Ecotraveller SA

30/08/2024

The Richtersveld biodiversity is extraordinary - watch Leon Kluge’s video to understand why.


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30/08/2024

This summer we visited Greece. It was scorching! The sea was bath water warm.. Mediterranean Sea temperatures once again hit record levels. Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world with temperatures rising faster than the global average. Summer in Greece in August hit daily temps of 38 and wildfires raged outside Athens. Greece with its mosaic of islands is more vulnerable to climate change and the related loss of biodiversity. How do these vulnerable areas protect themselves from radical global warming?

26/08/2024

Incredible rhino conservation project

21/08/2024

Counting the Southern Right whales on the southern Cape coast during breeding season

The last 7 years of aerial counts of southern right whales by the Whale Unit. The blue bars are the surveys I've flown between Hermanus and Witsand.

21/08/2024

🐇 ~ a handsome hare caught on Cape Leopard Trust camera trap in the Overberg…
𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 that the most profound difference between hares and rabbits can be seen when they are born? Baby rabbits, called kits or bunnies, are born hairless and blind, totally dependent on their mothers. Baby hares, called leverets, are born with fur and sight, and they can move on their own within an hour of their birth. Once grown up, rabbits are generally smaller and have shorter ears than hares. Rabbits prefer to hide, rather than run, from their enemies and they prefer habitats with lots of hiding spots, like rock crevices or burrows dug into the soil. Hares on the other hand are runners, preferring open-area habitats, where they make their nests in small open depressions.

28/06/2024

This is what our coasts look like when they are mined. No amount of “rehabilitation “ can restore this destruction

18/06/2024

Winter hikes and swims in Bain’s Kloof

09/06/2024

Beautiful to see an otter playing in the sand on Kommetjie Beach yesterday

23/05/2024

Wow! South Africa took the awards at The Chelsea Flower Show! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/pD4s2ECNjgnRLZ1G/?

Team South Africa has won its 38th Gold Medal at the RHS - Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show as well as “Best Exhibit in the Pavilion” and the “Best New Design” award, and we couldn't be more proud.

The exhibit was made possible through the dedicated work of landscape designer Leon Kluge and artist Tristan Woudberg, with vital support from our own Michael Lutzeyer and contributions from Grootbos and other private sector partners. Grootbos Florilegium artist Chris Lochner and Bulelani Bashe from our Green Futures nursery team were also on hand to assist with the building of the exhibit.

The showcase inspired by the floral beauty of the Cape Fynbos, featured some of the biome's rarest and most charismatic plants, captivating the judges and earning perfect scores.

At Grootbos, celebrating our natural heritage is at the core of our mission. Having this talented team showcase it so perfectly to the world fills us with immense pride.

15/05/2024

Unlike many of Europe and Asia’s popular beaches, much of the Seychelles coastline is still quite wild and relatively undeveloped . Backed by thick jungle, endless palm trees, and granite boulders, the beaches are without swarms of tourists and loungers crowding out the views. Hopefully Seychelles will protect its coast from over development, prevent overtourism and overfishing, to protect it.

07/05/2024

Anse Georgette,Praslin Seychelles- the island still unspoilt with beautiful indigenous forests and pristine beaches. Environmental challenges include: climate change, plastic pollution, overfishing by legal and illegal trawlers especially tuna boats.
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18/04/2024

Demand for donkey hides by the Chinese market is responsible for the slaughter of thousands of animals.

A visual explanation of China's rising appetite for donkey-hide-based “e-jiao” products and how it is affecting donkey trade and populations worldwide.

11/03/2024

Far from the crowds! Climbing the Compassberg and exploring Karoo farms outside Graaff Reinet

21/02/2024

In February 2024, at the African Union Summit, a ban on the donkey skin trade was declared.
This trade has affected donkey populations globally, impacting rural communities that depend on them for the transport of goods.

Donkeys, often illegally taken for slaughter, are vital to these communities, and their loss disrupts daily life and economic stability.

Research suggests that illegal wildlife products are often hidden within donkey skin shipments 🔗 https://loom.ly/W27-idI
The enforcement of this ban could help stop wildlife traffickers who exploit this method in their tracks.

📣 BREAKING: Historic moment as African Union leaders agree to ban the donkey skin trade! 🙏🌍🎉

20/02/2024

Live animal transport to the Middle East should be banned.

Social media users on the X platform responded to the City’s ‘Good Morning’ message, stating that an awful smell resembling sewage across the CBD, Woodstock, Gardens, Tamboerskloof and possibly more areas:

03/02/2024

Bird of the year 2024 - the Bateleur eagle

Here's a fun fact about BirdLife South Africa's Bird of the Year 2024, The Bateleur Eagle 🦅

Did you know "Bateleur' is French for "street performer". The name was given to the bird because of its' distinctive aerial acrobatics. 🤸

Find fun facts, infographics, colouring-in sheets and more on the BOTY 2024 webpage👉 www.birdlife.org.za/bird-of-the-year-2024/

26/01/2024

Looking out onto the Drakensberg from Pillar Cave on the hike to Rhino Peak.

17/01/2024

16/01/2024

Drakensberg streams in full summer flow - summer 2024

16/01/2024

Don’t touch starfish....❌❌❌
This is a request to all tourists, don’t tuch starfish. REQUEST TO ALL GUIDE Please make your clients aware of this.
What happens when we lift a starfish out of water for an impromptu photo session?
All over the body of starfish are papules called dermal gills. Carbon dioxide gases are exchanged for oxygen between the coelomic liquid of the starfish and the water. Essentially, it’s how they breathe, like having hundreds of tiny noses all over your body.
As fresh air is toxic to starfish and they can’t hold their breath for very long, each time they’re lifted out of the water for a photo op, they are drowning and suffering from a build up of carbon dioxide. It’s the equivalent of someone filling your lungs with water for a little while and then emptying them again. It’s not a good day out. When this is done repeatedly, it’s a flip of the coin as to whether the poor creature can die from drowning or the stress of being semi-drowned so many times.
Wildlife are not our playthings. Just because a creature is slow enough to be caught by human hands, that doesn’t give us the right to do so, and the social media attention gained certainly does not justify the harm caused to the critter.
This is an act we’re all guilty of at some point. What was happening to that animal in the moment didn’t cross our minds. But now we know better, so we must do better.
Shared from Caluya Municipal Tourism Office

13/01/2024

Veld burning and overgrazing destroy this ecosystem and result in muddy water, topsoil washing away and increased flooding. Very evident in areas of SA where the land is degraded.

10/01/2024

Hiking the Drakensberg - overlooking Hidden Valley near the Lesotho border

10/01/2024

Drakensberg cattle cowboy

15/12/2023

Sakatia island sunrise

28/11/2023

We have an incredible marine ecosystem on our coast. Wonderful photos Jean Tresfon - Marine Conservation Photographer

23/11/2023

Horseriding on the beach at Oyster Bay. Kilometres of pristine beach and riding through dune vegetation. Rides can be booked .

22/11/2023

Thinking of visiting the Northern Cape next year? We travelled to Namaqualand for the flowers with Trisport SA and had a fantastic time.

Best flower hiking tours to Namaqualand Northern Cape in Spring

23/10/2023

Satyrium ligulatum - tuberous perennial Satyr orchid growing profusely in the Cape Agulhas area after the recent heavy rains

23/10/2023

Arniston coastline with the Waenhuiskrans Cave in the cliff. So large, in fact, that it is named for its space – the idea being that a wagon and a full span of oxen could turn around inside.

23/08/2023

Visiting Quiver tree forests in Namaqualand with