Ken Borland

It was late May and the Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve looked dry and worn-out as the harsh Highveld winter began to take its toll on this area of great peace and tranquility nestled in the suburbs of eastern Pretoria, below the Bronberg ridge.

The Rademeyerspruit, a tributary of the Moreleta River, runs through the reserve and one of the highlights of this suburban oasis is the Flufftail Hide, which overlooks a secluded little vlei area at the bottom of the hill on which the main entrance is situated.

But there was just a trickle of water to be seen and the only avian activity was some die-hard but non-breeding Southern Masked Weavers hanging around, flying between the tops of the reeds. What leaves were on the trees were dry and the veld was all dry, yellowing grass.

But close to the hide, next to the path leading from it, stood a tall, densely-branched Bluebush (Diospyros lycioides) with barely a leaf remaining from its autumnal shedding.

Suddenly there was a flash of bright yellow, like a torchlight in the gloom of all the dull winter colours, as a pair of Blackthroated Canary arrived at the top of the Bluebush. The yellow comes from their rumps, by far the most vivid colour on an otherwise rather drab grey, brown and black bird.

The ‘black throat’ is really just a smudge of black and is more obvious in the males. The Blackthroated Canary generally prefers drier conditions than its fellow Crithagra species, the Yellowfronted Canary, but is nevertheless often near water.

After a little while the pair flew off, making their charming, cheerful, high-pitched twittering & chirping calls.

Before leaving the general vicinity of the hide, I caught a glimpse of a Bushbuck, just before it dashed away into the riverine vegetation.

Heading back up the hill into the grasslands, a group of Redfaced Mousebird were flying between the bushy patches as I made my way towards the path that connects to the Duiker Route. A very large Leopard Tortoise was parked just off the path right at the junction.

The Duiker Route heads around to the east and then up the hill into some denser vegetation: a thicket of woody species but with a variety of grasses in the understorey.

A Browncrowned Tchagra sat briefly on a low, horizontal branch and then dived into the long grass and tangled thicket below the Blue Guarris, Searsias and Wild Olives. These tough, hardy evergreen trees are characteristic of the Highveld grasslands.

A Barthroated Apalis briefly appeared, casting a curious pale eye our way, before it skulked back into the thicket; only to reappear moments later at the tops of the trees, where it went flitting about the canopy.

A Karoo Thrush was also lurking about, before it slinked off into the undergrowth.

As a great time just being in nature in one of the most popular walking spots in Pretoria drew to a conclusion, the close interactions continued as a Common Ostrich wandered about near the path, next to the parking lot. It had been a fun 75 minutes with much to see and enjoy in this healthy eco-system, never mind the abundance of fresh air in a safe location!

Supporting these green areas in the heart of suburbia is so important, and this 100 hectare reserve is certainly an exquisite little treasure.

Where is Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve?

Sightings list

Laughing Dove

Blackeyed Bulbul

Southern Masked Weaver

Blackthroated Canary

Bushbuck

Redfaced Mousebird

Leopard Tortoise

Browncrowned Tchagra

Barthroated Apalis

Cape White-Eye

Plains Zebra

Karoo Thrush

Common Ostrich

SUN CITY, North-West – United States-based South African Paula Reto may have looked a bit like a fish out of water when she bogeyed the second and third holes on the second day of the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International on Thursday, but the rest of her round at the Lost City Golf Club then went swimmingly as she claimed a share of the lead.

Reto went on a run of five birdies in six holes from the fifth hole, and then added back-to-back birdies on the 13^th and 14^th holes, before returning from a lightning break with another gain on the 17^th. Her superb six-under-par 66 lifted her to eight-under overall and she will go into the final round tied for the lead with India’s Tvesa Malik, who fired a stunning 65.

The 33-year-old Reto won this tournament in 2022, but it was then played at the Gary Player Country Club. But after a tough 2023 campaign on the LPGA Tour, Reto is in a good frame of mind back in her home country, and it showed in her ability to bounce back from two early setbacks on Thursday.

“I don’t know what happened really, I hit a bad tee-shot on the second and suddenly I’d gone bogey-bogey. I just said to myself that I must give myself opportunities and fortunately I then managed to get the ball close to the hole a few times, and chipped in on the eighth, which is always nice for your momentum,” Reto said.

“Lost City is completely different to the GPCC, you have to strategise more off the tees, it’s a course that requires more thinking. To be able to bounce back after those two bogeys felt really good and I was very happy that I kept to the plan. I was able to stay on plan and not let the bogeys get to me.

“Last year was tough because I struggled with my swing a bit and I couldn’t string four good rounds together. It starts to take a toll on your confidence and you start to try and change so much all at once.

“So at the start of this year I just tried to hone in on a few things, make sure I do those basics well. I’m happy with where my game is heading and I just love coming back here to South Africa, being with my family and feeling a bit like I’m on vacation,” Reto said.

