Kruger2Canyon Vol17.18 by Mark Bishop

Hoedspruit

BOEREMARK Next Market on 7 Sept 2019 @ BOSVELD CENTRE 2.2KM out of town on R40

The paper that encourages dreams, supports people and builds the community! Vol 17 Issue 19, 16 August 2019, Kruger2Canyon News, Shop 12, Kamogelo Centre, Hoedspruit. Tel 015 793 2617 email: heidi.lee@mweb.co.za

Story by Harriet Nimmo Photograph Mike Kendrick Named as one of ‘the ten most inspiring women in South Africa’ by Culture Trip in 2017, Michelle is one of conservation’s unsung heroes. Dr Michelle Henley has dedicated the past 20 years of her life to elephants. Growing up in Pretoria, family holidays were spent in Kruger. She always knew that she was destined to work in conservation and elephants have always been her passion. In 1996 Michelle and her artist mother, Cathy Greyling, began a new hobby – identifying individual elephants in the Umbabat, where her parents had a share at Ingwelala. Michelle and her mother started compiling an elephant ID guide, drawing ear patterns and tusk shapes, and naming individual elephants. More than 20 years later, this ID system still forms the basis of Elephants Alive’s research to this day. Whilst doing her PhD on elephant ecology, the world famous East African elephant expert, Dr. Iain Douglas Hamilton heard about Michelle’s work. He asked Michelle, together with co-founder, Marlene McCay to set up the South African branch of Save the Elephants – which morphed into today’s Elephants Alive (NPO 055871). Today Elephants Alive’s mission is to ‘ensure the survival of elephants and their habitats and to promote harmonious co-existence between elephants and humans’. Michelle and her research team, based in Hoedspruit, monitor one of southern Africa’s largest continuous elephant populations. They have developed an elephant identification database of nearly 2000

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A life with elephants g n i t r b e Cel omen’s W onth M

Michelle seen here with an elephant collar. More great Women’s Month stories on page 4&5

animals in the Greater Kruger Area (including the Association of Private Nature Reserves (APNR) and Kruger National Park), as well as monitoring the movements of 80 radio-collared elephants throughout the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe) since 1998. When asked what her biggest challenge

is, Michelle explains ‘trying to provide advice on both how to best manage expanding populations in fenced reserves within South Africa, while simultaneously educating people on the alarming pan-African decline facing elephants. Here in the Greater Kruger Area elephants are compressed within their range, with knock-on effects on large

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trees which causes conflict on how they should best be managed. Artificial water supplies in private reserves draw elephants into the area at the time of year when they are predominantly browsers - making them one of the many reasons why there is a decrease in large trees. Fortunately, there are an array of ongoing mitigation strategies, including our

successful bee-hive programme, that we are experimenting with’. Iain Douglas Hamilton describes Michelle as ‘a modest and humble person who simply gets on with the job, and for 20 years, has tirelessly and relentlessly devoted all her time, energy and finances towards elephant conservation’. FFI see www.elephantsalive.org

16 August 2019 Kruger2Canyon

‘There is enough on Earth for everybody’s need, but not enough for everybody’s greed’ - Mahtma Ghandi

AFRICA UNLOCKED

Private Guided Safaris

LOCAL NEWS

Boom - it’s officially open! On Friday 9 August, PangoPups officially opened for business! The store opened with a bang, offering free branded baby onesies to the moms that are expecting, and cupcakes for the ladies in celebration of Women’s Day, as well as a kiddies’ culinary experience with the help of The Fig and Bean for the young ones. For those of you that have not yet heard of PangoPups or haven’t seen the store at shop 10, Rock Fig Lifestyle Centre, you and your nippers are in for a treat! The store boasts a wide variety of baby and kids’ necessities and accessories, as well as baby care products and educational items. Ranging from muslin blankets for those new bundles of joy, to an incredible array of Melissa & Doug products and an exciting library of books, the kids are bound to be entertained while you gather everything that’s on your parenting must-have list. Luckily for Hoedspruit moms and dads, this means no more long, tedious drives to be able to spoil the kids (or yourselves). PangoPups was built on the dreams of three female entrepreneurs, Angi Ellet, Liza Jordan and Jessica Harvey. ‘This is only the very beginning of a much bigger dream!’ says Angi. There are plans to increase their stock variety and the ability to assist moms in ordering anything they might need that will make parenting just that little bit easier, and

