Sunday, May 27, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Smear Fear: How Regular Pap Screenings Can Be the Key to Your Health
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
River Dawn: Fishing & Birdwatching in the Garden Route, South Africa
A sleepy sun is rising, unfurling the colours of the day in pink and golden yellow, in her soft, warming light. Like glitter it shines over the landscape of hillside mansions, lighting each window like glowing candles. Hidden spider webs are revealed in the silvery dew.
There's a cool breeze moving over the center of the river. With each long finger it ruffles the surface, yet forgives the edges on the shoreline, leaving them to their inky smooth reflections. Piles of seaweed, ankle-deep, lie patiently waiting for the tide to come and take them back home again.
Morning solitude is interrupted by the sound of calling birds gliding past. The elegant Black-winged Stilt, the drumming African Snipe. African Darters dry their wings on the riverbanks while Blue Cranes observe from a distance.
The casting of the line - zhhhhhhh- and its gentle drop - blloooop - into the deep adds anticipation to the chorus. Energy levels are rising, along with the tide and the sun.
This is a convergence of life- the meeting place between land, two rivers and the sea. The Bitou, the Keurbooms, the Indian Ocean - this is fishing in the Garden Route, South Africa.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Shipwreck & Secret Treasure: Arniston, South Africa
We were standing on a vertical cliff, one of the most distinquishing features of Arniston’s rugged limestone coastline which has, over the millenia, been sculpted to the whim of the wind and the sea like proverbial Playdough. Today it forms a series of dramatic arches, outcrops, contours, clefts, ridges, overhangs and caves.
This is a place where the dark, dripping rocks inside contrast against the brightly lit and splashing turquoise outside – an experience that makes your heart beat with almost the same force as the crashing of the waves.
But now I was about to see another one of Arniston’s secrets, a lesser known cave which might have served as shelter to the ancient Strandlopers, or at the very least to a few jovial characters over a modern campfire in our more carefree age. Robert looked amused as I wedged myself into the hole, legs dangling, arms gripping, my feet searching for a landing. Small rocks dislodged and disappeard into the darkness beneath me. Finally I touched down and Robert scrambled in behind me. The cave was room-sized and offered a view over Arniston framed by its own ragged-edged eye. The rumbling of the waves as the sea heaved itself against the rocks below us sounded deep and powerful while the sight of birds gliding by just out of reach in the window of the cave’s opening formed a tranquil scene, all to the soundtrack of the whistling wind.
Robert Haarburger is an Arniston local – he grew up here, traveled and lived overseas, and eventually returned two decades ago, transforming property that his family owned into some of the only sources of local employment in the village – the relaxed Arniston Seaside Cottages, and the iconic Arniston Hotel. He says with the shrug of a man resigned to the temptation of his heart, “People told me I was crazy to return, but I love Arniston. No matter where I travel in the world, it always calls me back, like it has a piece of my heart.”
Two-hours from Cape Town, Arniston is accessible along a finger of road that extends 25-kilometers past the closest town, Bredasdorp, towards the southern reaches of South Africa’s coast. Relatively isolated and undeveloped, Arniston is known as a coastal retreat. Set against an aquamarine sea, the village is dotted with thatch-roofed white-washed cottages, the most famous ones forming the 200-year old Kassiesbai, home to generations of villagers – in fact, the only people allowed to live there are the few that have been born there.
Both were employed at the Arniston Bay Hotel – Byron was trained as a Pastry Chef and Connie a Manageress, who – like Robert Haarburger, once left Arniston for greener pastures but was eventually lured home. Gazing out over the aquamarine horizon, she explained, “I went to Cape Town for a while. It was exciting but…” she trailed off before facing me with a Judy Garland smile, “there’s just no place like home.”
Recognized as a National Monument, the sandstone fishermans’s cottages of Kassiesbai are bordered on one side by the town of Arniston and on the other side by a sea of sand dunes overlooking the site of the wreck of the HMS Arniston.
One the worst nautical disasters of all time, 372 lives were lost and only six survived when this East Indiaman ship – which had until then survived pirate attacks and eight journeys between Great Britain and the Far East – sank unceremoniously in 1815. Apparently the owners of the ship didn’t put much stock into accurate navigation and decided it would be better to save a couple of bucks than to buy a marine chronometer, yesteryear’s GPS. Traveling in a convoy of six other ships, the Arniston had to rely on them for accurate navigation. As with most things in life, you don’t really need them until you really, really do. Unfortunately for the Arniston the weather did not play along and a week before her demise the she was given a death sentence.
Bad weather struck.
Rough seas and gale force winds damaged her sails, separating her from the convoy. The storms continued. Strong ocean currents led to one navigational error after the next, and eventually the Captain fatally headed north, running all 1468 tons aground over the L’Agulhas Reef just 900-metres from shore. After a week of death row, it was all over for most within a few hours.
Today the ribs of the ship can be seen among the sand dunes, and fragments of its once proud brass-plated hull shine out in shades of weathered green to those who are lucky enough to find them. We headed in that direction as the misty, ocean air began to stick to us, cold and clammy. The sun began her descent, lighting up the clouds in shafts like it might have through the patchy sail of the Arniston on her last ill-fated eve.
