Blog - The Angler and Antelope Guesthouse

Alan's pet Barbets

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Calling wild birds your pets is not technically accurate, but Alan really loves the Black-collared barbets that have chosen our Jacaranda tree for their nesting hole. We first noticed them chipping away at their hole in September 2022. It didn't take too long before the two birds had made a perfect round hole in one of the stumps in the tree, and were excavating the inside of the nest. The amount of sawdust that collected at the base of the tree was phenomenal! Amazing also, how quickly they managed to make this nest, with only their beaks to excavate. Nature is incredible.

Well, fast forward to February 2023 and we had babies!! It was so exciting. Checking on them a couple of times a day, just to make sure they were still there. At one stage we had five barbets living in the same nest. They completely dominated the fig tree next to the Jacaranda, chasing every other bird away until they had their fill. It really is the perfect location, with plenty of their favourite food around to feed their young.

And then, just like that, in April, they were gone! We have no idea what happened, but the nest was abandoned. We were devastated! You could still hear their distinctive call in the area, and every now and then you could tell they were in the Jacaranda, but no-one moved in again. What did we do wrong? We just couldn't figure out why they left.

Imagine our surprise when, about six months later, we heard them in the Jacaranda on a regular basis again. They popped in, checked out the nest, and then left again. Just to be back later on the same day, or even a day or two later, checking it out again.

Alan had a plan! The fig season was over, and winter was setting in, so he had to do something to encourage the barbets to stay. Enter the humble apple! We put some spikes on the jacaranda, and put an apple on there for them to feed on, hoping for the best. Well what do you know, they like apples! So do the starlings and the hornbills, but the apples were enough to feed their young during May this year, and to keep them strong during winter. They even pop their heads out of the nesting hole when Alan greets them in the morning now.

We couldn't be happier, long may it last! The fig tree is full of fruit now, and that's just the first crop. No green fig preserve this year, the figs are for the birds! Oh, and they're definitely sitting on eggs at the moment :)

Walter Battiss Art Festival

Sat, 03 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0200

As the winter chill reached it's peak, the stage was set for one of the most anticipated events of the year—the Walter Battiss Art Festival. Held in the heart of the Blue Crane Route, Somerset East, this festival celebrated the legacy of one of South Africa's most revered artists, Walter Battiss, whose vibrant works and innovative spirit continue to inspire generations. The festival promised a delightful mix of art, culture, and the great outdoors, and did not disappoint.

A Tribute to Walter Battiss
Walter Battiss was a pioneering figure in South African art, known for his unique blend of abstraction and the influence of indigenous cultures. His work often reflects his love for nature, making the festival an ideal platform to showcase local talent and creativity in an inspiring setting. The festival featured an array of exhibitions, workshops, and discussions, providing a space for artists and art lovers alike to engage and connect.

The Angler and Antelope Guesthouse: A Home Away from Home
As part of the festival experience, the Angler and Antelope Guesthouse served as one of the venues offering a whisky tasting, and delicious satay chicken skewers. Situated centrally in the town, this guesthouse combines rustic charm with modern comforts, making it an ideal retreat for anyone attending the festival.

Guests received warm hospitality and a cozy atmosphere, with beautifully decorated rooms and stunning views of the surrounding landscape. The Angler and Antelope is not just a place to stay; it’s a gathering point for artists, visitors, and nature enthusiasts to share their experiences, foster connections, and immerse themselves in the creative spirit of the festival.

Dive into the World of Fly Fishing
One of the standout features of this year’s festival was the fly fishing demonstrations hosted by the Angler and Antelope. The area is renowned for its excellent fly fishing opportunities, and festival attendees had the chance to learn from an experienced guide in a scenic environment.

A Blend of Art and Nature. Can't wait for the next festival!

The early Explorers

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Two such explorers to our area, were Colonel Robert Jacob Gordon and Francois Le Vaillant. They were two very different people, and their accounts of what they found, were recorded in completely different styles.

Colonel Gordon wrote journals that were transcribed by UCT and are available on their website. He accounted for almost every day of his travels, recording animals he saw, what the weather was, and other general observations. Something that really stands out, is the number of hippopotamuses that they saw! It is quite incredible. We know that they were here, as they scoured pools in the rivers, but they were really quite plentiful in the late 1700's. If you've ever listened to Alan talking about the pools in the Little Fish River that he stocks with trout, then you would have heard him talking about the hippos and their pools. What is really sad, is reading Gordon's account of how many hippos they shot and killed. They literally shot everything they saw. There was not thought of conservation, as there is with hunting today. It is no wonder that they don't occur here anymore, though there have been isolated incidents of hippos seen in rivers in the Eastern Cape.

