According to Skydive Mossel Bay’s marketing manager, Dianne Taylor, the record is currently held by Frank Moody, who jumped with Skydive Cairns in June 2004 at the ripe old age of 101.

She said skydiving had really taken off in Mossel Bay, and that the company enjoyed a bumper May and June, with more than 200 tandem jumps during May alone. She said that 90% of jumpers come from overseas.
“Many sports jumpers join us on the weekends to further their courses and get more advanced licenses, we often jump to create formations in the sky, and usually the last load of the day jumps to land on the beach.
 
The video has been loaded to Mossel Bay’s web site www.visitmosselbay.co.za/videos and can also be viewed on YouTube.

For the festival organizer, sponsors and event managers a fundamental part of the festival is the benefit the local communities of Knysna derive from thousands of visitors flocking to their town during winter each year.

In 2010 more than R1, 1 million was raised and this year with over 65 000 visitors expected to attend the festival organizers are anticipating an even bigger contribution for local charities.

The Pick n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour raised the largest sum with over R500 000, followed by the Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon and half Marathon with R217 000. The Pick n Pay Oyster and Wine Mardi Gras raised R37 000.

The money raised by each event is distributed to a charity or organization of their choice. Charities include the CX Education Trust, Animal Welfare, Knysna Canoe Club Sport Development, Disabled Golf, Hospice, Sandy Shires Feeding the Hungry scheme, KAWS, Sinethemba Youth Development Centre and the Knysna Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Centre.

Over and above financial remuneration, skills training and community involvement in the festival are also benefits the local community reaps from the festival. In conjunction with Knysna Tourism, the festival has a Local Loeries Programme in which community members participate in events at discounted rates and receive training and mentorship.

Another initiative driven by the organizers of the Salomon Featherbed Trail Run presented by PETZL is the TSiBA Eden & Magnetic South Community Project. Here TSiBA students are taught the skills and background of putting together and selecting routes, marking and running of a trail event.

“The Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival goes a long way in alleviating need in communities in the greater Knysna area, and what is most heartening is the incredible support the Festival receives, as well as the fact that the amount we are able to raise increases with each passing year. Our sincerest thanks goes to all those who work so hard to make the festival such an enormous success,” says Bronwen Rohland, Pick n Pay’s Marketing and Sustainability Director

The 28th Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival takes place from 1 -10 July 2011 in the picturesque Garden Route town of Knysna. Attracting more than 65 000 sporting enthusiasts, families, food and wine lovers, and adrenalin junkies the festival offers something for everyone from running, cycling, golfing, bowling and adventure racing to wine and whiskey tastings, cooking competitions, food and wine pairings, gala evenings, live music, a specialized children’s programme and of course not to forgot the oysters!

Spending Saturday morning at a festive farmers’ market, eating breakfast made from the freshest ingredients and drinking coffee from freshly ground beans, certainly is sweet.  Meandering through stalls with beautiful crafts certainly creates a holiday vibe. 

Don’t get me wrong, these are activities that come highly recommended and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, not even a house in Johannesburg’s wealthy suburbs or a corner office, but there’s an underbelly that is growing in this little strip of paradise. And I fear it will continue to grow along with what seems to be indifference.

I’m referring specifically to the murder of Plett smallholders Willie and Julie le Roux. Willie was bludeoned to death with a hammer and stabbed with a screwdriver, while his wife Julie was tied up and shot in the head. The men accused of killing them were on trial last week and Willie’s brother was the only person who attended the hearing. The media also attended, but the story warranted barely a handful of paragraphs on the inner pages. 

I’m not sure what is more sad – the fact that real news does not appear to be as important as some inconsequential celeb’s latest face lift, or the fact that no-one appears to care about the Le Roux couple because murder has become so much a part of our every day lives. Have we become Jo’burg by the shallow sea?

Yes, the people who run these so-called “animal parks” (are they just glorified zoos?) will tell you all day long that they are acting in the name of environmental conservation, but is this the whole story? Without doubt they are also making money hand over fist as tourists queue up to touch the Cheetah, or feed the elephant, or ride on the tiger or whatever.

Some of the proceeds may go to a worthy environmental cause, but there can be no doubt that the specific animals being exploited are not having a fun time of it at all. Ask yourself, do tigers want to live in an enclosure just a few hundred square metres big, when in their natural habitat they roam several hundred square kilometres every month. Do Cheetahs want their dinner tossed over the fence when their every instinct is to hunt. Does a polar bear enjoy swimming around in a pool in steamy Johannesburg when it should have the entire ocean at its disposal in sub zero temperatures where it is most comfortable? The list is endless when you start to think about it.

