The Southern Overberg Fynbos Route started a Fynbos Forum that is part of the route. Participants and other community members are able to join the forum at a fee. They couple their forum meetings with interesting talks and excursions to attractions in the area. As a result their meetings are well attended and their ‘Friends of the Fynbos Forum’ membership is growing every year. They keep their members informed by circulating newsletters such as the one below.
Appropriately the Fynbos Ecotourism Forum (FEF) is starting the year with the Annual General Meeting (AGM) followed by a workshop with the theme Our Marine Environment on Wednesday, 25 March at the conference hall of the Gansbaai Tourism Bureau, at 09:30. As usual, this promise to be very interesting. The committee has strived to involve knowledgeable people from our vicinity and once again they were very obliging. Soos gewoonlik word die Algemene jaarvergadering (AJV) eers afgehandel en aangesien die tydrowende sake, soos die grondwet, reeds afgehandel is, sal die gedeelte van die program nie baie tyd in beslag neem nie. Beide die werkswinkel en die AJV is oop vir almal wat belangstel om dit by te woon.Die AJV is ook ‘n goeie manier om meer van die FEF en hulle werksaamhede te wete te kom.
We chose the marine theme because the sea has a definite influence on our fynbos environment. It also helps both marine and fynbos ecotourism to realise that all of
the Stanford / Gansbaai area will benefit from working together. Ons Marineomgewing sluit soveel aspekte van die see in dat ons slegs aan drie aspekte daarvan kan aandag gee. Charmaine Beukes van White Shark Projects kom gesels oor die ou groot wit manne wat veral in die omtrek van Dyerseiland woon en waarvoor Gansbaai wêreldwyd bekend is. Almal weet van die groot bewoners van die see, maar soveel van ons is heeltemal onkundig omtrent die interessante klein goedjieswat ons in die poele kry as dit laagwater is. Deidré du Toit was so vriendelik om vir ons ‘n hele praatjie saam te stel op die voorwaarde dat iemand anders dit aanbied.
Sy sal egter teenwoordig wees om seker te maak dat ek die regte feite oordra. At our previous workshop Wilfred Chivell told us about the plight of the penguins on Dyer Island and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, of which the Faces of Need project is an important part. This project aims to establish nest boxes to mimic natural burrows, because the natural habitat was destroyed by collecting guano over many years.
The FEF committee unanimously decided to sponsor one of these nests and several of the committee members will also privately sponsor nests. We also invite anybody who feel to sponsor a nest, to do this at the workshop. The cost of a nest is R400.00. A member of the Dyer Island Conservation Trust will be present to receive the nest. For more information visit www.dict.org.za
Die keuse van gebakte vis, slaai en vars brood was vanselfsprekend vir middagete en daarna vertrek ons na Gansbaai Hawe waar André Coetzee van Gansbaai Marine ons sal ontvang en ons meer gaan vertel van die Pelagiese visbedryf, die fabriek en’n boel ander onderwerpe. Hier is dus ‘n geleentheid om al die dinge wat jy nog altyd oor die fabriek wou weet, te kom vra. En daar mag dalk net ’n verrassing of twee op die teenwoordiges wag. The cost for the workshop is R60.00 for members and R80.00 for non members. Anybody interested can book, not later than Monday 23 March, with Mariaan at (028)388 0384 / 082 9600