it doesn’t stop there for PangoPups. The team would like to see the business grow so that they can start supporting sewing projects and initiatives ensuring that they support other local businesses and communities. Angi’s philosophy is that by working with the community, helping and supporting one another, PangoPups will also grow. With the team sharing a love for the environment, PangoPups stocks beautifully modern cloth nappies in impressive colours and patterns for all ages. They have also opted to offer only paper bags, to ensure that they aren’t contributing to the global plastic crisis. Not only that, but they

Tinyiko Makhubela

Region, wanting to collaborate with commercial farmers for the social and environmental benefit of our region, it will be worth your while to pop in at the Hoedspruit Hub

have gone one step further by stocking stainless steel and glass baby bottles from both Pura and Tommee Tippee. ‘We also want to offer a safe place for moms, this is why we will be implementing a concealed breast-feeding area in the store over the next few weeks, where moms can have complete privacy in a comfortable environment, and are welcome any time’ says Jessica. This ensures that while moms are out and about, they don’t need to stress about that next feed. What started as a concept for a store grew into something much bigger and the three owners are ready to give what it takes to help the parents of

Hoedspruit. We caught up with Liza to get her thoughts on the store and here’s what she had to say, ‘I am very excited to share my love of books and science with kids that visit our store, education is so important in building any community and being able to make a difference or ignite a love for learning in any child is my passion’. We are looking forward to seeing what PangoPups will get up to in the next few weeks. If you haven’t already visited the store, you can visit anytime between 08:00 and 16:30 on weekdays and 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays. You can keep an eye on their Facebook page for any upcoming events! @PangoPups.

Hoedspruit Hub Open Day The Hoedspruit Hub will be opening their doors to the public for an Open Day on Saturday 24 August 2019 from 08:00-14:00. Interesting talks, fun activities and everything agriculturally awesome will be on display. The Hub is an agricultural skills training centre, an AgriSETA accredited one-stop-shop for commercial farmers, training and local community development needs and upliftment. If you are an aspiring agriculturist, or if you are a developmental partner in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere

heidi.lee@mweb.co.za

Open Day. Interesting talks by Hlokomela, The Citrus Academy, Madumbi Sustainable Agricultural and the Hoedspruit Hub team will be on the

agenda. Garden tours will be conducted through the hub’s organic vegetable garden and there will also be a compositing demonstration workshop not to be missed.

0766324004 or e-mail: pierre@ecologic.co.za

FOR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE WITH CORRUPTION ISSUES CALL: 0848570348

BIG NEWS

16 August 2019 Kruger2Canyon

Protecting from the Kruger to the Canyons

Romy Antrobus- Wuth

Alan McSmith As a professional elephant watcher I’ve travelled far and wide exploring elephant behaviour and conservation. From our Kruger doorstep right here … to the elephant capital of the universe; Okavango and Chobe … to the so called Dark Heart of Africa; Zakouma in Chad, and the remarkable story of recovery … to the desert-adapted Voortrekker debacle in Namibia … and beyond. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of these places. I’ve met the people at many ground zeros; conservationists, scientists, guides, hunters, local villagers, farmers, poachers and ex-poachers. I’ve got to know a lot of elephants, all of whom have stories to tell. Stories of intelligence, endurance, necessity, calamity and wonder; from beyond the frontier. A frontier not only in the literal sense, but also perhaps the outer limits of our understanding of these remarkable animals, and what is at stake. The intention? To showcase and view elephants through a transformational lens, a lens absolutely essential to understand their complexity, ecological value and special intelligence. To share the darkness of their conservation pitfalls. To challenge contemporary beliefs that they have to ‘pay their way’ to remain part of landscapes. To be a voice for the silenced. Just as they are keystones to an ecological circuit, they are keystones to a greater awareness. An awareness of the threat to all wildlife. They are ambassadors in a sense. Ambassadors of an ecological process and also of an ancient order of empathy, both of which are fundamentally connected to our wellbeing. Stay tuned for upcoming dispatches from the edge, in an effort to ‘tell them who they really are.’ www.alanmcsmith.com

