On rhinos

I think I’ll just leave this Unpopular Opinion Puffin pic here:

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…and go and get a nice coffee.

Seriously though, when did it become ok to completely ignore the Constitution in this regard?
Yes, rhinos are endangered. Yes, poaching of rhinos is a terrible thing. You may even think that alleged poachers should face the death penalty for their part in the whole thing.

But, sadly for you, all of that is actually immaterial. Because that’s not what the Constitution says.

Or perhaps you think that the Constitutional rights of the poachers should be ignored in these cases?

But you’ll still want your Constitutional rights upheld at all costs, right?

Thought so.

Satellite image of Cape Town cold front

Here’s an satellite image of the huge cold front hitting Cape Town right now:

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That swathe of white stuff a few thousand kilometres long is what’s making all this miserable weather. Looking round the corner, I’m glad I’m not just off the coast of Argentina though. Eww.

Cape Town storm: emergency numbers

Apparently, it’s going to be a full on nasty afternoon and night weather wise: cold, wet, windy. A typical winter storm as we… er… head towards the end of winter, then.

The City seem more concerned about this one than usual though and have issued several warnings via radio, TV, the interweb and social media. We’re looking at snowfalls, landslides and – mystifyingly, “high fire danger” in the Karoo today.

And yes, probably snow on Table Mountain. Just much rain here right now though.

Anyway, it’s never a bad idea to have some emergency numbers to hand, should there be an emergency and you want to tell someone about it, so here you go:

  • Flooding, blocked drains and service disruptions – 0860 103 089 or SMS 31373
  • Electricity outages/disruptions – 0860 103 089 or SMS 31220.
  • Road Closures, delays on roadways and deviations – 0800 65 64 63
  • Weather Reports – Cape Town Weather Office (021 934 0749/0831), weatherline (083 123 0500), listen to alerts on the radio and television or visit www.weathersa.co.za
  • Emergencies – 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone

The sooner you phone, the sooner help will arrive.

Bearing in mind that last line, I’ve given each of the numbers a quick call already: it pays to be prepared.

You can also follow the City on twitter or visit their Disaster Management website.
Also on twitter, Cape Town’s Freeway Management Service is very useful.

Of fish

Not a sponsored post, just another 6000 Recommends…

And today I’m recommending the Two Oceans Aquarium at the Waterfront. We were down there yesterday, and no, despite the rain, it really wasn’t as busy as you think it was. It’s not like it was our first time, we’re members and we go down there maybe every other month. But it’s great value and the kids love it. Every single time.

It helps that we spend as much time as we can exploring the rock pools around Agulhas and it’s a real bonus to be able to tie the two in together.

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Bonus for me this time around (aside from the smiles on the faces of my loved ones, obviously) was this Rockhopper penguin, which had set up his… her… its nest right next to the fence in the penguin enclosure.

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Not wanting to intrude, I carefully slipped the very end of my phone (just the tip) against the bamboo fencing poles and took this from all of 20cm away.

If anyone knows how to remove beak marks from a Sony Xperia T, I’d be obliged if you could get in touch.

Anyway, I suspect that I’m teaching Cape Town parents to suck eggs when it comes to suggesting the Aquarium as a good spot to take your kids. But just in case you were hesitating, go and do it.