All the colour, action of the rugby

WEEKEND Post chief photographer Mike Holmes took these pics at Saturday’s third test between the Springboks and England at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Heat is on for today’s Chilli Fest

HOT STUFF: Phillipa Zenios and Chris Lambros with the 'Habanero Trophy' awarded to the person who eats the most chillis at PE's annual Chilli Festival which takes place today and tomorrow March 3 and 4 at Walmer West Primary. Today's activities start at 9am and entrance is R10 for adults and R5 for children. There is also a full programme tomorrow. Picture: Mike Holmes

Weekend Post Matric of the Year 2011

THE Weekend Post Matric of the Year competition which is held in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) is now in its 18th year and is therefore just as old as many of our finalists! Here are the pictures taken by Weekend Post photographer MIKE HOLMES at the cocktail finale at the NMMU Conference Centre on Monday night, where Grey High School’s Quintin van Staden was named the overall winner and Somila Fuma, of Hector Petersen High in King William’s Town was named the scholarship winner, an award which goes to a deserving candidate from a previously disadvantaged school.

Get your copy of Weekend Post to find out who all the winners were and also to see the exciting prizes this year’s finalists have received from our generous sponsors.

Transcript of speech made by Prof Vivienne Lawack-Davids

Remote ‘Khoisan Greenacres’ fount of information about lives of the ancients

GAPING PORTAL: The Khoisan cave on Rob le Roux’s farm in the Baviaanskloof is alive with mysteries. Picture: Mike Holmes

By John Harvey

AT first I put it down to physical exertion and my intrinsic resistance to anything of the sort. Pain is the enemy of the debilitated body, and is wont to play devilish tricks with the mind when fatigue sets in.

As such, it was not inconceivable that the image that lay before me was merely a figment of my imagination; a hallucination from the blood, sweat and tears of an hour’s hike in the mid-morning sun.

But as my vision and consciousness returned, I was able to establish that the rock painting indeed was as real as I presumed it to be – a pretty scary prospect considering what it portrayed.

What in the world was a sketch that depicted either a Phoenician hieroglyphic or something “other-worldly” doing in a Khoisan cavern several hundred feet above sea level in the Baviaanskloof?

It went without saying that my wits were out of kilter. The illustration, presumed to be between 400 and 4000 years old, was one of many of more traditional Khoisan paintings that occur beneath the dramatic overhang on Rob le Roux’s farm.

The others were rather more traditional but this one could not be ignored – for the questions rather than answers it provided.

Conspiracy theorist I most certainly am not, except in respect of government and its underworld associations, but being there on the outer limits of our understanding, among the buried remains of this nation’s most indigenous people, the feeling that foreign influence had been felt long before the Europeans’ arrival was one that crept up the spine like a sidewinder through the Namib.

WEIRD AND WONDERFUL: The jury is still out on these Khoisan paintings on Le Roux’s farm. The “Caped Crusader” and the “Phoenician” provide more questions than answers. Picture: Mike Holmes

Alan Fogarty, of Alan Tours in Port Elizabeth, did suggest  the painting could have reflected a chance meeting with the Bantu peoples of whatever time, and I was compelled to agree.

The conical headgear is supremely reminiscent of that culture. At the very least, the painting justifies any future debates on what exactly our ancestors saw and with whom they interacted.

While the “Phoenician” can possibly be explained away by archaeologists, the “Caped Crusader” is a different story, particularly since Le Roux explained similar outlines were to be found throughout the Baviaanskloof. For fear of being committed to the cuckoo’s nest the accompanying photograph will allow readers to draw their own conclusions.

Geologically, the cave is a marvel and presents strong indications of the manner in which the small  community lived.

Le Roux said its positioning made it a fortress of sorts, in that it was well protected from the predators that lurked down below. To this end it is barely accessible on either side and a great deal of effort was required to enter the 40m “mouth”.  We had to squeeze past rock outcrops covered in thick vegetation.

