An upgrade

World Tour time. But on this occasion, we actually get a visit!

And the Cape Town Cigarettes After Sex gig sold out much more quickly than I expected. Especially given that it’s a whole year away. I actually initially thought that it was going to be in May, which seemed much more reasonable, but I had fallen foul of the American dating system, and it was 5/3 rather than 3/5.

Or whatever.

So yes, we’ve still got 50 weeks to wait for the concert. And I didn’t get very good tickets, because I was a bit slow off the mark, because I genuinely thought that it would be a real slow burner.

What a muppet.

But here’s the thing: because it sold out so quickly, they’ve added another date! And I was much quicker off the mark this time, booking some really awesome seats: right next to the people who are spending far too much money on concert tickets, but only spending a fraction of what they did despite only being 50cm further from the action.

Now all I need to do is get my previous tickets refunded (thankfully, the promoter specifically allows for this “second date” situation on their website) and we’re golden.

Oh. And then just hang about for 11½ months until the gig actually happens…

Balloon

Mornings are early in Limpopo. The sun rises almost an hour earlier in Hoedspruit than it does down here in Slaapstad. And so I was up very very early to get some shots as the sun came up while I was away.

Busy busy, and not much time for looking at other stuff, but when you are placed right next to the Blyde River Canyon and the lip of the great African escarpment, it seems foolish not to grab a couple of shots as the tourist hot air balloons rise for their early morning trip.

This literally taken from car park of the main subject of my photography that morning. How they get any work done there with this as a backdrop is beyond me.

Of course, when I pointed this out, they reminded me that we have Table Mountain in Cape Town, and they’d likely have the same issue trying to work down here.

Which is a fair point.

SANBI announces new garden access membership scheme

Indeed. Now that (almost) a year has passed since SANBI (who run the Botanical Gardens in SA) called time on BotSoc members (who are people interested in plants generally, and/or people who wanted “free” access to the Botanical Gardens in SA) getting “free” access to the Botanical Gardens in SA, SANBI has launched its own “free” access programme.

“Free”, because it’s not free at all, but does offer a huge discount on their day to day pricing.

Previously, by being BotSoc members at R562 per adult, and R90 per child, we could (and did) have access to all of the Botanical Gardens in SA. Unlimited access for a whole year, nogal. That was a really good deal. But then SANBI told BotSoc that it wasn’t going to continue, and… well… it ended with any membership that expired after 31 March 2023.

The good news is that – as you may have noticed in the title of this post – SANBI has now announced a new garden access membership scheme.

It’s basically the same as the old BotSoc one, but more expensive (because of reasons, obviously). Adult memberships are now R600 (up 6.76% – ok) [thanks for the correction, Anita B!] R800 (up 42.35%) and kids are R400. That’s a very reasonable 344.44% increase.

And yet it still represents decent value for money, with a day pass to Kirstenbosch R100 for adults and R40 for kids. So six eight adult visits and ten kids’ visits and already you’re ahead of the curve.

The new tickets are available (and valid) from 1st April 2024.

Back once again

A much nicer flight home yesterday, passing over the Blyde River Canyon, OR Tambo International Airport, Ellis Park, the FNB Stadium, Fraserburg, Inverdoorn (and its nearby wind farm) and the Matroosberg Nature Reserve.

(There was a lot less snow yesterday.)
We probably went over a lot of other stuff as well, but I either wasn’t looking at it or didn’t recognise it.
As we swooped in for a northward landing, I did notice that there was Congestion Before Victoria.

Obviously.

A good trip in general, I think. I hope I got everything that they wanted. Many kilometres were covered. A few challenges, but there are always going to be a few challenges.
The cutest little airport. One dodgy hotel. One amazing hotel (thankfully in that order).
HEAT! Wildlife. Birds.

Potholes. Scenery. Friendly people. Interesting stories. HEAT! Much fruit. Some cracking biltong.

And now, back to it. A good night’s sleep last night, some catch-up at gym this morning – hard work after a week off – and while I did well over 10,000 steps each day, the opportunity and environment were wholly unsuitable for a run.

And today? Some decent coffee, maybe a beer or two, and the intention to watch a lot of football this afternoon.

Quota OBS

Since I’m away, and hopefully working hard, I’ve lined a few posts to tide you over while I’m gone.

That’s not to say that I’ll not post stuff if I get chance. It’s just that I likely won’t get chance, so I’ll pop some posts up just in case.

For example, here’s a quota photo of an Orange-breasted Sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea) at Kirstenbosch, earlier this year:

As autumn closes in (although not here), it’s a lovely reminder of those vivid summer colours.

And an easy way to preserve my post-a-day record.