Then there was Le Vaillant. He was an ornithologist, so had a completely different focus to Gordon. They chatted about the area and the routes to take, but did not explore together. Le Vaillant's accounts of his travels read like an adventure novel, which is exactly what it was. Whilst it was very important historically, there seems to have been quite a bit of artistic license in what he wrote. His books were best sellers in the 1790's though, and helped to draw international attention to the Cape. Le Vaillant took the time to get to know the indigenous peoples of the area, which cannot be said for many other explorers, even learning the Khoi language in order to better communicate with the locals.

He spent months at Kokskraal, near Cookhouse, and discovered several new bird species in our area. It's interesting that the second volume of his work is substantially given over to descriptions of the indigenous peoples that he encountered at Kokskraal. Perhaps the French reputation helped him in being rather popular with the ladies as well! He did seem to have a knack with them, bearing all sorts of gifts when visiting the tribes.

The view from my window

Sat, 15 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

It's rather interesting how different people see things differently. We live here, and know what the property looks like, and take pictures show other people what we see. But do we always take the right pictures? Every person that chooses a guesthouse, hotel or B&B to stay in, is looking for something different. What is it that you look for?

During the chat with said guest the other day, when we asked them which room they'd like to book they said that depended on the view. Well now, do we have pictures on our website that show the view from each room? Not really. We show you what the room looks like, but not what you can see when you look out the window. Time to rectify that!

We also find that, because our main focus is fly fishing, a lot of people just look at the pictures, and don't read the opening line: "Centrally situated in the town of Somerset East", and when they get here, they're surprised that we are not on a farm. Ummm...

It's actually great that we're in the town (it's a really small town guys!) as you have all sorts of amenities within walking distance, but you do feel like you're in the country, most of the time. Unfortunately, sometimes, it does mean that our "location" doesn't always score a 5 out of 5; but that's okay. We're happy with where we are, and the warm hospitality and amenities are definitely 5 out of 5!

So, here are the views from the different rooms, for those that book a room for the view.

Karoo Sunsets

Mon, 08 May 2023 00:00:00 +0200

It's very interesting going through our archives, to see the different sunsets at different times of the year. It's something that always catches our eye, and every time we see one we think: "this time of the year is the most beautiful".

In January, the sun sets rather late, it is summer after all. We tend to get them around 7:30 pm, and as we are in a summer rainfall area, the sunset is dotted with clouds more often than not.

Moving on to February, and already the days seem to be getting shorter, with a 7:30pm sunset much darker already. Still amazing clouds though!

March is a strange month. You can get the hottest day of the year in March, but the mornings are getting colder, and the sunsets have already shifted to 7pm.

April...6:30pm and it's getting dark. Some really cold days, but still awesome, and whilst you may not get the dramatic thunder clouds, you do still have some that will make the pictures worthwhile.

Now we're getting into winter, it's May. The fig tree has lost all of its leaves, and the birds don't start singing until the sun is well and truly up. You have to make sure you catch the sunset, as we're usually still working in the office at 5:30pm.

June is the middle of winter. On the 21st, we celebrate the winter solstice, and the days will become longer again. But for now, its dark well before 6pm.

It gets freezing in July, but we get the most amazing red skies in July! It's pretty dark at 6pm, but man, the colours are amazing!

Even though the days are officially longer in August, sunset does not seem to have noticed. It still gets dark at 6pm.

September is the start of Spring, and suddenly it seems as if the sun has woken up, and realised it needs to set later; 6pm is still light but with beautiful colours, with the sun only setting closer to 7pm.

In October the flowers all start to bloom. Fishermen are getting excited, as they can stay out much later, and the sunsets are getting more dramatic again, as we're into our rainy season.

November - 7pm and it's still light outside. Amazing how quickly it happens, when you would have expected it to be a gradual change from July and August onwards.

And just like that the year is finished, with December sunsets only after 7:30pm. The fishermen only get back home between 9 and 10pm, as they couldn't possibly waste a minute of daylight!

Have a look at the gallery, we've given you a picture taken in each month, but they really don't do it justice. You need to come and see for yourself!

