Category: this is south africa

Table Mountain National Park actually very safe because of the work done by Table Mountain National Park, says Table Mountain National Park.

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There have been concerns about crime “on the Mountain” – and all over Table Mountain National Park – for several years now. The proximity of the park to Cape Town (it’s basically in it and all around it), and Cape Town and South Africa being what they are, well… it was always going to be a problem.

And there are a number of measures that you can take to be safer out there: Walk in groups, not on your own. Avoid crime hotspots. Tell people where you’re going and when you’ll be back. Don’t flash your valuables. etc etc etc.

All good until you are victim.

But apparently, things aren’t as bad as the media are making out. Who could have guessed?

South African National Parks (SANParks) has taken note of reports suggesting that there are growing concerns of crime in Table Mountain National Park (TMNP). Considering official statistics and visitor numbers, such expressions are speculative and may cause unnecessary alarm which undermines worthy and successful efforts. Over the last year, the official crime statistics have drastically decreased from 16 and 32 respectively in October and November 2023 to 6 in July 2024 and 3 in August 2024.

Which seems like good news, but then this report came out on the same day:

Hikers and runners are being cautioned to be extra vigilant after a couple was allegedly brutally attacked on Slangkop mountain above Kommetjie on Thursday 5 September.
In a statement on social media, Friends of Table Mountain commented that it was unfortunate to report on the attack, which allegedly left one of the victims with potentially life-threatening injuries.

And I do wonder what constitutes a crime statistic, since our niece’s car was broken into on TMNP property in August. Does that get counted? It’s seems almost impossible to think that was one third of all the crime across 221 square kilometres of National Park in a whole month.

And there’s a telling off for the media outlets as well in the TMNP post:

These are objective and verifiable statistics. As such, SANParks vehemently discourages the use of unverifiable and subjective statistics. Whilst we encourage engagement by all parties with data and information that can assist us in the management of TMNP, we have never received credible information suggesting that currently deployed approaches are incorrect. Using speculative and unverifiable statistics, which are not supported by verifiable evidence and science, could lead to reckless and indefensible decision-making, which SANParks cannot afford.

I’m a big fan of supporting stuff with verifiable evidence and science.
So: well done, TMNP.

However, I’m also a big fan of independent agencies reporting crime statistics. Not the guys who are running the security effort, or the guys who need the visitors to not be put off coming to their National Park by some off-putting crime statistics.

And thus I’m really not sure who to believe here.

Take care out there.

Animal Olympics

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I was at the Waterfront this morning, ostensibly taking my daughter to meet up with a friend, but actually, to secretly watch the Synchronised Sealing.

And they didn’t disappoint:

Wow, check out the Artistic Impression.

Ooh, look at the Technical Merit.

From there, it was a quick race home to change (not me), and then over to riding for an informal gymkhana. And I can’t help but think that Paris 2024 missed a trick by not including the egg-and-spoon or three-legged horse leading [yeah, that doesn’t sound great, but all limbs remained intact, I promise] alongside the dressage and show jumping in Versailles. Something for LA 2028 to consider.

I got several hundred photos there too, but I simply don’t have the time or energy to edit them right now.

Tomorrow is another day.

Hostages release hostage

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I’m not saying that you should click through to the website from which I took this screenshot. In fact, I’m very much suggesting that you don’t do that, because it’s really not a very nice place.

But it does deliver on the headlines from time to time. And this is one of those times.

Kidnapping is never a nice thing, and can have terrible effects. But I’d never heard of hostages turning into kidnappers. That’s like Stockholm Syndrome gone mad.

Well, yes, I guess I am sort of coming around to your way of thinking.
And I’m going to demonstrate that by kidnapping someone as well.

When does it end? Hostages taking hostages taking hostages taking hostages?

Pretty soon, the police are only going to have to search the biggest buildings in town because there’s simply not room for all of the hostage’s hostage’s hostages to be hidden anywhere else.

Just another example of an incompetent reporter putting “getting the story out” over “the correct use of basic English”.

