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Bush
Walks Star
Gazing
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Weddings
August Skies
Every
day in the bush brings a new experience, as nature
reveals her wealth of beauty.
Enjoy the exciting unpredictability of an
early-morning game drive with an expert ranger whose
hawk-eyes will spot memorable moments ...a leopard
sitting on a rock licking his paws ...the black
rhino with attitude ...the watchful matriarch
elephant, bigger than you ever imagined ...a pride
of lions relaxing in the shade ...grazing zebras
forming patterns in the grass ...the 'painted' wild
dogs in their den ...giraffes, the lookout towers of
the bush. Madikwe has a vast diversity of birds with
over 300 species recorded so far – perhaps you’ll be
the one who adds another to the list.
If you prefer, a sunset game drive is the best time
to enjoy rush hour at the water hole. We offer two
dame drives per day inclusive in our package.
We also
offer golf as an activity. We offer the choice
between the lovely Phakalane Golf Estate in Gaberone
only 45 minutes away or the Sun City 'Gary Player'
golf course that is 2 hours away.
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Bush Walks
Get closer to the heartbeat of Africa by taking
a walk through the bush. Your guide will explain the
medicinal value of trees and plants, and delight you
with stories of the magical powers often attributed
to them, identify grass and bird species and pick
the bitter-sweet fruit of a maroela for you to
taste. An interesting phenomenon is the ‘Castles of
Clay’, huge termite mounds. The top of the 'castle'
always faces northwest, while the temperature inside
the mound remains a constant 37 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Star Gazing
Link to 'Sutherland' to see
what tonight's sky will bring...
For those of you fascinated by planets, the
solar system or the wonder of the Southern skies,
enrich your stay at Etali with an evening of
stargazing. Explore the wonder of the Southern
Cross, the awesome beauty of the Jewel Box, or the
Milky Way at its best. Our telescope will allow you
to focus on the best sightings for your time of
stay.
The night skies in the African bush are something
very special. Millions of stars seem to shine with a
brilliance and clarity that one can only enjoy far
from the city lights. Planets, galaxies and star
clusters all look spectacular in a small telescope
in the dark skies of the bushveld.
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Read up
on what our astronomer Brian Fraser has to
say about the skies for August 2008...
We are too far away from the path of totality to see
any of the solar eclipse that happens on August 1st
as it crosses over China, Siberia and Mongolia but
we will be able to see the lunar eclipse that takes
place late on the night of the 16th. As the moon
will just miss the darkest part of the earth’s
shadow the eclipse will not be totally dark, but
interesting to see nevertheless. The show starts at
about 8:30 pm with the moon getting gradually dimmer
and the centre of the eclipse occurs at about 11:10
pm with the moon probably still easily visible.
On the 16th we have a close grouping of Mercury,
Venus and Saturn low in the west just as twilight is
ending. Mars will still be lingering a little higher
up in the west and Jupiter will be big and bright
somewhat east of the zenith. Uranus and Neptune are
also in the evening sky right now but you would need
some optical aid and a star chart to find them. Or a
telescope with GoTo facilities, as our telescope
has.
Exactly 100 years ago an object from space exploded
in a remote area of Siberia near a river called
Tunguska. The event was so powerful that it
flattened all the trees in an area of 2,000 sq kms.
Nobody was killed as it happened in such a remote
area but a man sitting on his stoep about 65kms away
was blown off his chair just after seeing a blinding
flash in the sky. It was about 7:15 am and he was
having a cup of coffee at the time. Many thought
that it must have been a meteorite, but no sign of
an impact crater was found. Current thoughts are
that it may have been a comet that exploded before
it hit the ground. It would have been about 20kms in
diameter and travelling at about 140,000 kms/hour.
The energy released was many hundreds of times more
powerful than an atom bomb.
This year also marks another significant anniversary
in the history of astronomy in that it was 400 years
ago that the telescope was invented. Although it
appears he may not have invented the little
spyglass, a lens maker in Holland by the name of
Hans Lipperschey applied for a patent in 1608. The
patent was refused on the grounds that the device
was just too easy to copy. The following year
Galileo laid his hands on one and after looking at
ships at sea and the pretty girls in the apartment
over the road he turned it to the stars and the rest
is history. His wife beat him up. No, no - actually
it wasn’t his wife (he never married) it was the
local cardinal. But more of that next year.
Venus will become brighter and more conspicuous in
the west after sunset, gradually getting higher and
brighter until by Christmas this year it will be
spectacularly prominent, well deserving the title
“the evening star”.
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Weddings
At Etali we offer the perfect setting for your
wedding day. Contact us for our wedding
packages.
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