It has always been a vision for the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region NPC (K2C BR) to create a corridor of protected areas linking the Kruger National Park (KNP) to the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. While the KNP secures and protects iconic savanna ecosystems, there is an even greater wealth of species and ecosystem services supported by the escarpment. Anyone who has been up Mariepskop will know the wealth of diversity it harbours from indigenous forests, grasslands, wetlands and even fynbos. Most of the water the Lowveld regions rely on (and the Greater Kruger area itself) is produced in the escarpment and it is therefore vitally important that these areas are also formally protected. While a large number of properties in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region are managed as conservation areas, many of them are not legally protected areas in terms of the National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act (NEMPA, Act 57 of 2003). Since 2015 the Protected Area and Mainstreaming Project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and managed by SANParks and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), has been implemented by the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region. One of the aims of this project is to formally secure important sites for biodiversity and ecosystem services by declaring them as protected areas in terms of the act. Through the national Biodiversity Stewardship Initiative both private and community landowners can declare their properties as protected areas in partnership with the provincial conservation authority (MTPA or LEDET). The protected area status gives a property legal protection, is included in the property’s title deeds and requires that the property be adequately managed for biodiversity conservation, through an approved management plan. The K2C BR team has fo-

cussed on declaring sites in two key areas: the KNP buffer zone and the escarpment. In the Kruger Buffer Zone, there has been a particular focus on areas open to the KNP, such as Olifants West Nature Reserve (8709 ha), Olifants River Nature Reserve (1246 ha) and Letaba Ranch Nature Reserve (24909 ha). Areas along the escarpment, include Strategic Water Source Areas and important fragments of critically endangered grassland habitat

such as Haenertsburg Nature Reserve (154 ha) as well as the area around Mariepskop itself, which will hopefully, once declared, be incorporated into the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. To date, the K2C BR and its partners have declared 74 010 hectares as protected areas and is in the process of formalising at least another 97 621 hectares. This amazing feat would not have been possible without key partners

LEDET, MTPA, SANParks, SANBI, Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, KLF/SAFCOL and of course the private and community landowners themselves. With every declaration critical biodiversity and ecosystem services are secured and the vision of creating a continuous protected area, linking the KNP to the escarpment, is a step closer to being realised.

For the best info on where to stay and what to do in the Lowveld pop in @ Hoedspruit-info, Kamogelo Tourism Centre. You can also do all SANParks bookings and now also the home of FGASA in Hoedspruit. Let us help you!

16 August 2019 Kruger2Canyon

CELEBRATING

CelebratingWomen’s Month Tinyiko Makhubela

Tanda Tula Reservationist & entrepreneur Lorraine Kubayi

Lorraine was born in Phalaborwa and later moved to Tzaneen where she completed her schooling. She went on to do a computer course and then a Travel and Tourism certificate. In 1999 Lorraine moved to Hoedspruit and worked for SPAR for 2 years. In 2003-2006 she joined Thornybush where she worked as a cashier and began to work her way up to Assitant Front Office Manager. She also worked for MyGr8 transfer company and was retrenched in 2014. In 2015 Lorraine was fortunate to join Tanda Tula where she is currently working as a Reservationist. Lorraine is an example of perseverance which she has shown over the years. She is not only a corporate lady but also an entrepreneur who is a partner at Bush Wash car wash at the Rock Fig Centre. The car wash has been up and running since 2015 and has five employees. During her spare time she does sewing, uniform alterations for lodges and other designs as per the customer’s request. She is passionate about what she does and her future plan is to start up her own company one day in the tourism sector. It will be a dream come true for her to build her own bed and breakfast. She explains that success is no accident. It is hard work, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all love what you do.

