A new angle of Riverlodge. Check it out as this is what we are about

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Art exhibition and wine tasting

Find more videos like this on The Backpackers guide to the Galaxy

Guide to the Galaxy .............Bacpacking

A new social network for the backpackers and discerning traveler. Post all your experiences, likes and dislikes.
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Mr Cock checking inn for breakfast

Amazing pics of the Fifa 2010 Stadium

They are just amazing pics

Cape Town Fifa Stadium and Dolphins

Double bonus a view of the stadium whilst out viewing whales and dolphins.


Roofing of the 2010 Fifa world cup stadium Cape Town

General Meeting

supporters from the Eco Village coming together for drinks and snacks while discussing over certain disputes.

Final Checks !

Ian finishing off final adjustments to ship his Landy back to the UK.

Mid day nap!

Our secretory sleeping on the job! Too cute

Leopard Toad

Another one of our local friends hoped in to check things out.

Jiri and Gorge

Chilling out in one of the famous Kalk Bay restaurant Polana.

Latest Guests

We have had some folk from Australia, Germany, UK and various school groups during the past month.

Picture Below: Jiri and Arek in front of the old Whaling Station.



Picture Above: Jiri and Arek early morning drinks after Whale Watching tour in Hermanus.


Picture Above: Ian revisiting us and preparing his Landy here for shipment back to the UK.

Wine Tasting and art exhibition

Saturday afternoon came bright and warm, warm in more than the meaning of the word as many a happy face will testify, warm from the "imbibment" of good wine, great company and no wind.

Inside we had a roaring fire going, blues, to sooth the ear, and for those who wanted more than wine eye catching , wicked art.

If you’re over buses, restrictions and timetables and looking for freedom, adventure and style, then we have found the perfect solution. Think freedom, thinks space, thinks comfort, think peace of mind, think wicked fun ,think Wicked Adventure!
PJ found them at a networking session in Observatory and just loved their wickedness.

Meet Nick, with one of his wicked vehicles when he visited us here at Riverlodge.

Christiaan, who works with us, has a real passion for soccer. He plays in a team participating in a local league and they might just win it this year.
This however is not where he spends all his soccer passion.
Christiaan coaches a young team called Tsamaya. We are very proud to have the first official photograph.

Unfortunately there's no official league for them yet, but they play quite a few friendly games and some smaller tournaments.

We were sad to see our favourite German tourists leaving this week. After almost a year in Africa, they decided it's time to go back home. So we got all their papers ready to ship their yellow 4 x 4 as well as their little dog and off they went on Tuesday.
To Lutz and Maria, we can't wait until your next adventure in Africa.

We didn't have much time to miss our friends, as Ian drove his 4 x 4 into our camping area on Wednesday.

Ian and his trombone has been traveling since January from England, coming down the West Coast, using his trombone to interact with people he's met.
Have a look at his website; www.overlandtrombone.com

Why the European Union is so quiet about this ?

Where is Green Peace, who make so much noise in other countries... .
This happens only in uncivilsed Denmark

DENMARK: WHAT A SHAME, A SAD SCENE. THIS MAIL HAS TO BE CIRCULATED. THERE IS NO WORSE BEAST THAN MAN!!!!
While it may seem incredible, even today this custom continues, in Dantesque, - in the Faroe Islands, ( Denmark ) . A country supposedly 'civilized' and an EU country at that. For many people this attack to life is unknown– a custom to 'show' entering adulthood. It is absolutely atrocious. No one does anything to prevent this barbarism being committed against the Calderon, an intelligent dolphin that is placid and approaches humans out of friendliness.

Make this atrocity known and hopefully stopped.

Mass Strandings in South Africa

After May's mass stranding at Kommetjie (see our previous blog), we have been thinking, is this a regular occurrence? And if so where and when. Luckily we subscribe to some awesome mags, such as Divestyle.
They did all the work on compiling the information, so have a look at this month's (July/August 2009) edition, pages 62 - 66. Or visit their site www.divestyle.co.za

Have you experienced such a beaching? Please tell us all about it.

Cape of Storms

The great news is that the sun has been shining for three glorious days. The storm has washed away all the smog that was hanging over the city and left us with some breathtaking views. Cape Town is sparkling!!

Sparkle is one thing the owners of this poor barge did not do. The Margaret was on her way to Cape Town harbour when the storm hit and unfortunately ended in Jacob's Bay. Luckily no one was hurt.

This sleepy little town on the West Coast now have a barge and a lot of nosy visitors coming to town.

Thanks to PJ for bringing home these lovely pictures showing just how large the Margaret really is...

Enjoy the lovely sunshine, we might just move the office to the front lawn for the day!

Image via Wikipedia

Great white sharks 'akin to serial killers'

Seth Borenstein

WASHINGTON: Great white sharks have some things in common with human serial killers, a study in Cape Town's False Bay has found: they don't attack at random, but stalk specific victims, lurking out of sight.

The sharks hang back and observe from a base that is not too close, not too far, hunt strategically, and learn from previous attempts, according to a study being published online today in the Journal of Zoology.

