South Africa - NOT amateur radio

One of the most beautiful places I have ever been to is South Africa. I was expecting dry and dusty, but it had all sorts of scenery from Scotland to almost desert. 

To this day, I am tickled by seeing baboons on the beach at the Cape. 

It really is a world in one country.  It makes a good place for a holiday, but I would not like to live there.

This photo was taken by a friend and appeared on 365project earlier today.

South Africa - NOT amateur radio

Some years ago we had a holiday in South Africa with Saga. It was one of the best holidays we have ever been on. 

Hotels and food were excellent and we were quite unprepared for the huge variety of scenery. In some parts it was like Scotland, others like the Med and others scrub. 

We saw "the big five" wild animals and many more. I still can't get over seeing monkeys and ostriches on the beach on the way to the Cape.

I expected to see lots of insects, but we see far more in our garden!

South Africa - NOT amateur radio

Doing a walk around the village in the biting wind it is hard to think of the sunny weather in South Africa some years ago. 

This was a very good holiday with such a variety of scenery. In places it was like Scotland and others the Mediterranean. In other places scrub. 

The photo shows False Bay near Cape Town, which is a fine city. 

Not quite sure what we were expecting. We saw "the big five" wild animals, but the sheer variety of scenery was such a surprise. It really is "a world in one country". If you get a chance to go there in the future do go as you are very unlikely to be disappointed.

It is not a place I would wish to live in, but for a holiday it was wonderful. Certainly one of the most beautiful places in the world.

60m in South Africa

Southgate News reports that South Africa has allocated 100kHz to amateurs at 5MHz. This is excellent and enlightened spectrum allocation.  Of course this is secondary and strictly on a non-interference basis. Wouldn't it be good if CEPT followed suit? OFCOM?

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/may/south-africa-gets-100-khz-at-5-mhz.htm#.Wwp0-vZFzIU .

Holiday in South Africa - just back

No posts here for the last few weeks as my wife and I had been on holiday in South Africa. It was an amazing holiday organised by Saga and we saw some fantastic places, people and animals. Saga organise holidays for the over-50s and we were not sure what to expect, but the hotels, food, transport, and everything well exceeded expectations and the group we were with was a real mix of interesting people. The whole experience was something to feed on for years to come. For example, seeing the "Big 5" wild animals (and many more) in the Kruger National Park, seeing no less than 6 southern right whales at one spot from the shore near Cape Town and getting to within a couple of metres of wild penguins on a beach near Simonstown. Also, seeing the highlands of Lesotho where people still live a subsistence existence in huts made of dung, straw and sand without electricity and the basics we take for granted.