a bit further from them, was the rest of the group, with a big male and two more cubs, totaling seven, with two adults and five young ones.

The lions where so cool with us and allowed us to get quite close to them and got a good look of the site. It was clear that the kill was fresh and probably just about an hour or less old. After the lack of lion sightings in Selati, this was a nice treat to end of with.

 

Stuck in traffic on elephant highway!

As we left the lions to head back we somehow managed to get stuck right in the middle of an elephant highway and I’ve never seen or come across so many ellies at one and the same time. Just round the corner came 60-70 ellies in all sizes moving in our general direction! All we could do was just to sit back, let them all pass and take in this wonderful sight and experience. There were elephants passing the car as close as an arm length away from me. I could’ve touched them if I wanted to. I could smell them, I could look them right in the eye. Definitely a highlight of the trip!

Two bulls were a bit aggravated with each other right in front of the car and as they walked of, one of the individuals came straight towards the car, lifting its tail, flapping his ears at us, clearly annoyed by having something blocking his way. How’s this going to end I thought…

Anton our driver then started to talk to the bull, making sure he heard him, telling him to walk away… He continued to do so while the big guy came closer and as he was close enough, he took a final flap of the ears sounded at us and then broke off to the right of the car, walking away from us, while giving us the eye. Wow! That got the adrenaline pumping…

 

Back in a real bed

That was a nice way to finish off a full month in the bush and today, the day after I’ve done the eight hour drive across the border back to Joburg and I’m really looking forward to a proper bed. It’s not that I’ve missed it during my time in the bush, but as the end has come closer, the thought of it has grown.

This is the last post from me and the bush, and I’m now heading for a good night sleep in a comfy bed. Good night!


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Botswana, EcoTraining, elephant, Selati, South Africa

This is the End

May 22, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

this-is-the-end-4

Only one full day left of the month in the bush. It’s amazing how time flies when you’ve got loads to do and lots of fun. I came here a bit worried about the length, thinking that this will be a long time to spend in the bush. But it has just flown by and it’s with a bit of sadness that I’m writing this last post from Selati.

 

Assessments done and over with

All assessments are now done and over with and there are quite a few newly certified guides that I believe will be a great addition to the industry.

It’s been a rollercoaster ride from day one. We’ve all shared a lot here. Laughter’s, disappointments, achievement’s, happiness, it’s all been shared and close friendship’s has been made. I’m sure we’ll all feel at bit of sorrow tomorrow when it is time to say good bye to each other.

 

 

A changed man

The plain thought of the amount of information that has been passed on to us all, and the amount of knowledge that we’ve got is hard to come to terms with. One whole month of continuous new information…It’s been hard to grasp it all, but I’m sure that in due time as things have sunk in a bit, I’ll know I’ve learned a lot here, besides the fact of just being in the bush and reconnecting with Nature.

Question now I guess, is to ask myself if the course and time in the bush has changed me at all and have I been reconnected with Nature as I wanted to?

The saying that you’ll never be the same man as you were before a long journey is fully justified here.

I’ve changed a fair bit in my views and values to the better I believe. Seeing Nature as the complex, magnificent and epical living form it is, you can’t deny the fact that Nature is what control us all and it is what flow through us.

 

Reconnected with Nature

The feeble attempts from mankind to try to harness and control Nature, only to see it slip through their hands, show us all that we mustn’t try to control it, but to listen to it, to learn from it and to follow the way it shows us. I’m not going philosophical here but it is hard to keep something that grand, simple.

We don’t need to go all Thoreau here or do the full Into the Wild journey to reconnect with Nature. Doing the month in the bush with EcoTraining is something that I believe everyone should try on if time allows. It provides a wealth of knowledge and understandings with the option to do a full certification. Or you could do it for a full two weeks with all the interaction and experience, but without the tests and certifications. A small interest at least in Nature is a plus, but for the average novice “Nature-dweller” it isn’t a need, it’s just a bonus. You’ll learn to love it. I can guarantee it.

This is the first big step on a journey into the wild that will reconnect you to Nature.

 

Thanks to the gang

I want to take this time to dedicate a few thoughts to new found friends in the group that I might not meet any more after tomorrow.

Ash, the crazy Brit/Swiss/Sefrican cowboy that has given this group the humor, uplift and energy at all times. Without you it would indeed have been a lot harder. Thanks for believing in me and seeing my Petonq qualities, making me raise to World Champ! Hope to share a few beers with you again in the future mate!

Charlie, the Aussie I had to spend my nights with. This young raging bull straight out of the Australian island, that almost trampled me to death at times in our tent. Good times mate, but I’m not going to miss your smelly feet!

Lindsey, the feisty sheila from Down Under with a very strong opinion. The talks in front of the fire, the friendly banters, the effortless tries to teach me trees and the constant reminder of me being old. Will miss it all and best of luck back home in Oz!

