I have received a most disturbing press release from the  Minister of Local Government,Environmental Affairs and Development Planning  (in full below). Apparently the humble tortoise is now the target of poachers. Luckily we live in a very busy, built up area so there are a lot more eyes and ears available than in rural parts of the country. Still, such things are only effective if we are all willing to be vigilant.

If you are in the Cape Point area report anything suspicious to the authorities IMMEDIATELY!

Lets make this a ‘not on my watch’ thing for the Cape Point Peninsula!

Here is the press release in full.

STATEMENT BY MR ANTON BREDELL,MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT,ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

DATE: 22 FEBRUARY 2012

EMBARGO: Immediate

MINISTER BREDELL CONDEMNS TORTOISE POACHING

Today in Cape Town, Mr Anton Bredell, the Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning condemned the actions of Chinese nationals that saw the recent killing of more than 40 rare tortoises for meat in Zimbabwe. The individuals involved are now facing possible deportation.

Bredell has however praised the quick actions of conservation and law enforcement officials in that country who arrested the perpetrators.

Following these arrests, conservation authority in the Western Cape, CapeNature was tipped off that endemic tortoises are also being targeted for food in the Bredasdorp and Beaufort-West areas.

“CapeNature was informed that Chinese nationals in these areas also pay locals to collect not only tortoises, but also lizards and succulent plants.”

The Minister said: “The Western Cape, with its unique Cape Floristic Kingdom (fynbos), sees many attempts at biodiversity crime, most notably in the trade of insects, spiders, small animals such as tortoises and lizards, wild flowers and the illegal hunting of game.

However, the illegal collection of tortoises for food is also not completely new for our law enforcement officials.  CapeNature’s Head of Biodiversity Crime, Paul Gildenhuys said: “A successful prosecution took place in 2003 when six South Africans from Stilbaai were arrested for collecting 29 endemic tortoises, allegedly to make ‘potjiekos’.  They were sentenced to community service.

It appeared that international poachers specialising in tortoises were dealt a major blow by Western Cape law enforcement officials when the following arrests were made between 2001 – 2004:

•              Walter Grosser and Viteslav Tomascek (Both of Czech Republic), arrested in 2001 for possession of 23 geometric tortoises, 13 parrot-beaked tortoises and 16 angulate tortoises.  The animals were collected near Worcester.  They were sentenced to R93 500 or 54 months in prison.

•              Martin Kyskyn and Martin Juricek (both of Slovak Republic), arrested in Lamberts Bay area in 2004 for possession of 113 angulate tortoises.  They were each sentenced to R168000 or two years in prison.

•              Shinji Yamada and two others (all of Japan), arrested in Clanwilliam in 2004 for possession of 14 angulate tortoises.  They were sentenced to R108,000 or two years each.

•              Petr Motycka (Czech Republic), Marian Simek, Bohus Simek and Erik Kovacs (all of Slovak Republic), arrested in Doringbaai in 2004 for possession of 96 angulate tortoises.  These individuals were sentenced as follows:

             Motycka received a sentence of R48 000 or three years

             Simek, Simek and Kovacs each received sentences of R130 000 or five years.

•              Terutoshi Terada and Masato Araki (both of Japan), arrested in Vredendal in 2004 for illegal collection of 5 angulate tortoises (as well as lizards).  A plea bargain agreement was negotiated and each was sentenced to R110 000 or two years.

Up until now, no further similar reptile cases have been reported to CapeNature.

“As the custodians of biodiversity in the Western Cape we know that ordinary citizens can play an important role in fighting biodiversity crime: Many of our best tips come straight from the public. If you have any information on the illegal harvesting, transportation or smuggling of our natural heritage, please phone your nearest police station or nearest CapeNature office”, urges Bredell.

BACKGROUND

What should the public be looking out for?The collection of wild animals and flora is regulated by the Nature Conservation Ordinance.  No person may collect tortoises without a permit authorizing them to do so.  Tortoises found on any road should merely be moved to the side of the road in the direction which they are travelling.  Members of the public are encouraged to report any individual seen collecting tortoises to the SAPS or CapeNature.The Western Cape has 8 out of 12 types (species) of tortoises in South Africa. This makes the Western Cape the region in the World with the highest number of terrestrial tortoises species anywhere.

CapeNature is a public institution with the statutory responsibility for biodiversity conservation in the Western Cape. It is governed by the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board Act 15 of 1998 and mandated to: promote and ensure nature conservation; render services and provide facilities for research and training; and generate income.

