Kariba Flood          - 29/6/2010      <--Prev : Next-->

1) EDITORIAL

National Parks phoned Richard Maasdorp recently rather distressed about the buffalo that are stranded on two different islands near Mana.
Kariba Dam has risen to unprecedented levels due to gravy rains in the catchment area.

The one island opposite Chikwenya has 80 Buffalo on , the other is called something like Nyakasula - it is opposite Ncupi Camp at Mana, that has approx 200 buffalo on it. The animals have young and could not swim back to mainland initially because of the young, but now they are too weak as well.

Parks have seen that some animals are dying now. They are desperate to save the animals. It will be a temporary mission. The gates at Kariba are going to close mid next week we are told. The situation has only just come to Richard's attention and he would be very happy with anyone prepared to help? Students on Varsity vac?

The idea is to get hay delivered to either Karoi, Mana turn off, Mana itself or Chikwenya itself. Parks I am sure have boats that will take the hay across to the islands.

How can you help?
1.If you know where to get hay from write to zambezisociety@gmail.com mailto:zambezisociety@gmail.com
2. If you have a truck and can help transport hay - write to the same email address.
3. If you can help with money and can't help with trucks and hay or time - round up the dollars amongst your mates and contact Richard.
Richard's cellphone number 0912 419 897.


UBUNTU .... AYOBA ... YES WE FELT IT !
South Africa has been an international visitors' paradise for the last two weeks.

Everywhere one looks there is a foreigner, some are obvious in that they are wearing unusual garb like sequined sombreros, brightly coloured ponchos or stetsons.....

Some foreigners look foreign, the Dutch have very significant features as do the French and the Eastern Europeans. Of course their language is a dead give away and the local shop keepers and restauranteurs are having to grapple with a lot of strange requests made in many different foreign dialects.

Happily the language of football draws all countries, races and creeds together as one big excited family, it really has been a great time for Southern Africa.

The Great Vuvuzela Debate has amused us somewhat in that at the two games we attended, the vuvuzela sound was not irritating in the least bit. In fact the sound seems to go upwards into the cold night sky and becomes very distant.
However I am not doing radio or TV commentating so am not really qualified to say. The noise on the telly is quite distracting, but there are worse noises in the world !!

Blame the Mexicans !! They have had their own trumpet for decades now, and what's more what about those brass bands and trumpets employed by many nations in cricket and other sports?
I just wish I had had the forethought to open a flag factory several months ago, goodness me, I would be rich right now. And those wing mirror covers ? Are they a truly South African invention ? I do hope the fellow who first thought of them had a patent on them ???

One man to admire must be the unshaved local world cup hero, a fairly important man in the whole set up. SheHoo Must Sing has formed a warm friendship with him, and full marks to him, he is a good man to have around in a crisis !! The day of the USA v England game, HeeHoo discovered to his utter dismay that his four solid gold tickets to the game, had been left in Bulawayo !! Short of a 20 hour return car trip via the Beitbridge Border post, the only other solution was to use one's contacts .... and so the Man with the biggest headaches in the world cup, worrying about the strikes of the security guards, the players safely, the Rea Viya bus strikes, and all the other multitudinous problems, got a call from a little blond. "
My Daddy has lost his tickets can you help?"
The poor man, he must have needed double blood pressure tablets that day !!

All in a days work ? Thank you Danny Jordaan !!
Our fortnight with our USA visitors culminated in a trip to the airport on the Gautrain, that was such fun. So quick, so friendly, so quiet, so efficient, and opened several weeks before the deadline..... this country certainly deserves recognition in the rest of the world.

May the joie de vivre and goodwill garnered by this extraordinary nation, last long after the games have past. UBUNTU - You certainly have it South Africa -- "the essence of being human"

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