Month: October 2007

Birders drawn to the famed ornithological bounty of KwaZulu-Natal have a new route that showcases not only the startling diversity of the province’s birdlife, but also its range of habitats and its people’s hospitality. The new Southern KwaZulu-Natal Birding Route, launched at the end of October this year, is a project of BirdLife South Africa’s avitourism division, with the SappiWWF TreeRoutes Partnership as the primary funding partner and the Wildlands Conservation Trust the facilitators on the project. Also launched was the Karkloof Conservation Centre, which will function as one of the anchor attractions on the route.

The opening of the route represents the culmination of seven years of cooperation between global pulp and paper producer Sappi and WWF, the conservation organisation, as well as rural communities who live near threatened indigenous forests and wetlands. The partnership introduced community-based tourism as an alternative to the non-sustainable use of local forests and wetlands. They initiated sustainable eco-tourism programmes as an economically and environmentally sustainable way for rural South Africans to create livelihoods.  Other existing projects include the Dlinza Forest Boardwalk in Eshowe, Thonga Beach Lodge and the Mabibi campsite on the Zululand North Coast, amongst others.

The Southern KZN birding route has four components: the South Coast, Midlands, Sisonke and eThekwini routes which take visitors from the golden beaches and dense, lush forests of the North and South coasts through the beautiful Midlands and up to the spectacular heights of the Drakensberg Mountains. These scenic backdrops alone lure travellers into memorable road trips, but a bird list of 500 species including many rare and endemic species such as Blue Swallow, Cape Parrot, and all three of Southern Africa’s Crane species make this an unforgettable outing for twitchers and the average nature-lover alike.

Matthew Drew, from BirdLife South Africa, who manages the route, says “The cornerstone of the route is its broad range of stakeholders which, through avitourism aims to create a sustainable economy and a community-wide appreciation of our precious natural heritage. This contribution will significantly assist in the conservation of threatened wetlands and forests in South Africa.”
The birding route also offers trained and experienced local guides and a network of birder-friendly establishments.

The Karkloof Conservation Centre is the newest of these establishments and will form the hub of the Midlands section of the route.  The Karkloof area is renowned for the commitment of its farmers to the valley’s wetlands, forests and unique biodiversity and it’s this that will cement the success of the centre and others around the province.  Dr Ian Player, world-renowned conservationist and a Karkloof resident himself, spoke at the launch and referred to birding as the “gold” of tourism.  He also noted how important it is for farmers to set land aside for conservation.  Charlie MacGillivray is one such farmer and is the owner of Gartmore farm on which the interpretive centre is established.

Designed and built by site manager Mike Exelby, the centre is testament to the collective hard work, dedication and consideration that has been taken with this project.  The quaint wooden structure sports an information kiosk with plenty of detailed birding information for the avid and not so experienced birders as well as information boards and maps of the area.  There is a lovely shaded seating area and refreshments are available.  There are two hides, one overlooking a small dam on Gartmore and one on the neighboring Loskop Farm. Visitors can walk down the connecting trails which will lead them to each of the three destinations. There is even a golf cart for those who aren’t able to walk the paths with ease.  Knowledgeable local bird guides trained by Birdlife South Africa will be available, and will add great value, information and peace of mind to any birding outing at affordable rates.

The centre was made possible by an R800 000 donation by Sappi and a further R1.2 million was donated for the establishment of the Southern KZN Birding Route. André Oberholzer, Group Head Corporate Affairs of Sappi, says: “Sappi has long been a supporter of birds and birding and through these projects we aim to add value to threatened forests and wetlands so that local communities see these areas as treasures they want to conserve”.

For more information on the Southern KZN Birding Route contact Matthew Drew on 082 325 3514 or e-mail skzn@birdlife.org.za and to arrange a visit at the Karkloof Conservation Centre call: 033 330 2292 during office hours.

This weekend, the Wildlands Conservation Trust, in their annual ‘Art for Conservation’ exhibition, auction and gala dinner, raised over R400 000 for conservation projects around the province.  Pat Symcox, MC and auctioneer for the evening, hosted a lively auction that had corporate Durban reaching into their pockets to support the worthy cause.

