
We are a community newspaper based in Hoedspruit, South Africa, that has its bias towards wildlife and conservation. We aim to have local, original, and relevant content that is both thought provoking and educational. We also strive to maintain a high standard of journalism.
We are in the centre of the UNESCO officially ratified, Kruger to Canyons Biosphere. Hoedspruit is generally considered to be the ‘safari capital’ of South Africa, within close proximity to the renowned and famous Kruger National Park, the Blyde River Canyon, the Timbavati, Klaserie and many other private game farms and reserves. Some of Africa’s most luxurious game lodges are also close by.
We invite you to read our publication, access previous editions, provide feedback should you wish, and hopefully we will get you to subscribe. We publish monthly, and generally release our editions on the last Friday of every month.
We hope you enjoy the read and we look forward to welcoming you to Hoedspruit, our community, and our world of wildlife and conservation.

Illegal land occupation has become one of the most contentious issues facing the Maruleng Local Municipality, with residents, landowners, conservation groups, water users and civic organisations warning that the problem is placing increasing pressure on public services, environmental resources and local governance.

The countdown is over as Safari Guide of the Year (SGOTY) 2026 prepares to welcome South Africa’s top field guides to the Greater Kruger for one of the most anticipated events on the safari industry calendar.

They came from Manchester, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Uitenhage and the open sea. What brought them all to the same place – and to the finals of Safari Guide of the Year 2026 – is anything but a straight road.

Plumblink Plus stores are not just ordinary showrooms—they are thoughtfully designed to combine elegance with practicality, offering a complete and inspiring experience for anyone seeking high‑quality plumbing, bathroom, and kitchen solutions.

The successful completion of the Artemis II mission marked another defining moment in modern spaceflight. For the first time since the Apollo era, humans once again travelled beyond low Earth orbit, circled the Moon, and returned safely.

Lion hunt differently all the time. No two stalks are identical; few kills unfold the same way. In different regions they may specialise in particular prey species, and certain ways of taking them down, but they don’t perfect a single technique that applies to all hunts – they adapt and adjust to the opportunity presented. This isn’t inefficiency; it’s mastery. In the language of resilience, this is variability: the capacity to function across a range of conditions rather than optimising for a single set of circumstances.

Trails guide, conservationist, gentleman. Gary walked the bush with a quiet authority. Over many decades he guided thousands of clients and friends through wilderness that he understood deeply and loved unconditionally. To those who walked with him, he gave more than knowledge – he gave perspective.

Residents of Hoedspruit are paying property rates at a tariff of 0.012 cents in the rand – double that of Cape Town at 0.006, and significantly higher than Johannesburg at 0.009 and Tshwane at 0.011. That comparison alone would be remarkable. What makes it a structural crisis is what lies beneath it.





This month has Valentines Day – but it has always fascinated me as to where did it originate and why?
Valentine’s Day is now synonymous with roses, chocolates and candlelit dinners. But it has roots far less polished – and far more intriguing.

The countdown is over as Safari Guide of the Year (SGOTY) 2026 prepares to welcome South Africa’s top field guides to the Greater Kruger for one of the most anticipated events on the safari industry calendar.

Every year, nearly two million wild herbivores cycle through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem spanning Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa on the greatest terrestrial migration on earth. This isn’t one undifferentiated river of life. It’s a sequence – a modular procession of species, each occupying a distinct role. Zebra are the first to move, cropping the tall upper inflorescences of the grasses. Wildebeest follow days later, grazing the mid-level leaves exposed by the zebra’s work. Thomson’s gazelle trail behind, selecting the short, protein-rich regrowth and low-growing forbs revealed by both preceding waves. Each species processes the grassland differently, and the temporal separation between them creates boundaries – modules within the migration – that prevent direct competition from collapsing the system.