Justin, the South African equivalent of Crocodile Dundee, the Brahma bull with his everlasting energy and alpha male bare chest with techno music pounding from the earphones. Good luck with the birds buddy and e

Souqi – The global child that I still haven’t figured out which country she actually belong to. I’ve never seen a human being consume those amounts of coffee on a daily basis.

Nick – the other half of the South African young guns together with Justin. The biggest drink bill in a week in EcoTraining’s history. Respect mate!

Ralph and MJ – The place wasn’t the same after your departure. We’ll be in touch!

 

My journey continues tomorrow to Botswana for a few days followed by a few more days in Cape Town before going home.


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: EcoTraining, safari, Selati, South Africa

Fire at will

May 18, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Fire-at-will-1

The end is coming closer by each day going by. The month in the bush is almost over and the overall vibe in camp has definitely changed. The final tests and assessments are upon us and the pressure and uncertainty is clearly present and visible. There seems to have been a turn towards a more individual thinking and a bit less group orientated. Everyone wants to achieve and get the results and certifications.

 

Final assessments coming up

These final days will be filled with game-drives and walks led by the students, hopefully giving even more opportunities for some nice photos and to just be a real tourist!

Last night gave us the opportunity to blow of some steam as we had a good-bye dinner for Ralph and MJ, the camp-managers since well over a year back. The evening certainly provided good laughs and some weird competitiveness mixed with a few drinks. This group has certainly got its fair share of crazy souls.

 

Lock and load

This morning wasn’t really overfilled with too much energy. The fact that we had the time off for preparations up until after lunch, was well received and provided an opportunity to recover a bit for the afternoon activity – Rifle practice.

It was time to try on the art of shooting fire-arms with live rounds, which was the first time ever for me. I’ve never been a big fan of guns, but I was really looking forward to trying it. Is it really giving you that rush that you can hear people talking about? Well, I must admit that it did come with a certain rush and it did get my adrenaline pumping. It was a good experience, and that’s also mainly to the way it was all done – with a high professional, ethical and respectful attitude.

 

Not bad for a novice

We all had a go at the three targets, placed at 5, 10 and 15 meters, in two turns, trying out a caliber .308 and a caliber .375. The kick from the .375 was mighty powerful and certainly provided a few of us with a bruised and sore shoulder. That kicking horse is a beast.

Getting 51 out of 60 is quite good for a complete novice.


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: EcoTraining, Selati, shooting-practice, South Africa

Went for leopard, came close to rhino but had to settle for boomslang

May 15, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Went-for-leopard-1

The leopards where really up and about last night, calling from either side of the river and camp. With that evidence in mind of leopards close by, there was a small group of us, setting out this morning to track them and hopefully get a glimpse of them. There were only three of us with two instructors passing the river into the dense bush.

 

Tracking leopard and rhino

It’s not normally an area we walk in, but this morning it was time, with two rifles in the front. There had been quite a lot of rhino activity as well, so it was indeed heads up, being alert for whatever we might walk into.

We found the tracks of the Leopard quite quickly, a lone female, which we followed for a bit, until the tracks just vanished into thin air. That’s the thing with Leopards, they’re not easy to track down, be it a professional tracker or an amateur.

We lost the track and instead tried our luck to track down a lone male black rhino. Unfortunately we also lost that track in the end, but the excitement of the tracking made it all a great walk. It was a good start of the day for sure.

 

Boomslang

Upon arrival it became clear to us, that the snake that seem to frequent my side of the tent, by just chilling out in the sun, wasn’t what had been said. The Grass Snake is in fact a venomous Boomslang in disguise…

Stay away from my tent from now on!


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: EcoTraining, elephant, leopard, Selati, South Africa

Dreaming under the stars

May 13, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

dreaming-under-the-stars-3

Sitting here in front of the screen again after a few days away from all sorts of communication. Trying to cool down with a Black Label, fresh out of the shower, with the sun setting behind me, trying to see what I’m writing on here.

 

Two nights camping in the bush

Came back this afternoon, having spent two nights out in the bush – camping, eating, sleeping and all the rest that comes with it under the open African starlit sky.

It’s been a real treat, though I must admit that the basic luxury of a shower and a toilet was quite a comfort to come back to.

Yes, the fact that you don’t “have” to take a shower every single day is not that bad, but after two full nights out in the bush, with walks around 10 km in blistering sun…You really do look forward to that shower!

 

How to set up camp

The basics and fundamental points of doing camping safaris was where we started before setting out on the walk towards our camping site.

  • Make sure to have enough water.
  • How and where do we store the food to keep it fresh?
  • Where’s the wind?

A failure to any of these areas and the whole situation can turn bad.

 

Stinking hot walk

We packed the cars that took all the supply to the site and then we set off under the hot midday sun that seem to refuse to allow winter to get a chance here.

It was a stinking hot walk, but a damn good one, with a distance around 10 km. The sweat was really dripping when we arrived to camp about 2,5 hours later. I really wanted an ice-cold beer and a shower just there and then…But it was time to have a late lunch and then set off for an afternoon game drive with dinner to follow which needed to attend to. Biltong potjiekos was on the menu and it was pure bliss.