Shoki Mafogo

Heidi Joubert - Simply Sewing & Services Tinyiko Makhubela Heidi grew up in Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo province. She describes herself as a smart girl from the farm who came to face the town. Heidi’s sewing career began at the age of 18 when she started sewing and knitting at home. Her late mom was her role model, she taught Heidi to sew and suggested that she goes to college to do a sewing course, although she really wanted her to become a doctor. She grew up designing traditional clothing in her local community before she came to Hoedspruit four years ago. Heidi’s company has grown from one sewing machine to a big factory with 14 industrial machines. She employs six permanent staff and two temporary workers, all from the surrounding villages, and she has personally trained each of them. In 2018 she entered the SAB Foundation competition and was nominated as one of the candidates and made it through to the final phase. Out of 2 800 candidates she emerged as one of the 60 candidates to win R250 000 funding from the SAB Foundation. She has enrolled in marketing, cost and pricing and finance training through SAB Foundation, which equipped her to manage her business successfully. She manages two offices in Hoedspruit producing cushions, clothes, and tablecloths, and doing alterations; nothing is too small or too big for her. Her motto in life is never to give up. She is a go getter and does not allow herself to lose. She encourages everyone to keep trying if they fail because from your experiences you can always learn and do better the next time.

Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Project Manager Tinyiko Makhubela Rešoketswe ‘Shoki’ Mafogo grew up in Enable Village, Ga-Sekororo, in Limpopo. She completed a degree in Governance in 2013 and started working at Kruger to Canyons Biosphere in 2014 as an Environmental Moni-

tor. She got her foot through the door and never looked back, climbing the career ladder ever since she joined the team. Being part of the Biosphere gave her the opportunity to participate in environmental workshops and short courses in Environmental Education and Project Management, which was very helpful in aligning her in the environmental sector. Shoki has worked so hard to be where she is now, started as an environmental monitor and held various positions such as environmental monitor administrator, cluster administrator, environmental monitor manager and to date she is a project manager overseeing 35 environmental monitors and working closely with two projects in the Biosphere. She says the beauty of being a woman is the ability to be multifaceted, mastering different aspects of life at the same time. Her future plan is to grow in the Environmental sector

whilst completing her post graduate qualifications. In her personal capacity she runs B-Square Foundation as a co-founder. The foundation was established in 2014 to empower village girls, to give them hope and to lessen their vulnerability through educational and social upliftment activities. She believes that success is not success until you give back to the community from which you came. She looks up to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela for her strength, Maya Angelou for her wisdom, her mom for her humility and forgiving heart, and Marie Tinka-Uys from whom she’s learnt a lot about hard work, and her mentorship, and for passing her knowledge and experiences to others. Her motto in life is ‘do not ever limit yourself’ and that self development is essential, there is always room to be a better person than you were yesterday.

g n i t a r b e Cel omen’s W onth M

Villiers Steyn

Inspiring Multi-tasking Angi Ellett Tinyiko Makhubela Angi, born in Nelspruit, spent her life moving around the country with her family. From the coast of Durban, to the small farming town of Melmoth, to spending years in Centurion, she learned to adapt quickly to her surroundings. Growing up in a large family wasn’t always easy, but her

Pegi McCartney The Book Emporium Excentric Tinyiko Makhubela

Pegi was born in the United Kingdom and lived in Plymouth until the age of 17 years. In 1978 she moved to South Africa and has now been living in Hoedspruit for more than eight years. Pegi loves books. After years of managing the secondhand bookshop she grabbed the opportunity of buying it. Peg’s Book Emporium has been running successfully for more than five years now. She explains that she admires a lot of people but she looks up to herself. She spends most of her time assisting people from different walks of life in her shop. She loves reading and has lost count of all the books she has read in her life. Pegi is forever learning and continues to acquire more knowledge by the day. She believes that knowledge is power. Pegi loves honest people, because honesty is the best policy in life. She wishes it was Women’s Day every day because women are powerful and should be celebrated every day. Over the years she has learnt that communication is key in any business and that leads to mutual understanding. Her motto in life is that mistakes can be made, but we must learn from them and that with age comes a lot of wisdom.

