Good Luck!

The FGASA KZN North committee wishes everyone in South Africa writing a FGASA national exam today the best of luck! We trust you studied well and that one day you will be proud to have achieved your FGASA qualification.

Best Regards,

The FGASA KZN North committee.

KZN North Exam Workshop

Dear FGASA members,

The KZN North Committee wishes everyone writing the national exam the 31st of March good luck! For the people writing in Hluhluwe, we do offer an 'exam workshop' for learners writing the FGASA Level 1 exam, where you can come and ask questions about the topics you still might struggle with. The KZN North facilitators will then try to help you by answering your questions and explaining things where necessary, hopefully helping you passing your exam. This service is for free. These workshops will be held in St. Lucia (location to be announced), as well as in the Hluhluwe Hotel on the 28th of March from 6 PM till 9 PM.

Should you wish to make use of this service, please ensure that you make a reservation with the facilitators, to avoid finding them too busy with other students, and to avoid them sitting there for nothing. For the St. Lucia workshops, please text Nick van de Wiel on 072-7055124, for Hluhluwe please text Christa Panos on 083-7263826. Make sure you mention your name, and the time you wish to meet. Also ensure that you actually go to the workshop on the specified time, and should you not be able to, make sure you cancel your appointment with your facilitator in time.

Once again: Make a reservation with your facilitator! No reservation might mean the facilitator has no time for you that evening. And: If you have a reservation, make sure you come: No show (without cancellation) is no more future exam workshops for you... And please come prepared with your questions. If you have no questions, your facilitator unfortunately cannot help you. 

We hope this free service will ensure a higher pass rate amongst learners in this region.

Sincerely yours,

The FGASA KZN North committee

uMfolozi River and the Lake St Lucia system to re-join

In 2011 iSimangaliso publicised its strategy to let the uMfolozi River and Lake St Lucia rejoin in a bid to restore system functioning to close to its former state, prior to human intervention. This is a change from the practice of the last 60-odd years which has been to actively keep the uMfolozi and the Lake St Lucia system separate through the use of dredgers and the building of berms. This new strategy follows from new scientific findings and monitoring of the Lake system.

“New scientific work has highlighted the importance of re-establishing the link between the uMfolozi River and Lake St Lucia, and has shown that the risk of sediments to the health of the estuary has been overstated. By enabling the two systems to join, iSimangaliso is reversing a 60-year-old management approach which saw extensive manipulation of the Lake St Lucia estuary. Our ultimate aim in the restoration of Lake St Lucia is to protect iSimangaliso’s World Heritage Site without setting up a management regime that includes endless manipulation” says iSimangaliso CEO Andrew Zaloumis.

Since 1952 the uMfolozi River has been artificially cut off from the main system, which has reduced freshwater inflow to the lake. Combined with drought conditions, the St Lucia estuary mouth has remained closed to the sea for the best part of the last decade. This has resulted in St Lucia being unable to function as an estuary.

Following the adoption of the strategy and since the uMfolozi River was breached on the 5 November 2011 it has moved 330 metres. This northward migration of the uMfolozi Rver is a natural process that has been accelerated by a combination of high flows in the river from rainfall in the catchment and big seas generated by Cyclone Dando.

The uMfolozi mouth is now well positioned to re-join the St Lucia Lake system. iSimangaliso, together with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, has begun to facilitate the linking of the uMfolozi to Lake St Lucia, with the assistance of a tracked excavator and wheeled dozer. This entails the removal of old dredger spoil and marine sediments that have been deposited on the beach creating an artificial berm that deflects the uMfolozi River away from St Lucia. Heavy swells and rain such as those predicted for this weekend may assist with the re-joining process.

The spillway is being established as far west on the beach as possible. The route has been selected where a natural gradient exists on the beach between the uMfolozi and St Lucia systems. It is anticipated that this will allow the unrestricted flow of the uMfolozi into the St Lucia system. This is particularly important before the upcoming winter period when rainfall is low and it is possible that the uMfolozi mouth will close. The process continues to be carefully monitored by Park ecologists and GEF specialists.

The spillway will provide much needed water for the St Lucia system; lifting lake levels and contributing towards the longer term plan to restore the estuarine functioning of Lake St Lucia which will be of benefit to all users of the 70 km long system which comprises about 60% of South Africa’s estuarine resource. Restoring the link between the uMfolozi river and Lake St Lucia is necessary for this is to occur.

The management strategy is based on a scientific investigation and monitoring of the lake system scientific undertaken. Indicators such as rainfall and lake salinity are monitored regularly. St Lucia received a total of 803.1mm rain from October to date, with the highest monthly rainfall in November (237.9mm).

