**************NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!*************************
It's still a little cloudy and overcast here in KZN - waking up this morning the mist was nestled deep in the valley like whisked egg whites! I hadn't intended to drive today but was told about a Farmer's Market in nearby Drummond, only 15k down the road, so I fired up Keith the Backie and headed off. It was a small market of only a dozen or so stalls, and largely produce *(eggs, biltong, marinades and sauces etc) as well as some great furniture and household items made from reclaimed pallets. Couldn't resist a Mozambique jalapeno marinade - will be bringing that back to the UK - but nothing suitable for our GAGA merchandising. On the way back I stopped briefly at the Comrades Wall, read all about it here: search
The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 89 km (approx. 55 miles)[1] which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race.[2] The direction of the race alternates each year between the "up" run (87 km) starting from Durban and the "down" run (now 90.184 km) starting from Pietermaritzburg.
The field is capped at 25,000 for 2019. In all but three runnings since 1988, over 10,000 runners have reached the finish within the allowed 11 or 12 hours.[3] With increased participation since the 1980s, the average finish times for both sexes, and the average age of finishers have increased substantially.[4]
Runners over the age of 20 qualify when they are able to complete an officially recognised marathon (42.2 km) in under five hours (4h50 for 2019).[5] During the event an athlete must also reach five cut-off points in specified times to complete the race.[1] The spirit of the Comrades Marathon is said to be embodied by attributes of camaraderie, selflessness, dedication, perseverance, and ubuntu.[6]
On my return to PheZulu I browsed the gift shop here, and found some lovely items which I will try to negotiate a "trade price" for when the manager is around during the week. Then it was time to meet the neighbours. The first sight at the reptile park is an enormous crocodile, housed in a glass cabinet, this fella departed in 2012 at the grand age of 109, having lived at PheZulu since he was 50 years old! There was a little time before the guided tour so I strolled down the row of glass fronted snake cases. There are 11 potentially deadly snakes native to Kwa Zulu Natal and each one of them is represented here! Luckily they are safely behind glass. Many were curled up - it was a relatively cool morning - but the black mambas were very active and they provided a sinuous dance routine for the camera.
I was very fortunate to witness a diamond backed rattle snake shed his skin - I have great video footage of that. It was fascinating to see the snake contracting and relaxing as it's old skin peeled back, inside out. A small tag did not come away and the skin started to tear, clearly the snake realised it was not coming off smoothly, so he twisted around and slid over the offending bit of skin to dislodge it fully. He was about half way through when I arrived at the case and it took a further 7 minutes for the whole skin to come away and the rattle to finally appear out of the sheath of skin left behind. Apparently you can tell when a snake is about to shed as it's eyes become milky to look at.
There are approximately 85 (give or take, as the guide said) crocodiles in the park, of various varieties, Nile Crocodiles, Long Nosed Crocs and good old African Crocs.
Crocs are basically lazy, they lie still and regulate their body temperature by opening their mouths. However, they can move on land at about 18km/hour and are much faster in the water, so if a potential meal strays too close to the seemingly unmoving reptile, the situation can change very swiftly. The crocs are housed by age, the tiny ones in an enclosure of their own, hugging the wall under the heat lamp and moving slowly over one another to be uppermost and closest to the warmth. The ones aged 6 to 9 years are the most vulnerable to poachers as this is the time when the skin is pliable and ideal for belts and handbags. At age 10 they mature and are able to breed. The crocs from age 10 to 25 are the most bothersome, they are aggressive and fight for dominance in the enclosure. Many sustain injuries, like one guy who has had both front feet snapped by a rival. The crocs do not need Vet's attention as they will cope with these injuries and heal well without intervention.
Moving on to the tortoise enclosure I was able to walk freely amongst them. These ones are very used to human contact although they are still shy and retreat to their shells when you approach. Then it was time to get up close and personal with a boa constrictor...…………
It's still a little cloudy and overcast here in KZN - waking up this morning the mist was nestled deep in the valley like whisked egg whites! I hadn't intended to drive today but was told about a Farmer's Market in nearby Drummond, only 15k down the road, so I fired up Keith the Backie and headed off. It was a small market of only a dozen or so stalls, and largely produce *(eggs, biltong, marinades and sauces etc) as well as some great furniture and household items made from reclaimed pallets. Couldn't resist a Mozambique jalapeno marinade - will be bringing that back to the UK - but nothing suitable for our GAGA merchandising. On the way back I stopped briefly at the Comrades Wall, read all about it here: search
| Comrades Marathon | |
|---|---|
The Comrades Marathon logo
| |
| Date | May/June |
| Location | Durban/Pietermaritzburg, South Africa |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Ultramarathon (90 km) |
| Established | 1921 |
| Course records |
|
| Official site | The Comrades Marathon |
The field is capped at 25,000 for 2019. In all but three runnings since 1988, over 10,000 runners have reached the finish within the allowed 11 or 12 hours.[3] With increased participation since the 1980s, the average finish times for both sexes, and the average age of finishers have increased substantially.[4]
Runners over the age of 20 qualify when they are able to complete an officially recognised marathon (42.2 km) in under five hours (4h50 for 2019).[5] During the event an athlete must also reach five cut-off points in specified times to complete the race.[1] The spirit of the Comrades Marathon is said to be embodied by attributes of camaraderie, selflessness, dedication, perseverance, and ubuntu.[6]
On my return to PheZulu I browsed the gift shop here, and found some lovely items which I will try to negotiate a "trade price" for when the manager is around during the week. Then it was time to meet the neighbours. The first sight at the reptile park is an enormous crocodile, housed in a glass cabinet, this fella departed in 2012 at the grand age of 109, having lived at PheZulu since he was 50 years old! There was a little time before the guided tour so I strolled down the row of glass fronted snake cases. There are 11 potentially deadly snakes native to Kwa Zulu Natal and each one of them is represented here! Luckily they are safely behind glass. Many were curled up - it was a relatively cool morning - but the black mambas were very active and they provided a sinuous dance routine for the camera.
 |
| Boomslang |
I was very fortunate to witness a diamond backed rattle snake shed his skin - I have great video footage of that. It was fascinating to see the snake contracting and relaxing as it's old skin peeled back, inside out. A small tag did not come away and the skin started to tear, clearly the snake realised it was not coming off smoothly, so he twisted around and slid over the offending bit of skin to dislodge it fully. He was about half way through when I arrived at the case and it took a further 7 minutes for the whole skin to come away and the rattle to finally appear out of the sheath of skin left behind. Apparently you can tell when a snake is about to shed as it's eyes become milky to look at.
There are approximately 85 (give or take, as the guide said) crocodiles in the park, of various varieties, Nile Crocodiles, Long Nosed Crocs and good old African Crocs.
Crocs are basically lazy, they lie still and regulate their body temperature by opening their mouths. However, they can move on land at about 18km/hour and are much faster in the water, so if a potential meal strays too close to the seemingly unmoving reptile, the situation can change very swiftly. The crocs are housed by age, the tiny ones in an enclosure of their own, hugging the wall under the heat lamp and moving slowly over one another to be uppermost and closest to the warmth. The ones aged 6 to 9 years are the most vulnerable to poachers as this is the time when the skin is pliable and ideal for belts and handbags. At age 10 they mature and are able to breed. The crocs from age 10 to 25 are the most bothersome, they are aggressive and fight for dominance in the enclosure. Many sustain injuries, like one guy who has had both front feet snapped by a rival. The crocs do not need Vet's attention as they will cope with these injuries and heal well without intervention. 
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