determination always enabled her to make a plan. Her entrepreneurial spirit kicked in at the age of six when she would use her pocket money to buy items at the tuck shop at school, to sell to her peers for a profit. Throughout high school she insisted on working in whatever weekend and holiday jobs she could get, in order to generate her own income. After matric she started her first full time job in a retail store, which is where her passion for retail began. From there, she has gone on to work in education, the arts, special needs education, travel industry and bookkeeping. Angi studied jazz vocals after leaving school and returned to studying some 14 years later where she pursued management accounting studies. An entrepreneur who thrives on creating something from nothing, Angi loves networking and being around people. She describes herself as driven, stubborn and hardheaded, but at the same time compassionate, accepting and full of love. She has a multitude of interests in her life and has never been employed in only

Kelly Daniels

16 August 2019 Kruger2Canyon

HOEDSPRUIT’S LADIES

Angi and her son Sammy

one line of work at any one time. She is currently employed full time by Trevor Jordan to manage his portfolio of companies, where she enjoys most of the everyday challenges that arise. In her spare time, she owns retail companies based both online and in Hoedspruit. The first, Luna Lifestyle, is a range of African themed yoga mats that she developed in 2017. Over the past two years the company has grown to become an international brand. She exported her first large shipment of mats to Germany earlier this year and is now focusing on export to other European markets. Since 2013, she has been working towards her dream of owning a specialized baby and kids’ shop. This dream became a reality for her and her two business partners earlier this month, when PangoPups opened its doors at Rock Fig Lifestyle Centre. Angi’s three mottos in life have to be: ‘those that think they are crazy enough to change the world are usually the ones who do’; ‘Let your faith be bigger than your fears’; and ‘Be who you are unapologetically’.

16 August 2019 Kruger2Canyon

NEWS & VIEWS

Drakies ‘Ek sê!’ Southern Cross! presteer Tracey Larmont

Elsa van Staden Baie geluk aan al die leerlinge van Laerskool Drakensig wat presteer het tydens Eisteddfod se Afrikaanse afdeling. Goeie prestasies is behaal en die skool is baie trots op julle. Veels geluk!

Southern Cross Schools recently participated in the Afrikaans Eisteddfod on 29 and 30 July 2019. Mrs du Preez has been preparing a group of 17 learners from Grade 8 - 12 for the last few months to get them ready to get up on stage and ‘wow’ the audience … and that is exactly what they did! Southern Cross Schools walked away with 8 Diamond (95+%), 7 Double Gold (9094%) and 5 Gold (80-89%) Awards. It must be remem-

bered that most of the children stepping out of their comfort zone, presented in either their second or third language. They excelled in the dramatised poetry category where 5 Diamond Awards were achieved. Kathy Makhubela and Mpumi Masengo achieved a Diamond Award each for both their formal and dramatised poems. Petro du Plessis, the adjudicator, praised the learners for their hard work, dedication and involvement, commenting on how impressed she was to observe such a superb display of talent.

Maruleng VTS Maruleng Vehicle Testing Station Qualified and Experienced Applicants are invited to apply for the following vacant positions Receptionist x 1 Position Description: As a receptionist you will be responsible for greeting clients and visitors to our

office. You will be in charge of giving clients directions to various parts of the office, contacting employees regarding visitors, answering phones and taking messages, and sorting and distributing mail.

Requirements • • • • • • •

Grade 12 Matric Certificate/NQF level 4 is required A minimum of 2 years’ relevant experience e-Natis Certificate Consistent, professional dress and manner. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Competency in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook. Experience with administrative and clerical procedures.

Examiner of Motor Vehicle x 3 permanent positions Description: The successful candidate will execute examination and weighing of vehicles; execute all the activities relating to the testing or issuing of roadworthy certificates. Including all the necessary practical activities relating to the application and issuing of vehicle certificates and permits. The candidate will further be required to deal with all administrative matters that involve the incumbent. Assure that a high standard of work is maintained in terms of quality and testing of all vehicles for roadworthiness and discontinue notices and cub fraud and corruption.

