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Godetevi La Vita Pochè Si Vive Una Volta Sola
Molti dei nostri clienti visitano EL YOLO più di una volta.
VI ricordiamo che qui c'è l'alta stagione lungo tutto il corso dell'anno. El Yolo OnE è un'aera libera dalla Malaria.
Go to www.safarinow.com for more accommodation on your journey through South Africa.
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 | Carol Botha |
El Yolo is on the gravel road between Klaarstroom and Willowmore and if there is such a place as an all for the price of one then this is it.
Towards the end of 2009 we booked in to a log cabin on the farm - a quaint self-catering cottage. It is a place where you settle in immediately. Our car stayed parked for the duration of our stay. There was no need to rattle our headlights off to get to extreme spots to investigate Bushmen caves or pristine waterfalls. With apples and water in our rucksacks we started a 4km hike early in the morning and with only the sounds of the veld and our footsteps as we walked, clambered and climbed to reach a Bushmen cave with rock paintings.
Having studied rock paintings in books before, I thought I was quite clued up but I realised my knowledge was very limited when seeing originals for the first time. First of all the paintings are much smaller than I had anticipated and without digital enhancements appeared much fainter due to weathering. However, I was thrilled to see a familiar theme which I had depicted previously when illustrating a Bushmen fable.
When I looked at the paintings I immediately thought of the disappointed reaction of many people who look through a telescope for the first time having seen numerous colourful Hubble Photos . " Is that all?" I guarded my thoughts and knew I was witnessing much more than was apparent at first sight.
Bushmen incorporate cracks in the rock in their paintings. I saw a very definite U-shaped form just above such a crack with figures below. In some Bushmen fables the hollow of the horn-shaped Moon serves as a receptacle for the deceased. Could this one also, as my previous illustration of the fable, be depicting a Shamaans journey to enlightenment or the afterlife
The key to appreciation of what the Karoo has to offer is a bit of background knowledge and lots of imagination. You will soon be hooked and better prepared for every subsequent visit.
At El Yolo I felt the Sun on my back and heard sounds of the veld ringing in my ears. I was mesmerized by rock formations and fossils millions of years old and my heart skipped a beat at the sudden onset of extremely loud and rolling thunder.
I was battered by fierce wind when trying to find a suitable spot to set up my telescope but when the clouds despersed as suddenly as they had appeared I saw the awesome Andromeda Galaxy (neighbour to our own Milky Way) to the north just above a hilltop.
You only live once. Be sure there are millions of special moments included in the deal.
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| Vicki Cooper | Review by: Vicki Cooper, Bollington UK (stayed: November 2009)
What a place! Lovely, beautiful location and Jaco was a great host - with good food and wine on offer plus a warm fire to stem the cold from the storm outside.
In the morning we were given a tour of the estate in the Landy to see the Baboons at the waterfall and the peacocks near Willem′s house. It really is a very special place. Well worth a visit. We wish we had stayed longer and will recommend you to our friends and family.
Vicki Cooper.
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| Di Turner | An American preacher called Camping is predicting the end of the world on May 21st. If so, I am really glad that we fitted in the Blesberg trip before it does.
It was a real winner from start to finish. Thursday was a wonderful clear Autumn day with just a hint of crispness in the air. We made it easily to the top of the Jeep track, just to the eastern side of Spitskop on the northern side of the Swartberg. We did a number of plots along the way. There were lots of old friends and Phylica nigromontana, which was new to us. The views across the Great Karoo were stunning, with the mountains etched a deep navy blue against the lighter coloured sky.
We arrived at El Yolo to be greeted by Johan with 2 parrots on his shoulder. He is the new manager and has a degree that features Botany. We were made very welcome and the accommodation is 5 star for a reasonable price. There were 9 of us comfortably housed in the big old farmhouse. The formula of "Bring you own food and something to share" meant that we sat down to gourmet meals on both evenings. A lovely big log-fire kept out the chill of the nights.
Johan drove us west about 3kms on a 4x4 track and then we slogged up through the veld to the jeep track. Thys, Jenny and Gail opted to fossick from the start of the day. Oom Willie van die Berge headed straight up to the summit ridge for a bit of exploration. He collected some Ld dregei leaves for DNA testing for Hannelouw. Johan, Veronica and Ashleigh put foot and managed to reach the summit of Blesberg. Here they found a tiny scruffy little Erica called E jugicola, which is another newie for us. We are hoping that they discovered E dolfiana as well Desmond, the very pleasant contractor who is fixing the road, gave them a lift down. Without his help, we would certainly have come down in the dark. Jean, Nicky and the crutch-lady got most of the way, but had to turn back and fossick down. Even this had its compensations, as we found Cliffortia nivenioides in one of the seeps. There was also a strange looking ? Asteraceae, which vaguely resembled a cabbage. At this stage we have no idea what it could be. We think that we may have found 6 Redlisted plants new to the Outramps on this trip. We still need to confirm the ids. Im determined to come back in the Spring and leave at first light to allow more time for us to reach the summit. That is, if the world doesnt end on May 21st.
En route home, we managed to get access into Idikwa at the red stone hills between Oudtshoorn and De Rust. We were hunting for Babiana karroica, but had no luck. We think that we may have found Drimia sp nov, but again will have to go back a little later in the year. Hopefully we will get permission to get in again. Some exploration of this area could be very rewarding.
Thanks to Jan Coetzee for giving us permission to get to Blesberg and thanks Theo for the phone number of the Spitskop farmer, who was very helpful. Thanks to Jenny for organising the accommodation and the menu and thanks to the team for some excellent work and really good companionship. A truly memorable trip.
The GI Forum on Tuesday maintained its high standards largely due to the efforts of Anne Lise. There were some excellent presentations, which we very much enjoyed. The afternoon session at the Ostrich farm was fascinating. Katot was very funny with his PP presentation with bits of string and paper and Louis managed to convey his deep passion and love for the Succulent Karoo. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for sharing his knowledge with us. We cant wait to return to Min Water in Spring.
On Wednesday we went up to the beacon at Doringrivier with WAGS. We did no plotting, but had a wonderful day in the mountains. We are ridiculously privileged to live where we do. So many different mountain ranges and veg types are within very easy reach. Boredom is certainly not on our agenda.
Groete en dankie
Di
PS Our planned Spring programme gets fuller and fuller. I cant imagine how were going to fit everything in.
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