Doing the Whisky Scoffle in Somerset East

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0200

So we decided to do something a little different. With a whisky bar boasting over 70 malt whiskies now, it's time to do some tastings. We tried the three course meal paired with three whiskies, and that was nice, but we needed something different.

Enter the Scoffle... No, it isn't a new type of dance that old people do. It's not a scone, and it's not a waffle, it's something in between. The best part? You get to taste five whiskies, not just three!

We start you off with some light apple chips, paired with an appropriate whisky. We have our favourite that pairs perfectly, but this may vary from time to time.

Next comes the trout. Yes, of course we do trout! We couldn't be the hub of Somerset East fly fishing, and not have trout on the menu. Hot smoked trout, perhaps even paired with something from Japan?

Being in the Karoo, we have to include Karoo lamb, succulent leg of lamb, on a scoffle of course! There is only one whisky that smells of the Karoo, and we always pair our lamb with it.

Who doesn't love chocolate? Well, if you don't, let us know and we'll change this to a lemon dessert, no problem; but the last tasting we did, had a delectable dark chocolate mousse for the fourth pairing.

End off your meal with a cheese course with Annabelle's delicious onion marmalade, and the fifth whisky of the night.

Please remember that this requires a bit of prep work in the kitchen, so we need three days notice in order to be able to do a tasting. You're welcome to book a tasting if you're not staying over at the Angler and Antelope Guesthouse in Somerset East, but a minimum of six people would be required.

The Making of the Angler & Antelope

Sat, 02 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0200

When we get chatting with guests, they often ask what brought us to Somerset East, wondering whether we bought the guesthouse as a going concern. Well, no, we didn't. We created it, from nothing! So, let's go on a journey together, and we'll show you how we ended up with what we have now.

It really should start with Alan making his way up to Johannesburg, for a brief stint in the "big smoke". His plan was to stay 10 years or so, and then move back down to the Eastern Cape; but, as luck would have it, he had to wait 20 years before he met Annabelle! In order for a goal to become a reality, you have to put a timeframe to it, and that is what we did. End of 2004 was d-day, so that our son could start his high school career in the Eastern Cape.

We searched all over the Eastern Cape for a suitable property, to develop Alan's passion of fly fishing in to business. Farms, small holdings, houses, nothing was off limits. Eventually we stumbled upon a house in Somerset East, that looked promising; but what looked more promising, was the old Roman Catholic church building next to the house! Now wouldn't that be cool to own?

We moved from Joburg at the end of 2004. Funny thing, in Gauteng, you are required to leave your stove in the house, as it is regarded as a fixture, but in the Eastern Cape, your stove goes with you. So, we arrived just before Christmas, and realised that we had only a microwave, and an old electric frying pan to do all our cooking! Lesson learnt...

Early in 2005, we started making all Alan's plans a reality. Speaking to architects, drawing up plans, getting a project manager, and getting all the necessary approval before starting in earnest. Wonder if we would have tackled the project, if we'd known how much work would be involved? Probably!

The project manager didn't last very long, and Alan took over. Fortunately his background as the son of a farmer, stood him in good stead, and anything he didn't know, he learnt on the fly. We had some amazing artisans like Oom Sarel the plumber working on the project, all open to sharing their knowledge.

But back to the project. We started by clearing the open ground which is now our parking area, and found that there was a lot of water underground. We still don't know exactly where it's coming from, but suffice it to say, we had to dig trenches to create french drains to get the water off the property, else we would end up with a swamp! At least this meant that the trees that we planted would do well. What we didn't realise, is that there is not much topsoil on the "Hill", with shale and rock starting as soon as you dig down. We even managed to break one of the teeth on a backacter whilst digging one of the holes to plant a tree.

We broke down walls, removed and replaced the windows, filled in huge spaces underneath the house (only to have to dig it up again because there is a fountain under the house!), made an enormous amount of rubble, replaced the roof, and in the end, managed to create a guesthouse with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

We thought this would take about six to eight months. No such luck! We managed to have three rooms ready by the end of 2005, as we had taken bookings, and needed to make sure we could accommodate the guests. I don't think we've had as much rain in the last 17 years, as we had that December! There was mud everywhere! But, we managed to accommodate the guests and hold up our side of the bargain. It's good to start with a few people, as you learn a little bit every time you have new guests; even after 17 years.