 

Living under the stars

Just sitting there under the stars, in front of the camp fire, with a good meal…I’ve experienced much worse!

We took turns during the night to take patrol and make sure that no dangerous visitors came close to camp and the sleeping students. Two people, one girl, one guy, for one hour each, from nine till five in the morning. This was the procedure for the full two nights, filled with activities and adventure.

 

Hard bed

It takes time to adjust to sleeping on the ground, to handle the endless snoring from people, but it doesn’t take long to drift away into the starlit sky, this endless haven of eternal light and life, with the sounds of the African night in the background.

It really is an amazing experience that I wouldn’t want to be without. Besides perhaps the snoring from fellow campers…


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: camping, EcoTraining, Selati, South Africa

Can rhinos tap dance?

May 10, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Can-rhinos-tap-dance-1

Today was meant to be the postponed day off, but unfortunately the majestic police of South Africa couldn’t come around yesterday to take statements from everyone that had money stolen out of the safe, and therefore today was the day to do it. And as you’ve probably figured out by now…No there was no day off today either!

 

Rhinos on the agenda

Procedures as normal and a morning game drive was on the agenda which proved to be quite something.

We set out to look for rhinos and that was the aim, which was fulfilled.

As we approached a sodic site about an hour’s drive away we spotted tracks from black rhinos. It was a bit unclear how fresh the tracks were and where the rhinos might be, also, how many they might be. Our guide estimated a crash of four individuals.

 

Nine rhinos at once!

We got into the car and drove about a minute, taking one turn and just round the corner, there they were…three, four, five…six, seven, eight…and nine!

A crash of nine black rhinos were slowly grazing in a perfect spot and gave us a 30 minute relaxing moment with the huge creatures. Not a bad way to start the day!

The rest of the day was spent at camp giving individual statements to the police to sort out all the technicalities and get the whole thing sorted. We’ll see where it all ends.


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: EcoTraining, rhino, Selati, South Africa

It’s just one of those days

May 9, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Its-just-one-of-those-days-3

Today was meant to be our first day off in two weeks’ time, which meant a full day to do whatever we like. The majority decided to head in to Hoedspruit for a change of scenery, to stock up on things and to just get away for a while. All were ready to go and pack the cars to take off. Unfortunately as we picked up our wallets and cash we realized that there’d been a break in and thousands of rand had been taken out of our wallets.

 

Stuck with the cops

The money was gone and so was the day off, as we had to wait for the cops to come and do their magic…

Therefore the day turned from a pleasant day off, to an ordeal filled with police investigations while we attuned ourselves into lectures instead of sipping on cold lagers from the tap in a sun-drenched Hoedspruit.

It wasn’t all happy faces in the lecture room, but these things happen and we just got on with the day and normal procedures.

 

Driving in the bush

A few days ago we started to change the drives a bit, where we the students took place as drivers, to practice handling the big and powerful monsters – the safari jeeps.

It’s quite a difference driving one of them bad boys, compared to a regular car. Comparing the drive here with a Sunday drive through Stockholm? Yeah it is very different!

Don’t drive too fast as you’ll might miss the game. Think about the passengers…Is it the proper speed for them? Make it as smooth as possible – lowest gear going down those bumpy hills. Keep an eye out for animals, birds and trees and once you’ve spotted them, make sure to stop in the right position for the perfect camera shot. And of course safety…What if there’s an elephant lurking about just around the next turn?

 

A bit different than the Stockholm traffic

It was my turn to take the driver seat, grabbing hold of the heavy steering wheel, and take it for a spin in the bush. With the hot afternoon late summer soon slowly moving closer to the horizon I pulled out of camp to guide the rest towards a good game drive.

It took a while to get used to the car, the gearbox and power, but I’m quite satisfied, spotting a whole herd of impalas that allowed us to enjoy their grazing at close range, four giraffes that also were pretty relaxed about our presence and some kudus.

No major errors to report in terms of the driving and it proved to be a better end of the day than the way it all started as we spotted two well fed female lions resting in the evening breeze by the river.

It cost us a bit but…it was a good day after all!


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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: EcoTraining, Lion, safari, Selati, South Africa

Petonq World Champion!

May 8, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Petonq-World-Champion

So it turns out, that the Swede was yesterday crowned the Champion of the International Selati Petonq Championship Challenge.

 

20 beers to the winner

The whole group including instructors and guides participated, with one beer each as a buy in, providing the winner with 20 cold beers. In a thrilling final the Swede (myself) came through in a hard fought game to beat South Africa and Luxembourg.

Feels good to be a winner after not passing the test, but above all, 20 beers feel even better!

Day off tomorrow…Should give the beers a chance I reckon!


For more photos from the EcoTraining at Selati Reserve, see the photo gallery on Flickr.

 

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: EcoTraining, Selati, South Africa

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