This year has flown like never before. It is our last newsletter for 2011. The next newsletter will be published at the end of January 2012. We wish all our members a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Members who are fortunate enough to go on holiday, please travel safely to your destination, and arrive home safely after the holidays. Many thanks for all your contributions and support during 2011. May 2012 be a great year for the Conservancy!

New Conservancy membership boards

New boards can be purchased at R100 each. Members are most welcome to collect the boards from us (Liz en Deon). We wish to repeat our request that members should donate their old boards to Evarné van Niekerk for an educational project. Leave your old boards with us or contact Evarné on 082 411 6364 or via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Membership fees for 2012 are payable now. You can pay in cash, by cheque or bank transfer. Please contact Deon or Liz about the Conservancy's banking details (Deon 082 856 3183 or Liz 082 880 9297 or via land line 014 576 2351).

Rain, wonderful rain!

We are thankful for the wonderful rain, after having experienced severe temperatures for quite a while. In this valley, we have learned never to complain about too much rain - the droughts and heat are much worse. We have also learned that one hardly ever has rain and electricity simultaneously - it is either the one or the other. Therefore, have a plan B at hand. After the recent road works, the Conservancy's dirt roads are very slippery and dangerous after a rain storm, especially at the Magalies River bridge. Already, some members have managed to get stuck and had to be pulled out. We have been in touch with the Roads Department about this issue.

Conservancy activities

The Year to Year 24 hour race will take place on George Archer's property (one of our members), from noon on 31 December 2011, to noon on 1 January 2012. About 100 national runners from all over South Africa will participate. They will run as many 500m laps as possible, with the winner being the runner who manages to run the longest distance in the time allowed. Members are invited to come and support the race and encourage the runners. One can hardly think of a more innovative way to celebrate the end of 2011/start of 2012! For more information, please contact George on 014 576 2304 or 082 536 0077 or visit the web site: www.ultradistance.co.za

Road Cleaning Project

With reference to the monthly road cleaning, we would like to draw members' attention to the following: The two ladies concerned clean the roads in the Conservancy every second week of the month on a Tuesday and Thursday. The bags are picked up in the afternoon when the ladies are collected. These are then dropped off at a large concrete dustbin near the entrance to the clinic, just as one comes off the tar road, where it is collected by Mogale City workers. We have noticed that some person(s) unknown to us, place their refuse-filled bags along the roads in the Conservancy. However, we are not able to clean all the roads in the Conservancy on those two days of the month and a road, or section of road, may only be cleaned every second month. We would therefore like to request that members who wish to bag their refuse and not burn it, drop the bags off at the point mentioned above.

Note to remember: Comments on all our articles are most welcome. Members are also most welcome to send us photos and interesting information to post on the web site (Editor, 014 576 2351 or 082 880 9297 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Faxes can also be sent to the fax no in the letterhead or alternatively to 086 6720 4210.

Phasing out sow stalls for pigs is next for Compassion in World Farming.  There are 103 000 breeding sows confined to narrow metal cages in South Africa.

We received many comments about our article, Organic Food off the Menu, in Newsletter 35.

One of the Big Five, known to us all, is currently critically endangered as a result of rhino poaching (see article below). In Newsletter 32, we reported on the Little Five, with reference to Janina Pechova's beautiful children's book, The Little 5, about the Magaliesberg region. According to an article by Colet Grobler (in conversation with Devey, Bestemming, Rondrits Rapport, 30 October 2011), there is also a Shy Five, namely: the Meercat, Aardvark (Erdvark), Porcupine (Ystervark), Aardwolf (Maanhaarjakkals) and Bat-eared fox (Bakoorjakkals).

The invention that should be placed above all other modern inventions, is ... well the flush toilet. One could say it is the foundation of modern civilisation. But Ecologists are hoping that its end is near.

While it was exciting to discover the presence of a honey badger within the Hartebeestfontein Conservancy, it was not so exciting to discover that the very same honey badger had visited my beehives and damaged several of them to get to the honey. When tallying up the Rand value of the losses due to three honey badger visits, it was offset by the excitement of this amazing creature, as I had not heard of the presence of any in the Conservancy up to this time.

One of Africa's Big Five is currently facing possible eradication from the world as we know it. South Africa is home to 80% of the world's rhino population. In 2007, South Africa lost 13 rhinos to poaching. In 2010, this figure rose to 335. So far, over 270 rhinos have been slaughtered in 2011. Should the current rate of rhino poaching continue, the rhino population growth rate could officially decline within a year.

Additions to the Environmental Calendar for December include COP17 and International Mountain Day.

I'M ON A COMMITTEE

Oh give me your pity, I'm on a committee,
Which means that from morning to night
We attend, and amend, and contend and defend,
Without a conclusion in sight.

We confer and concur, we defer and demur,
and reiterate all of our thoughts.
We revise the agenda with frequent addenda,
and consider a load of reports.

We compose and propose, we suppose and oppose,
and the points of procedure are fun!
But though various notions are brought up as motions,
there's terribly little gets done!

We resolve and absolve, but we never dissolve,
since it's out of the question for us.
What a shattering pity to end our committee,
where else could we make such a fuss?

Author unknown

Crane operator: Bongani Mthembu, 079 051 2721.

Refuse removal: Greenway Gardens. Henriëtte Schoeman on 082 939 0166 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Accommodation available in the Conservancy: Two cottages to rent at Weleda Farm. Elizabeth Wertheim-Aymes on 014 576 1150 or 083 226 7835 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Local Tour Guiding services: It is important for our Conservancy and the whole of this district to promote the many places of interest, as well as the fun and adventure activities offered. There are many historical places to visit, from battle sites to graves and to restored heritage buildings. A visit to Sterkfontein Caves and other parts of the Cradle of Humankind is a must. Experiencing the wonder and privilege of walking on the slopes of the Magaliesberg range will always be remembered. Being in a quiet place, enjoying the solitude and listening to the sounds of nature, is a rare pleasure - all of these and much more, contribute to the diverse tourism attractions available.

The Hartebeestfontein Conservancy has its own registered tour guide - Sue Oxborrow - offering her guiding services to visitors to the valley. Maybe a day trip further afield to the Pilanesberg National Park or Kgaswane Mountain Reserve, or a close encounter with the cheetah at De Wildt Cheetah Research Station, or with the elephants at the Elephant Sanctuary. Whatever you wish to do, day trips can be arranged to suit your specific interests.

Call 082 888 2724 to chat about what you would like to do or where you want to visit.

Don't clean your car with a hose pipe. Rather use a bucket and save water.

Defreeze your deep freeze regularly. It is uneconomical to have a deep freeze running to keep layers of ice frozen.

Give a potted plant in stead of cut flowers - it will last much longer.

The life cycle of a fruit fly only lasts ten days. This implies that scientists are able to learn much about their development in a relatively short period, and, in turn, this enables them to use their knowledge to study other species. If you only have ten days to achieve what you can and want to do in life, you will definitely find the most efficient way to do just that (Loopbane Rapport, 2 October 2011).

Our planet is becoming completely over populated. The seven billionth person was already born this year. Africa is on the forefront of population growth and will contribute most up to 2050 - one billion people! It will then accommodate 20% of the world population - in stead of the current 13%. Why does the world population keep on growing, even if developed countries produce fewer children? That is because the death rate decreases much quicker than the birth rate. Each second, five people are born, while only two die (Huisgenoot, 3 November 2011).

November's bird of the month is the Barn Owl (Tyto alba).