Music for the heart and soul -- magnetic melodies and power lyrics driven by gritty sweet guitar hooks -- this is 21st century songwriting of note. Singer /songwriter Wendy New has hit the local and international music scene with a sound all her own. Born in South Africa, Wendy New was resident in New York City for many years. She has been playing guitar and writing songs since she was 8 years old.

She has appeared at music venues all over the world and has been a regular feature at music festivals. She has collaborated with New York duo 310 and has had songs of hers feature on film and TV soundtracks. She has released her album Dissolve in the Sun and has returned to her hometown Johannesburg where she continues to play and write and sing and dance and so on. Her songs are a unique synthesis of pop, African/world, blues and folk/rock genres -- lyric images span the globe with unforgettable melodies and kickarse grooves.

Her CD Dissolve in the Sun, is a culmination of her music and songwriting talents. Wendy New is not to be missed for an original sound and performance experience. http://www.wendynew.com/

Rock Monitor facts

Description

The rock monitor (Varanus albigularis), also called the legavaan or white-throated monitor, is a species of monitor lizard found in southern Africa. It is the second longest lizard found on the continent of Africa and the heaviest bodied.

Features

Monitors can grow to reach 2 metres in length, with the tail and body being of equal size. The head and neck are the same length and are distinct from each other. Their bulbous, convex snouts give an angular, box-like appearance. Their forked tongues are pink or bluish and their scales are usually a mottled gray-brown with yellowish or white markings.

Status

Though widespread, the Rock Monitor is a protected species.

Distribution

This monitor ranges throughout the following countries: Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire). It is found in a variety of dry habitats, including steppes, prairies and savannahs but is absent from desert interiors, rainforests and thick scrub forests.

Habitat

Monitors are found in arid, semi-desert regions, savannah, rocky grassland, open bush and forest country. They make their lairs in a tunnel, a hole in a tree or a rock crack. Rock monitors feed on insects, millipedes, small mammals and reptiles, birds and eggs. They hibernate in winter.

Characteristics

• An enduring reptile, the Rock Monitor covers great distances in search of food.
• When cornered, it may bite and lash its tail but is not poisonous.
• The stout body, the bulbous nose and the dark streak from eye to shoulder make it distinguishable from its larger relative -- the Nile Monitor.

http://www.esafaris.co.za/reptiles/rock_monitor.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varanus_albigularis

Here kitty kitty…

Having scrolled through hundreds of pics ranging from our resident warthog family hogging the crib

to the backsides of baboons,

some lovely spiky guests

and bashful bushbuck,

we suddenly came across the pictures we have waited almost 20 years for. LEOPARD. A magnificent, perfectly poised lady, dressed to kill in fur coat and all, came in for a drink before her night on the hunt.

What’s that sound….prrrrrrrr

Lying awake in the middle of the night listening to the sound of a leopard rasping is an incredible experience. For years Peter and I have listened to the calls and sometimes we jump up and shine our torches outside in the hope of a glimpse of this mysterious cat but we’ve had no luck.

“Lady, three white leopards sat under a juniper tree / In the cool of the day.” ~ T.S. Eliot (September 26, 1888 – January 04, 1965)

We have seen her markings along our path between us and the farmhouse and Finn is no longer allowed to walk alone. I am even hesitant and prefer the dogs with me but still one holds an excited anticipation to see the beast, only not up close and personal. It is an honour that she has graced us with her company and although we have not yet seen her with our own eyes, we can feel her presence and the connection is tangible.

Leopard facts

Description

The leopard, Panthera pardus, is the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its range of distribution has decreased radically because of hunting and loss of habitat. It is now chiefly found in sub-Saharan Africa with the Soutpansberg having one of the highest populations.

Status

The leopard is endangered in Asia and parts of Africa and threatened south of and including, Gabon, Congo, Zaire, Uganda and Kenya. It is listed as a "Near Threatened" species on the IUCN Red List

Size

Leopards have relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. They are similar in appearance to the jaguar, but are smaller and more slightly built. Their fur is marked with rosettes.

Hunters

The species' success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometres per hour, its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal that it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains.

Leopards are known for their ability in climbing and have been observed resting on tree branches during the day, dragging their kills up trees and hanging them there and descending from trees headfirst. They are powerful swimmers, although not as strong as some other big cats, such as the tiger. They are very agile, and can run at over 58 kilometres per hour, leap over 6 metres horizontally, and jump up to 3 metres vertically. They produce a number of vocalizations, including grunts, roars, growls, meows and "sawing" sounds.

