Your Beaches, your future………….. You can decide on their fate!

Hello to all once again welcome to 2014.

Our need for Marine Protected Areas can not be underestimated. We need to ensure that our oceans are usable for all people for current and future generations. New Years day in Durban typifies this need. No this area is not a Marine Protected Area, but having these protected areas helps to ensure that the entire ocean can have improved management. This goes further and we need to extend this area inland to all catchments and how we use our resources. These pictures taken by Kierran Allan (https://twitter.com/KierranAllen/ ) show the value of our ocean to the general public that do not have access to the waters every day. Imagine the impacts on this cultural event if the water was too polluted to swim in or, the impact of these thousands of people using this resource on this day, and others if the ocean no longer functioned correctly. How would our lives be impacted health wise, or costs of food and quality of foods.

In this time of celebration and new motivation for the year I will encourage you to remember we share this planet and its resources with each other and are merely the custodians for a short period of time until the future generations take over from us. lets make them proud of the statements we make and the positive ways we can improve our sustainable future.

We all have a right to free and safe areas and having a great place to have easy access to our great natural resources is a very special privilege. So lets not forget to keep it clean and safe and re-usable for our future.

 

Studies have shown that our beaches are under threat with increased population pressure, but areas of low population are in much better condition. There is also abundant life beneath the sand, including plants and bugs. So next time you are tanning on the beach remember you are lying on a living and unique habitat and that the plants actively contribute to our oxygen needs and the bugs help clean the beaches so that we can use them safely. Having Marine Protected Areas allow for restoration of beaches that will actively contribute back to disturbed beaches in time, but also so much more. Your support and active help will always be appreciated. We might not see the results today but our future generations will.

 

 

Kilimanjaro: The Mountain and the Route

Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world, standing at 5895m, touching the equator with its snowy peak and overlooking Tanzania and Kenya. Overlooking Amboseli (meaning Dust Devil in Swahili) where the iconic pictures of Africa’s Giants (The elephant) stand against Africa’s Giant Mountain. 

Kilimanjaro is on many peoples bucket lists and is a popular mountain to climb with no need for extreme mountaineering. people from 6 to 82 have apparently climbed Kilimanjaro and then again there is the guy who apparently climbed it backwards.  But Kilimanjaro is more than a mountain it is a fantasy or romance. The Romance that comes with Africa, deepest darkest Africa. So the stories have come tagged to the beauty of this mountain, and its often clouded over appearance, the Table Cloth similar to that of Table Mountain in Cape Town. Stories like Hemingway’s Snows of Kilimanjaro or Zombies on Kilimanjaro by Tim Ward or Kissing Kilimanjaro: Leaving it all on top of Africa by Daniel Dor or Kilimanjaro: One mans quest to go over the hill by M.g Edwards.

One can stay at Hemingway’s Camp just outside Amboseli. Its a beautiful lodge and well catered and comfortable.  However this is not for this trip but for perhaps a revisit there one day in the future. The trip that we are taking on starts at Springlands Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania and then head up Kilimanjaro along the Machame route. The route is explained below and is organised by Carol Earley from Incentive Pro (http://incentivepro.co.za/).

 

6 Day Machame Itinerary

(http://machame.com/machame-itinerary6.htm)

Below is the day by day itinerary for the 6 day Machame climb on Mount Kilimanjaro.

For those who only have six days to climb Kilimanjaro, the Machame route is the best choice because of its acclimatization profile. Compared to other six day routes, the Machame route exposes the climber to higher elevations quicker (day three) which kickstarts the body’s adaptation to altitude. However, this route requires that a person be in good shape to be able to tackle the challenging elevation gains and losses.

The six day Machame variation is a difficult route. In particular, day four combined with day five makes for a very hard schedule. Day four is a full day of hiking from Barranco to Barafu. Then after dinner and a partial night’s sleep, the very long and strenuous summit day begins around midnight. The 6 day Machame route requires 19-24 hours of demanding walking, at extremely high elevation, with only 4-6 hours of sleep.

DAY 1

•Machame Gate to Machame Camp
•Elevation (ft): 5,400ft to 9,400ft
•Distance: 11 km
•Hiking Time: 5-7 hours
•Habitat: Rain Forest

The drive from Moshi to the Mount Kilimanjaro National Park Gate takes about 50 minutes. The journey passes through the village of Machame which is located on the lower slopes of the mountain.

We now leave the park gate and walk through the rain forest on a winding trail up a ridge. Lower down, the trail can be muddy and slippery. Gaiters and trekking poles are a good idea here. We continue a short distance until we reach the Machame Camp.