It has also been said that the community may have hunted above the cave and not necessarily on the valley floor, thereby further eliminating  the threat of leopard and wild cat.

Holmes likes to describe the cave as “the Khoisan’s Greenacres” (shopping centre), and while this view may not be finding its way into the history books any time soon, it is rather apt.

The archaeological evidence on display, including middens and the burial ground, reflects a very social group of people who, like us today, enjoyed a good blather around the fire and taking in the  sights.

It was not hard to envision a typical “day at the office” circa 2000BC. Sunrise would stir the women to build the day’s first fires while the children rolled over stubbornly in an attempt to steal a few more minutes of slumber.

On the other side of the cave the men would be readying themselves for the day’s hunt, stretching out their aching muscles and basking  in the rising rays while co-ordinating the attack. All rather domestic, which is what makes the site all the more intriguing.

While you could hardly call the ascent to the cave  a walk in the park, making the pilgrimage will definitely be worth your while.

Isuzu eats slopes and scorpions for breakfast

IT IS in the nature of the man to humour me, but I was not sure I was in any state to be humoured. It was my own fault really, candidly disclosing to Holmes that I had never seen a live scorpion before. As they say, “I should have known better”.

So it was that temerity overcame and he nonchalantly kicked over a rock to expose that which had tempted my foolish curiosity: a miniature beast none too thrilled to have had its afternoon nap disturbed and the very model on which all cinematic bad guys is based.

And that did it. I reeled, swaggered even, immediately recanting my puerile desire to check out anything unusual or “cool”. The scorpion was ablaze with fury and had its sights set on me, no bigger than the toe of my shoe but threatening a fate worse than death (if possible).

But there was a reason I was on edge. We had very nearly gone over one. Or so I believed. For the Explorer photographer, our ascent had been the ultimate corroboration of his faith in our GM-sponsored Isuzu’s prowess on the slopes of the Baviaanskloof, arguably one of the Eastern Cape’s most challenging 4×4 terrains. It was only when my heart rate dropped to that of a stroke that I realised he was right.

The 4×4 trail leading off Rob le Roux’s farm is well-renowned in these parts, and with good reason. It extends some 18km and puts an off-road vehicle through its paces most of the way. Most notably, it is the best way to see the real Baviaanskloof, the one where baboons hold court from morning till night and the hills echo the thoughts of the soul.

Thanks to Le Roux’s efforts, the path is well-maintained and by and large does not present many problems to seasoned adventurers.

To explain: My aforementioned coronary complications comprised two root causes. Firstly, recent rains had bedeviled a mounting section of the track that played Russian roulette with the void below, and secondly, a benevolent gentleman by the name of Katot Meyer had seen fit to remind future travellers that leaving on the hand-brake of a Land Rover does not necessarily guarantee its survival. Schematic diagrams depicting his vehicle’s 300m drop in 2009 are entertaining, but much in the same way an ANC Youth League rally is: funny but oh so very real for the ancestral-visa deficient.

Suffice to say, I will never underestimate the powers of diff lock again.

What stood out most for me, was the dynamic of the environment and the stark manner in which the vegetation altered with altitude. Whorls of green and russet broke the icy grasslands of the dale in the space of only a few metres, with proteas and cycads occurring in profusion the higher we went. Pausing for effect may not be the best idea on a 4×4 trail, but you would be hard-pressed not to considering the geological and biological phenomenon on display.

Just make sure your heart is in it …

Private screening of heaven’s starry bounty

THE silence was deafening. You never truly know what that means unless you have been there, in situ in the outback with only the sound of your breathing to keep you company.

Make no mistake, for those of an urban disposition it can be a harrowing experience.

Sabre-toothed creatures of the night are hardly known for their diplomacy at the best of times, and when you consider that they occur across the full gamut of animal species roaming the Kouga mountains, the simple crack of a twig or rustle of a bush can certainly wreak havoc with the aural pressure.

