How a fall led me to fly

Sometimes, the best adventures
start with a twist of fate. For 11-year old
Richard Meyer, a fall from a bunk
bed was the unexpected beginning
of a lifelong passion for birds and nature, from his first look
out of the window with a bird guide in hand to exploring
some of the best birding spots in South Africa. We interview
Richard and his mother, Carien.

Hidden pleasure: Birding the Baviaanskloof

THE LUSH VALLEY of the Baviaanskloof in the Eastern Cape stretches for approximately 200
kilometres in a roughly west to east direction, between the towns of Willowmore in the west
and Patensie in the east. The kloof nestles between the Kouga Mountains to the south and
the Baviaanskloof range to the north.
It is not really on the way to anywhere and ranks as one of the more remote wilderness
areas in South Africa. If your destination isn’t specifically the Baviaans, then it is unlikely that
you will ever land up there. Although we have holidayed in the Eastern Cape for the past 30
years, we had never visited the Baviaanskloof, so this year we decided to change that and
headed there for a few days during the summer holidays.