And then there is a great deal of consternation when one of these tormented beasts, who should be free, takes out his lifelong frustration on some poor human being who is only trying to earn a living. The incidents and accidents abound along the Garden Route. This was Harry’s second attack and in recent years another handler was gored at the Elephant Sanctuary outside Plettenberg Bay, a park owner was bitten by a leopard and a dog was attacked by a leopard on a touristy beach walk. And these are just the incidents were hear about. 

There is something dreadfully wrong about all this and the question begs asking: When are the authorities going to act appropriately to draw a line on these activities? Wild animals are supposed to roam free and should certainly not be petted by human beings. While poaching and hunting forces the necessity of big game reserves, at least humans are kept at a distance, as it should be.

There is a reason that dogs are man’s best friend – they have been domesticated for hundreds of years. Maybe it’s time to work out the difference between a domestic and wild animal, and making a difference to the environment or just making money.

Cycling is one of the fastest growing sports in South Africa and many tourists to the Garden Route bring along their bicycles.

The brochure includes a map of the area’s cycling routes, information about Mossel Bay’s major mountain biking venues – Eight Bells Mountain Inn, Bonniedale Adventure Farm, and the Jakkalsvlei Wine Estate – and an outline of the annual cycling diary.

After granting as many as three “final” postponements while waiting for a decision from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as to which court should hear the trial, the magistrate eventually scrapped the case against the men accused of shooting Beverly Sapphire to death in cold blood. The men were arrested last year, shortly after the killing in a robbery at the Lookout Deck restaurant where Sapphire worked as a hostess.

The case docket was taken to the DPP by the investigating officer. However, the DPP didn’t want to accept the files because the control prosecutor should have sent the docket himself. He apparently returned the files but when the control prosecutor returned from leave, no-one could tell him what the box on his chair contained. The control prosecutor then apparently locked the files in his safe. The result was the DPP never saw the docket, the decision was never taken and the magistrate scrapped the case.

The entire scenario leaves a number of questions hanging:

1. Why was it necessary for the investigating officer to take the docket to Cape Town. Why did the control prosecutor not send the docket to the DPP?
2. Why did the control prosecutor not contact the investigating officer or the prosecutor dealing with the case when he found the box of files on his chair?

The issue also raises serious questions about the judicial process in the Southern Cape. I have yet to attend a court case where I haven’t waited around for hours, only to have the case postponed because the docket is missing, the charge sheet can’t be found, the witnesses have not arrived, a translator can’t be found, the investigating officer is unavailable — the list of excuses is endless.

George has a big court house and yet I have never seen all the courts in session in one go. The same applies to Knysna. Now the Justice Department is planning a big court for Plett and I suppose court rooms will stand empty there too.

The bottom line is there are not enough magistrates and not enough prosecutors. The prosecutors (and police) have a massive case load and can’t seem to keep up with the admin involved in their jobs. Surely every single prosecutor should have a PA who can phone witnesses and investigating officers to ensure they are there on the arranged court dates, or ensure that dockets don’t go missing or are delivered to the DPP on time.

And speaking of the DPP, while the Southern Cape towns are small, the Justice Department has clearly not kept a pace with the population growth and resultant increase in crime. Why on earth do the dockets need to be sent to Cape Town for a decision. Surely the DPP should have a representative, or two or three, in George who can take such decisions as are necessary?

Serious crimes take place in this area and yet the Southern Cape does not even have a permanent High Court. Instead, delays arise as the Justice Department scrabbles around to find a Circuit Court to sit for three weeks, hearing one or two of only many murders taking place in this area every year.

In this climate of crime and lawlessness, surely it’s time for the Justice Department and police to work together and give the people of the Southern Cape their very best effort rather than this display of outright incompetence. Pump resources into this area, employ more prosecutors, magistrates and admin support staff. This half-hearted effort is totally unacceptable.

Even if the police or DPP decide to reopen the Lookout murder case, I’d be willing to bet the accused are long gone. Given their criminal history, it’s just a matter of time before they strike again. And what about justice for Beverly Sapphire and her loved ones, and all the people of Plett who demand and deserve justice, who do not want to live in fear of their own lives because the guardians of law and order failed them.

All that’s needed to enjoy the deep rockpools is a full moon at low tide, a torch, some non-slip shoes and a sense of adventure.

Camera Shy

Underwater Star

Most people who move to the Garden Route want to escape the rat race, only to find themselves chasing their own tails. Sometimes, it’s good to stop and check out a rock pool or two. You never know what you’ll find.

Having learnt its lesson from disasterous liaisons with the former Independent Democrats in George and Oudtshoorn over the past five years, DA Western Cape leader Theuns Botha says this time around his party will make sure the coalition is a good fit.

The Southern Cape has traditionally been seen as the last ANC stronghold in the DA controlled Western Cape but the party took a major knock in this year’s poll with unhappiness over candidate lists playing a significant role in splitting the ANC vote.