Second baby rhino born near Mossel Bay

The Garden Route Game Lodge near Mossel Bay has announced the birth of a second baby rhino in as many years.

“The baby was spotted on the game drive on the morning of Sunday the 13th of March, so it was probably born onSaturday the 12th, some time in the evening,” said the reserve’s owner, Anthony Doherty.

“Game ranger Arbri Olivier had sighted the rhinos and was busy explaining to the guests on his Land Rover how he suspected that the cow may be pregnant when to his surprise the calf showed itself!” he said.

“The inter-calving period is usually two and a half years and this cow gave birth to her first calf just over two years ago – hence our surprise.”

It’s also quite unusual to be able to see the calf at such a young age. “New mothers normally retreat with their calves into the thicket, emerging into the grasslands only in the cool of the day to graze,” said Mr. Doherty

Rhino sightings are a regular occurrence on the Reserve, which offers game drives to both resident guests and day visitors. Other wildlife on the Reserve includes lion, elephants, buffalo, giraffe, cheetah and various antelope species, while a reptile center and cheetah conservation center are particularly popular attractions.

Mr. Doherty said that the youngster – which hasn’t been named yet because staff on the Reserve don’t know whether it’s a bull or a calf – “Is a feisty little thing, a bit of a terrorist, constantly charging its mother’s legs and her horn.

“It’s suckling strongly, and appears to be perfectly healthy.

“Also, the mother has now chased away the older calf – Roxy – so that she can concentrate on the baby, and Roxy is now walking and grazing with our bull.”

Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm said that the Reserve’s wildlife Manager, Hein Schoeman, has put an anti-poaching strategy in place under the guidance of local wildlife expert, author and owner of the Nature College, Johan Fourie.

She congratulated the Garden Route Game Lodge on the arrival of the new addition.

“Situated as it in the fynbos and between the mountains and the sea, Mossel Bay offers a very unusual mix of African wilderness experiences, as the birth of this baby rhino perfectly illustrates.

“We wish him or her a long and healthy life in the pristine environment of the Reserve.”

A short video of the calf has been loaded to YouTube – go here

More information:

• Garden Route Game Lodge
• Mossel Bay Tourism
• Terblanche Total Property Solutions

 

Buffalo Rally gathers momentum

The 2011 Buffalo Rally will take place in Mossel Bay from the 18th to the 20th of March.

This will be the sixth time the Rally, which is organised by Cape Town’s Nomads Motorcycle Club, will meet in the Garden Route town.

“The Buffs is a win-win for everyone involved,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm. “It brings a huge injection of interest and visitors to the town, it’s super fun for the participants, and it raises an enormous amount of money for a good cause.”

The Buffalo Rally is managed and staffed entirely by volunteers – both from the Nomads and from the local Round Table, for whom it is the biggest fund-rising event of the year. By tradition, a large proportion of the money raised by the Round Table is donated to the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).

Newly elected president of the Mossel Bay Round Table, Thinus van Rensburg, said that about 160 local volunteers – including a number of NSRI volunteers – would man the bar at the Buffalo Rally this year.

“Last year we raised R40,000 for the NSRI, and a further R 80,000 was spent on other community projects – all from funds raised by the Buff,” he said.

“About a 110 members of the Nomads Motorcycle Club will be coming to the Buffs this year – and although they’re involved in organising the event, they’ll be paying the same entry fee as everyone else,” said the Nomads’ Luderick Jacoby.

He said that the club has made special arrangements to prevent inconvenience to local residents.

The Rally will be centered in the De Bakke and Santos Caravan Parks – the famous municipal parks on Mossel Bay’s beachfront – but will include a concours d’elegance (which will take place in the conference room of the Mossel Bay Protea Hotel), and a mass ride through the streets of the town.

“We want to keep rally-goers in the camp site and out of the local bars as much as possible – especially late at night – so we’ve organised more entertainment than last year, with bands like Just Done, Boulevard Blues, Heywire, and Late Final, who will all perform in the campsite,” said Mr. Jacoby.

The programme will feature a number of competitions – including a lucky draw for R100,000, which will be open to everyone in possession of an entry ticket. Prizes will also be awarded to riders who’ve travelled the longest distance to the rally on a motorcycle, the longest distance on dirt, and the longest distance on the smallest bike – and to the oldest male and female bikers.

Mr. Jacoby said that special arrangements had been made for law enforcement. “The South African Police Service and the local Traffic Departments will be imposing strict enforcement of the Road Traffic Act over the Buff weekend.

“We want the Buff to be a fun and enjoyable event for us as well as the residents of Mossel Bay and, most importantly, we would like to return the following year.

“We can only achieve this with the cooperation of everyone there,” he said.

Ms. Holm said that riders who come to the Buffalo Rally often returned for family holidays later in the year.

“Events like this are important showcases for us – and, in fact, a number of the bikers who’ve been to the Buff in the past have bought property in Mossel Bay.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone in March,” she said.

More information:

• Buffalo Rally website
• Accommodation and attractions in Mossel Bay

Original article

New “Things to do” Brochure for Mossel Bay

Media Release. 1 November 2010. Mossel Bay Tourism

Mossel Bay Tourism has published a new version of its popular ‘Things To Do’ Brochure.