Liesl Brink – Public Relations Officer: CapeNature Mobile: 071 688 2649 ;

Email: brink@capenature.co.za

Peter Pullen – Spokesperson Ministry of Local Government and Environmental Affairs

Mobile: 082 574 3773 ;Email: Peter.Pullen@pgwc.gov.za

Terrible stuff.

Cape Point residents and visitors- keep your eyes open and report anything suspicious immediately

I was absolutely shocked and appalled to read about a proposed amendment to existing legislation regarding the reporting of weather. Essentially it will be an offence under the law to issue a ‘severe weather warning’ without first having the written permission of the SA weather bureau.

The problem is that there is no definition as to what constitutes a ‘severe weather warning’ in the legislation and so I guess it is up to the weather bureau to decide.

I guess that the [twisted] logic behind this is to prevent any old idiot spreading panic by giving warnings without having any actual facts to back them up. This would make sense if it wasn’t for the fact that predicting weather is still a guess, no matter how many super computers are backing you up. How many times have I watched the wind switch to the south east, the high clouds begin to build and the temperature plummet; only to be told on the evening news that an impending cold front is going to go far to the south of us. Really? Then 12 hours later you can’t see the other side of Fish Hoek valley. In this situation, who should be giving the warning of impending bad weather? Under the new laws, if I write that a storm looks imminent, even if it is as black as night over Kommetjie way, I can face prosecution because I didn’t get written permission to say so.

And what will thumbing my nose at the new weather warning  law potentially cost me?

The maximum fine is up to R10 million, and potentially 10 years in jail. A first offence can land you 5 years in the clink.

Bureaucracy gone mad? Certainly! But with such hefty penalties it seems a little stupid to take the chance, so no more posts on what weather could be on the way unless it is backed up with a permission slip from big brother, or until I know for fact exactly what I can or cannot write about.

Tyree Shannon has sent me some photographs of the demonstration held on 22nd January.

As I said, I am not in a position to give too much of an opinion on this matter, I’m even a little confused as to the location of the building (sorry , I can’t be everywhere), however, if anyone reading this has something to say then please add it as a comment, or email me and I will be happy to add it to the site. It doesn’t have to be just those opposed to the development: debate is healthy on all issues, so if anyone from the developers, toll company, local council, SANParks or TMNP has anything to say then I am equally happy to put their views on the site as well.

The effect is caused by ice crystals in high cirrus clouds and is the first time that I have seen it in the heat of Africa, and around the sun. It is common to see the ring around a full moon, when it is referred to as a Hunter’s Moon, however, as the heat from the summer sun is very hot, and will therefore melt ice crystals as they form, it is rare to see in southern Africa.

I wanted a bit more information about the effect and so a Google search. There wasn’t much in the way of technical information, but there were some funny  stories about our northern neighbours in Guatengaleng (those that aren’t rubber necking on Boyes Drive anyway). Aparently there were a flood of calls to authorities claiming things from aliens in the sky to it being the end of the world. Apparently the sacrifice of a few virgins was considered but they couldn’t find any so all went back to work.

According to the best weather reader in the world, climatologist Christina Fatti (seriously, do yourself a favour and watch Ms Fatti on SABC3, she is so nervous that we hold our breath and then cheer in our house when she makes it through unscathed- she must really want the job, because it looks like it may not be the most enjoyable part of her day) the colours are caused by the ice crystals falling in the atmosphere. If they weren’t then the ring would be white.

I suppose that it is likely that this is linked to the approaching cold front that is due to hit the west coast tomorrow.

My partner and daughter went for a walk down to Jaeger’s Walk in Fish Hoek on Saturday morning, in the hopes of seeing a whale or two (OK, it is out of season now, but my daughter is not three yet and can get excited about anything). What they saw was something entirely different.

Despite it being good conditions for spotting whales there were none to be seen. There were however seals on the rocks (my daughters second favourite marine mammal) some of them juvenile. It isn’t unusual to see seals in the bay at Fish Hoek, but it is quite rare for them to come out onto the rocks. By all accounts they were just lazing around sleeping and sunbathing.

My partner got talking to a french couple who were scanning the waves for sharks. With all the publicity recently it is a bigger draw than the whales at the moment. They were quizzing Dustin about the local marine wildlife when the shark siren sounded and they began to change the flag to ‘shark in the water’.

No sooner was it hoisted than in the middle of the bay the water erupted and a Great White leapt from the water, ambushing a small seal and splashing back down in spectacular fashion.