The dunes rolled out before us like a Magic Carpet, undulating in the wind, while the waning light made it difficult to see where it rose and fell. Unphased, Robert kept up our speed as I held my breath, gripping both the roll-bar and my seat belt, a nervous smile permanently fixed on my face. “Wha-hoooooooo!” I screamed convincingly, trying to to quell any thought that I might be in some sort of serious danger, out here in the sand dunes at dusk, as we seemed to freefall down 45-degree angles while Robert explained, nonchalantly of course, that this was much safer than driving along the ridge of the dune. “Oh, yes!” I exclaimed, pink-cheeked and breathless, feeling more like a Yankee than ever.
It wasn’t long before he hit the brakes.
Eagle-eyed he had spotted it – argonauta argo – a Paper Nautilus shell. An extremely rare find, it is prized among collectors and renowned for its wafer thin, spiralling beauty. This was a perfect specimin- the former shelter of an unusually palagic octopus (one which lives in the open sea, not crawling along the seafloor like its lesser cousins) using its shell for ingenious bouyancey control. Over the ages this very shell has been the subject of such consternation, even Aristotle hypothesized in 300BC that the shell was used as a boat, saying the octopus must surely rise to the surface and use its tentacles as oars and sails.
It must be noted that Aristotle had a rather wild imagination, but the theory so struck Jules Verne – who also had a wild imagination – that it inspired his Sailing Argonauts which he wrote about in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Before long we had arrived. The history of the Arniston was alive in this place by the sea – her weathered bits lay at rest between a view over the dunes on one side and a seaview over the town that shares the same name on the other. Yet what could have been a somber end to a thrilling day filled with historical intrigue and the beauty of nature’s creation suddenly turned lucky.
“Hey, over here”, called Robert, pointing to something in the white sand while Trigger just crested over the farthest sand dune. I could see the luminuous green from where I stood, glowing in the setting sun. It was a piece of the Arniston’s brass plating, the tiniest of little shards. “It’s a piece of the Arniston, ” Robert offered, “Take it with you – keep it in your heart.”
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The Encounter: How Harley The Brave Took a Piece of My Heart
Harley came into our lives on one of the hottest days of the summer. The heat was almost unbearable and we were out on the balcony enjoying the afternoon breeze when our landlord arrived home. While trading greetings his gaze feel upon Harley's tiny fluffed movements there in the middle of the drive. The tyres of the car must have just missed him. Not skipping a beat our Landlord scooped him up, handed him to us and said matter of factly, "Well, better keep him with you and away from the dogs."
And with that, we were on a journey.
We weren't sure just what kind of bird he was and it was a few days until we realised he was a White-Rumped Swift, one of the world's fastest fliers and one that migrates between Europe and Africa each year. From his weight, just 20 grams, we guessed from internet research he might be 10 days old, a good few weeks away from flying.
We considered the options - most resources advise you to find the nest and simply put him back. Easy peasy. Except in Harley's case the nest had been broken down, somehow. No one knew for sure, and there was only one option - to care for him until he could fly.
We searched for information on what to feed him and so on, and were soon frustrated by conflicting information on the internet. We tried to keep his diet as natural as possible - insects - which meant a daily excursion during the sunny afternoon into the nearby fields on the farm where we were living, swinging a butterfly net borrowed from the Landlord, chasing down unsuspecting locusts, grasshoppers and crickets. Ants were on the menu, too - collected at a crack in the wall that must have led to their nest and, as they spilled out of it we would squash them with our fingers, putting them into a container until the bottom was covered in a black mass.
At feeding time two or three of the poor insects would be executed, pulled out of the container by the scissors that we would summarily use to snip off their heads, legs and wings, saving only the soft thorax for Harley. It was disturbing work, especially when the body would go hopping about while the head lay wriggling on the plate, but we put this thought out of our minds in favour of the hope that Harley would fly. The bodies were ground into a sticky paste, along with a few ants, and smeard on tiny bits of scrambled egg.
Helpless as he was, he wouldn't eat this food on his own. We had to feed him. In the early days he would gape whenever he was hungry. It is an odd feeling to have a tiny creature willingly shove their throat around your finger, to feel each tiny muscle working to accept sustenance, the pink of his neck visible through the fluff of feathers.
Day after day the routine continued and Harley was full of spunk and fight, letting us know when he was hungry, which was nearly every hour at first, then every two, even overnight and knowing he needed us if he had any chance of survival we tended to him at all hours. I watched the clock nonstop - paying attention to feeding time and not leaving the house for too long at a time. Harley needed us.
Things were on the up - his energy increased as he got used to flapping his wings and exploring his little space, his talons became sharper, his wings less fluffy and more smooth, and his white markings developed, especially on his rump and along the tips of his shoulders at the start of his wings. He gradutated from a shoe box, to a packing box, and eventually to a small enclosure that allowed him the space he needed to move around in.
I spoke to him every day - telling him how brave he was, and that he needed to stay strong, and to eat more, and that before he knew it he would be flying the world's skies and back with his other bird friends.