The rainfall has influenced the salinity levels in the Lake. The salinity level in the Narrows is maintained at a low level by the freshwater inflows from the uMpathe River and local catchment. Salinity in Charters Creek is less than a third of that of seawater. In contrast, the northern parts of the lake are experiencing hyper-salinities (i.e. above the salinity of the sea). This represents a reversed salinity gradient that is not normally found in estuaries.

This process is part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority’s development of long term solutions to improve the hydrological functioning of Lake St Lucia through the iSimangaliso/Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project. The objective of the GEF project is to support key studies that improve knowledge of the Lake St Lucia system, and to select the best feasible option to restore estuarine function; and to implement the necessary interventions to achieve this.

For further information and updates on the GEF project please contact GEF@iSimangaliso.com.

Or visit www.iSimangaliso.com and download ‘Lake St Lucia: understanding the problem and finding the solution’.

Newsflash No.: 2012.02.29

Legalizing trade in rhino horn?

KZN to push for rhino-horn trade
http://www.zululandobserver.co.za/Pages/m08story2.html

STORY: Vivien van der Sandt

KZN Wildlife authorities are to push for the legitimisation of trade in rhino horn, Dr Bandile Mkhize said last week. The CEO of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife was speaking at a function at Thula Thula Private Game Reserve. He said Ezemvelo was preparing a submission for Cites, due in September. ‘The solution (to the rhino-poaching problem) is to legalise the trade in rhino horn,’ he said. ‘We have to lobby. We have to convince government at national level. ‘We are going to run with this.’
The province had the support of conservationist Ian Player, and that was important as he had been instrumental in saving the rhino from extinction in the 1960s. Mkhize spoke of the difficulties of smashing the illegal trade. ‘The sophistication of the syndicates involved is amazing, as is the money involved,’ Mkhize said, mentioning in particular the use of night-vision equipment and helicopters. ‘One kilogram of horn is worth R650 000. The average rhino horn weighs five to six kilograms. So you can work out what that horn is worth,’ he said. He said there were five levels involved in the rhino-poaching network.
Law enforcement agencies often apprehended the bottom levels - one, two and three - that is, the poachers, the transporters, the sellers, and so on. But they could not crack the top levels, four and five. ‘Big businessmen are involved,’ he said. ‘They use people on the ground to do it. ‘What we do know is that all horns go to Gauteng. Whether they are poached in KZN or even if they are taken to Maputo first, they all end up in Gauteng. And from there, they just disappear.’ Mkhize’s views were not unanimously accepted, with members of the audience challenging his statement that flooding the market with rhino horn would stop the illegal trade and poaching.
Yvette Taylor, Executive Director of The Earth Organization said: ‘China has over a billion people, Vietnam has about 90 million. ‘How are we going to ‘flood the market’ and supply them all?’ Rhino are currently listed on Appendix 11 at CITES, an appendix that protects species that are not considered threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to Cites will be held 3-15 March 2013 in Thailand. The number of dead rhino in Zululand alone has risen by at least six in the past 10 days.
Members of the Richards Bay Organised Crime Combating Unit are investigating after two white rhino were found dead and dehorned near Mpila in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Park 10 days ago. Last Sunday at a private Game Lodge near Hluhluwe, a mother and calf were shot and their horns removed. Two male rhinos were found dead at Ndumo Reserve on Thursday, apparently as a result of fighting. However, the horns had been removed from the carcasses.

Junior Guides Wanted

Good afternoon,


I trust that you are keeping well. I have a few positions open for some junior guides in North West and Limpopo. Please feel free to contact me for more information.


Keep well


Stefan Winterboer
Guides and Trackers Direct (Pty) Ltd
www.guidesandtrackers.co.za
Office: (+27) 83 816 1443
Mobile: (+27) 82 326 6292
Fax: 086 692 4939

Tree outing Futululu and St. Lucia

Zululand Tree Society outing to Futululu Forest and Gwala Gwala Forest, St Lucia.
Date : Sunday 26th February 2012
Time :08h00 hrs
Venue : Meet at the Futululu Caravan Park, Monzi.
Directions: From the N2 take the R618 towards St Lucia. Approx 12 K before St Lucia turn right to Monzi (many sign boards here, ie., Cane Cutters, Cane Rats, Mozi Golf club etc). After approx. 5k turn right to Futululu Caravan Park which is sign boarded.

After walking through some forest at Futululu the plan is to go to the Gwala Gwala forest in St Lucia where there is a short trail in some tall forest. Both forests will be classified as coastal lowland forest and have some interesting species. Birding can also be good so bring some binocs.
We can have our picnic lunch at Gwala Gwala where there is plenty of shade.
Please let http://facebook.com/godfreycary.lang know if you are coming. Please note that there is an entry charge at Futululu Caravan Park of about R20 per person.

