Woodpecker Travel And Tours

The Aloe Farm has a wonderful selection of very exotic Agapanthus flowers. The breeding process must require a lot of patience and amazing insight and imagination to get the variety of colours and forms that we saw yesterday. An excellent day, enhanced by the food and drink on offer - good quality at a very good price! The artists had a great time creating memories of a lovely outing. The world famous Blackjack Agapanthus is approaching its peak, so take advantage of the opportunity and visit the farm soon.

Woodpecker has just returned from the first of what will surely be many tours to the Champagne Valley in the Drakensberg. Our stay at Hill Billy cottages was the perfect destination for our group, a home from home in every respect. Our visits to the Drakensberg Boys Choir, Falcon Crest Birds of Prey and the many and varied options for refreshments created a wonderful experience.

Did you know that it is “Pensioners’ Month”? Johannesburg Zoo absolutely rose to the occasion - a group of artists from the Jhb North U3A spent the morning exploring and enjoying what is on offer. Happy, peaceful animals in well-maintained camps. Well done to City Parks for maintaining this valuable facility for all to enjoy!

The Free State is experiencing quite dry conditions after the recent dramatic weather in the mountainous areas of the Drakensberg, Lesotho and Malutis. Clear blue skies and sunshine created the perfect conditions to enjoy the scenery during our recent trip to Wyndford, Ficksburg and Clarens.

Yesterday was a very sad day for friends and family of Shirley Gooch. Shirley passed away at 10am after a short illness. Fly with the angels, dear lady.

We will be visiting Semonkong as part of tours to Ficksburg and Lesotho. I am taking the liberty of posting some of the lodge photos of the snow, together with one of the “Blanket Lady” - her explanation of how Lesotho blankets fit into the Nation’s culture is truly something to behold. I also include a group photo of the Royal family displaying their own, unique blanket.

Holidays aren’t just about scenery, history and nature. Our recent trip to the Lowveld created lots of opportunities for group photos. We start with people who haven’t met before and end with lasting friendships.

I don’t often post a single photo. However, this is an exception - the Fish Eagle had missed out on a meal and was taking off to land on a nearby edge of the lake to dry it’s wings in preparation for the next attempt.

I know that the purists would prefer to see the following in the wild. I believe that Alzu deserves to be recognised for the outstanding show of animals and statuary at the fuel and food stopover between the Lowveld and Gauteng.
All species seen are breeding successfully, with lots of young antelope and calves amongst the mingling adults.

It is officially Springtime! So we went to Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens this morning. Can you believe that the Clivias TOTALLY overshadowed the display by our world famous Verreaux Eagles and their chick that is rapidly becoming an expert at soaring through the air!

It is grey cold in the Champagne Valley today, ideal for exploring local quirky attractions. Following on William of Hill Billy’s advice, we popped in to the absolutely nostalgic local museum. We even found out that the ancestors on the maiden side of the current Wood generation were tea merchants. I guess that balances out the Woods Luck craft gin available in Pilgrims Rest!

After meeting the owners of Hill Billy Cottages at Wyndford some time ago, I visited with William Thornhill today. The four cottages offer a delightful and rustic setting that is perfect for the experience I would like to offer guests of Woodpecker Travel and Tours, ideal for creating a memorable experience in the Champagne Valley - historic battlefields, Drakensberg Boys Choir, Falcon Ridge Bird Sanctuary and “much, much more”, with scenery that is intoxicating!

We are in the Central Drakensberg for the week. The following photos were taken at or near to our accommodation. Late winter and our feathered friends are super active.

Woodpecker Travel and Tours is back from an exciting trip that explored destinations such as Nieu Bethesda and, surprise surprise, Middelburg.
I last visited Middelburg when, as developers of agricultural software, we created a stud management system for Merino breeders. That was a looooong time ago.
As a convenient stop over from the Garden Route back to Gauteng, we decided to stay at Celtis Country Lodge after reading positive, current reviews.
Well done, Celtis - you are a clear leader as an option that will suit our customers very well.

As I have already mentioned, Nieu Bethesda has a lot to offer - history and nature in every direction. The glistening, sparkling jewel in its crown is, obviously, the Owl House. This selection of photos doesn’t do justice to the creative genius of Helen Martins - a troubled soul who expressed herself in amazing statuary and colourful light.

Visiting Nieu Bethesda is akin to experiencing a small town as it would have been throughout the twentieth century. Clean, brilliant blue skies, unpaved streets that are reminiscent of a time when litter and potholes were unheard of. Beautifully maintained buildings dating back to the mid-1800’s - I could wax lyrical all day! Here are some of the sights that don’t actually do justice to this gem hidden in a valley in the middle of the Karoo.

Watch this space! Woodpecker Travel and Tours is in Nieu Bethesda. What a delightful village……

Is Winter becoming a bit dreary? Here is a sample of what Mother Nature has in store for us….

Pilgrims Rest deserves some recognition for, what I believe, is a remarkable recovery. Not too long ago it was on the brink of total disaster. Today it is a pleasure to take guests to see the town again. Well done to all of the people who have been responsible for this achievement.

It is surprising how many interesting birds can be seen in the Kruger National Park in the depths of winter. Some quite predictable, but the owl was amazing. I have always wanted to get the little Emerald Spotted Dove with the light in the right “spot”!

Woodpecker Travel and Tours has been in the Lowveld (again). There will be some posts to follow that illustrate more of the beauty of the different destinations that we visited. However, this message is motivated by the fact that there are Zamma Zammas operating in full view of officials and the SAPS - the photo shows a few of the perpetrators across the valley from the access route to the Bourke's Luck potholes. Looking closer, it is clear how they are damaging the hillside that leads down into the river bed. The question is, obviously, how can they be allowed to continue with this illegal activity?

I am really pleased that we stopped in at Pilgrims Rest. The town was buzzing and looking lovely in the sunshine. So we stopped by at Woodsluck (obvious choice) and some of my guests sampled their moonshine……

We have just returned from the Lowveld tour. The Panorama route was so beautiful - forests as far as the eye could see, enhanced by the spectacular waterfalls all dressed up with lovely aloes in full bloom.

Woodpecker Travel and Tours is in the Lowveld. Fantastic weather for a perfect break from the winter chill. We visited the Jane Goodall Chimp Eden rescue centre close to Mbombela/Nelspruit. I hope that the photos do some justice ……..

Our visit to the Aloe Farm, besides seeing spectacular aloes and bonsai trees, was rewarded by having a number of different sunbirds harvesting nourishment from the flowering plants on display. Here are some of the birds -