Requirements ● ● ● ● ● ●

Grade 12 Matric Certificate/NQF level 4 is required A minimum of 3 years’ relevant experience Diploma as Examiner of Vehicle Licenses Registered as an Examiner of Vehicles Grade A Basic Computer literacy (Knowledge of e-Natis) Must have valid Code EC and A drivers’ licenses and the successful candidate will be subjected to vetting.

Pit Assistant x 1 permanent position

Description: The successful candidate will assist the examiners during the testing of vehicles for road-worthiness. He/she will also perform other duties assigned by senior staff, maintain and keep testing facilities clean as well as being responsible for administration. Requirements • Grade 12 Matric Certificate • Valid Driver’s License

Applications for the above positions, including a comprehensive CV, should be emailed to rahab.mohale@gmail.com before 26 August 2019

Unleashing talent Tinyiko Makhubela

Nourish Eco Village and Kruger to Canyons Biosphere hosted an entrepreneurship challenge workshop by Socionext for young aspiring entrepreneurs from previously disadvantaged communities. Nourish is a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting local communities, promoting social responsibility and encouraging environmental education. Socio-next is funded by the SAB Foundation to assist communities to start-up a sustainable business within five days. The focus is on social innovation and entrepreneurship, taking the participant through a step-by-step process from the first idea to prototype and development of a realistic product. The workshop was attended by 35 young people with the aim of helping them establish their own businesses to help tackle the issues of unemployment, and assist those who have existing businesses to take these to the next level. The workshop facilitator Mohamed Thokan split the participants into five groups, consisting of seven members each, who had to come up with a business idea. The business

Bushmaster Solar & Electrical

ideas included a bakery, catering company, vegetable farm, coffee shop and glass recycling company. The teams worked hard during the week to translate their ideas into reality within the five days. The bakery and coffee team made sure the audience had nice coffee and freshly

baked products, which were also sold to the volunteers at the Village, as well as to tourists on the Orpen road. The vegetable farm team had fresh vegetables on sale, which the catering team took advantage of buying to use in preparing their meals. The glass recycling team made

beautiful bracelets and necklaces, and made a good impression when they got the biggest order to make a statue of an individual with recycled glass. They were very excited when they had to sketch a drawing and get started on their craft work. On day fifth day of the workshop the groups gave the final presentations of their ideas to invited guests from the community, families of the participants, and the team from Seeds of Light. Sarah Bergs, the founder of Nourish, was very emotional

and blown away by the presentations. ‘We are focused on entrepreneurship and the workshop fitted well with our economic empowerment involvement in the community’ Sarah explained. Amongst the guests was Tjaart Theron, the founder and director of Socionext, who explained that he was very pleased with the selection process of the individuals that took part in the training. ‘The aim is to help shift the way of thinking, unlocking and changing minds we learn by doing,’ he said.

LEGAL NOTICE

SOLAR DESIGN INSTALATION & MAINTENANCE | WATER PUMPS & ELECTRICAL NETWORKS Call or Wattsapp Louis on: 073 947 0821 | Email: marlene@radioactive.co.za

The Estate of Anna Magdalena Smith of Farm Glencoe, Hoedspruit, who passed away on 31/05/2019 invites debtors and creditors to pay debts or lodge claims at PO Box 127 Hoedspruit, 1380 or email lyngeld720@gmail.com. Debtors and creditors have 30 days from 16/08/2019 to take action, after which the Estate executors will finalize the Estate.

LOCAL IS LEKKER

16 August 2019

Kruger2Canyon

NORTH ZONE Competition Zanis Hoedspruit competed at the Matsport centre, Centurion, in June at the annual North Zone Competition. Each gymnast received a medal according to his / her total score, of which gold was the highest.

We are so extremely proud of all our gymnasts and Coaches who competed at the North Zone Championships. Your hard work has really paid off.