January came and we could get the team back to complete the rest of the building and eventually start on the landscaping. We removed about countless truckloads of rubble from the site, and then started riding in the topsoil, 240 tons of it! Yes, you read that right, remember, we have a tiny layer of topsoil and then there's rock. We also rode in over 200 tons of stone from nearby farms in order to build the stone walls and walkways to finish off the landscaping.

We could eventually, in June 2006 say that we were done; but are you ever done? We may have finished the renovations and the garden, but we have over the years, continued to add and upgrade to get to where we are; and this is not where it ends. We will continue to do little bits and pieces, changing something here, adding something there Always improving.

Travelling in the COVID era

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0200

A lot of our clients feel that it is just easier to get in the motor vehicle and drive to Somerset East, but if you’re pressed for time, that isn’t always an option. Driving from Johannesburg to Somerset East takes around 8 – 10 hours, dependent on how fast you drive, but my problem is that you’re on the road for 8 – 10 hours. This obviously puts you at risk of road accidents, but if you want to be productive while you travel, it’s not like you can drive and whip out the laptop to send an email or two!

Yes, you do need to wear a mask, but really we’ve all been doing it in public for two years now, so it’s not like this is a new thing. What I have learnt though, is that you should most definitely try to wear the lightest mask you can find, and that usually means one of the disposable masks that can be purchased at almost any pharmacy or supermarket in the country. If you really need to breathe for a bit, buy a bottle of water or a cup of coffee, because that way you’re allowed to remove the mask. Silly I know, but wearing a mask is to protect others, as much as yourself.

So, back to the travelling. The drive time from Somerset East to the nearest airport in Port Elizabeth is around 2 hours, dependent on traffic. There are a lot of trucks on the N10, so sometimes there are delays, but everyone has their own ideas on how to mitigate those factors. All the airlines are requesting that you get to the airport 2 hours before your flight – bear in mind that Port Elizabeth is a tiny airport, so if you’re delayed a bit, don’t stress too much, you really shouldn’t need the whole 2 hours!

Flying time to Johannesburg is less than 2 hours, and then it’s off to wherever you need to go. The Gautrain is a wonderful thing, mostly on time, a little pricey, but for the convenience, it is well worth it.

Coming back to Somerset East, or if your origin is Johannesburg, you may very well need those 2 hours before the flight time to check in. OR Tambo is huge, and can be really busy at times, so it really isn’t worth taking the chance.

My favourite part of travelling now? The fact that you disembark the airplane one row at a time (so make sure you try to sit up front if you're in a hurry). There is no more jostling for space in the isle, with everyone trying to get their bags out at the same time, and then standing literally on top of each other waiting for the doors to open. No, now you sit and wait until you're told you can get up (not good if you don't like being told what to do), and you can comfortably remove your hand luggage, without being knocked over by the guy behind you trying his best to get out the door a few seconds before everyone else.

My take on it? I’d rather be in the airport and in the air for 4 – 5 hours with a mask on, than driving in the motor vehicle for 8 – 10; but that is a personal choice.

As the dust settles

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0200

Who can fathom that it is the end of February 2021? What happened to 2020? It just seems to have been a blur, or perhaps we're blocking it out and trying to forget it every happened. But, things are still ticking over, we're still here, and the fish are still enjoying their beautiful, nutrient rich spring water.

Talk of the drought is almost as fatigued as talk of COVID-19, but we can't bury our heads in the sand and hope that it goes away. We have to work with Mother Nature. Fortunately some of the waters in our area have received some good rains, which means that some of the dams have filled up. We're focusing on these and making them the best we possibly can. The trout that were stocked in one of our trophy waters a year ago, are now over 2kg! Catching and releasing that beauty makes all the effort worthwhile.

On the home front, we've been blessed with both returning and new clients; building on old friendships and developing new ones; meeting the most remarkable people that, without travel restrictions would never have been possible. There comes a time that we need to decide to stop putting our lives on hold, and we've done just that. It's time to share our experience, and our beautiful country with everyone, both locally and from further afield.

Welcome back!

Three months later...

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0200

The initial hard lockdown in South Africa has come and gone. We all thought it would be a three to five week quarantine and then life would start returning to normal. How wrong could we have been? Three months later, and only some of the restrictions have been lifted. A lot of people, especially in the tourism industry, are very angry with the South African Government, and disillusioned by the way they are handling the whole pandemic. However, reading snippets, posts and articles from around the world, everyone is feeling the pinch. It seems that this has been going on so long, no-one knows how to ease the restrictions and start opening industries and the world economy again. The WHO has come out in support of opening industry and borders recently, and we hope that governments all over the world will look at this, keeping safety in mind.

