Naomi's Notes

Copenhagen

Naomi — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:40:10 +0000

Just a quickie, to spread the word of where you can add your name to act for a Real Deal Now in Copenhagen:

www.avaaz.org.

Simple as that

The Penguin Lady

Naomi — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:33:55 +0000

Social Media is such an incredible connection gift…that never stops giving!

I’ve just come across an amazing person, Dyan deNapoli, on Twitter. According to her Facebook Fan Page (The Penguin Lady), she “presents compelling educational programs about penguin behavior, biology and conservation that are sure to be a hit with audiences of any age. A portion of the proceeds from every appearance is donated to penguin rescue groups.” Despite being based in Georgetown, MA, she is doing wonderful work to help our African Penguins too!

Here’s one of her messages: “Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the penguin/animal lover who has everything? Buy penguin nest boxes in their name and help save a species!! African penguins are in deep trouble and need our help. The population is now half of what it says below – just 55,000 birds are left. You can purchase nesting boxes at http://www.dict.org.za/ But first, watch the short video below to learn a little bit more. Thank you and happy holidays!

Ditto that & thank you so much for sharing, Dyan!

To view more, here’s a link to my Facebook album, with some photo’s of the Boulders Beach colony (Simon’s Town, South Africa), which Dave took in October: Soul Safari 2009 – African Penguins.

Growing up near Cape Town, with a father who sailed on our national research ships, we were privileged to be introduced to these engaging little birds at a young age. Similarly to Dyan’s mission, my intention is to donate a portion of the proceeds from my first novel towards helping our African Penguins (see My Books page on this blog)

New WordPress features

Naomi — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:34:02 +0000

THANK YOU, WordPress, for your phenomenal and ongoing innovation – you’re simply the Best!!!

Readers, you will see that there is a new SocialVibe widget on the right hand column of this blog, which offers you a way to help the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), my chosen organisation. Simply click on it to participate, and Timberland (as the selected sponsor) will make a donation accordingly!

Equally cool is the VodPod widget (about half-way down) which displays my favourite videos for immediate reference, starting with one of Dave handling an African Rock Python! Watch that space, as I’m working on adding more ‘wild’ ones…

Another great feature is the option you now have to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts via email (provided by a box near the top of the right-hand column). Please do!

If you don’t have a WordPress.com blog, I HIGHLY recommend it. Best of all, it’s totally free

Remembering “The Roof”!

Naomi — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:43:51 +0000

Dave and I had the extreme pleasure and adventure of attending “The Roof of Africa” Enduro race in Lesotho two weeks ago. We were both spectating, but only because he broke his jaw a fortnight before on a training ride (which I’m happy to say is healing extremely well ). He was most disappointed, also on behalf of his sponsors, Proaction / KTM.

Here’s a pic of the team, hard at work on race prep, with the Lesotho Sun hotel in the background:

ROOF OF AFRICA 2009, RACE PREP - Lesotho Sun, Lesotho

. . . and another of the car-park, from the top of the hotel, which was one of the two main venues where the riders’ support was set up:

ROOF OF AFRICA 2009, RIDERS SUPPORT SETUP - Lesotho Sun, Lesotho

Pity about Dave’s accident, but it was possibly for the best, since the event was reportedly off-the-scale insane this year, with many riders forced to sleep in the mountains, including a mate of Dave’s who spent the night in a shepherd’s hut. Only a handful finished (after route adjustments), from a starting field of around 220. On corrected times, South Africa’s Jade Gutzeit came in third, behind two New Zealanders: Rory Mead and Chris Birch (winner for the second year running). Awesome ride, guys!!! Andreas Lettenbichler from Germany was going exceptionally well too, before his bike broke down a few km’s from the end.

This was the international contingent at riders’ briefing, including 1 lady!

ROOF OF AFRICA 2009, RIDERS BRIEFING - Lesotho Sun, Lesotho

Termed “The Mountain Kingdom” in honour of the MAGNIFICENT Maluti mountains, Lesotho is spectacularly beautiful. We got to see plenty, guided by our friends Sonja & Tom Classen (of Dakar fame – the second South African biker ever to finish that rally, twice!!). Despite Dave’s broken jaw and liquid diet, he and Tom did about 12 hours of hectic riding over the course of the weekend, even helping the finishers over the final mountain pass, which was WILD. Sonja and I watched from another peak, hardly believing our eyes where they were man-handling their motorbikes! They lifted Tom’s good friend Uli Pop (hardcore rider and route marker) and one of the cameramen from Throttle Entertainment, who was in search of (and found) some intense action footage. Keep a lookout for their DVD which should be out soon and will no doubt be mind-blowing!

This map shows the Time Trial Route on Day 1 – NOT for the faint-hearted:

ROOF OF AFRICA 2009, TIME TRIAL ROUTE - Lesotho

For a better idea of what the competitors were up against, check out this YouTube video:

On an altruistic note, Mike Morris (another riding friend of Dave’s) has started a fund for the children of Lesotho. Here’s a link for more information and to find out how you can help: The Roof for a Roof. Great job, Mike

All in all, we had an terrific time, and definitely plan to return next year!!

