An amazing game drive this morning at Botlierskop. Well worth the pre-6am wake up.
We saw so much [cheetah kitten!], but getting close – really close – to this lioness was a personal highlight.
Literally so close that I couldn’t even get her whole head in frame from the far side of the truck. My daughter was within a metre of those teeth.
An incredible morning. (And yes, I still have a daughter.)
I recently shared a photo that my son had taken of a dispute on our cottage bird table. But here’s another image of some birds fighting. Bigger birds.
This one was taken (as you can likely see) by Carin Malan, and is posted here with her permission (thanks, Carin). The “little” bird on the left is a Tawny Eagle (wingspan 1-7 – 2.0m!), and a proper big boy, a White-Backed Vulture (2.1-2.3m) is on the right.
What an amazing action shot. The explosive dust really adds to it.
We don’t get either of these birds down in the Western Cape, which is just as well: the bird table would never cope.
The thing with doing Top 40 Music lists (or Top 40 anything lists, really) is that no-one will agree with what you have decided is the best order for things. Tastes vary, and so there will always be something from friendly disagreement through mildly heated banter to all out fighting about what should have made the list, and what should have been number 1.
But this “Top 40 synth-pop songs” article from Classic Pop Magazine pretty much gives us the very best (40) of the genre. Yeah, sure, there might be a little bit of discussion around exact placings, but this is one of the most accurate lists I have come across. Sensible rules too: no cover versions, maximum of three songs per band.
Obviously, the further out you go, potentially the wobblier it gets, but if anyone can disagree with any of the Top 20, well, then they’re just plain wrong. A-ha make it in at 16, and I’d love them to be higher, but just look at the quality in the Top 10:
10: The Human League – Love Action
9: Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence
8: New Order – Blue Monday
7: Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls
6: Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
5: Gary Numan – Cars
4: Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (are made of this)
3: Kraftwerk – The Model
2: The Human League – Don’t You Want Me?
1: New Order – True Faith
It seriously reads like the best playlist you could ever make on Spotify. (And I’ve made a few!)
In a very wide and extremely subjective field, I can’t help but think that these guys have absolutely nailed this one.
I mean, it’s not going to rain all the time, but climatologists are predicting that it will be wetter than an average summer. And that’s no bad thing, given that Cape Town generally gets less than 100mm of rain between November 1st and March 31st each year. So a bit wetter than that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Wandile Sihlobo, Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University describes the forecast as “comforting”:
And with our local dams also at a “comforting” 85.6% full, it’s all looking rather rosy.
Also, if the “comforting” rains could just hold off for the next week or so, I’d be really delighted. Please can someone organise that for us?
Thanks in advance.
We’re heading off today on the road trip that I mentioned a little while back. This will necessitate several (or more) hours of driving along the national road, some of which I know like the back of my hand, some of which I haven’t driven since 2013.
We’re in no hurry: everything is booked and in order, so we can afford a fairly leisurely drive and – almost certainly – a few stops for coffee and padkos on the way.
I’m going to be sharing images when and where I can, probably mostly on Instagram, so click through and give me a follow to live vicariously through me for the next week or so. I predict horses, landscapes, wild animals and deserted beaches.
But what do I know?
See you on the other side.