At least we, here in Somerset East, have managed to keep ourselves busy, and out of mischief! We've made a couple of improvements to the guesthouse, fixing up the water tank and pressure pump, so that our guests have water when the municipality runs out, and have also upgraded our self-catering family cottage so that it has a full oven and stove, as well as air-conditioning. This unit is absolutely perfect for a family getaway or for two business travelers sharing, especially on a long-term basis. We're so happy that intra-provincial travel is now allowed, so the cottage can be used for families trying to get away to recharge.

The next thing on the list, is installing the bar cupboards to display Alan's ever growing whisky collection. Even though we are rationing ourselves, so that our stash of beer lasts until the powers that be decide we can buy some more, we are still in high spirits, running around, keeping our business travelers happy, and trying to improve any little items that we notice along the way; and I'm sure as soon as he can, Alan will add another one or two to the whisky collection!

What happens after?

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0200

The honest answer is, no-one knows. This does not mean, however, that we must sit and wait for the lockdown to end...or extend. We need to start making plans for when the world does return to some form of normality. Probably a completely new normal to what we're used to, but we have a fixed asset that isn't going anywhere, so we need to adapt in order to make it work for us, our staff and our clients.

The thing on everyone's lips at the moment is hygiene. We've always prided ourselves on ensuring that our rooms are spotless, but cleaning isn't good enough anymore. We will be embarking on training our staff in more efficient and effective ways of cleaning and sanitizing, in order to eliminate the possibility of spreading the virus as much as we can. We've tried out a number of "anti-bacterial" cleaners on the market and have settled on a couple that will both clean dirt, and kill germs. There are still items that have to be clarified, but we're getting there, and as soon as we've got the basics down, we'll let you know the steps we'll be taking.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been mulling over the menu items that we have been serving at the guesthouse. We have decided that a change is in order! We'll be instituting a "meal of the day" which will change on a regular basis. If our meal of the day doesn't tickle your taste buds, well, then you will still be able to order a couple of items from the old menu, but the choices will be reduced. We may even have some special desserts available on occasion...Obviously we will still need time to prepare the meals, so the dinner order timing of having to order before 17h30 in the evening will still apply.

Keep an eye on our Facebook page to see the type of meals we're doing.

Dutch Foodies Tour

Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0200

East Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, together with their representative in the Netherlands, Anneli, organised an amazing trip with a group of Dutch Foodies, to visit the Eastern Cape, but specifically the Karoo Heartland area. They arrived in Port Elizabeth and rushed on to Nanaga Farm Stall to see how they make their legendary pies and roosterkoek.

Having been on the go for 24 hours, they arrived with us, exhausted! However, after checking into their rooms for a rest, and being able to have a leisurely bath to relax and recoup, they were ready for their food experience.

We started the evening by showing them how to prepare fresh trout. There is nothing quite like fresh food, and fish in particular. It's always interesting showing people new things, that you've done a hundred times and take for granted, but things that they have not seen before. As city dwellers, most people would go to a fishmonger to buy "fresh" fish, and have them clean and prepare it. Here in the rural areas, especially in the Karoo, we catch our own fish, and clean and prepare them ourselves, no fishmonger involved. And I suppose, most people would fillet the fish, so that they don't have to struggle with bones, and then cook the fillets. There is no substitute for a whole fish, cooked in the oven. There was, of course, the added benefit of pairing the fresh trout with whisky. It's incredible how certain whiskies can enhance the flavour of certain foods! We paired Aberlour 12 year old with the trout, and it complemented both the fish and the buttery ciabata toast that it was served on.

Being in the Karoo, we obviously had to serve Karoo Lamb. I was amazed at what the Glen Dronach 12 year old whisky did for the flavour of the lamb. It really accentuated the Karoo bush flavour, that is so iconic of the lamb in these parts.

What meal would be complete without chocolate? The buttery pastry and serious hit of chocolate in the dessert was complemented with The Peat Chimney. As I don't like the peaty whiskies, we tried a few beforehand to see how they would pair with dark chocolate. The more complex whiskies just didn't work, but when paired with a peaty whisky, it really intensified the chocolate taste.