It’s been an interesting day

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Not feeling 100%, despite last night’s early slumbers and no proper symptoms of anything. Hot flushes, TATT, bit breathless from time to time, slightly sniffly. But nothing really nasty. Just a bit… off.

Still, real life must go on, and we had that Home Affairs appointment this morning. It went well: all done within about an hour, which is a remarkable turnaround time for that notorious government department. But it wasn’t really “smooth”. More like some sort of somewhat organised chaos. Still, this was a much better result than we had expected, so much applause for that.

And then, trying to take it easy. A bit of shopping because we had nothing to eat in the house. A bit of carwashing before the Cape Agulhas Municipality come looking for whoever stole what can only be described as “really quite a lot” of their dirt roads. Some wailing and gnashing of teeth as two of the people on my Youtube subscriptions list (it’s off to the right there) were gifted a quarter of a million Rands worth of camera (each) and a phat budget (each) to go to Sweden and the Faroe Islands respectively to test it out.

Seriously?

Yes.

I mean, I say a quarter of a million Rands: that’s obviously only if you could find stock of it anywhere in the world.

As corporate gifts go… Mmm.. Not bad.

And finally in this rather disjointed post: updated Google Streetview locations for 80 countries are on their way, which will mean updated Geoguessr locations for those 80 countries in the very near future.

And – possibly more relevant – four new Google Streetview countries, which will add to the Geoguessr challenge: Bosnia and Herzegovina (how will you distinguish it from Montenegro?), Namibia (Botswana/Northern Cape vibes?), Liechtenstein (this will look a lot like Switzerland, I think), and Paraguay (I have no idea, but I’m rubbish on South America anyway).

Rubber bale

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We’ve seen a few of these rubber bales along the coast here over the last 10 years, but never really knew what they were or where they came from. And then I did some research.

I walked past this one again today…

…and I was reminded that I was going to do a blog post about it at some point.

Seems like now might be that point.

These are likely to be part of the cargo of the SS Helmspey, which was sunk by a German U-boat off Cape St Francis in February 1943. Apparently, the rubber bales were part of its cargo being taken from Asia (specifically Ceylon – now Sri Lanka) back to Great Britain to assist in the war effort.

The Agulhas current would have done a lot of the hard work of moving the bales from the site of the attack down towards Agulhas, and the huge storm of September last year would have shifted a lot more stuff ashore. The one above is now a good 15m up from the high tide mark after the storm surge from that storm.

From Facebook:

It’s amazing how you can find some beautifully kept artefacts along our shores….

We also found some more of these incredibly old rubber bales in large clumps! These were in the cargo hold of the “Helmsley”, a British freighter, which was steaming from Colombo to the UK. It was torpedoed by the German Submarine U-516 on the 11th February 1943 off the coast of Cape St Francis. The wreck was possibly disturbed in the violent storms that we had on the weekend of the 23rd September 2023.

Apparently onboard there was:
– 2772 tons of tea,
– 2000 tons of manganese ore
– 1457 tons of rubber, and
– 464 tons of general cargo

And that does fit with this description. And also with this eyewitness account of a sailor onboard the vessel when it was hit:

On leaving East London South Africa, after taking on oil bunkers she was found too slow for coastal convoys and was independently routed to Cape town for inclusion in a slower U.K. bound convoy.

At the time of the sinking I was asleep in my cabin on the starboard side just abaft of the no. 2 cargo hold when the first torpedo struck on the port side of that hold. It is hard to believe now but I slept through that explosion and it was necessary for an able seaman running to his boat station to shake me awake through an open porthole, youth is a marvelous thing!

And – apparently – it could all have been so different:

In retrospect it is my considered opinion that this vessel should not have been lost. Being as we were so close to the coast I feel sure that if we had kept way on the ship and turned to starboard we would have avoided the second torpedo and run aground. Of course it’s so easy to surmise these things afterwards but a totally different situation at the time.

Either way, I know of three of these bales around Suiderstrand, and it’s quite cool to be able to put the pieces of a jigsaw together and link it in to some real, living history.