Invitation to KZN International Tourist Guide Day

The Department of the Economic Development and Tourism in collaboration with the Provincial Tourist Guides Association kindly request all Tourist Guides and Tour Operators to diaries the date hereunder for the KZN International Tourist Guides Day Celebration.

You are therefore requested to send your proof of attendance (RSVP ticket) on or before 21 February 2012 to Ms Thanda Madlala at madlalat@kznded.gov.za  (tel. 033 2649323) or Mr Sthe Zungu at zungust@kznded.gov.za (tel. 033 2649316) or fax to 033 32649372

Please download the invitation and RSVP ticket below.

Invitation to KZN International Tourist Guide Day 

Looking for qualified guides...

Hi all,


I am a recruitment consultant based in Port Elizabeth.

I recruit for 5 star Game Lodges across the Eastern Cape and we are urgently looking qualified FIELD Guides at the lodges.
They specifically look for qualified Field guides with FGASA level 2 or 3 who are DEAT Registered with PDP, First Aid, Firearms license etc.

If you match the criteria above, and would be willing to work and live in the Eastern Cape, please email me at retha@cityplacements.co.za
Many Thanks

Kind Regards
Retha

Rhino Report

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife - Media Release

Poachers were successfully intercepted by two Ezemvelo field rangers at Ndumo on Wednesday at 7.30pm. The field rangers were on routine patrol when they came across fresh sets of spoors. Simultaneously they heard the sound of gunshots and followed the sounds and intercepted the poachers. The poachers managed to flee... the scene but thanks to the quick-witted thinking of the field rangers, a .375 heavy calibre rifle was found on the scene along with three rounds of ammunition. The white rhino poached was found with its horn still intact as the poachers did not have enough time to cut off the horns after being intercepted by our dedicated field rangers. A case has been opened and the SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority are investigating the matter. No arrests have been made yet.
In another incident, two white rhino carcasses were spotted from the Bantam by Ezemvelo’s Section ranger, Corporal Nsibande at Noma West iMfolozi on Thursday. The two carcasses were found 300 metres apart from each other. Rhino Security Intervention Co-ordinator, Jabulani Ngubane, said, “One carcass was in the valley with both horns intact and the other had its horns missing. The SAPS, Hawks and Crime Intelligence Unit are investigating the matter.”
So far this year five rhinos have been poached and a post mortem will be done on the 6th rhino to establish the cause of death. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is in a process of forming a specialised reaction team of field rangers solely for the purpose of reacting to incidents and following up on leads and other information.
Rhino poaching statistics will soon be made available on Ezemvelo’s website which is currently being upgraded. Ngubane has reiterated that Ezemvelo is continuously instituting numerous strategic measures to curb rhino poaching. “Ezemvelo’s stance and commitment to preserving our rhinos is always our priority and we will therefore continue to intensify our investigations with regards to rhino poaching as we aim to root out the criminal elements involved with this heinous crime. We are also aware that we are facing formidable resistant dark forces.
As a result Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has implemented a very vigorous and credible intervention plan that has resulted in 13% reduction in rhino poaching in the Province in 2011. From January this year there has been a 85,3% reduction to date but it is still too early to judge. “The intervention among others involve security risk assessment that was done in all rhino reserves, implementation of Standard Operating Procedure, deployment of new field rangers, purchasing of sophisticated equipment and the establishment of informer networks and intelligence, coordinating and uniting the private sector which gave birth to KZN Project Rhino, the use of a helicopter and a bantam.”

Wilderness First Aid Course

Hi all,

We (Bhejane Nature Training, Ehlatini Bush Camp, False Bay) are running a 3-day Wilderness First Aid Course next week and have a couple of spaces open if there are any FGASA KZN North members that would like to join. It is conducted by SMART and is recognised by the Dept of Labour. 

Course dates are 20 – 24 February 2012 (3 full days) and 24 – 27 February 2012 (3 full days) 

If anyone wants more info or to join they can just contact me at dpanos@tiscali.co.za

Or phone Jana on 076 6035 868 to book a place.

Prices are R850 (including lunch for all three days but excluding accommodation)

R1250 with accommodation and meals.

Welcome to all St. Lucians!

Dear St. Lucians,

The FGASA KZN North Region Committee would like to welcome you on board on our shared mission to make this region the best and most popular tourist destination in Southern Africa. From our part, we focus on promoting excellence and professionalism in guiding, and know that you do your part too by offering great tour and accommodation products.

We hope to make available relevant information for tour and safari guides, and to organise various kinds of activities where guides can improve their knowledge. We also provide information about the opportunities FGASA offers in terms of attaining new qualifications and career development.