A trip to the Angler and Antelope wouldn't be complete without experiencing just a little bit of Wild Fly Fishing in the Karoo, so with very little time before they had to depart, we did a very quick trip and crammed in a little bit of fly fishing at Bestershoek dam near Somerset East. There really wasn't enough time for the group to get the full experience, but hopefully it did wet the appetite for a future experience.

Next stop on the Karoo Heartland trip, Bedford for a Thrive experience. For more information, and to follow them on their trip, have a look at the Karoo Heartland Marketing Association Facebook page.

Gearing up for Getaway

Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0200

We're gearing up to go to the Getaway show in Johannesburg next weekend, and it seems that, being a long weekend, everyone wants to visit the Karoo! It's always a catch-22 situation with not wanting to be away from the guesthouse over long weekends, but a long weekend posing a good excuse for people to visit shows like Getaway - we hope. Our "manager" position has been recently vacated, but we've put contingency plans in to place that are working beautifully.

The show organisers have decided that they will have the Getaway Show on Saturday, Sunday and Monday next week, as with Heritage day falling on a Sunday, Monday 25th is also a holiday. Here's hoping our Joburg guests and friends haven't decided to make use of the long weekend, and planned trips away.

We will be exhibiting under Wild Fly Fishing in the Karoo and Somerset East again, and this time we're right opposite the Cape Union Mart stand. Visit us at stand G20, even if it's just to come and say hello.

Besides the usual Casting competition, we're also running a show special for all accommodation booked at the show!

Here's hoping the weather plays ball and we see all our friends at this year's Getaway Show at the Dome in Northgate!

FOSAF National AGM - April 2017

Wed, 24 May 2017 00:00:00 +0200

At the end of April, the Angler and Antelope hosted the first FOSAF National AGM to be held outside of Gauteng. We're happy to say that it was a great success, and that FOSAF have decided to rotate their AGM's around the provinces, so that each Province in South Africa will hopefully get to host a meeting.

The first guests arrived on Thursday evening, and although some of the FOSAF Executive had travelled for 8 hours to get to Somerset East, this didn't stop them from dropping off their luggage and finding their way to the fishing waters. What dedication! The weekend offered visitors from all over the country the opportunity to fish all of the Bankberg Troutfishers Club waters. The registration fee for the weekend’s fishing, bought all of the participants a one year membership to FOSAF National, growing membership by 12 new members.

The festivities continued on Friday, with over 30 guests enjoying a social braai on Friday evening, getting to spend quality time with the FOSAF Executive, as well as special guests Jay Smit and Edward Truter. Jay, as every South African fisherman worth his salt will know, is the creator of the J-Vice, an awesome piece of fly tying equipment that holds its own on the world stage! Edward is the current chairman of the Amatola Fly Fishing Club and an adventure fly fisherman with many a story to tell.

The FOSAF AGM - this was after all the excuse for the fishermen to get together - was held at the Angler and Antelope on Saturday morning, and it was the best public attendance that the AGM has ever had, with 35 members in attendance. While the Executive thrashed out any issues that needed thrashing, the anglers were able to enjoy an afternoon on the waters again. On Saturday evening, fisherman were treated to dinner at the Angler and Antelope, and FOSAF awarded Martin Davies with honorary life membership of FOSAF for his tireless and uncompromising efforts in providing trout for the Eastern Cape Clubs to stock their waters and his contribution to fly fishing in South Africa. .

On Sunday all the fishermen were off to the Bankberg Troutfishers Club waters again. Over the weekend, 23 anglers managed to land 156 trout! Most of the trout were released back into the waters to make another angler's day. The biggest trout caught in the Little Fish River weighed in at 2.2kg and the biggest in still waters at 2.0kg.

A huge thank you must go out to all the sponsors of the event. Without you, it would not have been as much of a success. Thank you to the East Cape Chapter of FOSAF, Xplorer Fly Fishing, SciFly, Wild Fly Fishing in the Karoo, A&A Adventures and of course the Bankberg Troutfishers Club. We'll have to do it again someday!

That time of the year again...Lilizela Awards

Fri, 05 May 2017 00:00:00 +0200

In an effort to reward tourism businesses, South African Tourism created the Lilizela awards. Only establishments graded by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa may enter, and the guests votes and reviews play a huge part in who the winners are. Have a look at the website: Lilizela Awards. Oops, sorry, was that the direct link to our entry? Here is the Lilizela website address too: www.lilizela.co.za.