Girls Artistic 2nd R/U (GOLD) SILVER BRONZE

Girls Level 1 Girls Level 2 Girls Level 3

Anika Jansen v Vuuren Thalia Stander Jody-Lee Hendriks

Girls Rhyhtmic GOLD GOLD SILVER BRONZE

Girls Level 1 Girls Level 1 Girls Level 1 Girls Level 1

Amelie Pretorius Mia Venter Carmen v d Merwe Carli Stander

BUSINESS DIRECTORY Advertise in Kruger2Canyon to get a FREE listing on our Business Directory BUSINESS / SHOPS / SERVICES @Home Dog Grooming 083 843 0331 ABC Information Technologies 015 793 0851 ABC Information Technologies 079 875 8888 Abupheli Waterproofing 082 780 3610 Agri Box 082 888 0520 Barefoot Dance Academy 083 785 5354 Blackbird Business Services 082 552 6594 Boek & Pen 015 793 0859 Bureu de Change 015 793 1368 Bushmaster Solar & Electrical 015 793 3540 Cap Company 082 774 5809 Crocodile Printers 087 802 8307 Cudo Point 084 657 5031 Deltec Solar 015 793 2448 Darkie Design Interiors 079 503 0151 Ecologic Degreaser 089 525 9210 Fruitful Living 015 793 3703 Gabriella’s Décor & Events Hire 074 140 6069 Garden & Home 062 278 2724 Godding&Godding (24’ SOUTH) 072 467 3310 Hancolodi 079 432 3505 Hangupz (24’ SOUTH) 082 440 8514 Hi-Q Hoedspruit 015 793 1580 Hobby Box 015 793 0043 Howzit (24’ SOUTH) 082 304 9131 Hoedspruit Paws 078 431 3161 Hoeds Wildlife Est Pharmacy 015 793 1427 InterAfrica Money Exchange 015 793 1368 Joburg Online 015 793 0093 Khaki Fever 015 793 0943 Kruger2Canyon News 015 793 2617 Maruleng Municipality 015 793 2409 Mediation & Training 083 253 3675 Moov to Move / Nina 078 778 9014 Must Love Dogs 083 843 0331 Niche Cleaning Service 083 233 9852 Pet Bar 078 819 1336 PicknPay Hoedspruit 015 793 0482 Proforum Accountants 015 590 6761 RadioActive 015 793 0855 Round Da Bend (24’ SOUTH) 078 431 3161 Secure Storage 083 263 7433 Simply Sewing 072 210 7411 SPAR Hoedspruit 015 793 2305 Tops @ SPAR 015 793 2069 Top 2 Bottom Cleaning 073 722 7913 Valencia Fabrics / Nelspruit 013 752 7005 Vehicle License Department 015 793 0838 Woodenways Luxury Furniture 013 590 5018 CONSTRUCTION & INDUSTRIAL BUCO 015 793 0560 Coastal Hire 015 793 0971 Drain Surgeon 015 793 1484 DU Paint & Tool 015 590 3993 1st Class Electrical 071 657 5305 Hoffmans Thatching 015 793 1530 LED Electrical and Pumps 083 501 8979 Midrand Aircon Hoedspruit 015 793 3337 Pool & Spa specialists 015 793 0166 Rudamans Hoedspruit 015 793 0137 Talisman 015 793 0560 Trellidor 013 752 4022 Wildlife Thatch 015 793 0792 SCHOOLS & EDUCATION Drakensig Laerskool 015 793 3756 Drakensig Pre-primer 015 793 2401 Perspective Training College 082 787 4471 Hoedspruit Christian School 015 793 2067 Lowveld Academy 015 793 3750 Mariepskop Laerskool 079 529 6071 Mariepskop Pre-primer 082 880 7069 Southern Cross Schools 015 793 0590

EMERGENCY – HELP LINES After Hours Emergency Doctors 084 770 1741 Air Force Base Hoedspruit 015 799 2911 Ambulance AFB 015 799 2065 Ambulance Hoedspruit 015 793 1581 Ambulance Tintswalo 101 77 Farm watch/ Plaaswag 072 310 0032 Fire Brigade AFB 015 799 2172 Fire Brigade Maruleng 015 793 0536 Hoedspruit Medical Rescue 072 170 0864 Hospital AFB 015 799 2065 Hospital Tintswalo 013 795 5000 Police Hoedspruit 015 799 4000 Protrack 015 793 2585