Researchers used a serial killer profiling method to figure out just how the fearsome ocean predator hunts, something that has been hard to observe under water.

"There's some strategy going on," said co-author Neil Hammerschlag, a shark researcher at the University of Miami. "It's more than sharks lurking at the water waiting to go after them."

Hammerschlag worked with researchers from UCT and other universities in initital research, and observed 340 great white shark attacks off Seal Island in False Bay.

The sharks feeding at Seal Island could simply have hovered where the seals congregated if they were random killers of opportunity, Hammerschlag said. But they weren't.

The sharks had a distinct mode of operation. They were focused. They stalked from a usual base of operations, 90 metres from their victims - close enough to see their prey, but not close enough to be seen and scare off their victims.

They attacked when the light was low. They liked their victims young and alone. They tried to attack when no other sharks were around to compete. They learnt from previous kills. And they attacked from below, unseen.

There's a big difference between great white sharks and serial killers and it comes down to motive. The great whites attack to eat and survive, not for thrills.

And great whites are majestic creatures that should be saved, Hammerschlag says.

"They both have the same objective, which is to find a target or prey or victim," said study co-author D Kim Rossmo, a professor of criminal justice at Texas State University-San Marcos. "They have to lurk. They want to be efficient in their search."

The human criminal has to worry about being caught by police and thus is even more careful, said Rossmo, who was a police officer for more than 21 years in Vancouver, Canada.

R Aidan Martin, a Canadian shark researcher who has since died, was reading a mystery that detailed the fairly new field of geographic profiling, which tries to find criminals by looking for patterns in where they strike.

He connected with Rossmo, a pioneer in that criminal field, and they applied the work of tracking down criminals to shark strategy.

Martin and Hammerschlag watched sharks from sunrise to sunset, applied the "fancy maths" of geographic profiling and came out with plots that showed there was some real stalking going on, Hammerschlag said.

Older sharks did better and were more stealthy than younger, smaller sharks, demonstrating that learning was occurring, he said.

The study focused on just one location, but the same principles are likely to be applied to other shark hunting grounds.

They can't really apply to shark attacks on people because those are so infrequent, Hammerschlag said. But if you could figure out the base of operations for the great whites, it would give you a good idea of places to avoid if you were worried about attacks.

Other animals, such as lions, also reveal strategies in their hunting, Hammerschlag said. Land animals have been observed more easily from the air or elsewhere on the ground.

Cape Times 22 June 2009 2nd Edition

Oude Molen Wetlands Cleanup

Streams and rivers of waste was what you would get when going for a walk at Oude Molen. That was until a few brave souls decided, enough is enough.
Posters were printed, people were involved and soon invitations was sent out to everyone who might have a remote interest in helping.
Tuesday morning a group of volunteers gave up a Public Holiday and arrived with empty refuse bags. Soon kids were running around collecting rubbish, adults were dragging full bags to a collecting point. Some nature conservation officers were overseeing a group clearing a small piece of ground plant indigenous fynbos.

Thank you to everyone who helped, I have made a montage of the day's work. Click on the link and enjoy...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Renovations at Riverlodge

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=8ec8c38f9ab53b61ca36f3&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

We have had quite a few face lifts over the years, the last one was by far the biggest. Have a look at the montage for the unveiling of Riverlodge as she is now.

16 June Oude Molen Wetlands Clean-up

Phew!! Just a few more days to go, until we roll up our sleeves and get cleaning.

James Cooper from City Conservation popped around for a cup of coffee and some great ideas and info this morning.

They are already hard at work preparing. After the clean-up, we will be planting some Fynbos, to help and rehabilitate the wetlands.

So, Tuesday morning, instead of sleeping late, why not help us conserve the Black River Wetlands for our Youth, by cleaning and replanting?

See details below and EVERYONE is welcome!!


Please come and volunteer to pick up rubbish around the Oude Molen Wetland.

Why on earth would you? Maybe...

* you like visiting Oude Molen to enjoy the field, wetland and bird life.

* As a horse rider, you want the horses to graze and move about safely

* You care about a good habitat for the wildfire in the bird sanctuary

Walk as long/short as you like
Bring rubbish bags.
You may want to wear boots and gloves
Buy or bring your own drinks or eats.

"How to care for this wetland ecosystem"
talk by Maya Beukes
City Council Conservation Officer
12:15pm Millstone Farmstall & Cafe

VOTE FOR TABLE MOUNTAIN

The New Seven Wonders of Nature will be determined by votes from the public. Make sure you cast your vote for Table Mountain and the Kalahari. Currently the Kalahari is in first place in the Desert Category and Table Mountain fifth in it's category.
Other contenders in the next phase of the global competition are the Grand Canyon in the United States, Mount Everest in the Himalayas and Loch Ness in Scotland.

One of the greatest things about a backpackers lodge is all the people one gets to meet. A bigger blessing is if they visit again and again.
Therefore, we are as happy as little children on Christmas Day, when we receive postcards from guests turned friends on their travels.

Thanks to Gerry and George for their beautiful postcards, you are making us jealous!