DAY 2

•Machame Camp to Shira Camp
•Elevation (ft): 9,400ft to 12,500ft
•Distance: 5 km
•Hiking Time: 4-6 hours
•Habitat: Moorland

After breakfast, we leave the glades of the rain forest and continue on an ascending path, crossing the little valley walking along a steep rocky ridge, covered with heather, until the ridge ends. The route now turns west onto a river gorge. Time for rest, dinner, and overnight at the Shira campsite.

DAY 3

•Shira Camp to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp
•Elevation (ft): 12,500ft to 13,000ft
•Distance: 10 km
•Hiking Time: 6-8 hours
•Habitat: Semi Desert

From the Shira Plateau, we continue to the east up a ridge, passing the junction towards the peak of Kibo. As we continue, our direction changes to the South East towards the Lava Tower, called the “Shark’s Tooth.” Shortly after the tower, we come to the second junction which brings us up to the Arrow Glacier at an altitude of 16,000ft. We now continue down to the Barranco Hut at an altitude of 13,000ft. Here we rest, enjoy dinner, and overnight. Although you end the day at the same elevation as when you started, this day is very important for acclimatization and will help your body prepare for summit day.

DAY 4

Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
•Elevation (ft): 13,000ft to 15,000ft
•Distance: 9km
•Hiking Time: 8-10 hours
•Habitat: Alpine Desert

After breakfast, we leave Barranco and continue on a steep ridge passing the Barranco Wall, to the Karanga Valley campsite. Then, we leave Karanga and hit the junction which connects with the Mweka Trail. We continue up to the Barafu Hut. At this point, you have completed the South Circuit, which offers views of the summit from many different angles. Here we make camp, rest, enjoy dinner, and prepare for the summit day. The two peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo are to be seen from this position.

DAY 5

•Barafu Camp to Summit to Mweka Hut
•Elevation (ft): 15,300ft to 19,345ft (and down to 10,000ft)
•Distance: 5 km ascent / 12 km descent
•Hiking Time: 7-8 hours ascent / 4-6 hours descent
•Habitat: Arctic

Very early in the morning (midnight to 2am), we continue our way to the summit between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers. You head in a northwesterly direction and ascend through heavy scree towards Stella Point on the crater rim. This is the most mentally and physically challenging portion of the trek.

At Stella Point (18,600 ft), you will stop for a short rest and will be rewarded with the most magnificent sunrise you are ever likely to see (weather permitting). From Stella Point, you may encounter snow all they way on your 1-hour ascent to the summit. At Uhuru Peak, you have reached the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro and the continent of Africa. Faster hikers will see the sunrise from the summit.

From the summit, we now make our descent continuing straight down to the Mweka Hut camp site, stopping at Barafu for lunch. You will want gaiters and trekking poles for the loose gravel going down. Mweka Camp is situated in the upper forest and mist or rain can be expected in the late afternoon. Later in the evening, we enjoy our last dinner on the mountain and a well-earned sleep.

DAY 6

•Mweka Camp to Moshi
•Elevation (ft): 10,000ft to 5,400ft
•Distance: 10 km
•Hiking Time: 3-4 hours
•Habitat: Rain Forest

After breakfast, we continue the descent down to the Mweka Park Gate to receive your summit certificates. At lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy. Gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts will probably be plenty to wear (keep rain gear and warmer clothing handy).

From the gate, you continue another hour to Mweka Village, where we will be picked up and taken to Springfields Hotel.

(http://machame.com/machame-itinerary6.htm)

Related articles

• Kilimanjaro Introduction (worldwidebloggers.wordpress.com)
• Notes from the Trail: Climbing Kilimanjaro, Day Seven, Summit Day! (takeahikephotography.wordpress.com)
• The famous Mount Kilimanjaro Climbing (simonmilambosm.wordpress.com)

The Art of Poaching

It is said that in 2009 the South African fisheries lost approximately 6 Billion Rand in Revenue was lost due to poaching. In light of this statement the fight against poaching is not just against the increasing Rhino and Elephant Poaching but also the illegal trade in Plants, and Land and Aquatic Species. Not all poaching has economic incentives but the need to survive and feed a family from day to day or at a smaller commercial scale. Some poaching is simply people being too lazy to follow the necessary procedures to gain the necessary permits or take more than the permit allows. This can be seen especially with the collection of mussels and crayfish as commonly collected by the everyday person.

Last week while out on the Estuaries we are currently monitoring and sampling as part of the development of the Estuary management Plans we came across a couple of unfortunate scenes. The first being a visiting fisherman using an illegal mud crab catching cage, but what made this matter even worse was that the fisherman was using a bouy that actually belonged to The Oceanographic Research Institute, better known as ORI. This was a sad day for ORI finding out that they are being impersonated whereby their reputation could have been affected from a well respected research unit to having being implicated in illegal activities. The EKZNW Anti Poaching Crew in the area conviscated the cage and took the details of the owner (he was still out fishing at the time) and the situation is now in their hands.