Mossel Bay’s new Things To Do Brochure – 28 pages of attractions and activities

“By coincidence, the town features as one of the cover stories in the October edition of Getaway Magazine. The article’s called ‘Mossel Bay – Hey! It’s the Garden Route’s new adventure hub’ – and we couldn’t have described it better ourselves,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm.

“Mossel Bay has come a long way from the old days when it was just a sleepy kusdorpie – which is why we decided earlier this year to adopt a new slogan (‘Mossel Bay. Do stuff’), and why we’ve also re-thought, and completely redesigned, our attractions and adventures brochure.”

Ms. Holm said that Mossel Bay is ideally situated as an adventure playground.

“It’s exactly half way between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, it enjoys the best weather – and the best beaches – on the Garden Route, and it’s close to both the Outeniqua Mountains and the unique fynbos of the Albertinia-Gourits River area.

“It’s also culturally a very rich area, being both the focus of the Mossel Bay Archaeology Project (the largest scientific project of it’s kind in the world), and the site of the first contact between European explorers and indigenous South Africans.”

She said that the arrival of Bartolomeu Dias and his crew on the 3rd of February, 1488, is commemorated in the Dias Museum complex’s Maritime Museum. “The replica of Dias’ caravel – and the Post Office Tree in which the Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries used to leave messages for one another – remain two of our biggest attractions, especially amongst European and South American visitors.

“Taken together, Mossel Bay now offers an enormous number of attractions and things to do: everything from shark cage diving and sand boarding to spas and beauty salons. And we’ve now even got a beautiful wine estate, which took championship awards at the 2009 and the 2010 South African Young Wine Shows.”

Ms. Holm said that the new Things To Do brochure has been designed to provide the public – and tour operators – snapshots of information about all of the town’s adventures and attractions.

“Every one of them has been colour coded to a fold-out map – so users can easily plan their routes.”

She said that whilst mobile phones have made the internet easily available, “when it comes to making spur-of-the-moment decisions, travellers still rely heavily on printed brochures.

“Proof of this comes from our brochure distribution contractor, whose clients in the accommodation and attractions sectors have figures to show that between 10 and 15% of new business is generated via information that people have found in brochures.”

Mossel Bay Tourism’s new ‘Things To Do’ brochure is available from the information office on the corner Church and Market Streets. For an electronic version, please mail info@visitmosselbay.co.za.

Download pdf MBay Things To Do pdf

 

Mossel Bay – A little bit of everything

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We love Mossel Bay. Where else in the world is it possible to enjoy 320 days (on average) of sunshine every year and 24km’s of white, unspoilt beaches, including two north-facing beaches? If you’re wondering what Mossel Bay offers the tourist or holidaymaker, the Tourism website refers to the “…long sandy beaches washed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, boat rides; the bay full of dolphins, whale watching from June to November; big game viewing and extreme adventures (shark-cage diving, scuba diving, sky diving); fascinating museums and excellent shopping; entertainment for the whole family; restaurants for every palate; and top notch accommodation for every budget, scenic harbour; and top class golf courses.”

However, if it seems that we get overly excited about our hometown, we found the following press release on This Tourism Week today for some perspective:

One of the doyens of tourism in South Africa, Thompsons Holidays’ John Ridler, visited Mossel Bay last week for a seminar with members of Mossel Bay Tourism – and he says he loves the town.

“I was first of all impressed by the lovely old buildings – with not a lot of signage on them,” he said.

“That’s not something that you can command people to do: it really gives you a sense of preservation and a sense of charm that makes one almost want to say the unforgivable ‘I hope it doesn’t grow any more.’

“My worst fear would be the sort of coastal town with only huge malls and multi-story parking garages.

“As we were driving into town we noticed the enormous number of townhouses and blocks of flats at Diaz Beach, and naturally they should be there – but I’m sure that all of the people who live in them come to town enjoy the old part of it.
“I’m amazed and surprised at how lovely it is and how well preserved it is.”

One of the things that struck him most forcefully, he said, was the fact that people in Mossel Bay made best use of the facilities here: he’d stayed at The Point Hotel (“you’ve got one up on everyone else there – everyone else builds their hotel on the beach, but this one’s right on the rocks”) and noticed that the locals used the promenade between the hotel and the Point Village. “There were people sitting watching the ocean at eight, nine o’clock last night,” he said, “and they were there again at 6:30 this morning!”

He said that his impression of the members of Mossel Bay Tourism whom he met was “an eye-opener of note.

“I’ve dealt with a number of tourism bodies and their members and I found an enormously cooperative group of people [at the seminar] today – which indicates to me that they’re happy with what’s being done [by the company].

“I also think I’ve never seen a turn-out as good as we had today, and as a body of people working together, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite as cohesive as this.”

As a guest of Mossel Bay Tourism, Mr. Ridler was taken to a meal at the newly refurbished Gannet Seafood House at the Mossel Bay Protea Hotel – where he also inspected the 120-seat Ochre Barn Conference Centre.

“I think this is a world-beating venue. You could be anywhere – overlooking the harbour in Sydney, for instance – but the point is you’re here in Mossel Bay.
“And that’s a wonderful place to be.”

* Courtesy www.clubface.co.za