You may have seen this on National Geographic, or on countless posters for sale in Cape Town, but unless you take a trip out to Seal Island you are not likely to have seen it in the flesh. What a sight it must have been, and I am truly down on the fact that I wasn’t there for no good reason than having to work.

Recently shark activity has been high in the bay, with the one near fatal interaction between a swimmer and shark. Now, I don’t want to get the backs up of the Fish Hoek Chamber of Commerce, or any of the many guest house owners in the area, however, I question how much revenue beach goers bring to the local economy. Its not like Fish Hoek has a place where anyone bored with the beach would go. Lets face it, Main Road isn’t number one on the list of places to visit for any tourist visiting the area. And the only commercial business at the beach is the Bay Side. Also, how many visitors to Fish Hoek come here solely for the purpose of spending a week on the beach enjoying the tropical waters of False Bay.

Now imagine how many tourists would be attracted to the area if there was the chance of seeing the spectacle of a 3 ton shark leaping from the water, within a stones throw of the shore? You wouldn’t have enough bus parking space in the car park.

And this is before you start adding in boat trips, cage diving all manner of other activities, not to mention shark merchandise etc. A small town to the south of Gansbaai called Van Dyke’s Bay owes its entire existence to shark tourism. Tourists travel there from Cape Town, at 4 in the morning just to see Great Whites.

Well they are here on the doorstep and nobody seems to make anything positive of it. We only talk about culling, netting and other such measures. Fish Hoek seems to be the forgotten place as far as tourism is concerned on the Cape Point Peninsula, recent incidents involving sharks have been viewed as only making this worse. Maybe we need to just have a change of perspective, put some ‘spin’ on things and exploit the eco tourism aspect of the sharks. Could be a gold mine waiting to be discovered!

As parents of a lively little girl we were trawling the internet looking for things to do over Christmas (luckily Gogo and Bappie (don’t ask) are going to be here for the whole of December, and Grampa is arriving for Christmas week (we will be sleeping in shifts I think)). The following are some of the more interesting things that we found to do with younger children (sorry, if you have teens you are on your own- may I suggest a holiday to Mauritius, and leave the kids at the airport in lost luggage or something- I know a good travel agent…)

Anyway, here it is (it is mainly copy/paste, but I figure anyone who wrote this stuff originally should be glad that I am punting their events for free):

Noddy’s Special Treat. 09 Dec to 22 Dec – Cost R40/ R50

Noddy wins two tickets for a train trip to the seaside, so he can take a friend with him.  Whom should he take?  Everyone wants to be his best friend so that he will choose them to go on the trip.

Come and meet Noddy and his friends Big Ears, Tessie Bear and Martha Monkey.  Naughty goblins, Sly and Gobbo, will be there too, making a nuisance of themselves.  Help to stop Sly and Gobbo’s tricks and play the Listening Game with Noddy.

Location: Artscape Theatre Foyer Time: 10h30am daily except Sundays Organiser Contact: 021 421 7695 Dial-A-Seat

Venue Contact: http://www.artscape.co.za

The Caretaker back by popular demand

The Caretaker, an original Zip Zap Circus School show, choreographed by Adele Blank of Free Flight Dance Company, combines theatre, dance and circus in a show not to be missed.
This is a Zip Zap show with a difference. The show is set in a quaint apartment block inhabited by a kaleidoscope of young people and focuses on the caretaker and a homeless soul, who play an endless game of cat and mouse.
Brent van Rensburg, co-founder of the Zip-Zap Circus School says, “I believe this is the best show in 19 years.”

• Location: Zip Zap Dome, Jan Smuts Road behind Artscape Theatre in Foreshore
• Time: 6pm
• Organiser Contact: natasha@zip-zap.co.za
• Venue Contact: http://www.zip-zap.co.za online bookings
• Next 3 Dates:

Sat 10/12/2011

Sun 11/12/2011

Mon 12/12/2011

Davy Dragon’s Guide to the night sky. – R10 for Kids and R25 for adults – Until 4 December

Come and join Davy Dragon while he learns all about the sky above so that he can fulfil his dream of becoming the world’s best flying dragon! This is a playful introduction to astronomy especially for the under 10s. Just right for inquiring young minds.

Hosted by: Iziko Planetarium

Location: Iziko Planetarium Time: Sat 12pm, Sun 12pm

Organiser Contact: info@iziko.org.zaVenue Contact: 021 481 3900

Next 3 Dates:Thu 03/11/2011 Fri 04/11/2011 Sat 05/11/2011

Magic Milo and the Astronaut. – R10 for Kids and R25 for Adults from 10 December

One day Magic Milo and his friend, Sammy Starfish, meet Major Tom who makes their dream come true by taking them on a magical trip into space. Join us and discover what it’s like to be an astronaut!