Diet

Leopards feed on a greater diversity of prey than other members of the Panthera species and will eat anything from dung beetles to 900 kg male elands. Their diet consists mostly of ungulates and monkeys but they also eat rodents, reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds (like Guineafowl), fish and sometimes smaller predators (such as bat-eared foxes, martens and jackals). In at least one instance, a leopard has predated a sub-adult nile crocodile that was crossing over land. They stalk their prey silently, pounce on it at the last minute and strangle its throat with a quick bite.

Reproduction and life cycle

Depending on the region, leopards may mate all year round. Gestation lasts for 90 to 105 days. Cubs are usually born in a litter of 2–4 cubs. Mortality of cubs is estimated at 41–50% during the first year. Females give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree, or thicket to make a den. The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. They are more grey in color with less defined spots. At around three months of age, the young begin to follow the mother on hunts. At one year, young leopards can mostly fend for themselves but remain with the mother for 18–24 months. Leopards have been reported to reach 21 years of age in captivity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard

Angela made a magnificent bride and Greg a most handsome groom. Held under the Wedding Tree, our staff, led by Percy (with his incredible voice), from Madi a Thavha, sang as the bridal couple arrived in the game vehicle.

Angela’s brothers flew out from Ireland and brought with them Irish traditions such as the ‘tying of the knot’.

‘During the ritual the couple hold hands, right hand in right hand, and left hand in left with their wrists crossed. Ribbon or cord is then wrapped around the wrists in a figure eight to represent infinity. This is most probably where the saying “‘tying the knot” originated from.’

After the ceremony, the guests feasted and danced through the night with many staying on for a few days to enjoy Leshiba. We wish Greg and Angela a lifetime of happiness, abundance and love.

Travel took time and thus journeys were opportunities to meet people, to communicate, to be contemplative, creative. A suit of clothes would take time to tailor. Training for races took place on natures tracks and the runners, with their simple attire and leather-laced boots, ran with passion and with a love for a sport, which although competitive, had at its foundation – purity.

I have romanticised a time, a European time that had wartime at its heels but despite this, a time of grace.

We have made the world go faster. It’s a truth to say ‘time flies’. We can be anywhere in the world in a matter of hours, we have instant communication; we have immeasurable knowledge and access to information. We have crawled over this planet and settled in vast numbers over great tracts of land and mass produced, mass supplied, mass destroyed, mass created.

We berate ourselves when we sit still for too long – always somewhere to be, something to do. Nothing happens fast enough for us. A million complaints about service delivery, traffic delays, rushing from one place to the next, answering hundreds of e-mails, a frenzy of life and activity.

What is the grace of our time?

With all the madness that we have generated, how do we seek an abundant way of life?

To feel connected. To have our needs met. To appreciate what we have. To protect what we love. To cherish where we live. To know simple pleasures. To see the beauty in a field of cosmos on the side of the road; imagine pictures in the clouds and notice rays of sunshine fanning through.

To eat well, talk well, sleep well. To simply allow ourselves the time to complete a task with dedication to detail and not deadline. To love what we do.

Abundance is the sum of things we each hold dear.

Grace for us is an abundant way of life.

See it. Feel it. Embrace it. Appreciate it. Life is ok fast if we slow down long enough to love living it.

To this end I take my leave, dear reader. With my Nikes abandoned by the door, I place my feet one step in front of the other, the earth beneath my soles and choose a steady pace to take me along the winding track of today and into tomorrow.

‘The eensy weensy spider…’

Baboon spiders or tarantulas, as they are known outside Africa, are the giants of the spider world. The last two leg segments resemble the finger of a baboon hence, the common name, baboon spiders. These harmless giants are often negatively portrayed as villainous monsters especially in the movie industry. Southern Africa has a rich fauna of baboon spiders, represented by seven genera and 42 species. They belong to the family Theraphosidae.

Description

Baboon spiders are large, with a body size varying from 13-90 mm. They are very hairy and their colour varies between hues of brown, grey, yellow to black. Baboon spiders are ground living animals and construct silk-lined burrows under stones and rocks. They are found in a variety of habitats such as dry acacia scrubland, grassland or savanna woodland. They are predominantly nocturnal sit-and-wait hunters and most species await the approach of prey within the entrance of their burrows. The silk threads warn the spider of approaching prey. Prey is usually captured at or near the retreat entrance.