Time

Naomi — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:45:27 +0000

Time = Trap or Tool

SUNSET - Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

My Interpretation:

The key to its mastery lies in the moment.

Quotes to consider:

“learn to become still” – Michael Bernard Beckwith
“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.” – Henry David Thoreau
“But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.” – Benjamin Disraeli

What are your thoughts on this image and/or topic?

Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre

Naomi — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:56:53 +0000

The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre has featured in some of my previous posts. This is an update to spread the word about it’s name change to The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre, which has taken place in honour of Ann, who’s dedicated over 40 years of her life to this precious cause, and still works full-time at the centre.

Close to Johannesburg, it’s a stunning venue to visit, for phenomenal tours or a getaway to a fabulous lodge. You can learn an immense amount about a variety of creatures, including endangered cheetah and wild dogs, as well as witness a high-speed cheetah run – not to be missed!

For more information, or to book a tour, visit www.dewildt.co.za.

Here’s a photo that Dave took of a cheetah family at the Masai Mara in Kenya – especially for those who may never have met these amazing cats

CHEETAH FAMILY - Masai Mara, Kenya

Tribute to Africa

Naomi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:43:49 +0000

Today I’d like to share a special tribute to our incredible continent.

It’s by Meredith Hill, from the USA, and her sister-in-law, Sandy Salle, a born-and-bred Zimbabwean and now American citizen, who share an exceptional company called Hills of Africa Travel. Based in the USA, they bring clients on personalized trips to Africa.

Speaking from first-hand experience, they are the people to call if you ever consider coming here, and we highly recommend you do Dave & I joined them as the official photographers on their recent Soul Safari, which was an altogether stunning experience!!

In their own words, here’s what these two wonderful people have to say:

Joost & Amor

Naomi — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:27:49 +0000

I’m so grateful not to live in the sometimes blinding glare of the ‘celebrity spotlight’. My hope for Joost van der Westhuizen and Amor Vittone, and especially their children, is that they salvage some positive from the scandal that’s consuming the South African media at the moment. We haven’t followed it, so don’t know many details, but came across Joost’s interview last night on Carte Blanche, as well as on Kwela a few days before. This must be extremely tough on the entire family.

Having said that, though…I’m no doubt not on the same page, but it does seem sad that the full focus of Joost’s apology, to the public and his wife, was placed on his dishonesty (lying about being the ‘man on tape’), when surely the heart of the hurt lies in the betrayal itself?

International Day of Climate Action

Naomi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:16:27 +0000

I’m behind the game on this one, as we’ve been so busy processing images after our phenomenal Soul Safari with Hills of Africa Travel, but this is too significant to pass up:

Our group visited Table Mountain on Saturday, 24th October, which was ‘co-incidentally’ the International Day of Climate Action, organized by 350.org. Here’s a photo that Dave took from the cable car of a group of dedicated rock climbers doing their bit!

TABLE MOUNTAIN - Cape Town, South Africa

This follows on from my previous post on Blog Action Day 09 (15th October), with the theme of Climate Change. Robin Beck (Lead Organizer for Blog Action Day 2009) emailed all of us bloggers after that, saying the following:

“You just took part in something unprecedented–with a 500% increase in blog posts about climate change, last Thursday was the largest coordinated climate communication of all time…October 24th is shaping up to be the most widespread day of environmental action in the history of the planet. All events are designed to do one thing: show the support for the most important number in the world: 350…the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for parts per million carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. 350 is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change…Most immediately, 350 is the number world leaders need to lead with as they prepare to meet in Copenhagen this December to draft a new global climate treaty.

Hats off to everyone who participated in these events & especially (from our point of view) to the Table Mountain climbers…it was stunning to stumble upon such a dramatic display of support for our planet – THANK YOU!!

Settling in after “Soul Safari”…

Naomi — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:54:36 +0000

It’s great to be back home and settling in again after our phenomenal “Soul Safari” with Hills of Africa Travel. What an AWESOME trip it was, from the stunning venues, five-star accomodation and food, exceptional wildlife and cultural experiences…to the ten-star group of fantastic new friends!!

Our sincere thanks again to Sandy and Meredith for including us as the photographers, to Ainslie MacLeod (author of The Instruction: Living the Life Your Soul Intended) for the insight he shared, to our exceptional hosts at Madikwe Safari Lodge and in Cape Town, and to the rest of our fabulous fellow travellers, from all over the USA and Canada. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure getting to know each of them, and witnessing their delight in a first trip to Africa

The journey involved far too much on too many levels to summarize in a blog post, so instead I’ll include a group photo from Madikwe Game Reserve and one from Cape Point, as tiny representation of our two destinations, which so beautifully encompass the themes for my two novels, the African bushveld and the Sea, respectively.

SOUL SAFARI 2009 - Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

SOUL SAFARI 2009 - Cape Point Nature Reserve, Cape Town, South Africa

Now it’s all about processing…hundreds of images and hours of video footage…what a wonderful way to relive an amazing adventure!!