Leshiba and it’s magical mountains is a travel destination for an authentic experience.
Over the years, Leshiba Eco Lodge was re-created into an authentic traditional Venda village with the help of internationally renowned Venda artist. The walls and over 40 sculptures are made from traditional clay and dung bricks, making Leshiba an authentic African ‘work-of-art’.
Leshiba Venda Village accommodation was the original homestead for Maulaudzi family, and Joyce who grew up in the village is now the manager.
Besides traditional Venda village-style accommodation, Leshiba offers luxury sites named: Mwedzy (meaning Moon in Venda), Duvha (the Sun), and Lavish suites: Naledzi (the Star), Tadulu ( the Heaven) and Miloro (the Dreams).
Leshiba private game reserve offers unspoilt nature with a variety of wildlife and activities for the whole family.
The activities, besides game viewing, include hiking on mountain trails, horse riding and visiting San rock paintings.
Leshiba is estimated 430km from Johannesburg and the last 7 km offers an adventure 4×4 drive up the mountain to reach Leshiba.
However, if you opt-out from the low range 4×4 drive, Leshiba does offer pre-organized transport from the carport below the maintain.
Is COVID panic justified?
The Covid-19 has trapped us between two fires with seeming no escape appearing on the horizon.
On one hand, we sit with a government who seemingly has forgotten about the COVID threat but is following another (unknown) agenda.
On the other side, we are bombarded with tons of information, most of it is in words we don’t understand and frequently appears directly contradictory. Furthermore, a cure is just a pipe dream.
After my 50 years in the medical field, I will explain our current situation in non-medical terms on how to understand and give perspective about Covid-19.
Unravelling the COVID pandemic can be compared to building a 1000 piece jig-saw puzzle.
To illustrate and understand the ‘COVID picture’, there are however a few catches:
- Firstly you are not given a picture of the puzzle, only a hint that it is either a chameleon (an innocent creature but can change appearance) in a tree, or it’s a cobra snake ( a deadly viper) lying in a footpath.
- To make the challenge more difficult you receive 1100 pieces of a puzzle; 1000 real and 100 fake pieces. And to add to the confusion, you receive the pieces in small batches.
Quite a challenge!
Research scientists supply information pieces bit by bit with no guide where and which of it fits in the picture, that either being a bit of the sky or the cobra’s eye or a fake piece. Frequently the scientist themselves don’t even know where their small piece fits in when they do their research. This is why initially everything seems confusing or contradictory.
How long will it take to complete the puzzle, 2-3 years at the current rate but a bit faster if the picture (vaccine) is supplied however much faster after 60-70% (herd immunity) has been achieved or the quickest, if the pieces are numbered at the back (medical cure), is given. But then where do you find numbered puzzle pieces!?
This is where we stand now. We have only just started with our puzzle and currently, my ‘chameleon’ might look like your ‘cobra’.
We already (think we) know some risk factors: High blood pressure (ACE enzyme giving more blood clotting), diabetes (low resistance to infections and ? also obese) including cardiac and cancer patients especially combined advance age.
Quo Vadis: With our current understanding in mind, what do we know at this moment?
The picture will only take shape with herd immunity, (60+%) infections or an effective vaccine become available in the distant future.
Lockdown had initial value, but to continue, will practically delay completion of the puzzle picture. If you want lockdown to succeed it must be a 100% absolute lockdown for 2-3 years, being obviously ridiculous and not achievable.
Governor of New York State, confirmed 18th May 2020, that there have been more COVID cases with people who stayed at home and only went out to exercise, compared to the people who were actively involved in their workplace.
The insistence from certain authorities to do fanatical 20+ seconds repeated hand washing and disinfecting and sterilizing all objects, surfaces and places, needs critical evaluation.
Our surroundings are filled with trillions of bacteria and microorganisms, and the majority are benign and much needed to maintain our immune systems to protect us. To sterilize all your household surfaces repeatedly and wash your hand incessantly when alone at home with no risk of viral contamination from outside sources serves little purpose except for killing friendly bacteria. It is well known that your hands contain protective oils to protect you against bacteria. By excessive handwashing, you remove the protective oils, leaving your skin vulnerable to bacterial growth. It is very different when you are directly in a bacterial/viral compromised situation. Then it is imperative to use ALL available sanitation tools available. The word is: ‘common sense’!
The same applies to masks and gloves. Learn how to use it CORRECTLY, otherwise, it adds to the problem with minimal benefit.
How will this affect our workplace?
Well-thought through safety measures must be adhered to at all times. Work from home will escalate combined with remote conferencing.
How will it affect our leisure and travel?
Game park and eco-lodges, as well as camping, will be vitally important due to natural social distancing and structural protections eg. exposure to fresh air and outdoor activities. The same will apply for beach holidays and aquatic sports.
These responsible tourism options will become more popular. And this situation can also present new exciting opportunities for restructuring and planning responsible tourism.
Big hotels with quick turnovers and guest congestion will find it difficult to compete.
Air travel will change. Long-distance flights will be a health challenge and to a lesser degree short-haul flights.