Getting married on December 29 to fellow Indian professional golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu certainly seems to have bear fruit for Malik as she produced an outstanding, bogey-free round with four birdies on the back nine and then three on the front.

First-round leader Lauren Taylor shot a 70 on Thursday to move to six-under-par, two off the lead, while exciting South African youngster Gabrielle Venter shot 68 on Thursday to move to five-under.

It’s not as if the Delhi pitch looked like the surface of the moon and provided extravagant turn or was a green mamba that seamed around, but South Africa’s batsmen still found a way to be bundled out for a miserable 99 in the third ODI against India on Tuesday.

Much credit must go to a superb Indian attack that barely erred in terms of line and length, and thoroughly exploited the reasonable assistance on offer from a pitch that provides a good contest between bat and ball.

Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, as he often has been against the Proteas, was the most effective of the Indian bowlers as he raked in 4/18 in just 4.1 overs. But the left-armer only joined the attack in the 20^th over, when South Africa were already deep in the mire on 71/6.

Having been sent in to bat, off-spinner Washington Sundar (4-0-15-2) made the initial strike, bowling wonderfully well around the wicket to the left-hander Quinton de Kock and removing him in the third over for just six.

A double strike by paceman Mohammed Siraj (5-0-17-2), removing Janneman Malan (15) and Reeza Hendricks (3), reduced South Africa to 26/3 in the powerplay.

The introduction of more spin brought even more pain for the Proteas as orthodox left-armer Shahbaz Ahmed claimed two wickets and deciphering Kuldeep was out-of-reach for the bowlers.

Heinrich Klaasen battled on for the Proteas, scoring 34 off 42 balls, before he was undone on the back foot – like many of his colleagues – and bowled by Shahbaz.

Marco Jansen was the last man out for 14 as South Africa were left on their lowest ever ODI score against India, and their second-worst first-innings effort in all ODIs, only their 83 all out against England in 2008 being lower.

The Proteas’ focus is clearly on the T20 World Cup and giving players game time, with Temba Bavuma and Tabraiz Shamsi again sitting out as they continue to recover from illness. Keshav Maharaj has now caught the bug and he sat out Tuesday’s game, David Miller captaining the ODI side for the first time. It is also the first time in ODI history that three different captains have been used in a three-match series.

Lungi Ngidi, Jansen and Andile Phehlukwayo were brought in for the decisive third ODI.

The Bulls, with numerous URC players in their squad, looked set to impose their old dominance of domestics rugby with a commanding first half against Griquas in their Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, but the visitors refused to accept a subservient role and nearly overthrew the form book in the second half.

The Bulls, having led 36-5 at halftime, eventually won 48-38 but Griquas were clearly the better team in the second half as they outscored the defending champions 33-12 in the second forty.

Tempo the chief difference for the Bulls

The Bulls’ experience of playing against European opposition in the URC served them well in the first half as Griquas just could not cope with the pace and intensity of the game. The visitors were properly dominated as the Bulls ran in six tries to roar into a commanding lead at halftime.

It was clinical from the Bulls as just about every pass stuck, the forwards gave them a wonderful platform and they played with quite some adventure.

Yellow cards lethal for Bulls & momentum for Griquas

The Bulls picked up where they left off in the early stages of the second half as a rolling maul try for hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels took their lead to 41-5. But then two yellow cards – for prop Lizo Gqoboka, for collapsing a maul, and wing Madosh Tambwe, for a deliberate knock-on – in the space of three minutes were a massive blow for the Bulls. Playing against 13 men provided momentum and confidence for Griquas and they played tremendously well to provide a proper, competitive match for the crowd.

Tambwe’s sale price should go up

Wing Madosh Tambwe’s move to Europe has now been confirmed, but the new Loftus Versfeld star would have impressed his future employers with a dazzling first-half display. He started with a crunching tackle in defence, made excellent takes in the air and he looked lethal every time he ran with the ball. He would pop up all over the backline with an injection of raw pace, a perfectly-timed pass to wing Stravino Jacobs setting up the opening try in the third minute. His power game was also on display and he also set up the last try of the first half, by fullback Canan Moodie, by bumping off a couple of tackles and then breaking through the defensive line.

Griquas show they should not be underestimated

Scoring six tries gave Griquas a bonus point, keeping them in the top four on the log and maintaining their semi-final challenge. One of the premises of being in the semi-finals is that you are a highly competitive side and Griquas showed in the second half that they certainly belong.

Flank Hanru Sirgel led the way with two barnstorming tries as the Griquas pack began bossing affairs.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Stravino Jacobs (2), Cyle Brink, Reinhardt Ludwig, Canan Moodie, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Harold Vorster. Conversions – Chris Smith (5). Penalty – Smith.

Griquas: Tries – Sango Xamlashe, penalty try, Munier Hartzenberg, Hanru Sirgel (2). Christopher Hollis. Conversions – Zander du Plessis (3).