Hosted by: Iziko Planetarium

Location: Iziko Planetarium

Time: Mon-Fri 11am, 12pm, 3pm. Sat 12pm, 3h30pm. Sun 12pm, 3pm

Organiser Contact: info@iziko.org.zaVenue Contact: 021 481 3900

Next 3 Dates:Sat 10/12/2011 Sun 11/12/2011 Mon 12/12/2011 .

Holistic Lifestyle Fair & Christmas Market. – Sunday 18 December

Need some weekend rest and recreation? Enjoy a chilled day out with the whole family at the Holistic Lifestyle Fair & Green Christmas Market

Location: Observatory recreation Centre

Time: 10am – 4pm

Organiser Contact: 021 788 8088

Venue Contact: holisticfair@mweb.co.za

Next 3 Dates:Sun 18/12/2011 .

Carols by Candlelight and Christmas Market. – 10 December

Join Noordhoek Farm Village for the annual Carols by Candlelight on the village green! We invite all children to bring a gift for a child less fortunate than themselves to leave with Santa’s helpers before the performance and learn the gift of giving. Santa will hand out goodie bags, there will be a Christmas market and of course the South African Navy Band will entertain with a performance before the Carol Singing and lighting of the candles. All proceeds in aid of St Luke’s Hospice

Hosted by: Noordhoek Farm Village

Location: The Bandstand, Noordhoek Farm Village

Organiser Contact: 021 789 2812

Venue Contact: http://www.noordhoekvillage.co.za

Next 3 Dates:Sat 10/12/2011 .

End of School Magic Show. – 10 December

To celebrate the end of the school year, Noordhoek Farm Village will host the end of school magic show. This is the grand finale of the years events and is a magic show not to be missed as the kids get ready for summer holidays! Magic, mystery and intrigue will have the children riveted to the magician and his tricks (leaving you time for coffee or some early Christmas shopping!)

Hosted by: Noordhoek Farm Village

Location: The Bandstand, Noordhoek Farm Village

Time: 10h30am – 12h30pm

Organiser Contact: 021 789 2812

Venue Contact: http://www.noordhoekvillage.co.za

Next 3 Dates:Sat 10/12/2011 .

It is strange that whenever I think that there could be an undesirable on the property the first thing I do is unlock the door to have a look!

Upon walking up to the garage the real reason for the loud noise became apparent- there had been yet another accident on Kommetjie Road. This time at 18th Avenue, on the Fish Hoek bound side of the road (just where the center island for the dual carriage way comes to an end.)

There was already a large crowd down there and as I walked down the road I started to hear a woman in severe distress. I figured that the last thing that the scene needed was someone else getting in the way so I crossed the road to talk to one of my neighbours.

Now, I have to say I don’t know anything about the details of what happened, only tell you what I saw and what others said. This is what the situation was at this point. A neighbour said that the woman had been thrown from the car upon impact but it was not clear how many vehicles were involved. There were a couple of taxis stopped on the Kommetjie bound side but none of them looked like they had been hit by anything. Others stopped while we stood. Plenty of vehicles were near the accident but the feeling was that they had stopped to help. This led me to believe (in conjunction with the the noise I heard) that the accident had not involved two vehicles hitting each other, though I cannot say that others were not involved in some way.

What I do know is that it is time to stop trying to blame accidents on Kommetjie Road itself!

While we were stood my neighbour did her best to flag cars to warn them of the accident. To a one they were all tearing down the road at high speed.

The Fish Hoek end of Kommetjie Road does have a lot of entances on it, however, from 17th Avenue west the road is fairly straight, wide and at 1 in the morning not busy. The road surface is one of the best in the area, and it hadn’t been raining.

Kommetjie road isn’t dangerous, but the people using it are deadly!

Accidents on Kommetie Road happen because people get behind the wheel of a car, turn on the ignition and turn off their brains!

I have in the past been an advocate for the council to sort this road out, but I now want to go on record to say that any improvements to road safety on Kommetjie Road is a waste of money!

This morning I took another walk down the road to see what damage had been done (usually a telling thing in working out what happened). The car involved looked like a small one. And yet it managed to destroy a concrete wall and knock a tree down.