After two weeks his weight had gone up to 36 grams and we knew he would be flying soon. I even worried that I would miss him when he was gone traveling to another hemisphere, and mused that perhaps he would come back next year on his annual migration, and how maybe, just maybe he might perch nearby and remember us.
But it wasn't meant to be.
He stopped gaping for food and never seemed to be hungry. Then the rain came. For three solid days there were no fresh insects. He seemed listless. He lost a few feathers. His weight evaporated, back down to 20 grams. Frantically we searched for ways of feeding him, finally resigning to force feeding with the use of a tiny syringe. It was horrible but at least we knew he had eaten. Eventually the sun came out again so we could hunt for his natural diet, running through the field with the net in one hand and a container in the other, trying to catch as many calories as possible.
Things started to improve. His weight was unchanged but he was energetic again - running on his tiny little feet, spreading his wings and flapping even more than before and it seemed he was on the mend.
The last night the cold front hit us. I feel asleep with him in my hands and at some point woke to put him into his bed, worried I might roll over onto him. During the night my partner checked on him, placing him inside the nest we had formed for him out of tea towls and a plastic container, trying to keep him warm. I woke before sunrise- it was 5AM. I found him lying very still and when I picked him up he tweeted, but ever so faintly.
I held him in my hands, trying to warm him but he became more and more still until there was nothing left. I held him close, crying over him, but it was done. It was 3 weeks and one day since he came into our lives. The heat had delivered him from his nest into our hearts, and the cold took him away.
I wrapped him in a cloth and placed him in a wooden box. Together we pulled at the earth and placed him in a small grave, under a tree, overlooking the sea. His tiny body is there now but his spirit is free and with it, is a part of me.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Please nominate Theresa Lozier in the Getaway Travel Blogging Awards
Thank you to everyone out there who has been following this blog, and especially to those that have sent me emails with a little of their own stories. It's been amazing to connect with incredible people from around the globe.
I'm writing now to ask for your help. If you like my writing, please nominate THERESA LOZIER in the Getaway Travel Blogging Awards. Being recognized in these awards would mean a lot and help me find more interesting writing opportunities.
Click on this link to get to the form: http://forms.getaway.co.za/view.php?id=500
Thank you everyone!
Sincerely, Theresa
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sand dunes, the African Bush and Secluded Luxury at South Africa’s 5-Star Oceana Beach & Wildlife Reserve
all.”
And the final highlight for me, was an encounter with the majestic sable. Exceedingly rare, it is a beautiful sight with its arched horns and painter’s markings that frame its face in contrasting tones of stark white, black and brown.
We spotted a herd of them from a distance, and, as we bounced along the gently sloping hill to our viewing point our ranger told us how she had hand reared one of them when he was orphaned, and explained that because he had to be fed with a specially formulated milk, he had not been able to receive some of the nutrients he would have gotten in the wild, resulting in his coat becoming a distinctively lighter, copper colour compared to the rest of the herd with their dark brown coats. As we came to a stop he seemed to take notice of us, and she explained further that he did in fact recognise her yet had been accepted by the herd as part of his rehabilitation and introduction back into nature. It was beautiful to hear the love for nature in her voice and to see that such a gentle creature had been nursed back to health because of it.
At Oceana you can do the things you want, when you want – and there certainly are many options to choose between. Practice your swing on the 5-hole putting green, whale watch from the decks (June-October is the season), or find your competitive streak in the Games Room – complete with a pool table, shuffle board, and a lounge and television. Invigorate at the gym, or relax at the spa where you’ll emerge without a care in the world. Then take a drive down to the beach, accessible via a 4-wheel drive vehicle, with one of the rangers available to escort you at any time you wish.
Once at the beach you can enjoy a private lunch from the resort’s viewing platform, go fishing or take in a long walk along the dunes filled with the feeling of solitude and the sound of silence. Everywhere you look sand dunes stretch from the edge of the bush towards the sea, and each step you take seems to fall out from under your feet as you descend towards the shoreline.
This is a place that leaves you are utterly and wonderfully alone with your thoughts, free to reflect on the experience of Africa with the Indian Ocean gracing your feet and the sound of the waves in your ears. Walking at the water’s edge you’ll see a curiosity of seashells strewn out before you, and – if you’re lucky like I was – the absolute magic of wild oysters might be there for the taking!
Our ranger, visibly impressed with our find, told us with a glint in his eye how he used to walk this beach with his grandfather in search of oysters decades before. When we returned to the lodge the chef was only too happy to prepare them, serving them to us at dinner on a plate of crushed ice and fresh lemon wedges. They were some of the tastiest oysters I have ever had, complete with a champagne toast, and even the discovery of a pearl in one of the shells!
From our candlelit table I could still hear the crashing of the waves, and I knew that just beyond the balcony lie more of nature’s wonders. The cozy sounds of a crackling fire was complemented by the happy clatter of dinner conversation. It had been a day full of discovery – one I would remember forever – and as dusk fell and the stars presented themselves, I could only imagine what tomorrow would bring next.