Finn on Hand to pose with the cage on the Zinkwazi. Note the drumbsticks to attract the Mud Crabs. The Minimum size for a mud crab is 140mm across the carapace.

 

The second scene is even more tragic. We picked up  a Gillnet on the Mdlotane Estuary. This form of fishing is highly destructive and has the capacity to take out vast numbers of fish in a very short period of time.  Luckily for us there was only one Tilapia i the net and so not too much damage done this time. The Tilapia will be taken to the CSIR where it will be tested for Heavy Metals as part of the monitoring process. We handed the net over to EKZNW later that day, where it will be destroyed. This type of fishing is hard to calculate the cost impacts as it is more classified as small commercial and all the fish are sold on the black market. To show the impact of Gillnets an earlier find this year where a Gillnet was picked up had over 50 fish in the net and had been in the water for no more than an hour.  We managed to put most of the fish back into the estaury, alive, but with a few scales missing making them susceptable to diseases.  These tragic events can have a greater impact than we realize as Estuaries are the nurseries to many commercially fished species as well as their food sources.

 

The Zinkwazi and Mdlotane are both National Priority Estuaries and with the work we are doing hope to keep them that way and in time rehabilitate the Nonoti so that it to may be added to the list. But its only with the peoples willingness to take on the challenges we face and to conquer them can this be done.

Finn meets the Anti Poaching Team from EKZNW

 

On Thursday night I was invited out with the EKZNW Anti Poaching Team to head out to the Tugela River, well known for illegal netting. Happily it was a night that all the fish had to worry about was not being eaten by bigger fish, crocs or sharks. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the red eye that gives crocs away at night.  A great experience buzzing around on a rubber duck with a great big spotlight, that was kindly donated to the team by the Zinkwazi Ski Boat Club.

 

There is not only the need to continuously fight the poaching, but also to educate locals not to buy the illegal fish, but as far as I am concerned for the Government to seriously start looking at the establishment of small fresh water aquaculture farms that can provide the poorer people with a legal and cheap form of protein. This can be done and is being done all over the world with great effect.  It takes commitment to build not only the infrastructure, but also the capacity and economic drive to get this going.

Related articles

• Rhino Poaching has Increased 5000% in Past 6 Years (inhabitat.com)
• Elephant Poaching and the Illegal Ivory Trade (wnyc.org)
• Rhino poaching ‘kingpin’ arrested in South Africa (terradaily.com)
• South African Abalone Poaching Kingpin Sentenced (webpronews.com)
• Big News In Anti-Poaching Efforts (neatorama.com)
• Rhino poaching set to break 1000 this year (wildlifenews.co.uk)
• Demand a Stop to the Poaching of Elephants (forcechange.com)
• Sea turtle nesting numbers soar in Florida (miamiherald.com)
• First Pacific Leatherback Conservation Day in California – Oct. 15 (mission-blue.org)
• Responders Untangle Gillnet from Humpback Whale (alaskapublic.org)

Introducing Finn the friendly playful Shark

After months, while in reality nearly two years of pondering how to introduce Finn to the world, especially as he didn’t have a name until this past weekend. It took driving to Sodwana Bay with two ladies to come up with a name that I felt suitable would capture His role and value to this project.

 

• Meet Finn, he is cute, friendly, furry and clearly cuddly.

 

Finn the Shark has completed two iMfolozi Challenges. The iMfolozi Challenge is a 56 to 60km Mountain Bike ride through the iMfolozi wilderness area of the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve in KZN. The ride is organized by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) to raise funds for the Wild Dog and in more recent times the Rhino. Finn rode his first two challenges as an attempt to raise awareness for the growing need to protect and sustainably manage our marine resources. This event is not the basis to start trying to raise awareness as the main theme for the event is on the terestrial animals in the park.  Fin  will still continue to make his appearance at the challenge but will not be the main drive, except to continue the tradition.

• Finn doing the iMfolozi Challenge

Finn has now dived Sodwana Bay, one of the worlds bests dive spots found within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.  The Park stretches for 200km of coastline and includes places like Kozi Bay, Banga Neck (famous for Turtle nestings), Mabibi, St Lucia and Mapelane.

The idea of bringing Finn into the this whole drive is to create a character that is lovable, but also very representative. As a Shark Finn carries the position of one of the apex predators in the ocean, and thereby being hugely impacted by mans activities through over exploitation of fisheries and through pollution. Further the name Finn will be a constant reminder of the battle over the excessive abuse of sharks for shark fin soup.

