Photo Competion 2017-2018 – Entries

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Get more info about our Photo Competition

Sight and Smells - 08 Jan 2018 Flaminkevlei Waterfront

Great time at Voorstrand Paternoster: dad Bertram, mom Janine and O'Neil with gran and gramps. (Flaminkevlei Waterfront Jan 2018)

In front of Flaminkevlei - 5 Jan 2018

Circles of Splendor at Flaminkevlei Waterfront

Dazzling at Flaminkevlei Waterfront Oct 2017

The jetties and Laaiplek Slipway (Flaminkevlei Waterfront Oct 2018)

Loitering - Port Owen Yacht Club Oct 2017

FLOWERTIME — When and Where to go

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When to go:

Wild flowers start showing their faces, first in late July/early August, in Namaqualand (the Northern Cape).  Then they skirt southwards, through the Cederberg area where they dress up the West Coast for the spring launch.

So, the West Coast is by far your best chance of seeing spring flowers in early September. The perfect way to celebrate the start of Spring!

However, rainfall always is the dominating factor for a good flower season. If there has been a steady flow of gentle cold fronts during the winter, then it is likely to be a good flower season. Spring temperatures are also important. If high temperatures are reached, the flowers don't do as well as during mild temperatures.

                         Where to go:

  WILD FLOWERTIME ATTRACTIONS

  • HOPEFIELD

    Fynbos Show will be held at the Hopefield Sport Field from the 24th till the 27th of August 2017

  • DARLING

    100th Darling Wildflower Show September 14 - September 17

  • WEST COAST NATIONAL PARK

    Flower season August — September 18 September - 22 September Pensioners free entrance

  • PORTERVILLE

    The only place in South Africa to see the Disa Uniflora

Porterville

This unspoilt country town of some 9 000 inhabitants is a land of extremes, offering diversity, hospitality and authenticity. The region is famous for the rarest of flowers, the Disa Uniflora. It is the only place in South Africa where one can see fields of these flowers in nature, the rarest being the sulphur yellow Disa, which has been found only in one small colony in Porterville. 

Hopefield Fynbos Show will be held at the Hopefield Sport Field from the 24th till the 27th of August 2017.

More than 200 species from the renosterveld, sandveld, rietveld and wetland areas of the Hopefield district will be displayed in recreations of their natural habitats. Enjoy lunch or tea as well as stalls with a variety of traditional produce, a flower route and a fossil museum.

Darling Wildflower Show will be the 100th event, the Centenary Show! 

It celebrates an integral part of the Cape Fynbos Kingdom comprised of Renosterveld, Rietveld, Sandveld, and Strandveld where more than 1200 different species of flowers can be found.

The Flower Show will offer a variety of activities to entertain young and old.

Sept 14 @ 09:00 - Sept 17 @ 17:00

Fotokompetisie 2017 – 2018

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Ons nooi besoekers aan die Weskus uit om deel te neem aan ons Flaminkevlei Waterfront Foto Kompetisie.
Die doel  is om die fantastiese moontlikhede wat die Weskus, en spesifiek die Bergriviermond / Velddrif area, vir foto-entoesiaste bied, bekend te stel.   Ons wil bitter graag ook jou beste fotos hierby insluit.
Ons soek na fotos wat die kyker se oog sal vang en die oorvloedige natuurskoon van die Weskus ten toon sal stel.   Daar is vele moontlike onderwerpe om vanuit te kies en vir die 2017-18 kompetisie het ons besluit op die volgende:

Kategorieë vir die Kompetisie

Blommetyd - weskusblomme van die omgewing — fotos geneem in die area soos aangedui op die kaart hier onder.
Voëllewe - verkieslik fotos voëls wat by die Bergrivier in Velddrif geneem is.
In en Rondom Velddrif - enige fotos van die omgewing of vakansie aktiwiteite in die Velddrif area:

Velddrif Area for Photo Competition

Reëls vir die Kompetisie

  • Inskrywings is gratis.
  • Slegs amateur fotograwe (dit is persone wat nie voltyds fotos neem nie), mag inskryf vir die kompetisie.
  • Deelnemers mag slegs foto’s inskryf wat hulleself geneem het, m.a.w. hulle moet die kopiereg op die foto besit.
  • Al die fotos wat ingeskryf is, word die eiendom van FVWF vir onbeperkte gebruik.   Die fotograaf sal altyd erkenning ontvang.
  • Foto’s moet groter as 1,4 Mb wees, maar verkieslik nie groter as 3Mb nie.  Dit moet in Jpg-formaat wees en nie kleiner as 15 cm X 20 cm nie.
  • Slegs inskrywings wat per epos gestuur word, kan kwalifiseer vir die kompetisie.
  • Persone op fotos wat van naby geneem is, moet geïdentifiseer word deur hul name en vanne vir ons te verskaf.
  • Deelnemers word gevra om oorspronklike, onveranderde foto’s te stuur.  Fotos wat "gecrop" is word nie as geredigeer beskou nie en word aanvaar.
  • Werknemers van FVWF mag nie deelneem nie
  • Die wen fotos sal aangewys word deur 'n paneel van beoordelaars. 

Eerste prys:

Verblyf vir twee persone vir 3 nagte by FVWF, +
’n afdruk van die wen foto op ’n A1 geblokte doek

Tweede prys:

Verblyf vir twee persone vir 2 nagte by FVWF

Derde prys:

’n R1,000 FVWF geskenkbewys, geldig vir 1 jaar

Let wel verblyf besprekings vir enige van die pryse kan slegs op hierdie webblad gedoen word, vir die tydperk vanaf 1 Julie 2018 tot 14 Desember 2018.  

Stuur inskrywings saam met die onderstaande inligting na: rina@flaminkevlei.co.za

Naam en van
Kontak nommer
Datum en plek waar die foto geneem is
Titel, boodskap of beskrywing wat jy by die foto wil voeg (opsioneel)
Sluitingsdatum vir die kompetisie is Maandag 11 Junie 2018.  Fotos wat na hierdie datum ontvang word, sal kwalifiseer vir die 2018—2019 kompetisie.
Dit is deelnemers se verantwoordelikheid om te verseker dat hulle die reëls van die kompetisie verstaan en daarby hou.
Die beoordelaars se beslissing is finaal en geen korrespondensie in die verband sal gevoer word nie.

 

We love flamingos

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We love flamingos

The flamingo is known for its bright pink or reddish color. They get their color from food in their diet, which includes a lot of bacteria and beta carotene found in algae, plankton and shrimp.  The Lesser Flamingo feeds on Spirulina, a very nutritious algae which grow only in very alkaline lakes.

The brighter the pink of the flamingo, the healthier the bird is, although the actual color varies in each of the species of flamingo.  When flamingo babies hatch, they stay a white or grayish color for a couple years before they develop their mature red, orange or pink color.

Flamingos only breed in very large groups.  In South Africa the Lesser Flamingo only breed at Kamfers Dam in Kimberly where a generous mining company, Ekapa, built an S-shaped artificial island in the middle of the dam.  The flamingos loved this man-made breeding haven and, for the first time, the lesser flamingo had bred in South Africa. Now there is a large permanent breeding population. 

Despite being the most numerous species of flamingo, the Lesser Flamingo is classified as near-threatened due to its declining population and the low number of breeding sites. The only breeding site in South Africa, situated at Kamfers Dam, is threatened by pollution and human induced threats to the breeding sites.

The Lesser Flamingo is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

 

We don’t often see the Greater Flamingo at Laaiplek, but they do sometimes come for short visits.  We were very happy to learn that flamingos have quite long lifespans.  In the wild is about 30 years, but flamingos have been observed to live in captivity of 50 years of longer. The oldest flamingo in captivity is 77 years old. 

Lesser Flamingos seen at Flaminkevlei Waterfront

The Lesser Flamingo is the smallest species of flamingo, though it is a tall and largish bird by most standards. Most of the plumage is pinkish white. The clearest difference between Lesser and the Greater Flamingo, is the more extensive black on the bill of the Lesser Flamingo

Flamingos are specifically referred to as wading birds. They are closely related to another aquatic bird called the grebe. Grebes can also be found in saltwater and freshwater like flamingos. Grebes are typically diving birds, though. Flamingos also share some common characteristics with penguins. Penguins and Flamingos both travel in flocks as to ensure the safety of the entire flock and food for all.