Flocks of white, black and brown ducks hunt for snails and bugs as they patrol the grapevines at a vineyard in South Africa's winemaking town of Stellenbosch, helping the owners steer clear of pesticides and synthetic fertilisers. Around 500 Indian runner ducks work as a natural pest control at the Vergenoegd Löw Wine Estate, but also entertain wine-quaffing tourists. A flock of Indian Runner ducks, which assist as natural pest-control, in place of pesticides, by eating all the snails and bugs, walk amidst the grape vines during their daily patrol around the Vergenoegd Wine Estate, in Stellenbosch, in Cape Town, South Africa, January 12, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander "We call them the soldiers of the vineyards," the managing director of the estate, Corius Visser, told Reuters. D...
Read MoreTag: South Africa
A pioneering scheme using street art, theatre and song aims to reduce open dumping and burning of waste as well as increase plastic recycling in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Uncontrolled plastic waste disposal is becoming an increasingly serious problem there; threatening the environment and human health. Waste is often burned, contributing to climate change and poor air quality. This creative campaign has been co-created by University of Portsmouth experts, local stakeholders including artists, musicians and waste collectors to increase recycling in rural areas. The methods being used are aimed at teaching people that waste has value, and that dumping and burning waste impacts heavily on human health. The University has partnered with WasteAid and provincial environmental...
Read MoreAs South African artist Fhatuwani Mukheli paints a portrait of a woman at his Johannesburg studio, he is creating not only the work before him but also a digital asset destined to adorn a virtual world. Mukheli uses The Tree, an online marketplace for South African artists to promote and sell their art as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). "There's a virtual world where people are buying land in it," said Mukheli, referring to the metaverse, a three-dimensional digital reality that tech giants like Microsoft and Facebook say is the future of the internet. A view of few exhibits at Trevor Stuurman's art exhibition titled " A Place Called Home" in Parktown, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko "People have properties there ... and your art can b...
Read MoreThe World Bank has issued the world's first wildlife conservation bond, raising $150 million to help efforts to increase the endangered black rhino population in South Africa, the bank said in a statement on Thursday. The five-year 'rhino bond' issued on Wednesday will pay investors returns based on the rate of growth of black rhino populations at South Africa's Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) and the Great Fish River Nature Reserve (GFRNR), the bank said. FILE PHOTO: A black rhino is seen after it was dehorned in an effort to deter the poaching of one of the world's endangered species, at a farm outside Klerksdorp, in the north west province, South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko After five years, investors would get a return of between 3.7% and 9.2% if the population increase...
Read MoreSouth African hotel train defies lockdown odds with number of guests picking up Back in 2020 when South Africa went into a strict COVID-19 lockdown, a local company pressed on with opening a hotel with a difference in a tourism hotspot - and two years later that gamble is paying off. Guests are seen relaxing at an outdoor pool and sun terrace, of a hotel in a near 100-year-old train, that sits on the Selati suspension bridge, which spans a river in the heart of the iconic Kruger National Park, in Skukuza, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, February 9, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko The hotel is a near 100-year-old train that sits on the Selati suspension bridge, which spans a river in the heart of the Kruger National Park. Lovingly restored, it offers 24 full-carriage rooms agai...
Read MoreTlalamba, a four-year-old leopard, has achieved much in her short life. She's queen of her mother's old territory, borne two cubs and, so far, is the most sought-after animal on her reserve among buyers of a new project selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to raise money for conservation. NFTs are a form of crypto asset which exploded in popularity last year. All kinds of digital objects - from art to videos and even tweets - can be bought and sold as NFTs, which use unique digital signatures to ensure they are one-of-a-kind. FILE PHOTO: A handout photo of Tlalamba, a four-year-old leopard and the most sought-after animal in her reserve among buyers of a new scheme selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to raise money for conservation, at the Djuma Game Reserve in Hluvukani, in Mpumalanga...
Read MoreS. Africans protest against Shell oil exploration in pristine coastal area
South Africans took to their beaches on Sunday to protest against plans by Royal Dutch Shell to do seimsic oil exploration they say will threaten marine wildlife such as whales, dolphins, seals and penguins on a pristine coastal stretch. A South African court on Friday struck down an application brought by environmentalists to stop the oil major exploring in the eastern seaboard's Wild Coast, rejecting as unproven their argument that it would cause "irreparable harm" to the marine environment, especially migrating hump-back whales. The Wild Coast is home of some of the country's most undisturbed wildlife refuges, and it's stunning coastal wildernesses are also a major tourist draw. At least 1,000 demonstrators gathered on a beach near Port Edward, a Reuters TV corres...
Read MoreThe docking of the Europa passenger liner in Cape Town on Tuesday was meant to be a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the official start of the cruise ship season in South Africa's top tourist hub, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But international travel curbs on southern Africa, where the new Omicron coronavirus variant was first identified, have blown expectations of a bumper tourist season out of the water. Gulls are seen as the Europa passenger liner arrives to South African waters, as the new coronavirus variant Omicron spreads, in Cape Town, South Africa, November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Shelley Christians The multi-storey, white luxury liner is the first to dock at Cape Town since South Africa imposed a total ban on all cruise ships entering local ports in March 2020...
Read MoreSuggest a holiday in Africa and most people picture baking hot sun, palm-fringed beaches or herds of wildebeest galloping across the savannah. Few think of skiing. People ski and snowboard at Kapoko Snow Park at Afriski Mountain Resort in Butha Buthe, Lesotho, July 31, 2021. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham Yet the continent contains five mountain ranges with enough seasonal snow to make potential slopes, of which two host rudimentary ski resorts. Tucked into South Africa's stunning Drakensburg range, one such resort in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho attracts tourists seeking a more adventurous skiing destination - despite visitor numbers being drastically slashed by COVID-19. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_script",n=e.fwn=function(){ n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,...
Read More‘Diamond rush’ grips South African village after discovery of unidentified stones
More than 1,000 fortune seekers on Monday flocked to the village of KwaHlathi in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province in search of what they believed to be diamonds after a discovery of unidentified stones in the area. The people travelled from across South Africa to join villagers who have been digging since Saturday, after a herd man who dug up the first stone on an open field, which some believe to be quartz crystals, put out the word. A man uses a pickaxe to dig as fortune seekers flock to the village after pictures and videos were shared on social media showing people celebrating after finding what they believe to be diamonds, in the village of KwaHlathi outside Ladysmith, in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, June 14, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko The discovery was a lif...
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