The development of Finn’s character will be the mascot for the project we are embarking on.  The fact that he is a cute shark must not be under estimated as it is also very important to educate the youth of not only South Africa, but also Africa and  the World.

      

 

So Please join Finn now on his journey to the highest point in Africa. The mountain for the Seas.

The images here are largely taken by Laura-Jean Edeling from Coral Divers in Sodwana Bay. Laura, thanks again for your help, time and effort in giving us these images. You made it really easy.  These images clearly show the need for us to conserve our resources. Can we really imagine an ocean without Turtles (can we that easily forget Finding Nemo) or whale sharks, or Potato Bass or Dolphins. These creatures are secrets we long to open and explore, but will only remain with your help.

The Mountain for the Sea

In August 2011 the Lower Tugela Biodiversity Project was kicked off with an initial two year grant from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. The Project was established under the cover of the Zinkwazi Blythedale Conservancy. The Zinkwazi Blythedale Conservancy is situated between Durban and Richardsbay on the KwaZulu Natal North Coast in South Africa.

 

The funding will last until February 2014 (largely thanks to a weakening Rand. There were two main objectives for the project, being Conservation Stewardship and the development of Estuary Management Plans for initially the Zinkwazi and then the Nonoti Estuaries. We quickly realized there was far more that needed to be done. We have slowly moved to take on more and more and have many projects lined up and as time and funding allow, we will tackle these projects.

 

The idea of proposing a Marine Protected Area in the Zinkwazi Region came up after a pretty random meeting. The idea was thrashed around a bit and then we approached the team from Oceanographic Research Institute undertaking the scientific data collection needed for the estuary management plans. They loved the idea and took the idea to higher levels. We also discovered other proposed Marine Protected Areas in the area that has allowed for a much larger proposal. Sadly at this stage this blog cannot divulge too much detail on the proposed Marine Protected Area.

 

Instead this blog will discuss the necessity to create such areas, not only in South Africa, but also worldwide as well as the conservancy needs and objectives.  More over for now the discussion of the blogs title, Mountain for the Sea. The title came after this year’s Imfolozi Challenge, a 60km mountain bike ride through the Imfolozi Game Reserve. The ride raises funds for the conservation of the African Wild Dog. The ride is organized by the Wildlands Conservation Trust. Last year I completed the ride with a fluffy shark attached to my helmet and so once again I undertook to ride with the shark in an attempt to create a greater awareness for the need of Marine Protected Areas. I know now the Imfolozi Challenge is the wrong format to create awareness, but I will continue to ride with the shark, or maybe a smaller version in years to come. By the end of 60km one’s head feels like a lump of lead from the added weight and wind resistance. So as a platform to start brainstorming on how to create awareness and potentially raise funds the ideas started. It was then a friend emailed me on the possibility to climb Kilimanjaro. And the lightbulb moment erupted. The shark as the mascot and climbing the highest peak in Africa to showcase the great value our marine world has to offer with better management and protection sounded like a great idea. This idea has been bounced off a number of people and have all loved the idea. And so the Mountain for the Sea has taken shape. Taking on the mountain for the seas protection.

 

This is not just a story it is also a request for your help and support. There is a need to raise funds to take this on. SO lets introduce the hikers: There is myself Gareth Roberts (Lower Tugela Project Manager) and Tracy Burrows (CEO Out There Publicity http://www.outtherepublicity.co.za/). Tracy a great friend and adventurer has agreed to help promote this project. The initial funding needed will be to get Tracy and myself to the top of Kilimanjaro and back to South Africa. This will cost approximately R70 000 or $7000. Collectively we are aiming to raise at least R1000 000.00 to contribute to the on-going work the conservancy will take on, including the numerous coastal projects we have lined up and the purchasing of necessary equipment. These include Turtle and Mussel Monitoring, anti-poaching, Invasive Alien Plant Control, Environmental Education at the local schools and fisherman on the importance of following correct fishing regulations and keeping the beach clean, implementing the estuary management plans and the continuation working together with government and other bodies in the further development of estuary management plans. We will continue to seek further funding as we believe the value of Marine Protected Areas or Marine Reserves will play a vital role to ensuring we have continued fish stocks for the future and areas of biodiversity value.

A basic list of what we are currently short of is:

• A quad bike
• Boat for Anti poaching on the estuaries and possibly one for off shore
• A vehicle to get around, the fuel and maintenance costs
• GPS’s
• Computer (one that can handle GIS software)
• Funds to employ extra staff members

 

This project is not for our benefit, but for the benefit of the communities, and future generations to enjoy what we can enjoy today. With the borrowed slogan from Wildlands Conservation Trust: A Sustainable Future for All.