“The red hot pokers have bloomed” – Louis Wolmarans (uttered every year, over and over, like a chant).
Louis, long time surfing guru on the KZN South Coast, is amping for the waves each year. When the aloes bloom in their red splendour each year, it marks the beginning of the surfing season. And the sardine run 2016 too! An odd combination of events considering their mutual denominator – sharks!
The hills through the Transkei and surrounds are covered red with the flower of the aloe. Temperatures have dropped. And the swells have been coming through huge! Few surfers made it out at the big waves spots, and it looks like more to follow as cold fronts line up across the Atlantic, marching methodically and with purpose.
But big swells and sardines do go together. The ocean in its wild eastern seaboard state, confuses the little fish as they make their way north. Often the sardines beach in the wildest conditions.
But the ocean is still very warm, and even though confirmed reports of sardines have been made deeper into the Transkei – we still have a while to go.
In a month or so, things should be really humming!
In the meantime, enjoy this spectacular underwater video clip of a bunch of gannets, completely at home underwater, swimming from aisle to aisle as they load up in the gannet supermarket, 5 metres down. They are competing with common dolphin – beautiful with their contrasting colours, and of course sharks.
If this kind of thing gets you going, hop on over to offshoreportstjohns.com or divingwithsharks.co.za and login with Rob or Debbie for some up close and personal sardine action. They do specialised sardine run diving trips and ocean safari style outings, right from where all the action is – Port St. Johns.
Crocworld Conservation Centre spreads the love with free entrance for Moms this Mother’s Day
Crocworld Mothers Day Free Entry
With May 8th just around the corner, many of us are looking for the perfect Mother’s Day outing. A family-oriented attraction with something for guests of all ages, Crocworld Conservation Centre is a fantastic choice – especially as the park is getting into the spirit of the holiday by offering free entrance to all moms on the day.
The park is home to an incredible variety of birds and reptiles, ranging from the impressive Nile Crocodile to the majestic African Fish Eagle. Interactive displays including a hands-on snake demonstration and twice-daily crocodile feeding sessions keep even the most energetic kids entertained, while adults will relish the opportunity to allow their kids to explore in perfect safety. Visitors on Mother’s Day will be amongst the first to meet the Centre’s newest additions, including a pair of breathtakingly beautiful Knysna Turacos and a juvenile Southern African Python.
Guests will also enjoy meeting some of the park’s older residents, including charismatic stars like Henry – who at 115 years old is the oldest known Nile crocodile in captivity. As well as visiting the four crocodilian species housed in the Centre’s outdoor pools, guests can marvel over venomous and non-venomous snakes in the walk-through snake house. The outdoor aviaries are equally impressive, providing a home for more than 35 bird species including the rare Blue Crane, the Pink-Backed Pelican, and Stallone and Norris the Marabou Storks.
There’s more to Crocworld Conservation Centre than its fascinating animal displays, however. Children will love adventuring around the park’s extensive grounds, leaving Mom and Dad to enjoy a few moments of well-earned peace. After petting the domestic animals in the centre’s farmyard and wearing themselves out on the children’s playground, the whole family can retire to scenic on-site restaurant Le Rendez-Vous for lunch. On Mother’s Day, the restaurant will be offering a free glass of red or white wine for all moms to enjoy with their main meal.
After a leisurely lunch overlooking spectacular ocean views, kids can do their last minute Mother’s Day shopping in the park gift shop, where they’ll find a wide range of jewellery, books, clothing and souvenirs. Although on-site Izinyoni Indigenous Nursery is closed on Sundays, vouchers for the centre provide another wonderful gift idea for green-fingered moms. The nursery is located on the grounds of Crocworld Conservation Centre and is open to the public from Monday to Saturday from 08h00 until 13h00.
Crocworld Conservation Centre General Manager Martin Rodrigues is excited to welcome moms and their families to the park for the special day, and invites “all mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers to make the most of free entrance into the park on Mother’s Day”. He also encourages families that enjoy their day at the Centre to consider making the most of the park’s incredible Annual Family Membership deal. For just R625, families of four can enjoy free entrance to the park all year round.
On Mother’s Day, tickets for the rest of the family are priced at R70 per adult, and R45 for kids aged between four and 12. Children under four go free, whilst grandparents get a discounted pensioner’s rate of R50 per person. For more information about the Mother’s Day special, please contact Crocworld Conservation Centre on (039) 976 1103/ (083) 654 9651 or e-mail crocworld@cbl.co.za.
For more information about Crocworld Conservation Centre, visit www.crocworld.co.za, @CrocworldCC on Twitter and Crocworld Conservation Centre on Facebook. To find out more about Izinyoni Indigenous Nursery visit www.izinyoni-nursery.co.za
