Janine Stephen News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Evidence is mounting that elephants are killing ancient baobab trees in our regional parks, and saplings are increasingly hard to find. What’s driving the loss?

weekly newspaper. In January and February, the mountainsides of Helskloof usually blaze yellow-orange-red as thousands of Pearson’s Aloes flower. It’s an astonishing display of plant life in the desiccated expanses of the |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. But nowadays, all is not well. The aloe occupies only about 52km² in the Richtersveld, and just over the Orange River in Namibia. Livestock feeds on it when under pressure; mining and drought are other threats. But some kind of tipping point has struck. In late November 2020, the park’s nursery curator, Pieter van Wyk, mapped ...

Explorations in a mountain desert The Richtersveld satisfies 4x4 fans seeking adventure, culture and solitude BL PREMIUM 13 January 2021 - 05:00 Janine Stephen Dust comes free with every activity in the Richtersveld. Red sand blows in from the Namib; a river of ghostly grains coats the floor of the astonishing Secret Valley. It pools around hardy plants, and lingers behind cars traversing the lunar-like landscapes. Only 4x4s can handle the rudimentary roads that criss-cross this arid mountain desert and drivers cajole their vehicles to remote campsites, hidden in its enormous v...