The hunter and the prey

They hide in their burrows during the day and the entrances are frequently silked over during daylight hours by a thin, transparent cover. Prey are ambushed and dragged into the burrow. Baboon spiders use different mechanisms to defend themselves against their enemies. They use their ability to produce venom and with their large fangs they are able to deliver a nasty bite. When alarmed, baboon spiders will throw their front legs backwards and open their chelicerae. Some are able to produce a hissing sound similar to snakes, when setae on the chelicerae and palp are rubbed together.

To fear or not to fear

Theraphosids are harmless to man although the bite is painful and mildly neurotoxic. If bitten, one will experience an intense burning pain in the region of the bite where two red blood spots will develop from the fang punctures. There will be no evidence of discolouration and swelling. Depending on the species, the pain will subside after 2-18 hours. There might be symptoms of shock. The only treatment required would be a painkiller and antihistamine. However, Harpactirella lightfooti is thought to be harmful to man although there is no evidence of this.

Leave and let live

Due to the slow maturity rate and high mortality of immatures, the collecting of baboon spiders is strongly discouraged, as this has led to the decimation of populations. These spiders do not make ideal pets as they are inactive during the day and move around very little even at night. Once the novelty of scaring ones friends has worn off, most spiders in captivity eventually die of dehydration, stress from handling and sheer neglect.

Owing to the demand for baboon spiders as pets, they are classified as Commercially Threatened. Therefore they may not be collected, transported or kept without a permit.

Sources:

http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2002/november/baboon.htm

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Africa/South_Africa/photo27.htm

Not an ordinary life

We are still working on a routine, January has been a bit upside down but the classroom is set up and we have begun with the CLONARD system and our own ideas of an all round education; identifying spoor, making plaster of paris casts of the tracks, fixing injured horses, going on Rock art walks and fishing for baboon spiders…

Fishing for spiders

January 25th, mid morning, Peter and Finn set out with their apparatus. String, camera, tripod, bait and high spirits – Pete perhaps more so than Finn, who wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He has been watching BBC’s Human Planet where some children in the rainforest go off to catch dinner plate size tarantulas for lunch. Fascinated with nature and keen to follow Pete anywhere, Finn is not necessarily one for picking up and handling creepy crawlies and certainly not one for eating them!

Bravery and getting the shot

In order to get everything on camera, Pete realised that he would have to take the pictures by holding the camera and that the tripod would not work. This meant that Finn would have to do the fishing and would therefore have to get up close and personal with one of Africa’s most intimidating creatures – the BABOON SPIDER. 

Patience is the name of the game

Slowly dangling the string with some bait and tickling the entrance to the silk-lined burrow, the waiting game began. Sorely tempted to retreat at the first sign of the spider darting out to claim his prey, Finn managed to find his nerves of steel, keep his position and draw the spider out 3 times, allowing Pete to get the shots.

Not quite ABC

Not exactly ABC, unless you count ‘b’ for baboon (spider), brave and bold but a great life experience. After all, we need to learn about and understand all the little creatures that make up the amazing diversity we are surrounded with on this most magnificent earth.

Interesting & Amazing Information on Monkeys

• Monkeys never catch cold.
• Yawning of a monkey means that either he is tired or he is mad at something.
• Monkeys never eat a banana as it is; rather they peel it first and throw away the peel.
• Monkeys live in groups, known as troops, and travel together to find food.
• Monkeys can breed at any time of the year.
• Monkeys use vocalizations, facial expressions and body movements to communicate.
• Grinning or pulling the lip is a sign of aggression in monkeys, along with head bobbing and jerking the head and shoulders forward.
• Monkeys express affection and make peace with others by grooming each other.

source: http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-monkey-1600.html

Description

The Vervet Monkey, which is sometimes known as the green monkey, is a medium sized primate that is actually a member of the Old World monkeys. The Old World monkeys make up six different species and the Vervet Monkey makes up the whole genus Chloroecbus.

Diet

Vervets eat leaves, young shoots, bark, flowers, fruit, bulbs, roots and grass seeds. Their mainly vegetarian diet is supplemented with insects, grubs, eggs, baby birds and sometimes rodents and hares. Vervets rarely drink water.