The easiest way to stay up to date is to leave your email address on the right of this page, so you'll get a notification per email once we post new content to this site.

Should you want to become involved in what we do, please feel free to contact nick.vandewiel@gmail.com. If you want to advertise a job opportunity for free, also send Nick an email, and he'll post it online.

To learn more about FGASA, feel free to have a look at http://fgasakznnorth.blogspot.com/search/label/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions

Please note that, even though our initiative is run and supported by FGASA, also non-FGASA members are welcome to subscribe to this page and partake in our organised activities.

Best Regards,

The FGASA KZN North Committee

Job opportunity Kragga Kamma Game Park, PE, Eastern Cape

A bit far off, but should you really need a job and/or want to escape the heat of KZN, go for it.

Work Opportunity

Candidate, preferably a young person, must be qualified to do game drives,(min requirement FGASA level 1) pdp, drivers licence, with some experience and contactable references.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kragga-Kamma-Game-Park/100903643309358

Email cv to dwait@worldonline.co.za

River Walk @ Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve

Not really in KZN-North region, but anyways

Tracy Weakly

Greetings All

If you're looking to get away from the rat-race and commune with nature there's no better way to spend a few hours on a weekend, under the expert guidance of an Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Honorary Officer. On Saturday 11 February 2012 at Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve in Yellowwood Park, Durban, we will be doing the much anticipated River Walk along the Red Trail down to the Umhlatuzana River and back up through coastal forest filled with over 200 species of birds’ and the possible glimpse of the elusive blue duiker.The cost is R30 which includes entrance to the reserve. Starts sharp at 8am. Possible 2.5 – 3 hour walk.Meet at the front entrance of Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve in Yellowwood ParkPass this e-mail onto all your friends that may be interested – would be wonderful to spend time together in this great little reserve.

Did you know: Zebra stripes might have evolved to keep biting flies at bay...

Experimental set-up of different patterns on horse models in a horse field

Why zebras evolved their characteristic black-and-white stripes has been the subject of decades of debate among scientists.

Now researchers from Hungary and Sweden claim to have solved the mystery.

The stripes, they say, came about to keep away blood-sucking flies.

They report in the Journal of Experimental Biology that this pattern of narrow stripes makes zebras "unattractive" to the flies.

They key to this effect is in how the striped patterns reflect light.

"We started off studying horses with black, brown or white coats," explained Susanne Akesson from Lund University, a member of the international research team that carried out the study.

"We found that in the black and brown horses, we get horizontally polarised light." This effect made the dark-coloured horses very attractive to flies.

It means that the light that bounces off the horse's dark coat - and travels in waves to the eyes of a hungry fly - moves along a horizontal plane, like a snake slithering along with its body flat to the floor.

Continue reading the main stor

Dr Akesson and her colleagues found that horseflies, or tabanids, were very attracted by these "flat" waves of light.

"From a white coat, you get unpolarised light [reflected]," she explained. Unpolarised light waves travel along any and every plane, and are much less attractive to flies. As a result, white-coated horses are much less troubled by horseflies than their dark-coloured relatives.

Having discovered the flies' preference for dark coats, the team then became interested in zebras. They wanted to know what kind of light would bounce off the striped body of a zebra, and how this would affect the biting flies that are a horse's most irritating enemy.

"We created an experimental set-up where we painted the different patterns onto boards," Dr Akesson told BBC Nature.

She and her colleagues placed a blackboard, a whiteboard, and several boards with stripes of varying widths into one of the fields of a horse farm in rural Hungary.

"We put insect glue on the boards and counted the number of flies that each one attracted," she explained.

The striped board that was the closest match to the actual pattern of a zebra's coat attracted by far the fewest flies, "even less than the white boards that were reflecting unpolarised light," Dr Akesson said.

"That was a surprise because, in a striped pattern, you still have these dark areas that are reflecting horizontally polarised light.

"But the narrower (and more zebra-like) the stripes, the less attractive they were to the flies."

To test horseflies' reaction to a more realistic 3-D target, the team put four life-size "sticky horse models " into the field - one brown, one black, one white and one black-and-white striped, like a zebra.

The researchers collected the trapped flies every two days, and found that the zebra-striped horse model attracted the fewest.

Prof Matthew Cobb, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Manchester pointed out that the experiment was "rigorous and fascinating" but did not exclude the other hypotheses about the origin of zebras' stripes.

"Above all, for this explanation to be true, the authors would have to show that tabanid fly bites are a major selection pressure on zebras, but not on horses and donkeys found elsewhere in the world... none of which are stripy," he told BBC Nature.

"[They] recognise this in their study, and my hunch is that there is not a single explanation and that many factors are involved in the zebra's stripes.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/16944753