Day 11

On our second day at Gondwana Game Reserve we began with a few lectures. The first was a lecture about the South African honey bees given by Owen Williams, a honey bee keeper in the region. He was extremely passionate about saving the bee populations. Honey bees have been dying in large numbers all over the world, which is devastating for all of us, being that 25% of our food comes from plants that rely on bees to pollinate them. He is also very passionate about South African honey, in particular the honey that is made from the bees that pollinate the fynbos. This honey, he claims, has very special health properties and is currently being tested with the help of Conservation Global in labs in Ticino to validate these benefits.

Fynbos

We also had a lecture on the importance of biodiversity and conserving the fynbos - all 9,000 species of them. This shrubby vegetation covers a large part of the reserve and, like the animals, it also has to be carefully monitored and maintained. It is a vital part of the ecosystem and is not found anywhere else in the world. We know the honey bees like it! If we want to save the bees we must also save the fynbos.

After lunch we jumped back in the safari vehicles eager to spot a lion. We found elephants, giraffes, hippos.....

And low and behold, when we had all but given up hope...the king and queen of the jungle roared! We couldn't have been happier. We knew Eugene had been saving the best for last. 

Mr.

Mrs.