18th Sept: join a small group led by scientist Morris Sutton to see Swartkrans, one of the Cradle of Humankind’s richest fossil sites, usually closed to the public. Swartkrans has yielded the largest sample of Paranthropus robustus, and contains evidence of the earliest use of controlled fire in Southern Africa, dating back 1-million years. I went on this tour this time last year and loved it. See blog post http://lizatlancaster.co.za/blog/cradle-of-humankind-fascinating-tour-of-our-origins 

Genre: Rough it – Relax it
What: On a clear day you can see (from most good vantage points in Joburg) the Magaliesberg Mountain range – stretching for 120km from Bronkhorstspruit to Rustenburg. Amongst this mountainous zone you’ll find ample hiking routes – the tough and temperate – as well as peaceful retreats and spas to stay at. The Mountain Sanctuary Park offers 1000 hectares of land to get lost in with natural pools and endless vistas back home. The Mount Grace Country House (with decked out interiors and hushed surrounds) is the hideaway we suggest you take refuge at after your vigorous day’s hike.
FiftyTwo review:  Mountain Sanctuary, although sparse, impacts with wacky rock formations and far stretching plains – the terrain is unique and dotted with natural rock pools (these pools do however attract the general visitor). The bonus of this sanctuary is it affords the opportunity to mark trails which shoot you far from the designated paths – you can feel quite vulnerable and alone especially when thunderstorms start rolling in around you. Great exercise with deserved relaxation is a win for both the lady and gent so we urge you to move onto Mount Grace for a night of excess. Plush finishes with mountain views. Raging fireplaces with four course meals. Heated rock pools and indulgent wine lists. Lush lawns and a hidden mountain spa. Now’s the time to chill.
Tip: Rough it at Mountain Sanctuary before relaxing at one of the most stunningly set natural spas – your long overdue full body massage won’t get better than this. We highly recommend you enquire as to what specials are running at Mount Grace, out of season is usually the budget friendlier time to go.
Interesting fact: The Magaliesberg are among the oldest mountains in the world, almost 100 times older than Everest.
Where: On the R24 – from Joburg, Mountain Sanctuary is on the other side of the mountain range (give yourself a good hours drive to get there). Mount Grace is just out of Magaliesberg Town.
Book: Always book ahead – for MS call 014 534 0114 or click on www.mountain-sanctuary.co.za for more info & for MG call 021 430 5302 or click on www.africanpridehotels.com/mount-grace-country-house-and-spa for more info.

Thanks as always to adrian@52.co.za for the suggestion and info.

 O n Sunday 6th June I went to the opening of Andrew Lamprecht’s sculpture exhibition at the Nirox Sculpture Foundation out on the Kromdraai Rd in the Cradle. The Nirox grounds are quite beautiful – a magnificent park designed by the well-known landscape architect Patrick Watson whose most famous creation is the Sun City gardens.   This exhibition is open until the 15th August  (Wednesday to Sunday) so don’t miss the opportunity to see the exquisite grounds as well as the very impressive site-specific sculpture on show. Now that the big chill has passed, it’s a wonderful place to take a blanket, a picnic hamper and chill out on a sunny Highveld day.   It can easily be combined with a visit to the Rhino and Lion Park just down the road.
One of the activities at the opening was a performance by Samson Mudzunga, an artist born in Venda in 1938. Venda is the most northern province on South Africa, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, as well as an ethnic group with very strong cultural traditions. It is these cultural practices that Mudzunga manipulates and works with in his public performances in an art context.  Typically Mudzunga uses a large drum which he has sculpted and which echoes the drums used in various different Venda ritual contexts. In the performance at Nirox, the drum was shaped like a giant oval seed-pod but with its schematic face it seemed to infer a fish.   This symbolism would make sense given the proximity to water of the performance at Nirox, and given the importance of the symbol of Lake Funduzi in Mudzunga’s work.  Lake Fundudzi, the Lake of Creation and the only natural lake in South Africa, is very significant in Venda mythology.  The performance at Nirox took place on a ‘natural stage’ with a stream flowing in front and the backdrop of a hillock behind the performers. The audience sat on a grassy bank on the other side of the stream.  
Once the large heavy drum had been manouevred and wheeled into place, 15 young girls dressed in skirts of Salempore cloth, danced in a snaking line from the left across the performance area, to the beat of 4 drums and the call of a man blowing a kudu horn. While this was taking place Samson, dressed in T shirt and trousers, climbed into the drum through a small ‘door’ in the side of the drum. In his previous performances, this process has symbolized ‘burial’.      

 The girls ended their dance routine to lie in positions of supplication, face down, with arms outstretched and hands folded, palms facing upwards. Heralded by the drummers and the kudu horn, and ushered out by a large woman and a young girl, Samson climbed out of the drum.   

Now wearing suit and tie, this part of the performance indicates a moment of transformation or ‘resurrection’.    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Energetic celebratory dancing now followed from the group of young women and girls with different people taking the lead.   Then the young women took off their T shirts and bare breasted, the performance turned into an imitation of the Domba dance or python dance.         The Domba is the context in which young women of marriageable age are educated about their future roles as wives and mothers. So traditionally the python dance would only be performed in front of initiated men and women. While photographs of the traditional Domba are in circulation in academic books and journals, I felt very uncomfortable for the young, almost certainly urban women, disrobing and performing in front of clearly ‘uninitiated’ men, boys and women in an urban and leisure context.