Shop 5 Leadwood Corner

Professional Accountants (SA) Et Tax and Business Advisors Professionele Rekenmeesters (SA) Et Belasting en Besigheidsadviseurs

MEDICAL & VETERINARY SERVICES Counselling Ronelle Joubert 082 787 4471 DR Van Eeden (Dentist) 015 793 1876 DR Werner Muller (Dentist) 015 793 1894 Hlokomela 072 698 6538 Hoedspruit Clinic 015 793 2342 Hoeds Wildlife Est Pharmacy 015 793 1427 J Coetzee (Clinical Psychologist) 015 781 0012 Marlie Landman (Eye Clinic) 082 803 0369 Med Centre (Dentists) 015 793 0845 Med Centre Emergency No 084 770 1743 ProVet Veterinary Hospital 015 793 0797

Tel: +27 15 590 6761 | email: hoedspruit@proforumacc.co.za

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From the bushveld to the top of the world

Quentin at the summit of Mt Stok Kangri in India with his Sherpa: Mingma who he nicknamed Zamazama. Quentin Swanevelder

Way back in 2001 I took up my first guiding position in the Balule game reserve, and ended up in the Makuleke region of the KNP. I enjoyed seeing Hoedspruit grow into the wonderful little town it is now and was fortunate enough to make some wonderful friends along the way. I left Makuleke and joined the fantastic team at Singita Lebombo and am proud to say that I am still a part of this amazing conservation organization.

My life took a turn for the better eight years ago when I decided that I needed a fresh outlook on life and seek new off the beaten track adventures. I have never had any ambitions of climbing Everest or anything as extreme, but I started looking into mountain climbing after friends from Likipia in Kenya sparked the idea of perhaps one day climbing Mount Kenya (Africas second highest peak). I was browsing mountaineering trips on the internet and found this amazing place in northern

India called Mt Stok Kangri in the Indian Himalayas. The summit was not too technical, yet over 6000meters above sea level. I was hooked and got in touch with a local guide who arranged and set up the trek for me. I started studying all the info available on altitude sickness, training programmes etc. The day of departure came and after 20 hours of travelling I stepped off the plane in the town called Leh, located at 3550 meters above sea level (higher than the highest point in South Africa). I met with my guide and team and decided on a starting date for the 4-night trek to attempt the summit of the mountain. The morning of departure arrived and on the first day we trekked up to camp 1 at 4400m. I started feeling very ill at around 6 pm, and by 10 pm I was ready to abandon my attempt due to altitude sickness. I was very disappointed, but I would not push and risk my health in following this dream. I woke up feeling absolutely fine and assumed that I was probably dehydrated and made sure to drink enough water. Day 2 was a trek to base camp at 5000m, a day of acclimatization and training on using safety harnesses, crampons and an ice axe. That afternoon we got a weather forecast to say that there was bad weather on its way and we should push for the summit that evening at 11 pm. My sherpa was confident that we would make it so I started kitting up for the summit attempt. I really would like to thank my good friend Sharon from Khaki Fever for hooking me up with I think every piece of First Ascent thermal gear in the catalogue.

We were off. The first 300m were relatively easy but soon we hit the snow line and crossed the glacier which meant the real work was about to start. Hitting the wall of the mountain was the start of the toughest five hours of my life, 700m of almost vertical climbing, stopping to rest every 15 steps. The last 153m where tough but seemed a lot easier because I could now see the Tibetan prayer flags at the summit. I got to the top, and nothing, absolutely nothing, can prepare you for the view from the top and the most amazing emotional spiritual experience of my life. I totally understood why people chase summits higher and higher across the world. The more painful part of the journey (I have bad knees) started with the decent back to

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base camp. After 11 hours up and down the mountain I had the option of returning to the starting point of the trek (20km away) and staying in a nice hotel, or spending the night at base camp and walking back next day ... I chose the latter but was truly and absolutely shattered when we got back.

I was filled with exhaustion, sadness (because it was over) but a feeling of accomplishment, and I think that I am proof that you can change your life and accomplish extraordinary things. Thanks to everyone who wished me well and joined me on this epic journey.

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