Travel - South Africa
They may be the fastest creatures on four legs, but cheetahs have not been able to out-run a threat to their very existence.
There are only 1,000 of the creatures left in South Africa. In 10 years there could be none.
The focus on their survival is not in the world-famous Kruger National Park but off the beaten track, close to Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, where a small parcel of land is dedicated to the fight to stop the extinction of cheetahs.
It's a labour of love for Riana van Nieuwenhuizen whose passion for wild animals finally led to her giving up her post with the Department of Justice after 22 years and buying Fiela her first cheetah, a cub abandoned on the veldt by her mother.
So began the Fiela Funds Cheetah Breeding Project.
"My goal is to make as many people as possible aware of the plight of the cheetah as well as their own role in the long-term survival of the cheetah and their ecosystem," explains Riana.
She encourages visits, especially from the young, seeing education as a valuable tool in her fight.
Fans of the big cats have even been allowed to hold a wedding party on the land providing some truly unusual pictures of the event.
Our own visit to this hectare of land on the Emoya Estate gave us the chance to get up close and personal with these magical cheetah cubs. It was a truly moving experience to hold and cuddle the very young of these extremely wonderful and beautiful creatures.
We even stroked and patted the bigger ones (about eight months old) which ran wild among the wolves and other dogs – but like most teenagers they were quite sniffy and a bit aloof given to wandering away and playing hard to pet.
Lunch, even with the tiny ones, was a reminder that these were no ordinary 'cats' content with something out of a tin – small doves were on the menu. And like all youngsters they seemed to prefer what was on offer for their brothers and sisters and be prepared to have a playful scrap over the spoils.
By complete contrast we had earlier toured the Cape and visited a very different estate – for wine.
We even had an elegant picnic lunch (which thankfully did not include raw doves) in the shade of sprawling trees.
This was the Boschendal Estate near Franschhoek, an hour or so from Cape Town.
Ahead of lunch we were offered some delightful wines to taste – and the good news is that the Boschendal label is on the shelves in many local supermarkets in the North West.
This includes their 1685-range (the year the estate was founded) chardonnay which resists the temptation of many New World chardonnays by being far too oaky.
Instead it offered an excellent balance of fruit and wood with a lingering buttery undertow.
And on the red front we again sampled the 1685 range.
The 2007 Shiraz can only be described as luscious.
Returning to the wildlife theme touring the Cape coast you could detour to Boulders Bay penguin colony just outside Simon's Town.
It's quite thrilling to see great numbers of these unique and loveable creatures.
So ungainly on the ground yet so sleek in the sea.
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Weather for Preston
Thursday 29 July 2010
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 15 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 28 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Light rain
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