The fundraiser brought together more than 40 of South Africa’s top artists, photographers, sculptors, bead workers and ceramicists to profile ‘Africa’s people, its Wildlife and its Landscapes’ through their art, and to raise funds for conservation.  Half of the evenings’ total was raised by means of 14 donated auction pieces.  A piece by wildlife painter Lute Vink (pictured) fetched the highest bid at R60 000.  Buyer Mike Hankinson, Chairman of the Spar Group, purchased the piece on behalf of the group in support of conservation.

Another R30 000 was raised by auctioning a selection of holiday packages, and individual pledges by guests raised a further R120 000.  The exhibition, which had some artists donating up to 50% of profits, tipped the fundraisers’ tally over the targeted R400 000 for the second year in a row for the Trust.

Dr Andrew Venter, CEO of the Wildlands Conservation Trust, said: “We are really grateful for the continued support of all our friends and partners, without whom our work would not be possible”. The Trust is a conservation NGO, focusing its efforts on biodiversity conservation in KZN.  Venter made special mention of Investec Private Bank, who were the primary sponsor of the function and Sibaya Casino, for hosting the event.

Venter also presented two of the Trusts conservation projects which the fundraiser will help to support; it’s Conservation SPACE and Indigenous Trees for Life Programmes.  Conservation SPACE aims to see conservation areas in the province linked to form a land area bigger than that of the Kruger National Park, through ‘conservation corridors’ and CCA’s or Community Conservation Area’s.  Indigenous Trees for Life, he said, has started working on two ‘carbon sink’ projects; forest restoration initiatives along the Mkuze River Catchment area in northern Zululand and in the Ongoye forest, 150km north of Durban. The sequestration of CO2 through forest restoration is one of ways environmentalists around the globe are trying to curb the planets rising temperatures.

The inaugural Bonitas Michaelhouse MTB Festival, one of the new events on the Bonitas Wild Series closed yesterday with over 800 entrants having enjoyed one of the most picturesque and challenging courses to date on the calendar.  The 75km Marathon drew a field of just over 200 riders, and the challenging course provided sweeping views of the snow covered Drakensberg and Balgowan Conservancy.

Burry Stander (Mr Price/GT) powered his way to another convincing win, with JP Pearton (Mazda Merida) coming home in second place.  David Leihman, a new member of the Mugg and Bean team, powered his way to a respectable third place.  Stander made an early move on the first section of single track to open up a two minute gap, but he was later hauled in at the 55km mark by Pearton.  The two of them rode together for some 10km, after which the experience and power of Stunder allowed him to break away and claim the crown of the first event winner of the Bonitas Michaelhouse MTB Festival.

In the ladies race, Maverick Momentum’s Tania Raats was in top form as she powered her way to a convincing win.  “It was a real challenging course, a proper MTB Marathon”, explained Raats who has just recently returned from riding overseas.  “The hills were grinding, especially the last one, but it was a really awesome ride through such a beautiful area”.

The final entry tally reached 800, and the clear skies played host to one of the most successful first time events on the mountain bike calendar.  “We have been overwhelmed by the entries we received.  To have had some 800 riders enter for this first time event is an amazing achievement”, organiser Stu Berry from Impi Concept Events explained.  “Michaelhouse as a race venue is simply ideal, the facilities are outstanding and ample, the field is in top condition, and the surrounding areas provided us with so many options when designing the courses.  We have had good feedback from riders, and we now know where we can improve the course for next year.”

The 35km half marathon was also a huge success, drawing some 400 entrants, with the 10km fun ride/walk pulling in an additional 150 young and old riders.  “As a first time event, we are over the moon with the support that the mountain biking community has given the event, with all our profits going into conservation within KZN” explained Dr Andrew Venter, CEO of the Wildlands Conservation Trust, the controlling body of the Bonitas Wild Series.

Results will be posted on the race website (www.michaelhousemtb.co.za) from Tuesday morning.  The organisers would like to encourage any comments to be submitted via the website so that next years event can be fine tuned and made that much more memorable.