I feel somewhat sorry for the young and single people who want to be part of the ‘dating game’ being able to, or not able to maintain social distancing.
To summarize, social distancing will be with us for a long, long period of time. Improving health standards will be imperative and we will have to learn to live with the virus for many years.
Written by: Dr Johan Van Rensburg
Make the most of the challenge currently, for now, this will also pass.
Post-Corona pandemic change is inevitable, but how we adapt to it is crucial for our survival.
The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted in untold misery and disaster for the human race but paradoxically resulted in a welcome boost for nature. For once, after decades, the Earth can ‘breathe’ again. The signs are there. The air over Europe is 40% improved after a few weeks of rest, and the murky waters in the Venetian canals are clear again with dolphins present. In Asia, the summits of the Himalayas are again visible, the first time in human memory. This all because of a massive drop in human activity and actions.
It is prudent to take stock of where we stand and where we are going to.
It is painful and also disgraceful to admit that this catastrophic event is mostly self-inflicted caused by human actions or neglect to act in other instances. To only blame the Chinese for this disaster because of their disregard for animal rights and destructive ecological practices is disingenuous. We, the rest of the world, is equally to blame. We only have to look at pollution (air, water, environment), overpopulation, habitat disruption, harmful policies, health and hygiene standards coupled with civil disobedience to understand the cumulative effect on the pandemic.
Charles Darwin aptly said, “adapt or perish.”
Before the pandemic world/international travel was one of the fasted growing industries and ecotourism, responsible tourism was growing even faster.
Post Corona, the tourism landscape will transform dramatically. With the newfound realisation of social responsibilities combined with less disposable income, tourism will never be the same.
We can safely predict the ‘new’ tourist will become more discerning and demanding how their hard-earned money will be spent.
This new (or not quite so new) trend, places exciting new challenges for both the consumer and the service provider.
Our carbon footprint can be either uplifting or destructive, depending on our choices and actions.
As the responsible traveller, we must adhere to strict eco principals and standards. It starts with our choice of accommodation and transport. We have to verify or check to see if the lodge/hotel or reserve comply with responsible and eco standards. Relying on promotional marketing claiming ‘eco’ is not sufficient. We must check their credentials and grading (eco grading) we have to be alert to identify the ‘green washer’ who falsely proclaim to be eco for marketing reasons. We must take care to select locations or establishments who respect and improve nature as well as uplifting the local community. Also important to determine if their facilities and practices are truly and genuinely eco-friendly.
Eco-standards and grading
The service provider, on the other hand, has different challenges and opportunities to comply with. The current lull in local and international tourism is the ideal opportunity to get the ‘house in order’ and improve the infrastructure to comply with eco-standards and responsible tourism. Looking for, or improving renewable and energy-saving strategies, implementing water-saving policies, re-looking at amenities in the rooms and prioritise kitchen and catering standards to improve eco ratings. Use the available time to implement bush clearing of invader plants and trees and utilise the wood thus harvested for fire-making. What a better opportunity to rope in the already struggling local community, to render cultural and other uplifting activities to the establishments for the benefit of the guests. Planning new activities like birding, game drives and cultural visits, can be stimulating for the owners and also enhance their reputations. This is but a few examples, but the list can be much more extensive.
We have no choice but have to adapt to survive.
The current time is the best opportunity for all involved parties to unite their efforts to establish a true eco-community and grading for our tourism market. Here we include service providers, consumer individuals and groups combined with other involved experts to set a credible standard and grading process to guide the tourist in their decision making as well as the service provider in understanding the expected standards.
Looking for panoramic views of sunset sky – a vast stretch of starry sky – soothing sound of the stillness – unique fauna and arid beauty in Tankwa Karoo. Skoorsteenberg Eco-Farm offers for ecotravellers two self-catering farmhouse units, each sleeps six people. An ideal ‘home’ away home for a whole family including your furry family members.
Skoorsteenberg eco credentials:
Mixed Ideaz – A recycling intiative is born
Godfrey Dambuleni, founder of Mixed Ideaz Wire Art in Saltriver Cape Town is a man with a recycling vision. He arrived in Cape Town 25 years ago with nothing except the clothes on his back and the burning desire to not only provide for himself but to help others in need.
Work was difficult to find, but Godfrey did not, like so many others, give up on his dream. As a little boy growing up in Zimbabwe, Godfrey used to make wire cars for himself and his friends from bits of discarded wire. Why not do the same in Cape Town? Use those skills towards recycling something from what most of us regard as trash. Mixed Ideaz was born.
Recycling as a Provision for the Future
Today, Godfrey not only provides for himself and his family but also takes in persons off the street and enable them to provide for themselves. In his studio in Saltriver discarded bits of metal, tins of all shapes and sizes and wire are transformed into extraordinary art pieces. Rhinos, Elephants, Wild-dogs and many other animals take shape and form as the wire is twisted and shaped and then clad with anything from a cut up Coke can to beer bottle tops.