Looking at the road and damage to the tree and wall, and marks on the road and curb it appears that something happened on the west bound side of the road that caused the vehicle to vere to the right, mount the curb, smash through the tree, hit the wall and spin into another tree with enough force to remove the bark and some of the trunk.

If the average small car hit the wall at 60 kph it would maybe knock the wall down, but there would not be enough energy involved to knock down a tree first. I’m not even convinced that there would be enough energy to even knock the wall down after mounting the pavement (especially as the collision could not have been head on).

So straight away we can presume that the vehicle was driving at considerable speed.

Next- the injured woman had been thrown from the vehicle. This is not likely to happen if the person is wearing a seat belt (which is the law front and back).

Other things that regularly occur on Kommetjie Road (especially in the early hours) are cars racing each other, people driving in unsafe vehicles, with no lights (no kidding, the other week a car was pulled over by the police opposite our house that had tyres so worn you could see metal, shock absorbers so bad that the car leaned into one corner, more rust than body work and after it stopped couldn’t get going again- oh, and none of the lights worked).

Throw alcohol and drugs into the mix and we have recipe for disaster.

Where in all that is Kommetjie Road to blame?

All the accidents that are caused by road layouts etc tend to be fender benders with minimal injuries to those involved (unless you count massive insurance hikes as serious injuries). The fatal accidents all involve someone being an inconsiderate idiot in some way or another.

It isn’t just Kommetjie Road (I think it is just an increase in traffic on the road that hikes its stats) it is the road network in general. Until we start taking driving seriously fatalities will increase. I read a letter recently in the paper written by someone who was upset at failing their license and the steep costs involved. When did it become our right to be able to drive. Its a huge privelage, and if you don’t respect that you should have your license removed. And I am not talking about major infringements either. Speeding should lead to a refresher course, second time- lose your license. Could you imagine flying being treated so flippantly?

Compulsory MOT (like in the UK) and jail time for people who drive without the proper documentation (road license, drivers license, MOT and insurance). You can now pay your traffic fines at the supermarket checkout- this makes it a tax not a punishment.

It is time to stop pointing fingers at government, law enforcement, and roads and start pointing the finger at ourselves so that we can stop doing the stupid things that are done everyday on our transport network. WE cause the accidents on Kommetjie Road, not the road itself.

It was bound to happen, and it surely won’t be the last incident of this type before the end of the census.

The residents of the Cape Point Peninsula are even more vulnerable as we have a high number of elderly residents- who are recognised as easy targets for this kind of crime, often times not involving violence, but these scum bags are not above beating elderly people for no reason what-so-ever.

A census is very necessary for the well running of the country and most citizens are keen to cooperate with the process. In fact we are conditioned to do as we are told, and the more authoritative the individual looks the more we will bow down. The criminals know this.

If someone comes to your door dressed in scruffy clothes talking like a tsotsi you are going to set the dog on them. That same person dressed in a believable uniform saying they are from the census will have you opening the door and putting the kettle on.

So what do you do?

It is a legal requirement to partake in the census, as far as I am aware you can’t refuse to be counted. However, there are steps that you can take to make sure that you are safe, and as always, if you are unsure don’t let them in.

First, the uniforms. The robbers in Kensington were wearing green jackets. Census collectors are wearing special yellow jackets. They should also have identification and a serial number that you can check on. You can phone 0800 110248 to confirm that the id is genuine. Keep them waiting at the gate with the dog snarling at them until you have confirmed they are who they say they are- then you can put the kettle on and let them in.

If you have elderly relatives or friends who are easily confused it may be a good idea to tell them not to let anyone in and maybe try to arrange to be there (not sure how you would do this, but it must be possible) because census collectors have supposedly been vetted but people are people and you don’t know who might take advantage of the situation.

Also, I keep hearing the word ‘volunteer’ used to describe the census collectors. This is not the case, they are getting paid. It isn’t much for what they are doing, but still. It is also a full time post (albeit for a short period of time) and they got paid for an extensive training programme (longer than the actual census). In my eyes this makes them public servents. We are the public, they are serving us. So they should understand if they encounter someone who is careful about letting them in. If they are not, then I suggest that they are reported to the same number as used to verify id’s (0800 110248).

That number again is:

0800 110248

Well, in an attempt to get a true reflection of what the public actually thinks I have devised a poll. You can have your say by clicking one of the options on the right. I will run this for a while and see if anyone can be bothered to move the mouse over there. Your details are not recorded, only your vote. If it proves successful I may make the poll a permanent feature of the site.