Then something strange happened. The quiet became quite enjoyable, addictive in fact.

Only the crests of the mountains were visible in the incandescent moonlight., serving  not only to confirm the sheer concavity in which we found ourselves  but also  that there was a reason so many millions of people sought out the pacific in the bundu when the need arose.

Depredating such a canvas with the bleeps and blips of technology could easily be considered one of the seven deadly sins (gluttony has always been given a bit of a raw deal, in my opinion).

It was thus not hard to see why owner Rob le Roux turned his back on the corporate melee in London 11 years ago to establish the Baviaans Lodge.

Photographer Mike Holmes was not wrong in his view that the “bowl” in which the lodge is nestled could pass off for the set for an old Western film, complete with billowing chimneys and the sense that Wyatt Earp could leap out from behind a cottage and fire off his six-shooter at any time.

The three traditional stone   period cottages  provide accommodation consisting of an open-plan bedroom, sleeping two to four people, and a full en-suite bathroom.

Importantly there is no television or cellphone reception, which is more of a blessing than one cares to realise. iPads and e-books may be the future, but flipping through the pages of a hardcover by candlelight is something that could and should never be replaced (not forgetting that swatting away mosquitoes with a tablet invariably will prove costly).

The main lodge is a classic example of why looks can be deceiving. From afar it appears a rather rustic affair., the kind of place where you might grimace sardonically over a tin of baked beans before retiring to Bedfordshire in the hope that dawn breaks early. But as the evening progressed we found that there was so much to do within its walls and perimeter, not least of which was the opportunity to gaze at the stars through the lens of a high-powered telescope.

Star-gazing is fast becoming a major source of income for South Africa’s tourism industry, with the country’s comparatively clear skies, wooing hordes of Europeans who have had just about enough of their own carbon bootprint.

While we have all been captivated by the Milky Way or Orion during a school camping trip, nothing could have prepared us for the nightly brilliance that is the preserve of the Baviaanskloof.

We were blanketed by constellations so bright and numerous that it was impossible to look away, as if we were given a private screening of heaven. and the bathroom break simply would have to wait. Through the lens we could just about reach out and touch the spectacle too, depending on the adjustment of the focus and our willingness to dice with perfection, for indeed that was what it was.

Had it not been for a craned neck that had come loose from its hinges and the aromas emanating from the kitchen, I might well have requested a sleeping bag and a pillow to drift off under this most miraculous of nature’s canopies.

Dining at Baviaans Lodge is not something to be taken lightly. Literally. During our two-night stay we became everything the home gym infomercials warn against as we tucked into generous mounds of meat, starch and a breakfast that gave new meaning to the term “full English”.

Le Roux had also recently completed a boma and believe me when I tell you that it ranks among one of the best of this type of facility.  Dissecting the Proteas’ World Cup woes with a tin or two as flames sear flesh is as  close as you can get to utopian relaxation without the participation of an Oriental masseuse.

BONEYARD: The skulls of wild animals, making for interesting conversation over a few cold ones. Picture: Mike Holmes

We concluded our trip with a nightcap at Le Roux’s bar, the surface of which is bedecked with the skulls of baboon and leopard and a host of other critters that had come to a sticky end. Dark it may be, but in the Baviaans a gentle reminder of what lurks in the wild never goes amiss. Their ghosts are, after all, what breaks the silence.

FACTBOX

Travel along the N2 towards Plettenberg Bay and go past Humansdorp. Take the next left exit off the N2 after Humansdorp, sign posted for Kareedouw R62 and George, via the Langkloof. Turn in the Langkloof direction and head for Kareedouw. About 2km before Kareedouw, turn right at the Assegaaibosch Station sign and follow directions from this point.

Via the Baviaanskloof (the R332 Road) and on to the Lodge along the 4×4 Route (Kouga-Baviaans 4X4 Trail).

(This Explorer feature was originally published in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday, April 9, 2011.)