They don’t use photos of animals as the reference as they twist and shape and hammer the wire and cut up cans. “We look at the picture of an animal till it takes form in our spirit,” says Godfrey. Then we just give it form with the cans and other bits of rubbish we collect from recycling what is available.
Not only do we help to recycle but we also want people to help protect the environment. Why display the head or skin of a dead animal when you can leave them in the wild where they belong by displaying one of our recycling creations instead.
Are you involved in a great recycling initiative and would like to spread that message with South Africa and beyond? Share your story on the Eco Explore Africa platform by getting in touch today.
“To bring something out of nothing, to make mean things take on beauty, until the world becomes an enchanting place” – Is not this the business of all art?
Godfrey can be reached at his studio at 122 Cecil Road, Salt River, Cape Town. Cell 083 562 2224. Email : Mixedideaz@webmail.co.za.
Ecotourism – Quo Vadis
Breakthrough or Disaster?
Internationally tourists are becoming more and more concerned about protecting the ecology, environment and protecting the Earth through responsible tourism.
When Eco-certification for International and Local Eco-tourist establishments and Lodges was proposed, it seemed an excellent idea.
However, this long overdue initiative soon presented us (both, service providers and consumers ) with a minefield of problems, dilemmas as well as misuse of the word ‘Eco’ that has confused the public.
The first and foremost problem was to find a workable and practical “Ecotourism “definition.
‘The International Ecotourism Society’ ( TIES ) defines responsible tourism or ‘Ecotourism’ as “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” (TIES 1990 ).
This definition is a compromise to appease most of the involved bodies and institutions to find a common consensus. The result is that with good word choices and manipulations as many as possible institutions can and will qualify to be Eco compliant. It has potentially resulted in the opposite what Eco compliance intended, – the effect is potentially quantity versus quality. The current definition is so vague that practically anyone could stretch the credentials or responsible tourism to be certified and called ‘ an Eco establishment’. Is this really what we want to achieve?
Controversies on ‘Eco’
A further problem is the fact that many international certifying institutions are commercially motivated. They rely on high listing fees for registration and annual re-registration. Many smaller players honoring responsible tourism that would qualify as an ‘Eco’ establishment cannot financially afford to be verified and certified, and therefore they are then not recognised but excluded.
How do we implement a scoring system to be Eco-certified? Moreover, what constitutes a qualifying scoring system? Those are questions currently undefined and is open for abuse and misuse the term ‘ Eco’.
The grey areas of the current definition of ‘Eco’ are:
1. Will an establishment that uses only underground (borehole) water and natural ( solar, wind) energy score more points because they are situated in a remote area compared to those on the grid?
2. Some establishments are in remote rural areas and are forced to use local workers, but how far can the definition push the boundaries to be seen as local (the Country, district, town, or the village)?
What’s the difference: Eco, Full-Eco, Eco-Friendly, ‘Greenwash’
Facilities that tick the above boxes are per definition regarded as “Eco” but are they truly Eco?
The opposite argument is seldom heard, as there are no demerit points for Eco-negative activities and practices as examples:
1. Here we think of waste and ash disposal policy.
2. Single-use plastic.
3. Non-eco-friendly soaps, shampoos and bathroom amenities in disposable, single-use containers.
4. Non-eco-friendly disinfectants and insect repellents that harm the environment.
5. Not being water-wise and water wastage.
6. We can also include contamination of water as well as air pollution.
Currently, as per definition, a responsible tourism establishment can qualify as truly ‘Eco’ if they score three good Eco points but yet they fail on other three Eco-negative activities. Can they still realistically call themselves an Eco establishment.
Our challenge is to educate the public to distinguish the ‘real’ Eco from the imposters and prevent establishments from misusing the ‘Eco’ title.
Eco – grading for Responsible Tourism by Eco Explore Africa
Eco Explore Africa therefore has implemented measures to improve Eco-certification of a responsible tourism establishment.
- It is voluntary but approved/verified certification.
- Strict and comprehensive qualifying criteria including demerit points totalling a certification score.
- Three levels of Eco-certification (Gold-Silver-Bronze).
a-Gold / Full Eco
b-Silver / Eco friendly
c- Bronze / Eco in progress - Certification (eco-emblem) indicating the level of compliance.
- Establishments (three-level) grading is determined based on ‘Eco’ merit and demerit points calculation system by Eco Explore Africa.
- Certification affordable and accessible to everyone, – from small to more prominent establishments.
- A particular weighted score is recognized for establishments that are actively involved in an uplifting local community, improving living standards and education. Also for establishments that create a positive impact on the local ecosystem and preserving the environment.
- An online platform for comprehensive information on verified and graded/certified Eco establishments.
- Making certification affordable, the grading certification model is a formula calculated fee structure based on the following:
The number of rooms in the establishment and the fees charged per room/person is to determine a fair certification fee. - We stand by making it affordable for all ‘truly’ Eco establishments to be included not “if you can pay me you can get it”.
For further information on Eco-grading, please contact Eco Explore Africa, on eea@ecoexploreafrica.com