Predators

They have a number of predators including leopards, servals, baboons, caracals, crocodiles, pythons and large eagles.

Life Span

Vervet monkeys commonly live in groups or "troops" of 20 or more. Its gestation period is 7 months with a single offspring produced. The Vervet Monkey is known to have a life span of up to 20 years.

Jenny returns to Leshiba…

Jenny Schneider, an artist and a friend, came up from Johannesburg to spend 3 weeks at Leshiba, helping to design and create the stone work patterns in the floors of the new buildings. The pictures tell the story…

We are often asked what makes Leshiba different from the 28 000 other lodges in South Africa and I have always given the same answers. We are nestled on top of one of the most beautiful mountains in South Africa, we have an authentic African Venda Village Lodge, you have the opportunity to walk unguided amongst a range of wildlife from giraffe and leopard to pangolins and porcupines, we have over 330 tree species… I can go on and on but I know that many lodges are set in beautiful surroundings and tempt you with amazing game experiences.

Whilst pondering how to encourage people to come and see what we have to offer, I recently had an ‘Ah Ha!’ moment as I realised that the description above does not cover one of the most important features of Leshiba.

Without any question we do have something that makes us completely unique. It is the people at Leshiba that make us who we are and no one stands out more than John Rosmarin – the owner of Leshiba.

J – JUBILANT

O – OPTIMISTIC

H – HARD WORKING

N – NOVEL

and if there was a ‘P’ and an ‘E’ in his name, I would add Passionate and Enthusiastic!

John is the eternal optimist that we all aspire to be. He is a visionary and a determined , sometimes bull-headed, forward-thinking idealist who makes things happen. Where we are the cart that carries the load, John is the person ho steers us. He is Leshiba’s unique selling point. Passionate about his family, the bush, the local community, and the country and continent as a whole, John practices sustainability and the preservation of our shared heritage as a way of life, not a marketing campaign.

The Venda Village was his dream and he made it happen. Where others would have raised the dilapidated buildings to the ground and built afresh, John saw the potential in the traditional character embedded in the broken walls and so began the journey of Leshiba, where we have tried to stay true to the roots of the land and its people.

When challenges arise, as they do in these economic times, and we feel like we can’t keep going, John will decide that what we need is to think harder, plan better and keep going. There is no one who holds the passion for Leshiba like he does and the belief that not only will it be successful but that what Leshiba offers is something so special that it must be shared with everyone. And invariably when our guests visit they agree with him!

What Leshiba offers is not just bed nights with luxury linens and private plunge pools, as lovely as those are. Leshiba offers you a place with a soul, a heritage and a vision. John will tell you about the incredible artists and artisans that helped create his dream. He will encourage you to visit them and tell you stories of the surrounding area and the communities that need development, support and training in order to achieve their vision for the future.

Where some are getting on planes and leaving the country of their birth behind, John is ploughing the fields of the unknown, working to grow a new crop of thinkers and giving them the skills to make a difference.

When Eskom was laying new lines, long before the electricity crises, John, embracing innovation and new ideas, was putting up solar panels and with the fuel crises ever present, solar pumps and water heaters. Today we are 95% self-sufficient at Leshiba.

With people locking themselves behind stronger barricades and fearing the unknown, John has committed himself to knocking down barriers wherever he can, welcoming communication between communities and fighting for the creation of a sustainable future for the entire area, not just Leshiba. When we first moved to Leshiba we met all the Venda wood carvers and besides investing in beautiful works of art, John envisioned the passing on of indigenous knowledge and the Indigenous Knowledge Centre at Leshiba was realised. Here, the Venda artists have trained students from the local area as well as collaborated with international artists to keep their art alive and to pass it on to younger generations. Pushing hard to realise the dream of preserving the biodiversity of The Limpopo, John rallied for the formation of a Biosphere Reserve, which has since been established and which he chairs.

Now, if you had to ask me why you should come to Leshiba, I will tell you it is to see this vision in practice. To be inspired by what one man (and a very dedicated team!) can do and what an impact it can make on your very being, to be part of this positive energy. To be inspired by optimism. To be healed of patterns of negativity. To look to the future with a smile on your face, aiming high and honouring the world we live in. To become a fellow optimist. Hmmm….