 My discomfort increased as I watched 2 adolescent boys with cell phone cameras focused continuously on the young bare breasted dancing women.  From a private, controlled and educative initiation ritual, aspects of the Domba had now not only become a public spectacle but a theatrical event which could be spread indiscriminately via social media such as Facebook, Mixit and blog sites. The accompanying photos in this post are but one example of this – albeit that the image posted here of the bare-breasted girls and young women, deliberately does not show their faces. 
So whilst I was pleased to have finally seen one of Madzungu’s performance-events, I remain very ambivalent around the issues of spectacle, voyeurism, and the way in which social media increase indiscriminate spread of, and so access to, information. 

06 June 2010 Mzansi Choir & Jazz Ensemble  (they are singing at the FIFA World Cup Concert on 10th June ).  Look forward to the magnificent voices of the 25 member Mzansi Choir and their Jazz ensemble. The concert will celebrate South Africa’s diverse cultural heritage and include a special tribute to the FIFA World Cup

4 July  Leading South African band  Watershed perform hits from newly released CD 

18 July Afro Blue Jazz Quintet  Jazz musician Lex Futhsane and Sinnger Linid Maxolo perform well known jazz standards and African originals 

26 September Some of SA’s finest Jazz musicians in a traditional ‘jazz jamboree’ include jazz singer Andrew Massey and retro swing band 

See Archive Aug 09 for Post http://lizatlancaster.co.za/blog/spring-is-here-another-wonderful-day-at-the-national-botanical-gardens  

Walter Sisulu Geological Garden Walk & Talk  Saturday 22 May  BOOKING ESSENTIAL
This walk will be led by Prof Grant Cawthorn of Wits. The magnificent geological display will be discussed an explained. The most important geological events in the 4.5 billion year history of S.A. will be pointed out. The walk starts promptly at 09h00, so please arrive at 08h30. Meet at the main entrance to the WSNBG

Wildflowers of the Magaliesberg Mountains and Gauteng  Saturday 29 May BOOKING ESSENTIAL
This talk by Judd Kirkel, the renowned photographer of wild flowers will do a slide show. Thi talk will include succulents, bulbs and orchids found mainly on the mountain range extending from Rustenburg to Bronkorstspruit. Endemics from Suikerbosrand, Krugersdorp and Melville Koppies will also be discussed. Meet the Nestlé Environmental Centre at the *WSNGB. The talk will start at 09h00. Please arrive at 08h30.

The Honeybee  Saturday 12 June BOOKING ESSENTIAL
Our presenter is Natelie Gower Winter will do a very informative and visual presentation with possible honey tasting & products on show. Please come and learn about bee topics such as navigation, communication, social behaviour and anatomy. This talk will be ideal for both adults and children. Meet the Nestlé Environmental Centre at the *WSNGB. The talk will start at 09h00. Please arrive at 08h30.

Hikers are cordially invited by Johannesburg City Parks and the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve Association to participate in a 20 kilometre walk in the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve.   The Long Walk, now in its third year, is held annually on the Sunday closest to Freedom Day.   The Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve is the only known venue in the Johannesburg Metropolitan area where a walk as long as 20 kilometres can be done in an unspoilt natural environment where a wonderfully varied bio-diversity, including free roaming game, can be viewed in a beautiful natural setting.  Please note the following arrangements and requirements. Registration from 7:30 am till 9:00 am.  See the website http://www.facebook.com/l/c0091;www.knra.co.za for instructions to get there. 

On Saturday May 1  at 8 am – the public holiday – there’s a cross-koppies hike at Melville Koppies. This is a stiff one, so you have to be fairly fit. No dogs. R20. Melville Koppies  http://www.facebook.com/l/c0091;www.mk.org.za  Saturday 1 May and Friday 24 September at 08:00 – Wendy Carstens, 011 482 4797.

Sunday, May 16 at 08:00  Delta Park: a walk (+/- 90mins) – http://www.facebook.com/l/c0091;www.footprint.co.za/Deltapark.htm
3rd Sunday of every month at 08:00 – Clive Fletcher, 082 688 1879.

Sunday, 30 May; 29 August  and 31 October at 08:00: Melville Koppies  mini-hike across East and Central Melville Koppies. No dogs, R20. Melville Koppies CENTRAL/EAST/CENTRAL: mini-hikes – http://www.facebook.com/l/c0091;www.mk.org.za  Wendy Carstens, 011 482 4797.
 

On April 10, Maropeng and iHominin will give budding palaeontologists a rare opportunity to explore a 1.5-million-year-old fossil site. Cooper’s Cave, 1.2km from the famous Sterkfontein Caves near Johannesburg, is a relatively newly discovered fossil site, where several species of animals and a number of stone tools have been found. The day’s activities include an interactive fossil and site talk, exploring a cave, a chance to look for fossils, and learning how to make stone tools. This is a must-do for adults and children with an interest in palaeontology and archaeology. Remember to pack a hat, apply sunscreen and wear comfortable walking shoes – oh, and bring your camera! The price is R350 per person and it includes a light picinic lunch. The tour will start at 09h00. For more information, contact Maropeng on +27 (0) 14 577 9000 or e-mail: info@maropeng.co.za.

Upcoming Cooper’s Cave picnics: 01 May and 08 June